CHAPTER THIRTY
“I love you, too.” Boone was sure he’d died in that cave, so when he’d opened his eyes in the hospital and saw Luna smiling down at him, it was like he’d been given a second chance at life.
He knew immediately he wanted to spend that life cherishing her and doing his best to make her happy.
Ten days after he got home from the hospital, he’d convinced her he felt well enough to make love.
Longest ten days of his life, by the way.
She’d fretted and worried, but eventually, she’d given in.
His ribs had screamed, and he’d had to be careful with his cast, but they’d made it work.
And being inside her, hearing her moan his name, had been life-affirming.
She’d taken such amazing care of him the past several weeks. And watching her bust her ass caring for his animals, too, made him love her even more. If that was even possible.
He was happy that, today, she was finally going to do something for herself.
“You coming or what?” Eddie called out from the main area of the training facility.
Boone, Eddie, Calliope, and Lucas were going to run the obstacle course.
“I’d better go,” he said. “Eddie’s crying and needs my help on the o-course.”
The two of them headed outside.
“He’s full of bullshit, Luna!” his friend yelled. “I don’t need his help!”
“Okay, I’ll let you go—” She giggled, and Boone was just about to hang up when—
“You’re …. you’re alive.” Luna’s voice sounded … off.
“No thanks to your fucking boyfriend.” What the fuck? “Damn, Rancher’s got good taste.”
Udall was in his house—with Luna.
There was a rustling sound, then beep beep beep, the call ended.
Boone turned and started running back to the building.
Calliope yelled, “Where the hell are you going?”
“Udall’s at the ranch with Luna!” He ran to his locker, swung the door open and grabbed his key fob and weapon.
Eddie followed him into the locker room, trailed closely by Calliope and Lucas.
“Eddie, you’re with me.” Boone pointed at him.
Eddie nodded and grabbed his phone, Glock, and an extra magazine from his locker and slammed the door shut.
“Let me grab my rifle.” Calliope dashed out of the locker room and headed straight to the female locker room.
“Lucas, you and Calliope take your truck.” Boone didn’t wait for them. “I’ll call you on the way there.”
“You got it.” Lucas grabbed his keys and his phone from his locker and headed off to meet Calliope.
Boone and Eddie took off for the parking lot. He pressed the fob to unlock the doors, they jumped inside, and he pressed the button to fire up the engine. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, gravel kicked up, and the back end of the truck fishtailed as he tore out of the lot.
He was waiting for the main gate to roll aside when Lucas and Calliope pulled up behind him.
“Come on, come on.” The second the gate was open enough to fit his truck through, he sped around it and headed toward home. At this speed, he should be there in about twenty minutes.
Hold on, Luna, I’m coming.
Once they were on the road leading to his place, Boone tapped a button on his steering wheel to call Lucas.
“Lucas, I—”
There was a beep indicating an incoming call, and Luna’s beautiful face appeared on the large dash display.
“Luna’s calling.” He hung up, looked at Eddie, and took the call.
“Hey, pookie, what’s up?” Boone never called her that, so he hoped it would tip her off that he knew Udall was there and likely listening to their conversation.
“Are you calling to make sure I don’t forget my doctor’s appointment?
I’m already on my way to his office and should be there in about twenty minutes.
” This would explain why they could hear the rumble of his truck’s engine.
Hopefully, she’d figure out what he was really saying.
“I need you to come home.” The slight tremor in her voice was the only thing giving away her distress. “I’m … I’m having trouble with Sassy.”
“What’s that crazy horse doing now?” He wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but he played along.
Eddie gripped the handle above the door as Boone sped around a curve in the road.
“I put her out in the main pasture this morning, and she keeps trying to head up to the ridge.”
The horses didn’t go in the main pasture in the morning, and Sassy would never take off for the … Holy shit! She was trying to tell him something!
“She did it again?” Boone sighed. “I’ll call the doctor to reschedule, then I’ll head home right away. Are you sure you’re okay until then?”
“Yeah, I can handle it.” With each word, Luna sounded more confident.
“No, I don’t want you to risk getting hurt. Just relax, and I’ll deal with it.” Boone didn’t want her taking any chances. “I love you, pookie, and I’ll see you after I deal with the doctor.”
“I love you, too.”
The line went dead.
Dammit, why couldn’t his truck go any faster?
Boone’s concern for Luna and his anger toward Udall built with each mile closer he got to the ranch.
He clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “I swear, Eddie, if he hurts her—”
“She’s smart, Boone,” Eddie said. “You have to believe she’ll come through this in one piece.”
Yes, she was brilliant, but Udall was a desperate man, a ticking time bomb that could go off at any time. And Luna was in the blast zone.
He pressed Lucas’s number, and Calliope answered.
“Well?” she asked.
“Luna called to say she needs me to come home, and I’m sure Udall was listening.” He told them about their coded conversation. “I’m going through the front gate.” Boone sensed Calliope ramping up to argue with him. “He’s after me, Calliope, so I’m going to give him what he wants.”
“He’ll be fine, babe,” Lucas reassured her.
“Well, excuse me for caring.” Snark was Calliope’s go-to response.
Boone recognized it for what it was—a defense mechanism she used to protect herself.
“Remember that gate I showed y’all before? The one at the far side of the main pasture?” Boone turned onto the country road that led to his ranch.
“The one between those two big trees, right?” Calliope asked.
“Yeah, you guys can park there and access the property without being seen. There’s a combination lock on the gate.” He rattled off three numbers. “That dirt road just before my main drive is where you want to turn.”
Ahead of them, a tractor was pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with hay across the road.
There was a car in the other lane, so Boone couldn’t go around it.
