Colorado Abduction - By Cassie Miles & Marie Ferrarella Page 0,65

nudge the snorting, frightened cattle out of the way.

Carolyn saw her way clear to La Rana. She ran. Dropped the backpack. It was done. She’d fulfilled her part of the bargain.

Leaning against the rocks, she checked her wristwatch. Less than half an hour had passed since she and Dylan had taken the call from the kidnapper. Very soon, her brother would see his wife again. The nightmare would be over.

“This way,” Lucas said.

Dodging a wild-eyed steer, she ran toward Lucas. He seemed to be helping her, forming a barrier between her and the other cattle. She was almost to the fence when she saw him turn in the saddle and glance over his shoulder toward La Rana.

“Look out,” he yelled. He wheeled his horse around. His rifle was in hand.

Gunfire exploded.

Lucas was slammed out of the saddle.

The herd began to move, shuffling nervously. The gunshot had spooked them.

Carolyn peered through the darkness at the rock formation. The kidnapper was there, hiding like a coward. She raised her gun, ready to shoot if she saw the slightest movement. Firing her weapon while she stood in the midst of the herd was suicide; they’d stampede. But she had to face the son of a bitch—to shoot him before he shot her. Adrenaline pumped through her veins.

He’d have to show himself when he stepped out from behind the rocks to grab the ransom.

Behind her, she heard Lucas moan. Help him? Or watch for the kidnapper? Damn it, she couldn’t let Lucas die. She lowered her gun and went toward the fallen man.

He was on his hands and knees beside his horse. He was bleeding heavily from a chest wound. “Save yourself.”

“You’re not dead yet.”

Using every bit of her strength, she helped him onto his horse. They were near the fence. Not far from the gate.

Looking back toward La Rana, she saw a dark shadow against the rocks. The kidnapper. Before she could get her gun ready to shoot, he raised his rifle and fired several shots into the air.

The cattle reacted. Swept up in the rush of heavy flanks and shoulders, she was carried away from the fence, engulfed in the surging mass. She could only hope that Lucas’s horse would make it to the gate. And that she would find her way clear.

Shouts filled the air. Peering over the backs of the cattle, she saw cowboys riding toward the field. She thought she recognized Burke’s voice. He’d come for her.

The cattle jolted against each other. Three hundred of them in this field. There wasn’t enough room for them to run full out, not unless they broke through the barbed wire. If they stampeded, she didn’t have a chance.

She stumbled but didn’t fall. Clinging to the side of a massive steer, she was carried forward by his momentum, almost losing her footing. Instead of escaping, she was pushed farther away from the barbed wire fence.

Desperately, she clung to the panicked steer. Another steer banged against her. If she didn’t get out of here, she’d be crushed, pounded into the earth by the animals that were her livelihood.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Paying no attention to the warnings from cowboys who knew better, Burke rode through the gate into the mass of cattle. Being trampled was one hell of a way to die. He had to reach Carolyn.

He saw her. She clung desperately to a giant steer. He nudged his horse forward, glad that his mount was more experienced than he was.

Carolyn darted toward him. With one arm, he reached down and lifted her off the ground. She was in his arms, safely cradled against him.

In seconds, he was at the gate.

Outside the barbed wire fence, Burke held her close. He was still astride his horse so it wasn’t the most comfortable position. But he didn’t care. His arms clamped around her.

“Burke, you can put me down.”

“Never.”

The other cowboys who rode with him to La Rana were busy, getting the herd inside the fence under control and rescuing the man who’d been shot.

He kissed Carolyn’s sweaty forehead. She didn’t exactly smell like a rose garden, but he was happy to be near her, grateful that she was safe.

She turned her face up to look at him. Smears of grime marred her pale cheeks and forehead. Her hat was gone. Her black hair tangled like a bird’s nest. She’d never been so beautiful.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “You told me not to leave the house without you.”

“It doesn’t matter who’s right and who’s wrong.” He was in no mood for