Page 2 of Ranger Bravery

Instinctively, Piper lowered her weapon and caught the woman one second before she tumbled to the ground. The woman sagged as if every ounce of energy had been drained from her body. Judging by the amount of blood coating her dress, it’d been adrenaline and sheer strength of will that’d gotten her this far.

Piper lowered her to the ground. Her hands became slick with blood.

Had the woman been shot? Stabbed? Something horrible had happened.

“Who did this to you?” Piper asked, her gaze shooting to the trees.

Nothing stirred.

“I… I…” The woman shook violently. She was losing blood too quickly.

Piper ripped off her exercise shirt and pressed it against the worst of the wounds. “It’s going to be okay.” The words were spoken calmly, although anxiety pulsed through her veins. Whoever this woman was, she was gravely injured. With no way to call for EMS, the chances of her surviving this attack were growing slimmer by the second. Still, it wasn’t nothing. And Piper would do whatever she could to save the woman’s life. “Who did this to you?”

The woman moved her mouth, but no sound came out. Tears leaked from her eyes. Clear blue eyes. The color of a Texas summer sky. Piper knew she’d see them again. In nightmares. Haunting her.

“Tell me your name.”

Again, the woman’s mouth moved. Her breath was faint. Piper leaned closer to hear.

“Elena.”

“Hi, Elena.” Piper smiled at her, although inside she was crying. She pressed harder on the woman’s wound. Blood seeped from the others. She mentally cursed herself for not carrying a first aid kit in her backpack. Rookie mistake. She was only going for a five-mile run. Her house was close. If she didn’t return in the next twenty minutes, her sister and the kids would start looking for her.

Could Elena last twenty minutes? Piper didn’t think so. God, please guide my hands and my words.

“Elena, I’m Piper.” She removed one hand from Elena’s stomach to open her backpack. She’d tucked a towel inside to wipe Moxie’s paws before letting him back into her SUV after their run. Her fingers shoved aside her water bottle and dug for the bottom. “I’m going to get you out of here, okay?” Victoriously, she pulled the terry cloth from her bag and added it to the other wound. She took Elena’s hand and used it to apply pressure. “Hold this here.”

A twig snapped.

Piper’s head shot up. Fresh adrenaline spiked through her veins. She grabbed her weapon and held it out in front of her. Leaves rustled. Her heart rate increased as she used both hands to steady her gun. Someone was in the woods.

Elena’s attacker? Was he coming to finish the job?

He’d have to go through Piper first.

The hair on the back of her neck rose as she sensed a presence nearby. Her gaze scanned the forest, but the waning sunlight cast long shadows. He was there. She knew it but couldn’t see him. A monster hiding in the dark.

And he was close.

TWO

Texas Ranger Jackson Barker ducked under the crime scene tape. Temperatures had dropped with the sun, leaving the night air crisp. Stars blotted the sky surrounding a full moon. Under normal circumstances, he’d admire the view. But not tonight. The fifty-mile drive to Rock Fort had been spent preparing himself for the task ahead. Viewing a crime scene was part of the job, but coming face-to-face with his very first sweetheart… well, that wasn’t something a man did every day.

Jackson’s gaze scanned the crowd of deputies, finally landing on the sheriff near the perimeter. His long strides ate up the distance. “Derek.”

Sheriff Derek Martinez broke away from the deputy he was speaking to and intercepted Jackson. Forty, with dark hair graying at the temples, he’d started his career decades ago with the Rock Fort Sheriff’s Department. His laidback nature made it easy to trust him, but underneath that good-old-boy nature was a sharp intellect. Jackson had known him for decades, since he was a young boy. Derek had been a mentor in high school and had inspired Jackson’s own career in law enforcement.

“Jackson.” Derek greeted him with a warm smile. “Thanks for coming so quickly. I know you’re working overtime since Cole is still on medical leave.”

Cole Donnelly was another member of Company A. Normally Rock Fort was his jurisdiction, but he’d been shot in the shoulder several weeks ago while protecting his now-fiancée, Olivia. The criminals involved had been caught, and Olivia was safe, but it would take months for Cole to fully recover. Jackson was filling in for him.

“I’m happy to help snag a criminal off the streets.” Jackson shook Derek’s outstretched hand. “It’s good to see you.”

They hadn’t seen each other or spoken in over a year. An oversight on Jackson’s part. He was terrible at returning phone calls when knee deep in a case, and lately, it seemed he was always working.

Derek jerked his head. “Shall we?”

Jackson nodded and followed his former mentor. A line of crime scene tape crossed the path. He gave his name and displayed the ranger badge pinned to his shirt before slipping underneath the bright yellow barrier.

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