Holding Their Own XI: Hearts and Minds (35 page)

“Or what?” Nick bellowed back. “Go ahead, little man… bring your best… I’ll stomp your sorry ass right here, right now.”

Neither man seemed to notice the small crowd of onlookers their raised voices had attracted. Butter, sensing things were about to get completely out of control, handed Hunter to a woman he recognized and then stepped between the two quarreling men.

Wrapping his massive arms around Bishop before his boss could react, Butter began backing the Texan away, calmly saying, “Come on, boss…. Let’s finish our walk… get some air… cool down.”

Nick kept it up, “That’s about what I figured out of a pussy like you! Your man had to come and rescue your yellow ass.”

Bishop stopped struggling against the stronger Butter, spreading his arms wide in surrender and saying, “Thanks. I’m cool. It’s all under control.”

Taking his mentor at his word, Butter loosened his grip.

In a flash, Bishop sidestepped the kid and charged.

Butter may have been fooled, but Nick was ready. Stepping into the rushing Texan, the operator’s right fist shot out with all his weight behind it. The target of his wrath, however, was no longer there.

At the last millisecond, Bishop shifted into a baseball slide, his boot slamming into Nick’s lower leg with tremendous force. Still off-balance from his punch, the big man fell, hitting the ground hard.

Nick was bigger and far more experienced in unarmed combat. Normally, Bishop would have had little chance against the highly skilled warrior, but Nick had just spent weeks in the hospital and was still healing from his wounds.

Both men rolled, regaining their feet quickly. Nick, wanting to take advantage of his size, dove for Bishop in hopes of shortening the contest via a grappling match. The vision of ripping his foe’s arms from his torso filled his mind.

Bishop wanted none of it.

Sidestepping the flying giant, Bishop struck hard with the heel of his hand as Nick flew by. The blow, however, damaged little but the retired operator’s ego.

With a roar, Nick landed in a perfect roll. As Bishop stepped in to deliver another strike, the big man’s boot lashed out, landing a painful kick just above the Texan’s knee and spinning him away.

Both of them paused for just a moment, breathing hard as they readied to re-engage.

The thunderclap of a pistol shot stopped the battle cold.

All eyes turned to see Diana and Terri standing nearby, the Alliance leader’s pistol still pointing in the air as smoke rolled out of the barrel. “Stop it! Both of you… right now. Have you both gone insane?”

“I’m giving this cowardly fuck what he deserves,” Nick shouted. “Stay the hell out of this.”

“Now whose girl is saving his ass?” Bishop taunted, his eyes never leaving the opponent.

Butter reappeared, along with a half-dozen confused security men, all of them moving to stand between the two combatants.

“You little fuck,” Nick roared, “I’m going to ram my fist down that smartass throat of yours and tear out your heart.”

“You’re too old and slow to kick my ass,” Bishop snapped. “C ’mere, fat boy!”

With a deep-chested growl, Nick dove for Bishop, Butter and two husky security types struggling to restrain the infuriated behemoth.

Seeing an opportunity with his foe being restrained by three strong men, Bishop went for Nick’s throat, his hands straining to crush a windpipe. Two, and then three, and then four deputies finally tackled the thrashing Texan to the ground in a dogpile of uniforms and straining men.

Next, the girls were between them, both shouting for their mates to stop.

Terri got through first, getting in Bishop’s face as he tried to shake the cops off his arms and legs. “Quit it! I’m serious… stop this nonsense right now. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Running out of gas, Bishop managed, “Defending your honor,” between gasps of air. “You wouldn’t believe what that ass bag just said about you.”

With the Texan no longer struggling, the two deputies started to relax their grip. Terri warned them, “Don’t fall for it. He’s still pissed… I can see it.”

Foiled, Bishop threw a dirty look at his wife. “Okay… okay… I promise. I’ll quit.”

“Let him up,” Terri commanded the lawman, “But don’t let go just yet. He’s sneaky as hell.”

Ten feet away, Diana was having a similar exchange with Nick. With over a dozen bodyguards now between them, the two men were gradually herded away from each other.

Terri, finally convinced that Bishop had regained his senses, motioned for the now hovering Butter to retrieve Hunter from the ad hoc babysitter. After verifying her son was okay, she then hooked arms with her husband. “Come on, we’re going home. You’ve got a lot explaining to do.”

