Guns & Dusty Roads: The Iron Brotherhood Series by Samantha Westlake Read Free Book Online

one of the beds in a small, unlocked room just off the main stairs, that Kara reflected on how there could be two different meanings to Cross’s last words. 
    Was he simply looking forward to seeing her gone?
    Or had that been a tacit admission that he had been checking out her ass?
    The thought wasn’t entirely unpleasant.  But, closing her eyes and focusing, using the meditation techniques she often practiced, Kara cleared her mind of any ideas of something romantic between her and Cross. 
    This was all about the mission.  Until she’d succeeded, she couldn’t get distracted by anything - especially not thoughts of some man.
    CHAPTER 6
    A few hours later, the meeting of the Iron Brotherhood was starting in the big dining room on the first floor of the rambling house that they called their clubhouse - and Special Agent Kara Sybil was fuming, just outside the closed door.
    Apparently, as Cross had briefly told her, there were some sort of “rituals” that the Brotherhood had to perform at the opening of each meeting, and as an outsider, she couldn’t be present for them!  The very thought made Kara snort.  Grown men, probably repeating some sort of formal-sounding nonsense and pledges!  What a bunch of malarky!
    It never occurred to her that her oath to the FBI might be viewed in a similar light by the men inside the meeting.
    After several long, frustrating minutes of hearing nothing but muffled voices on the other side of the doors, there was the sound of approaching footsteps, and the door opened a crack.  An eye peered out at Kara, and then the crack widened to reveal Gimli’s bushy, bearded face.
    “Come on in, girl,” he whispered to her.  “Just say ‘I do’ at the pauses, and you’ll be fine.”
    ‘I do’?  Kara followed the short but broad man in through the door, and found herself standing on the edge of a circle of men, each one seated in one of the dining chairs.  The lights were dimmed, and most of the men’s faces were hidden in shadow.
    Even in the shadowed room, however, it was impossible to miss Bear, up at the head of the oval.  The man looked massively oversized in his chair, and Kara wouldn’t be surprised if the wooden frame was groaning under his weight.  Bear’s eyes were up and on her, and they did not look happy.
    “Is the outsider who comes here trustworthy and honorable?” Bear called out, his words echoing around the room.
    “She is,” came a voice from Kara’s right.  Cross’s voice.  Kara didn’t turn to look at the man, but she felt a brief surge of appreciation for his presence.  Annoying or not, he was the only one here who could possibly be considered as on her side.
    “And does she swear to keep all our confidences, to respect our laws, and to follow our commands?” Bear continued.
    There was a brief pause, and Gimli tapped lightly at the back of Kara’s ankle.  “I do,” she called out.
    “Does she swear to defer to us, and to the law of the Iron Brotherhood?”
    “I do.”
    “Does she come here free of any injustice in the eyes of our members, with honesty in her supplication?”
    “I do.”
    “And does any member here have reason to speak against her, to cast her out from this meeting?”
    Kara held her breath as Bear’s burning gaze roamed around the room.  She estimated that there were roughly a dozen other men sitting in chairs arranged in the oval around the table at the center of the room, most of their faces hidden by the dim light.  She sensed that, if just one of the men spoke out against her, she would be forcibly ejected from the meeting (and back at square one for her investigation).
    However, none of the men spoke; they just stared back at her, standing towards the middle of the circle.  And finally, looking somewhat less than satisfied, Bear cleared his throat as he prepared to speak again.
    “Very well,” he announced sourly.  “Than this outsider may be a part of our meeting, and may speak to the