Allister, J. Rose - Discarded Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Free Page B

and while his rabid gaze was fastened to the man behind her, she knew his words were directed at her.
    “ Now the pup catches on,” the blond said.
    Russell ignored him and folded his arms. “I know you ain’t gonna harm a hair on her head. She’s your daughter.”
    Zakono yanked back hard enough on her hair to unleash a sting of tears and send a yelp of pain and surprise from her throat. “You know nothing about what I am capable of,” her father said. “But I assure you, you will find out if you don’t get into that cage and see to it the other doesn’t escape in the process.”
    The man made a move to hop off the ramp, but froze when the knife edge bit into Talaitha’s throat. “Don’t pretend you don’t care what happens to her,” Zakono said. “I saw the way you looked at her. It would be a shame to damage such beauty, no?”
    “I could rip you in half, Gypsy.” Russell’s words froze like ice around her pounding heart.
    “Not without risking my knife slipping across her throat.”
    She felt the sharp, silver blade dig painfully into her skin. A warm, wet drip slid down into the hollow between her collarbones. Her father had actually drawn blood on her. The knife was pressed so tight that she dared not give in to her nervous quiver, let alone swallow. God, would he really do it?
    Tears blurred her vision of Russell’s murderous expression. “Better hurry,” Zakono said. “My hand is getting tired.”
    Russell’s nostrils flared as he hesitated. Then he turned back to the cage. The blond was still at the door, gripping the bars. “Step aside,” Russell said in a shaky voice.
    “Hell no, I ain’t,” the blond said. “Let ’em slit each other’s throats for all I care. I’m gettin’ out of this monkey cage.”
    “You best stop him if he tries,” Zakono warned. “He might accidentally bump me on the way out.”
    “Don’t listen to his bullshit,” the other told Russell. “And so what if I bump him? What do you care if a dirty Romani dies?”
    She heard Russell let out a low, throaty growl. “Call my mate that again, and you’ll find out. Now back the fuck off.”
    When she blinked away the fuzzy view through her tears, she saw the other man’s demeanor had changed. The blond’s gaze flicked to her, then Russell. Finally, he stepped back. “Fine. Come on in and join the party, Russell Adam Stevens. Two wolves are better than one.”
    She stared at the man, wondering about his dizzying about-face. Was it a trick?
    “And what’s your name, blondie?” Russell said. “Vanilla Ice?”
    “Drew,” the blond said. “Or should I say, Drew Allen Charles?”
    “Enough,” Zakono shouted. “Get in.”
    “I need the keys,” Russell said over his shoulder.
    Her father tossed them from behind her, and with dead-on precision, Russell caught them midair. With such surefire reflexes, it seemed impossible to believe that he had been clumsy enough to fall from a tree right in her path.
    Or had it been fate?
    The cage door creaked open, and without another word, Russell stepped inside. The other man—Drew—made no move to rush the door.
    “Shut yourself in and lock it,” Zakono said.
    A muscle in Russell’s jaw twitched, but he did as instructed. He threw back the keys, which sailed through the air. Her father’s reflexes weren’t quite equal to the task, and the ring landed with a loud clatter on the ramp. The second she felt his hold loosen, she twisted free of his grip and shoved herself back. Whirling on her father, she had a stray memory of the man who’d once bounced her on his knee and promised he would never let anything harm her.
    “Don’t give me that look, Talaitha,” he said. “I only did what was necessary.”
    “Yeah, Talaitha, don’t waste the energy.” The sound of her name on Russell’s lips echoed through her strangely. “He wouldn’t really have hurt you.”
    The look Zakono leveled on Russell made her wonder. “I would do a lot of things that may