to be," she said contemptuously. "I had somebody on the inside."
"And they tampered with my equipment," Jacie said, realizing Sloan had been right.
The woman she had considered a friend gave her a cold smile.
"Even if you kill me, you won’t get the money," Jacie said.
"Don’t you worry, I’ve always had a talent for signatures. Did you know you'd made a Last Will and Testament leaving everything to your best friend?" She laughed. "It’s going to show up fully executed in your belongings." Bonnie looked contemptuously at Brad. "We’re a lot alike. You wanted the money too, but when they find you two dead, they’re going to think there was a struggle and you tried to kill Jacie. If they ever figure out it wasn’t him, I’ll be long gone and a bit richer." She pointed the gun directly at Jacie. "Back up toward the ledge."
Jacie's stomach heaved with fright, but she didn’t move.
"Do it," Bonnie snarled.
"No!" Brad said, lunging toward her.
The gun discharging rent the air, echoing around them. Bonnie and Brad struggled for the weapon, stumbling back toward the ledge. Another shot sounded.
Jacie heard Brad’s grunt of pain. She ran to him as he doubled over and fell on the ground.
"Back away." Bonnie pointed the gun at her.
Jacie knelt beside Brad. Blood poured from his thigh. Turning her head, she saw the horses held their heads high in the air, startled and quivering. A low rumbling began, like thunder in the distance. A heightened sense of danger knifed through her. "It's the herd." She could see a rising cloud of dust just beyond a small knoll.
"Shut up."
"They're stampeding," Jacie insisted. "We have to get away from the ledge. We have to run toward the trees!"
Bonnie looked back at the approaching herd. Alarm finally registered on her face.
Jacie tried to get Brad up, but in seconds, she knew it was useless. The cattle were running full bore toward them now, the width and breadth of the herd making it impossible for them to reach the trees and possible safety. They would be caught in the middle of the stampede.
Bonnie darted past them, running across the field.
She pulled Brad closer to the ledge as the first animal raced by. She was conscious of the sheer drop a mere three feet from where they were. She looked out across the herd but she couldn’t see Bonnie.
There was nowhere to go. The cattle edged closer, hooves pounding the earth. Dust rose chokingly.
At a certain moment, she knew death was imminent. There was nowhere to go but down, down over the ledge into the ravine.
With dread, she watched the cattle shift almost as one, pushing them further toward the edge.
Jacie helped Brad as he tried to rise. Almost in slow motion, he fell to his knees. She clawed at him as he lost his balance and slid part way off the ledge.
Landing brutally hard on her stomach, she managed to grab the back of Brad’s shirt. Spots jumped before her eyes as she hung onto him. Brad’s fingers clawed the dry earth, trying to grab onto something, anything.
"Hold―hold still, Brad―" Even as she gasped the words, she felt the shirt rip from her fingers. "Brad!"
He fell from sight.
Disbelieving, she closed her eyes. "Oh, my God!"
The ledge beneath her trembled, a portion of it crumbling away. When she realized she too was going to fall, she tried to scramble backwards. Shards of stone bit into her flesh as the ground gave away. She held on a moment, her arms on the sandy ledge. Her legs dangled as she attempted to find a foothold.
An awful emptiness filled her as time seemed to stand still. She felt herself falling.
Ω
Sloan looked into the office and found James inside. "Have you seen Jacie?" he asked.
Looking up from his paperwork, James looked at the clock on the wall. "She was in the barn this morning, about two hours ago. Renee said she and Carlton were going for a ride. I don't know if they're back yet."
"Jacie went for a ride?" Uneasily, Sloan thought it was odd. He hadn't been happy that Jacie was gone when he woke, but the note she’d left had made him smile and he knew he'd see her at some point that morning.
"I'll see if anyone knows their whereabouts." He looked at his watch, an unfamiliar twisting in his gut. He left the office and strode outside.
"Sloan! Sloan!" Michelle rode furiously across the parking lot. Her horse slowed and he grabbed the animal's reins. Looking into