She doesn't respond. Just looks at the man on the ground, then back at me. I can see the war in her eyes—the deputy who wants to follow protocol and the woman who knows protocol won't stop Turner.
"We need to move them along," Mason says, breaking the tension.
Harper nods slowly. "I'll call it in."
"No," I say.
She turns to me, her jaw tight. "Luke, this is a crime scene. Three shooters, attempted murder?—"
"And if you call it in, your father shows up. These guys lawyer up, courtesy of Turner, and by tomorrow, they're out on bail and disappearing." I step closer, my voice low. "You know I'm right."
Her hands clench into fists. "So what do you want me to do? Just let you handle it?"
"Yes."
She shakes her head. "That's not how this works."
"It is now." I hold her gaze, unflinching. "Turner just escalated. He sent three men to terrorize Emma in her own home. You think the law's going to stop him?"
"The law is all we have.”
I hear the uncertainty in her voice and want to hold her close and tell her everything will be okay, but now’s not the time. The Circle H ranch hands probably called this in. "No, sunshine. The law is what failed. We're what's left."
She stares at me, her chest rising and falling, her gray eyes stormy and conflicted. Finally, she looks away.
It's not agreement, but it's not refusal either. Right now, that's enough.
Exhaling, I turn to Mason. "Let’s get them to Blackthorn. We’ll wrap them up into a gift package for Hendricks.”
58
HARPER
Igo back to the foreman’s house alone, leaving Luke and Mason to handle the three shooters.
The entire walk back, my hands are shaking—not from fear but from rage. It keeps running through my mind: three men, three rifles, coordinated positions.
This wasn't a warning. This was an execution attempt, and Cole Turner ordered it.
As I approach the bunkhouse, with the foreman’s house just beyond, I see my dad’s patrol car parked in front, another deputy’s SUV next to him.
My stomach drops. One of the ranch hands must have called it in.
Squaring my shoulders, I follow the sound of voices, around to the front of the barn.
Sure enough, my dad is there. Emma’s foreman, Jim, is talking to him. Emma stands to the side with Jake's arm around her, her face pale, her hand pressed protectively over her stomach.
She could have died. The baby could have died.
And in that moment, I know what I’m doing.
I'm choosing.
Between the law that protects men like Turner and the justice that stops them. Between my father's compromises and Luke's ruthless clarity. Between the badge I've worn for years and the men I've found at Blackthorn who do whatever it takes to right wrongs.
By the time I join the party, my decision is made. I just don't know if I can live with it yet.
I glare at my dad as I stop next to Emma. “Nice of you guys to join us.”