Page 1 of Ranger Bravery

ONE

A scream rent the air.

Piper Jensen skidded to a stop on the running path cutting through the nature preserve. Thick tree branches overhead blocked out most of the lingering sunlight as day gave way to dusk. Long shadows lurked in the woods. The creek bubbled, tumbling over rocks as it rushed toward the lake, its banks full after the thunderstorms from the last few days. She sucked in a breath. The air was fragrant with pine and damp earth. She scanned the immediate area. Nothing.

Had she imagined the scream? Maybe it was the cry of a wild animal. This area of Texas had cougars.

Beside her, Moxie lifted his ears. The golden lab was a terrible guard dog but had excellent hearing. His nose twitched. Piper’s hand drifted to the concealed weapon in her backpack. Overly cautious? Perhaps. If it was an animal, chances were it would stay far away from her.

But what if it was a person? Someone in trouble?

Goosebumps rose on Piper’s skin. It’d been five months since she’d returned to Rock Fort. The small town tucked in the corner of the Texas Hill Country was known for its laid-back atmosphere, pioneer museum, gorgeous hiking trails, and stunning fields of spring bluebonnets. But she’d witnessed firsthand the darkness that lurked under the surface of that picture-perfect atmosphere. The summer before college, Piper had been assaulted and nearly killed while dropping off groceries to her mentally ill mother.

She was a strong woman, but the attack almost broke her. She’d scraped and clawed her way out of a dysfunctional childhood filled with instability and chaos. Against the odds, and despite the catty words of the town gossips, she graduated high school with top grades and was set to start college in the fall. Everything was finally going right. And then… it all came crashing down.

She could still remember the days after the attack. The quiet whispers behind her back, the stares when she walked through town. The PTSD. Piper jumped every time someone touched her. Her heart raced at every bump or loud noise. She couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t eat. Nothing made it better. Not even when her assailant was killed during a shootout with the police while resisting arrest.

Three weeks after being attacked, Piper blazed out of town in a rickety Ford, vowing never to return. The relief she felt seeing the town disappear in her rearview mirror was indescribable. For the first time, she could breathe. Could be who she wanted to be. Unfortunately, her need to escape came at a cost.

Jackson Barker. Her first love.

They’d attended high school together, but it wasn’t until the summer before college they fell in love. The romance between them was sweet and innocent and everything she’d dreamed of as a young girl hiding under the covers of her bed reading romance books while her mother screamed at the latest ingrate living in their home.

Breaking up with Jackson was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. Doing it in a note… well, it’d been cowardly. She hadn’t had the emotional wherewithal to face him and end things in person. Nor did she trust Jackson wouldn’t try to talk her out of it. He’d done everything possible to support and love her, especially after the attack, but Piper couldn’t see a way to make their relationship work. Not with her past, her stack of problems.

Jackson had always been far too good for her.

Water in the creek rushed over rocks and tumbled down the pathway cut through the woods. Piper held her breath, her gaze scanning the tree line, searching for any sign of danger. What had she heard? A scream? Or was it all in her imagination?

Had her PTSD returned? A shudder rippled over her skin. She hadn’t had an episode in years, but returning to Rock Fort had drudged up memories. Especially since it’d been an unexpected move. Her older sister, Ava, a single mother, had a car accident. She’d broken her pelvis and shattered her right knee. Piper had moved back home to help care for her niece and nephew while her sister recovered from her injuries.

Another scream ripped through the air. Closer this time. Unmistakably human.

Filled with terror.

Piper’s pulse beat out a steady rhythm while on her run, but now it skyrocketed. She pulled her handgun free of her backpack. The cool metal was familiar. Seven years in the Bismarck Police Department had honed her skills as an investigator, expertise she now used on a daily basis as a detective for the Rock Fort Sheriff’s Department. A breeze rustled the leaves and chilled the sweat gathered on her brow.

Moxie whimpered, his tail tucked between his legs. He glanced at Piper with concern.

She couldn’t take him with her. There was no way to know what she was walking into, and the dog was a liability. Moxie would pull on his leash and take her down or he’d alert a potential attacker to their location. She needed focus and both hands free. Piper quickly secured his leash to a tree and patted his head. “I’ll be right back, boy.”

She slipped off the running trail into the woods. The screams had originated up ahead. At least one person—possibly more—crashed through the brush. The ruckus carried on the sweet spring air. She knew these woods. Had spent hours playing in them as a child. There was a field several yards away. It sounded like the individual was coming from that direction.

Piper pulled her cell phone from her pocket. No signal. That wasn’t unusual for this area of the nature park, but it was incredibly frustrating. She had no way to call for backup. Piper shot off a message to her supervisor, Sheriff Derek Martinez. Sometimes a text would go through even if a call didn’t. It was a long shot though.

Fear clamped her stomach, but she ignored it. A childhood of trauma and a career in law enforcement had cemented her ability to separate her emotions from her actions. She pressed forward.

Piper’s tennis shoes made no sound against the still-damp leaves. A mosquito buzzed her ear. The sweat coating the back of her exercise shirt grew cold as wind fluttered the strands of her honey-blond hair. Her heart thumped against her chest and she kept her gun at the ready. The sound of the brook faded as she maneuvered deeper into the woods. The crashing noise grew louder. Someone was definitely running through the woods.

There. A flash of yellow against the green and brown backdrop. Piper raised her gun. “Police! Freeze!”

The figure paid her no heed. It barreled toward Piper, bursting out of the brush like a horror movie.

A woman. Blonde hair, wide eyes.

Blood stained the front of her torn dress.

“Help…” she gasped. Stumbled toward Piper on bare feet.

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