Chapter 3

The sound of Gonzalo's roar sent a violent jolt of adrenaline straight into Delois's bloodstream. Her heart seized.

She shoved the heavy quilt off her legs. Her bare feet hit the cold wooden floorboards. The room spun wildly, but she ignored the nausea and threw her weight toward the bedroom door.

She yanked the brass handle and stumbled into the hallway.

Gonzalo was standing at the top of the stairs. His face was flushed dark red with pure rage. In his massive hands, he gripped the cold steel of his double-barreled shotgun.

Beside him, Connie was furiously shoving heavy brass shells into the pockets of his denim jacket. The other three brothers crowded the narrow space, Ean gripping a heavy iron pitchfork, while the youngest twins, Leo and Luke, stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their fists clenched, their jaws set in murderous lines.

Blanca had rushed out behind Delois. She threw her arms wide, trying to physically block her massive sons from going down the stairs. The men simply pressed forward, their combined weight forcing Blanca to step back.

Delois gripped the wooden doorframe to keep from collapsing. She forced air into her burning lungs.

"Stop!" Delois screamed, her voice cracking with desperation.

Every man in the hallway froze. Five pairs of eyes snapped toward her pale, sweating face.

Gonzalo's grip on the shotgun loosened slightly. A flash of deep pain crossed his eyes when he saw how weak she looked. But the anger quickly swallowed it.

"Get back in bed, Delois," Gonzalo growled, his teeth grinding together. "I'm going to break both of Bart Hawkins's legs."

Delois pushed off the doorframe. She stumbled forward and grabbed Gonzalo's thick forearm. Her fingers dug into his flannel shirt.

"He didn't push me!" Delois yelled, her chest heaving. "Bart didn't push me into the river!"

The brothers exchanged confused, doubtful glances. Connie shook his head.

"You hit your head hard, Del," Connie said gently. "You don't know what you're saying. Ann saw him do it."

Gonzalo gently but firmly peeled Delois's trembling fingers off his arm. He stepped around Blanca and started stomping down the wooden stairs.

Panic clawed at Delois's throat. If they attacked Bart now, the blood feud would escalate. It would trigger the exact chain of events that ended with Gonzalo in handcuffs and Connie dead on the asphalt.

She ignored the blinding pain in her skull. She lunged forward and wrapped both her arms tightly around Gonzalo's waist from behind.

Gonzalo stopped dead on the steps. He didn't dare move forward and risk dragging her down with him.

Delois pressed her face against his broad back.

"If you walk out that door and touch him," Delois threatened, her voice dropping to a dead, serious whisper, "I will kill myself right now. I swear to God, Gonzalo."

The sheer absolute certainty in her voice sent a chilling silence through the stairwell. The brothers stared at her, completely paralyzed by the threat.

Before anyone could speak, the deafening roar of a failing engine shattered the quiet.

A rusted, beat-up Ford pickup truck skidded onto the gravel just outside the Thornton front yard. The brakes squealed in protest.

The driver's side door was kicked open. Bart stepped out. His face was a mask of cold indifference. In his right hand, he carried a white plastic medical kit. He had driven halfway down the road before the image of Delois's pale, trembling fingers coated in dark red blood overpowered his common sense. He cursed himself for caring about a Thornton, but he couldn't just leave her bleeding from a head wound.

Gonzalo looked through the hallway window. He saw Bart standing on their property. The hesitation vanished. The rage exploded.

Gonzalo ripped himself free from Delois's grip. He dropped the shotgun on the floor and charged down the rest of the stairs like a runaway freight train. He burst through the front door.

Connie was right on his heels.

Delois let out a terrified scream and sprinted after them, her bare feet slapping against the wood.

Out in the muddy front yard, Gonzalo used his sprinting momentum to throw a devastating right hook aimed directly at Bart's jaw.

Bart's reflexes were terrifyingly fast. He jerked his head to the side. The fist grazed his ear. The medical kit slipped from his fingers, crashing to the ground and spilling white gauze rolls into the mud.

Connie tackled Bart from the left side. The three large men crashed into the wet, slippery grass, a tangle of swinging fists and grunts.

Bart was strong, but he was outnumbered. Gonzalo's heavy boot connected solidly with Bart's stomach. Bart let out a sharp grunt of pain and stumbled backward, his guard dropping for a split second.

Gonzalo pulled his arm back for a finishing blow to Bart's face.

Delois didn't think. She threw her body directly into the center of the violence. She spread her arms wide, shielding Bart's chest with her own back.

Gonzalo's eyes widened in horror. He tried to pull the punch, but the momentum was already carrying his heavy fist straight toward Delois's face.

In a fraction of a second, Bart's large hand shot out. He grabbed Delois roughly by the waist and yanked her hard against his chest.

Bart spun them around, using his own broad back as a human shield.

Gonzalo's fist slammed heavily into Bart's shoulder blade. The massive impact knocked Bart off balance. His boots slipped in the slick mud.

They fell backward. Delois crashed down right on top of Bart's solid chest. The sudden, violent stop snapped her head forward.

Her lips smashed directly, perfectly, against Bart's mouth.