Page 39 of The Cowboy's Wild Side

“That’s weird, they were right beside us. I’ll run back and see if I can spot them,” Karen exclaimed, abruptly turning and jogging back towards the main trail.

“No, stay here.”

“I’ll only be a minute.

“Karen!” he yelled, but she’d already disappeared down the path “That girl…” he muttered, but as the words left his lips, he heard the dogs barking. “Karen? Are you okay?”

“CADE! HELP!”

* * *

Determined to follow Cade and Karen into the hillside forest, Gino had taken his life in his hands. