Dawson's Stand (Welcome to Covendale Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

for making sure she got home safely. And that was where it ended.
    As they neared the bar, he noticed Kyla wasn’t there anymore—and only belatedly realized he’d been looking for her. He wished he’d been able to talk to her longer. Something about her had drawn him instantly, and it wasn’t the usual new-date-potential feeling. This was something he’d never felt before.
    Then he spotted her rounding the corner of the back hall toward the bathroom, weaving on her feet a little. He had to actively fight the urge to go after her and see if she needed help.
    Instead, he sighed and followed Jenny out the back door. He’d gotten himself into this, and now he had to get himself out. Maybe he could try to find Kyla later. He didn’t even know her last name, but there definitely weren’t any other girls named Kyla in Covendale. Someone had to know where she lived, or worked, or something.
    The first thing he noticed out in the lot was the big black pickup parked next to Jonah’s car. Every other person around here drove a truck, but he knew this one. The chrome rock rails, the bull bar on the front—it was Dean Wesley’s. And the son of a bitch definitely hadn’t been in the bar.
    Suddenly he wondered just who Jenny had texted before they came out here.
    Before he could find out, the deputy strolled out from behind the truck. With three of his friends in tow. Gage recognized two of them—Bobby and Vince, the thick-necked dim bulbs who ran the scrap yard. He didn’t know the last guy, who was an even bigger meathead than the rest.
    “Dawson.” Dean stopped in front of the car, grinning. “Let me guess. This is your brother’s car.”
    “Actually, it is. Deputy Dean.” It wasn’t easy to hold himself back. He had a pretty good idea what Dean was planning, and the fact that he’d brought three friends to do it really pissed him off. One on one, the deputy didn’t have a chance unless he was hiding behind his badge. “But hey, if you don’t want to take my word for it, feel free to check with Jonah.”
    Panic flickered in Dean’s eyes for an instant, and he actually looked around the lot, as if he expected the eldest Dawson to jump out and break something valuable. Like his neck. But the worry eased into smug satisfaction, and he took a few steps closer. “Don’t worry, Dawson,” he said. “I’m not on duty tonight, so I can’t bust you for being a lowlife scum. Even if you deserve it.”
    “Mind telling me what you want then, Dean?” he said through clenched teeth.
    “Oh, this is personal,” the deputy said. “How about you tell me what you’re doing here with my girlfriend?”
    “She dumped you.”
    “Did she? That’s funny…she never told me that.”
    A muffled giggle sounded to his right. Gage whipped around to glare at Jenny, who shrugged slightly and smirked. “I knew you wouldn’t say no if I asked you out,” she said. “You’ve always been so damned full of yourself. We just wanted to make sure you couldn’t hide behind your brothers.”
    His jaw twitched. “And you wanted to get me high, so I couldn’t react when they jumped me,” he said. “Was that part of the plan, too?”
    “Would’ve been a nice bonus,” Dean said. “But we’ll just work without it.”
    Gage shook his head. “You’re pathetic,” he said. “You know you can’t beat me alone. So what, you think winning four-to-one makes you better?” He sneered. “It makes you a bully, and a coward.”
    “Look who’s talking.” Dean glanced at Jenny and jerked his head, and she scuttled off toward the truck and safety. “If you weren’t a Dawson, you’d be nothing. All you have is your brothers’ reputation. And those two? They’re the walk.” His lips curled into a cruel smile. “You’re just the talk.”
    Gage ignored the jab and took a mental step back to assess the situation. Bobby and Vince had him flanked, and the fourth was past them and coming up at his back. At this point it didn’t matter