Page 44 of Protected Hearts

As he began to talk, telling her about how they’d spent the past year breeding some of the better-quality stock to sell, she realized how much she needed the distraction from her own problems.

Sharing her whole story with Oaks hadn’t been easy. She did trust him, but she hated how stupid she’d been, how naïve when it came to her relationship with William. It always left her burning with embarrassment on the inside. It had taken every minute of those six months she spent in hiding to begin restoring her self-esteem from the blows it took.

It hadn’t been easy trying to convey the guilt her parents made her feel over dating a man with money. Then the money turned out to be just as evil as her parents claimed it was.

But looking around at the Malone family, at the well-kept ranch and the private jet fueled up and waiting on the runway at their beck and call, she saw this family had money too. A lot of money.

Both William and Oaks had wealth. They both took her to fancy places. The difference was, William wanted to be in the spotlight at all times.

Oaks had her in the kitchen, in a safe, controlled environment.

William used his money for destruction and pain, while Oaks used his to help others and for pleasure and peace of mind.

The differences struck her hard, and she realized that Colt quit talking.

She pointed at the bend. “What’s up ahead?”

“A great view. Wanna go see?”

“Absolutely.” They continued along at their slow but steady pace. They’d been riding for quite a while and must be a nice little distance from the ranch by now.

The trees grew more sparsely on this stretch of the trail, giving a larger glimpse of the sky.

All of a sudden, Colt reached over and grabbed her reins. “What in the world?” she burst out as he directed them under some trees and yanked the reins to make her horse stop next to his.

“Colt?”

He slipped off his horse. When he reached around and pulled a gun from the waist of his jeans, her mouth dried out.

“Uh…I didn’t mean to offend you with all the questions. We can go back to the house, Colt.”

“Shh!” He had his head tipped back, staring at the opening in the trees. The low whine of some giant insect filled the air, growing louder with each throb of her heart.

She spotted the small black craft hovering in the air. “A—”

Her exclamation was cut off by Colt firing a shot at the object. The explosion echoed, making her horse shy to the side. It bumped into Colt’s mount, and it let out a loud snort.

Colt ran up to the drone he just shot down. Carefully, he collected the object in his gloved hands.

Shiloh’s chest burned with fear. “Whose drone is that?”

“I don’t know.” He carried it in front of him. The parts were destroyed and flopped in his hands. “Can you canter on this horse so we can get back quicker?”

She didn’t bring up the fact that he told her Dusty couldn’t do more than plod along and nodded in answer. “I can try.”

Her pulse pounded in her ears, and her hands shook on the reins. Someone had flown that drone over the Black Heart Ranch, but why? What—or who—were they looking for?

Deep down, she knew the answer to the question she was too afraid to ask. More than anything, she wanted to get back to Oaks. To the safety of his arms.

He would know what to do.

* * * * *

A sharp snapping noise made Oaks jerk in his seat. He lifted his gaze from the information he and Carson had uncovered to his brother. “Do you hear that?”

His brother slowly swung his head to pierce him in his stare. “Gunshot.”

“And horses. Coming fast.”

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