In the Rancher's Protection by Beth Cornelison

Author:Beth Cornelison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-03-26T17:35:14+00:00

Chapter 13

The next morning, a gasp woke Luke.

When Carrie screamed, his eyes flew open—just in time to see Joseph hovering above him...with a large rock raised above his head.

Instant adrenaline shot through Luke. He juked to the left, narrowly avoiding the blow.

Carrie scrambled backward, whimpering her fear. “Joseph, no!”

Her husband raised the large stone again, shifting toward Luke to take aim a second time.

Luke tried to roll farther out of harm’s way but came up against a stand of saplings and net of thorny weeds. As Joseph’s arm swung down, Luke shoved upward with one foot and planted his other boot in his attacker’s stomach. And pushed. Joseph tumbled back, dropping the rock.

Luke scrabbled to his feet, snatching up the hardwood limb he’d placed beside him before settling in last night. Bracing his legs in a partial crouch, he prepared to feint whichever direction he needed.

As Joseph recovered his balance, eyeing Luke, his lip curled in a sneer. His gazed darted briefly to Carrie as he growled, “Want to tell me now that there’s nothing going on between you and this cowboy?”

“There’s not!” Carrie insisted.

Joseph grunted. “Why should I believe you? And why shouldn’t I just kill him now? Kill both of you?”

“Because you’re not a murderer.” Carrie’s voice was remarkably calm, though Luke could hear the shaky undertones.

“I can make sure it looks like an accident. Way out here in the middle of nowhere...accidents happen all the time, I bet.” When Joseph took a step toward Carrie, Luke edged sideways to place himself between her and Joseph.

“Carrie, go,” Luke said quietly. He didn’t dare take his eyes off the threat her husband posed, but the lack of retreating footsteps, the continued sound of her panicked breathing behind him told him she’d ignored his advice. “Carrie, go! Run!”

Then Joseph lunged toward him, and his focus narrowed to his opponent. And the rock again clutched in his fist. And the possibility that Joseph could still produce the gun from under his clothing.

Luke answered every move Joseph made with a swipe of the branch, his goal being to keep Joseph at enough distance that he couldn’t smack him in the head with the large stone. After a few strikes from Luke’s branch, Joseph dropped the rock and used his free hand to clutch the thick stick and grapple for control of it.

Luke was sizing up how best to defend under these conditions when a figure moved from his peripheral view, behind Joseph.

Carrie. With her own rock. A smaller one than Joseph had wielded, but effective in its own way. She crashed it against her husband’s skull, and he dropped the branch to shield his head. Hunching his shoulders, Joseph turned toward the new attack, growling his rage.

“Damn it, Carrie! Run!” Luke shouted now. He gripped the branch with two hands, then whipped it over Joseph’s head and pressed it against his throat. While he restrained Joseph, Carrie fled.

Joseph clawed at the branch that choked him, finally managing to twist his head and body so that his airway wasn’t compressed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.