Zane turned suddenly. “Her mom died?”

Jen nodded. “She had cancer for a really long time. Callie took care of her. Callie takes care of everyone.”

Yes, he remembered that. She was very concerned with the comfort and well-being of those around her. Even during their crazy weekend, when she should have been content to let them treat her like a princess, she had taken care of them. She had rubbed his scalp when he got a headache and cuddled against Nate after he’d gotten off the phone with his dad. She hadn’t asked questions, just been there. He bet everyone took advantage of her nature.

“So, you slept with my friend and then dumped her?”

Maybe Jen wasn’t as wasted as he thought. “I didn’t dump her. I had a job to do.”

Jen’s lips pursed. “Must have been a great job to leave someone like Callie.”

It hadn’t been. It had been hell. He’d give anything to go back. He’d refuse to go and refuse to let Nate go. “You think Callie and the sheriff have something going on?”

“Well, I certainly do now, given the fact that they have some sort of super freaky past where she slept with both of you. Did she do you at the same time?”

“None of your business.” They hadn’t. He and Nate had decided she was too green to take her together. There hadn’t been time to prepare her. He’d dreamed about it, though. Apparently Nate didn’t have the same thoughts. He was planning a sweet little vanilla life with the girl of their dreams. Screw that. He wasn’t giving her up. He jumped off his barstool. “And you can tell that town that she’s taken.”

“She is?”

He nodded. She would be once he was done.

* * *

Callie tried to focus on the jukebox menu, but all she could see was Zane’s beautiful face. He had a few scars. Anyone could see that, but she wasn’t stupid. He was still a gorgeous giant of a man. His hair was longer than she remembered. It was pitch black and curled at the ends. His face was so masculine it was as though someone had carved it. His jaw line was perfectly square, and he had a sharp blade for a nose. His eyes were a deep green and intelligence still sparked out of them.

That was a lie. There wasn’t a lick of intelligence in him if he thought she was falling for that whole “I’m not good for you” crap. Like she hadn’t heard that before. Next he would want to be her friend because he didn’t like her that way. Story of her life.

She was not going to cry. Nope. No crying allowed in the tough biker bar. If she thought it would be hard living in the same town with Nate, how bad would it be with Zane here, too? It would happen all over again, watching two men she cared about search for what they wanted when what they wanted wasn’t her.

Tears made the jukebox menu a watery mess. What had she expected? They’d had a couple of nights together years ago. It meant the world to her, but they had probably had so many women, she was lucky they remembered her face. She couldn’t be mad at them. It was the way the world worked. Women like her didn’t get guys like Nate and Zane.

“Hey, pretty lady, you with that rough rider back there?”

Callie looked up into a very rugged face. There were two of them, bikers both, or so their leather vests proclaimed. They appeared to belong to some form of horde that claimed Colorado as their home. The men had no right to call Zane rough. They were far rougher than Zane.

“No, I’m not. Please excuse me.” She wasn’t with him, and now she wondered what the hell she was doing. Was she trying to punish Nate? Jen had been right. This was stupid. She pulled out her cell and dialed Stef’s number. He picked up immediately.

“Callie?” He sounded harried, and she could hear movement, like he was in a car.

“Is that her?”

Was Nate with him? “Yes, it’s me. I’m sorry to bother you, Stef, but Jen and I need a ride. We’ve had a bit to drink, and I don’t feel safe with either of us getting behind the wheel.” She was feeling a little woozy.

“Give me that phone.” She heard a little tussle, and then Nate’s voice was the dominant one. “You stay right where you are, Callie Sheppard. Do you understand me? What the hell were you thinking?”

Callie moved the phone away from her ear. He was yelling really loud. “Sheriff, stop yelling. The signal is fine. I can hear you. I just need Stef to come get me.”

“I’m coming to get you. How dare you walk into that bar? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea the kind of men who run around that bar?”

“Zane, apparently.”

“Yeah, who do you think called me, baby? Now you go to the bar and sit your pretty ass down, and don’t you move. Don’t you leave Zane’s side. I will be there in ten minutes, and then we’re going to have a talk. I have an awful lot to say to you.”

That didn’t sound promising. “Maybe I don’t have anything to say to you, Sheriff.”

“Good, then you can listen. Do not disobey me, Callie. I have a headache and a half because you left me with Mel. I took that damn tonic of his because I’m the idiot who’s trying to fit into this weird town to please you.”

When had that started? She sighed sympathetically. “Yeah, you really shouldn’t drink anything Mel gives you. He tends to put rotgut whiskey in all his tonics.”

“And that’s illegal.” Righteous Nate was back with a vengeance.

It was time for a little more advice. “Nate, how do expect to be sheriff in this town if all you care about is what is or isn’t illegal?”

He sputtered. “Just stay where you are. What got in your head to go to someplace called Hell on Wheels, I have no idea…”

In the background she heard a third voice. It seemed like Nate thought he needed to bring the cavalry. “Uh, Sheriff, I don’t think I’m allowed to go to that bar.”

She heard Nate huff at Logan Green. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you a deputy, son, or not?”

“Oh, no.” He was bringing along Logan? That was a bad idea. Marie was going to have his hide. “You can’t bring Logan here.”

“My moms will get really upset,” Logan explained.

Then there was a whole lot of cursing, but the phone fell out of her hand when she was twirled around bodily. She gasped as the biker from before was squeezing her wrist. He was short but stout as a bull, and from the way his fingers tightened around her wrist, he was as strong as one, too.

“If he don’t claim you, then we will, right, Bone?”

The gentleman named Bone nodded his assent. He was slightly taller than his compatriot but didn’t have his thick build. “Damn straight, Len. This one is real pretty. Nice tits.”

Maybe Jen had been right. She should have just gone down to the gas station and tried hitting on tourists. Callie attempted to pull her wrist out of Len’s grasp. “I really need to go.”

She would just go wait outside for Stef. If the sheriff walked in here, all hell would break loose and someone would get hurt, possibly him.

“You heard the lady.”

Callie looked up, and Zane was a hulking presence behind the two men. Bone and Len were big, nasty-looking men, but Zane made them look like little boys in comparison. He had gotten rid of his jacket, and his big biceps were on full display. Callie could plainly see he’d added some ink to his body. His jaw was set, and his eyes were cold. She had a sudden desire to put her arms around him and soothe that look off his face. After he’d taken care of the men who were attempting to assault her, of course.

“Take your hands off her right this second, or I’ll break them.”

Jen was suddenly behind her. She slipped her arms around Callie’s waist, anchoring her.

“I won’t let them take you,” Jen promised.

Len simply dragged Jen along, too. “Get your own fuck for the night, asshole. This one is ours.”

Jen held on, and Callie was being tugged in two directions, then she was on her ass on top of Jen looking up from the floor. Zane had Len dangling in the air, his big hands wrapped around his throat.

“I warned you.”

Bone took the opportunity to attack, but Zane simply used his free hand to punch him squarely in the face. There was a satisfying crunch, and Bone slumped to the floor.

“I’ll deal with your friend later. Now, I think you owe my lady an apology.” The words came from between Zane’s gritted teeth, each one an order. Callie wished she could be enough of a pacifist to be alarmed by Zane’s propensity for violence. Her panties differed with her political beliefs. They were completely wet looking at that giant of a man defending her honor. And his possessive use of the word “my” was another thing she would argue with if she could stop drooling over the way his jeans molded to every muscle in his legs.

“I’m very sorry, lady.”

He didn’t sound sorry. He sounded pissed. The room was filled with smoke and loud music, and potential violence throbbed through the air. Callie looked around. No one was dancing or drinking anymore. Every eye in the place was on Zane and the man he dangled in the air. Callie felt her mouth go dry. No one in the place looked like they were about to step up and help Zane out. They were looking at him like a group of hungry lions. Even Zane seemed to feel the tension filling the room. He set Len down and reached for something at his waist. When his hand only met his belt, Callie could see his eyes tighten. According to Nate, Zane had been a cop, an agent with the DEA. He was looking for his gun out of habit, but it wasn’t there anymore.

His eyes never stopped moving as he spoke. He looked around the room. “Babe, I recognize some of these people. When Nate gets here, I want you to run to him. He’ll protect you. For now, damn it, babe, just run.”