Page 128 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love

She could see the crazy in his eyes when he smiled. “We can’t make it too easy, though. I’ll hang around. If he comes for you, I’ll shoot him.” He brought his finger to his lips and laughed. “So, you best stay quiet.”

She couldn’t stop shaking as he came closer. She was terrified when he reached out to touch her hair.

“I want you so bad, but I needed to hear you scream.”

She closed her eyes – he wasn’t going to rape her because he couldn’t afford for anyone to hear her scream?

Or maybe he was saying that he was going to – and she’d have to stay quiet? The way he ran his hand up the inside of her thigh made her want to throw up. This was it; he was going to … Then he ran both hands back down her leg until he was holding her foot – one hand gripped her toes, the other wrapped around her heel. He grinned. “Remember – stay quiet, Shay.”

She bit down on her bottom lip and waited. Whatever he was going to do, this was it. Just when she thought he was going to take her shoes off so that he could take her jeans down, he twisted her foot hard, making blackness swim before her eyes again. Her ankle and her knee both felt like they exploded.

“Don’t want to make it too easy for you to get out of here, do we?”

He got to his feet. “So, here’s the rules till I see you again. You stay quiet. If he comes for you and he finds you, I might still be here watching – ready to put a bullet in his brain. When youwant to shout for him, remember that you might be killing him.” He laughed. “Or I might be long gone – you just won’t know. But will you take the risk? If he doesn’t find you, who knows if you’ll make it through the night? Maybe I’ll come back in a day or two when they give up looking.” He licked his lips. “Then you’ll be able to scream for me.” He sighed. “If they find you and get you out, you keep one eye open at night, Shay. I’ll be coming for you – and you’ll never know when.”

All she could do was stare at him.

He leaned in close, and she tried to scramble away, but he cupped the back of her head and covered her mouth with his. His other hand slid between her legs, his fingers probing – she’d never felt so grateful for thick, denim jeans in her life.

He lifted his head and started to unfasten her zipper, but shouts rang out in the forest below them, and he scrambled to his feet.

“Next time, baby,” was all he said before he turned and disappeared into the trees.

Shayna stared at the place where he’d been standing – he was there one moment and gone the next. She gulped in big, gasping breaths of fresh air. He was gone! But how far? Had he waited just out of sight to see what she’d do? Would he come back and shoot her if she yelled?

She closed her eyes. Would he wait for Ty to come – and shoot him? She’d rather die than let anything happen to Ty. She closed her eyes and cradled her arm as tears streamed down her face. She needed to think, but her arm hurt so badly she couldn’t. She knew it had to be broken. Her knee and her ankle throbbed, but she hoped they were only sprained. Either way, she didn’t knowhow she was going to be able to get to her feet, let alone find her way back to the trail.

She closed her eyes. Getting back to the trail would be her best hope – Ty might find her then, but she had no idea which direction the trail was in. And even if she could find it … She wiped the tears from her face with her good arm. She couldn’t go back to the trail – Carey might follow her and wait until Ty came …

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ty took the mug that Cash handed him and took a gulp of coffee before handing it back.

“You need to come down for a while, Ty.”

“Not happening.”

“For fuck’s sake, squirt. I’m not saying we call off the search, I’m saying you need to take a break. You’ve been running around up here for over twelve hours. The guys have sectioned out the whole area. They’re all up there – searching by quadrants.”

Ty shook his head. “You know damn well I’m not leaving till we find her.”

Cash closed his eyes. “I do. Here.” He handed Ty the mug again.

Ty took another swig before handing it back. “I fucked up, Cash.”

“Nope. Don’t go there, Ty. It doesn’t matter how we got here, all that matters is finding her and bringing her home.”

Ty met his gaze and held it. The way he said it made Ty think of the way they talked about bringing fallen teammates home. “You don’t think …?” He couldn’t make himself ask the question.

Cash shook his head. “She’s going to make it. I know it. Don’t doubt it.”

“I don’t. I can’t. If I let myself think that … that she …”

“So don’t think it.” Cash held his hand up when his radio crackled, and Ty held his breath.

“We made it clear to the tree line,” Travis reported. “Nothing but bare mountainside from here on up. We’re going to head back down.”

“Roger that.”

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