The Ranger by Carol Finch

Author:Carol Finch [Finch, Carol]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 9781460854112
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2006-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Eerie pinpoints of light flickered in the darkness as a pack of wolves stalked toward the dying coals of the campfire. Panthers, black as a moonless night, crept up in their wake. Forming the outer circle of imminent peril were the ruthless bandits that made it a policy never to leave eyewitnesses to testify against them.

Muffled thunder rolled like a forewarning of danger. Warning growls and piercing screams filled the air. Shiloh scrambled onto her hands and knees, desperate to locate the pistol she had dropped earlier. Terror clogged her throat, making it impossible for her to cry out in alarm, as dozens of ominous shadows and glowing eyes converged on the campsite, ready to gobble her alive.

When one of the prowling beasts launched itself at her, she clawed at it wildly. Her horrified scream finally broke from her throat when she saw the other fanged predators moving in for the kill. Another howl of terror burst from her lips as she tried to wrest free of the oppressive weight bearing down on her. Cold chills shot down her spine when she saw the man-eating beasts transform into the ghastly apparitions of men….

“Shiloh, damn it, wake up! It’s me. Hawk!”

She heard the deep voice rolling toward her, as if through a long winding tunnel. But her survival instincts kept her on full alert, prompting her to fight for her life.

“Open your eyes and look at me!”

She was afraid to, afraid the mystical phantom beasts that changed from men to monsters on a whim were trying to play a trick on her.

“Shi, can you hear me?”

When she was jerked upright abruptly and clamped tightly in unyielding arms, her eyes flew open. She glanced at the glowing coals of the campfire, bewildered and confused. There were no glowing eyes floating above the tall grass, no fanged beasts waiting to tear her to shreds, no armed gunmen lined up like a firing squad behind the lobos and panthers.

Her breath gushed out as she stared into Hawk’s concerned expression. “Dear God!” she said with a seesaw breath.

“That must have been one hell of a nightmare.” He stroked her back, easing the riveting tension that claimed her. “I thought I’d never get you to wake up. I probably have claw marks on my face and bruises on my belly where you pelted me.”

“I’m sorry.” She raked her hands through her tangled hair and dragged in a steadying breath. “It was—” she shuddered at the vivid images “—awful. I had nightmares as a child when my parents died in the fire, but this…” She breathed deeply and told herself to stop shaking. “This seemed so real. The wolf attack this evening, those legends about phantom lobos and panthers you mentioned and the threat of the outlaws wanting to silence me so I couldn’t identify them, all got tangled up with a bit too much whiskey,” she deduced.

Shiloh told herself to move away from the comforting circle of Hawk’s arms because he didn’t want her. But the aftereffects of the unnerving nightmare held her solidly in place and she shivered uncontrollably.

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