29. Beast
BEAST
The shadow stopped beneath Sadie's window.
Then another joined it.
Two men.
Exactly as expected.
The ranch remained silent.
Dark.
Peaceful.
The perfect target.
At least that's what they thought.
Beside me, Sadie had gone completely still.
Her breathing quickened.
Fear.
I hated hearing it.
Hated seeing it.
Hated knowing these idiots had put it there.
I lifted one finger.
Pointing toward the bed.
Now.
For once, she didn't argue.
Didn't debate.
Didn't tell me I was being overprotective.
She slid from the chair and moved exactly where I wanted her.
Good.
Outside, one of the men crouched beneath the window.
A gloved hand appeared.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Testing.
Trying to lift the screen.
The moron actually thought this was going to work.
My grip tightened.
The screen moved.
An inch.
Then another.
The second man whispered something.
Too quiet to hear.
Didn't matter.
I already knew who they were.
One was Gerald.
The other was about to make several poor life choices.
The screen came free.
The first man smiled.
I could see it through the glass.
That smile made my blood boil.
A hand reached for the window.
Slowly lifting it.
Three inches.
Four.
Five.
The opening widened.
The man started climbing inside.
I waited.
Waited.
Waited.
Then—
"Evening."
The man froze.
Halfway through the window.
One leg inside.
One leg outside.
His eyes lifted.
Met mine.
And every bit of color vanished from his face.
Gerald.
For one glorious second, he looked absolutely terrified.
Good.
The feeling was mutual.
Behind him, Darren immediately backed away from the house.
Smartest thing he'd done all night.
Unfortunately.
Not fast enough.
Floodlights exploded across the yard.
Blinding white light.
Every direction.
The entire ranch illuminated.
Voices erupted.
Movement everywhere.
Wolf stepped from behind the barn.
Trigger emerged from the shadows.
Saint appeared beside the horse trailer.
Deputies rose from hiding positions.
Weapons drawn.
Sheriff Cooper's voice thundered across the night.
"EAGLE RIVER SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT!"
Gerald looked around wildly.
Panic finally setting in.
The trap had snapped shut.
Hard.
And there was nowhere left to run.
Darren spun.
Trying to reach the fence.
Wolf tackled him before he made three steps.
The two men hit the ground hard.
Very hard.
Darren immediately regretted several life choices.
Inside the room, Gerald scrambled backward.
Trying to retreat through the window.
I grabbed the front of his shirt.
One-handed.
Lifted him completely off the frame.
And hauled him inside.
The man yelped.
Actually yelped.
Like a frightened little dog.
I enjoyed that more than I should have.
He crashed onto the floor.
Scrambling.
Crawling.
Trying to escape.
I stepped between him and Sadie.
Not that he was getting anywhere near her.
Not tonight.
Not ever again.
Gerald looked up.
His face pale.
Sweating.
Terrified.
"Beast—"
"No."
The word stopped him.
Cold.
Final.
He swallowed hard.
"I just wanted to talk to her."
Behind me, Sadie made a sound of disbelief.
I agreed.
The idiot had brought gloves.
Zip ties.
And duct tape.
The deputies were already collecting evidence outside.
Nobody was buying the conversation excuse.
Not even Gerald.
Sheriff Cooper entered the room.
Two deputies behind him.
The sheriff looked down at the items recovered from Darren.
Then at Gerald.
Then at me.
His expression darkened.
"What exactly were you planning?"
Gerald didn't answer.
Because there wasn't a good answer.
Not one.
The silence said everything.
Sadie stepped forward.
My body immediately reacted.
Positioning.
Protecting.
Instinct.
Always instinct.
Her hand touched my arm.
The contact stopped me.
Grounded me.
I looked down.
She wasn't looking at me.
She was looking at Gerald.
The fear was gone.
Completely gone.
What remained was anger.
The righteous kind.
The kind that came from weeks of being hunted.
Weeks of being threatened.
Weeks of looking over her shoulder.
"You sent the pictures."
Gerald stared at the floor.
"You sent the package."
Nothing.
"You killed that coyote."
Still nothing.
Sadie's voice hardened.
"You thought you could take me."
The room went silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Finally Gerald looked up.
And made the mistake that ended everything.
"I was trying to save you."
The sheriff actually laughed.
A harsh sound.
Wolf shook his head.
Trigger muttered something about idiots.
And Sadie?
Sadie looked disgusted.
"I don't need saving."
Gerald flinched.
The words hit harder than any punch.
"You never loved me."
Silence.
"You wanted to control me."
Another flinch.
"You don't get to decide who I belong to."
That one landed squarely.
The deputies stepped forward.
Handcuffs ready.
Gerald's eyes moved to me.
One final time.
Still angry.
Still jealous.
Still obsessed.
The idiot hadn't learned a thing.
The cuffs clicked around his wrists.
And just like that—
It was over.
Or at least the worst of it.
As the deputies led him from the room, Gerald twisted back toward Sadie.
"I love you!"
The entire room froze.
Sadie didn't.
Her voice never wavered.
"No."
Gerald stopped.
"You don't."
The deputies continued walking.
Taking him out of the house.
Out of the ranch.
Out of her life.
For good.
The bedroom fell quiet.
Everybody exhaled.
Wolf appeared in the doorway.
Grinning.
"Well."
Trigger joined him.
"That went nicely."
Saint nodded.
"Very professional."
The three Rangers looked entirely too pleased with themselves.
Sheriff Cooper rolled his eyes.
And for the first time in weeks...
Sadie smiled.
A real smile.
The kind I'd been missing.
The kind worth fighting for.
The kind worth protecting.
And looking at her...
I realized there wasn't a place on earth I wouldn't go to keep that smile safe.