Bishop, still looking over his shoulder as if he expected Nick to come charging, didn’t have much to say at the moment.

The walk back to the bungalow helped clear the adrenaline from Bishop’s system and refocus his mind. With Butter standing by just in case, Terri put Hunter down for the night while her husband washed up.

“Okay,” she announced, joining the two men on the front porch. “Explain this to me.”

“We can let Butter go home,” Bishop responded. “I’m fine.”

“No, I want him to stay,” Terri stated. “I just saw my husband act like he’d completely lost his mind, and quite frankly, I’m not sure I trust his lucidity just yet. Butter stays.”

“Fine. The long and the short of it is that Nick was taking out his frustrations on me, blaming me for Diana getting shot. I was cool with that, but then he started accusing you of a bunch of nasty shit, and I lost my temper.”

Terri tilted her head and then switched her laser-like gaze on Butter. “Is that how you saw it?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am, that’s exactly what happened,” the suddenly-shy fellow responded.

Now back to Bishop, she barked, “And what exactly did Nick accuse me of that caused you to start a fight with your closest friend?”

“Basically that you were after Diana’s job. He said, and I quote, that you were a ‘power-hungry, back-stabbing bitch.’”

Not believing Nick would have made such an accusation, Terri’s gaze shifted to Butter. She didn’t have to voice the question. Looking down, the kid mumbled, “Yes, ma’am. Mr. Nick said those words.”

Terri couldn’t believe it. With her hands on her hips, she took a few steps to the edge of the porch and stared off into the distance for nearly a minute.

“Something’s not right,” she finally whispered. “I don’t know what’s going on, but somehow this is all spiraling out of control. We’ll let this settle overnight, and in the morning we’ll find out what in the hell is happening. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail.”

“You’re right,” Bishop added, his voice now sad. “I’ve never seen Nick like that before. I’m sure we can talk tomorrow and work it all out.”

Terri stepped toward the somewhat cowering Butter and took his hand. “Thank you for all your help tonight. You should head on home and get some sleep. We’ll be just fine now.”

“Okay, Miss Terri. Good night… and same to you, boss.”

After Butter had disappeared down the sidewalk, Bishop rose and went to his mate. “I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “I just couldn’t handle someone speaking about you that way. We’ve both put our lives on the line for the Alliance so many times I’ve lost count. To hear Nick talk like that just made me crazy.”

She stretched long, kissing him on the cheek. “We’ll straighten this all out in the morning. Come to bed. Tomorrow looks like it’s going to be a long day.”

Chapter 13

Diana’s head was throbbing, the aspirin doing little to counter the discomfort. Instead of rest, as prescribed, she had rushed from the RV, fired a weapon, and been stressed even further by Nick and Bishop’s fight.

Once everything had settled down, she’d ordered the doctor’s return – this time for her future husband.

Physically, he was in decline, having pulled three staples from one of his wounds suffered in New Mexico. Mentally, the man seemed to be a wreck.

“I order bed rest for at least two days,” the physician had stated strongly. “Seriously, keep him off his feet, or he’s going to do a lot more damage. Between his activities in Amarillo and the fisticuffs in front of the courthouse, he’s lucky not to be bleeding internally and in even more trouble.”

“And his mental state?”

“I’m a medical doctor, so by no means an expert. He was very stoic during my examination, but that’s nothing new.”

“I need to talk with him…. I’m sure you understand why.”

The sawbones rubbed his chin, finally conceding. “Not for long. I mean it… he needs rest.”

She entered the RV’s master suite, finding Nick lying comfortably on the large bed. His face remained emotionless, despite her best attempt at a warm smile.

“How’s things?” she said softly, sitting beside him.

“I’m okay. How are you doing?” he asked, pointing at the bandage still wrapped around her head.

“To be blunt, I’ve felt better. What happened, Nick?”

“Bishop and I had a disagreement; that’s all. It’s over now,” the monotone voice answered.

“Bullshit. I’m not buying that for one second. Come clean. Trust me.”

Nick’s gaze drifted toward some undefined point in time and space. With a distant voice he said, “To be honest, I’m not sure what happened. During the entire drive back from Amarillo, I kept thinking about why Bishop hadn’t shown up at the town meeting. The events of the past few months kept replaying in my head, over and over again. I was so furious by the time we pulled into Alpha, I guess I lost control.”