He slowed to a stop and checked the time as the green tractor puttered into the other field.
He tapped his thumb against the steering wheel and checked the time again.
As soon as the tractor was clear, he jammed his foot on the gas, and they were pressed back against their seats.
They drove for another ten minutes, and he noticed an old car parked in some tall brush on the side of the road. He stopped, put the truck in reverse, and pulled off the road.
Eddie hopped out for a closer look. He tried opening the doors, but they were locked. He cupped his hands around his face to look in each of the windows, then hurried back to Boone’s window.
“The only thing in there is an old canvas seabag, like the kind you might get at an Army-Navy surplus store.” Eddie looked around. “I’ll hang here, just in case that asshole gets past you.”
He nodded, they knocked knuckles, and Eddie positioned himself behind a nearby tree.
Boone had no intention of letting Udall get away this time.
He pulled back onto the road, and a short time later, his white pasture fence came into view. He lowered his window, propped his elbow on the edge and turned onto his gravel driveway. He wanted to look casual and made no effort to hide his approach.
After all, Udall was expecting him.
He continued around to the back of the house, pulled up and parked next to Luna’s car. He shut off the engine, swung open the door, and slid from behind the wheel. He stood behind the door, using it as cover, and surveyed the area.
The screen door leading into the kitchen hung crooked, supported only by a single hinge, and the inside door was wide open. He turned to the barn and spotted a huge hole in the main door.
The birds were chirping and whistling like crazy in the trees. The engine clicked and popped as it cooled. He could even hear his neighbor’s cows mooing in the field across the street.
What he didn’t hear was Sassy and Patience. They knew the sound of Boone’s truck and would always neigh from their stalls to get his attention.
He went with his gut and ran toward the barn.
Chunks of wood were scattered on the ground, and he stepped into the barn. He was hit by the pungent stench of bear spray hanging in the air and saw the can on the floor nearby. The stall doors were wide open, and both horses were gone.
Daylight poured into the space from the wide back door, and he ran over to check it out.
High up on the ridge, he spotted the horses running toward the ridge. Luna was riding bareback on Sassy, and Patience was behind them.
She looked back over her shoulder, and a shot rang out.
Crack!
Luna flinched like she’d been hit, then leaned down closer to Sassy’s neck.
His eyes jerked toward the sound, and he spotted Udall. He had his rifle pressed to his shoulder and was aiming to take another shot.
Boone pulled his gun from the holster and started running toward him.
“U-DAALL!” he shouted as he closed the space between them.
The asshole glanced at him, the butt of his rifle still at his shoulder, smiled, then turned back to Luna and fired again.
Crack!
Boone raised his pistol, stalked across the field toward him, and fired off one shot.
Udall jerked, his rifle flew from his hands, and he crumpled to the grass. He rolled to his side and managed to wrestle a gun from the back of his waistband. He pushed up to one elbow, and his other arm shook as he struggled to raise his gun.
Boone continued forward and stopped with about twenty feet separating them.
“Sorry ’bout your girl, old buddy.” Udall’s smile was slow, and the spaces between his teeth were dark with blood, like a macabre jack-o’-lantern.
“You took … from me.” He wheezed and coughed. Blood sprayed from his mouth and spotted the front of his shirt. “So … I took … from you.” His arm started to fall. He grimaced, slowly lifted the weapon—
Boom!
Boone fired one shot that hit him center mass.
The hand holding the gun dropped. Eyes open, Udall tilted backward and ended up sprawled out on the grass.
Boone kept his gun pointed at Udall as he stepped forward. He leaned down and placed a finger to the side of his neck—no pulse.
Good.
He turned and ran back to his truck. He started it up and headed straight up the hill. Lucas and Calliope’s big gray truck sped across the pasture and followed him. The trucks couldn’t make it the entire way to the ridge, so Boone parked, jumped out, and started running.
When he reached the top, he didn’t see Luna or the horses.
He looked around and noticed some freshly broken branches and spotted blood in the dirt.
Patience whinnied.
“Shhh.” Luna whispered, “It’s okay, baby.”
Boone’s entire body relaxed, and he was able to breathe again. He ran through the trees, over some roots, and stopped when he spotted Patience and Sassy happily munching on tall grass near the willow tree.
He noticed a patch of blood on Patience, but she didn’t seem too bothered by it. It certainly wasn’t stopping her from eating the grass around her.
“Luna?” He wedged his arms between the heavy branches and lifted them away.
“Boone?” She was sitting on the far side of the tree and leaned sideways to see around the base. Her eyes lit up, and her smile chased away all the ugliness and illuminated his world. “I thought it was Udall.”
She made no effort to stand, and that’s when he spotted the blood on her leg.
“Shit!” He rushed over and knelt down next to her.
“I’m okay. The bullet just grazed my leg.” Luna ran her hands through his hair.
She was actually comforting him.
He ripped her pantleg away to get a better look at her injury.
There was a gouge in her skin about two inches long and about a half inch deep that oozed blood. He tore off a strip of denim, and she winced when he wrapped it tightly around her leg.
“Jesus, Luna. I thought you were—” He couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Boone held her face in his hands and kissed her.
“Luna! Boone!” Calliope called their names, and he could hear the sound of twigs snapping beneath their boots.
They broke their kiss, and Boone smoothed her hair back from her face.
“We’re here, beneath the willow tree,” he called out.
“Oh, man.” Luna stuck out her bottom lip. “Now they know about your special spot.”
“It’s even more special now because it hid you from danger.” He put one arm behind her back and carefully slid the other one beneath her thighs. “Hold on to me.”
“Always.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He stood, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
Lucas and Eddie held back the branches, and Boone held the woman he loved close to him—never wanting to let her go.