Taking his hand, Diana tried to reassure him with a warm touch. “What events? What set this off? I know you aren’t the type to cause trouble without a good reason, especially with someone like Bishop. What is this all about? What’s eating you?”

The question seemed to trouble him. There was a frown, then a grimace, and finally a look of helplessness. “I know this is going to sound pretty farfetched. I’m reluctant to say it aloud.”  

It was Diana’s turn to express hurt. “Nick, I love you with all my heart. You’re going to be my husband soon. If you can’t trust me…. If you can’t tell me everything….”

“No, no,” he came back quickly. “I do trust you in all things. It’s your trust in me that I’m protecting.”

She leaned over, kissing him softly on the forehead. “I have to know. Surely, you understand that. All sorts of people saw Bishop and you fighting right in front of the courthouse. Rumors are no doubt spreading across the Alliance, even as we speak. But more importantly, we are going to have to face Bishop and Terri sooner or later, and I want to have all the facts straight before that occurs.”

He nodded, “You’re right, as usual.” Then came a pause as he gathered his thoughts.

“The short of it is, I’m convinced that Bishop is trying to undermine the direction you are taking the Alliance, and I think Terri is onboard with his position.”

The shocked expression drained the color from Diana’s face. “What? How on earth did you come up with that?”

“Hear me out,” Nick snapped back, rising from the pillow. “We know there was a confrontation between Bishop and the cops in Meraton a while back. Terri has relayed his frustration with a lot of the new rules and regulations. You said yourself that he didn’t want to execute the plan in New Mexico. He failed up in Palo Dura. Then this latest fiasco in Fort Davidson, where he wanted me to wait before arriving with the cavalry? That was just plain weird. You told me he was against the new property law and tried several times to talk you out of it. He didn’t even want to go to Houston and claim his own home. He started a fight with our new ambassador. I could go on and on.”

Diana shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. “All of those points have a perfectly logical explanation. While you were in the hospital, Bishop was the best friend I could have asked for. Sure, he disagrees with some of the stuff the council is doing, but doesn’t every citizen?”

Nick wasn’t budging. “Why didn’t he show up in Amarillo? That’s not the Bishop and Terri we know and love. Why did Grim and Butter not follow my orders the night he attacked Chase? Why did Bishop have Butter break into the doctor’s office and steal my medical records?”

“He did what?” Diana snapped, stunned by the new revelation.

“Chase told me he saw Butter running away from the area the night Doc’s office was burglarized. We both know that kid wouldn’t do something like that on his own.”

Rising from her bedside perch, Diana began pacing. With her mind moving a thousand miles a minute, she tried to analyze Nick’s accusations one by one. A single question kept burning in her mind.

“Why?” she asked, returning back to Nick. “What possible motive could Bishop and Terri have to undermine my administration?”

Breaking eye contract, Nick’s gaze again drifted someplace else. “I can’t answer that, at least not just yet. Believe me, I’ve been pondering that same question for several days now. It could be Terri wants to run the Alliance, and Bishop is supporting her. They might have someone else in mind… or could be having second thoughts about Texas being independent. Who knows how or what conspirators think?”

Again, Diana wasn’t buying it. “It was Terri’s idea for Texas to be independent. No one has done more for the Alliance and to support my position than those two. I just can’t accept that there is some hidden agenda with our best friends.”

Nick’s face softened, his eyes growing warm. “Your loyalty to friends and supporters is part of the reason why I love you so much. It shows the quality of person that you truly are. But not everyone is like you. Over my lifetime, I’ve seen traitors, schemers, and common men develop an unquenchable thirst for power and money. You can never, never let your guard down. Never.”

“I bet you’ve also seen leaders grow paranoid, afraid of their own shadows, and see boogie men under the bed,” she countered.

Sighing, Nick said, “Yes, I’ve seen that as well. If you truly think I’ve left the reservation, let me ask you one last question before we both turn in. Don’t you find it about the biggest coincidence in the history of mankind that our new ambassador is actually an acquaintance of Terri’s? Don’t you find it the least bit strange that Chase was assigned by Bishop’s former boss… a man he obviously respects and has risked his life to protect?”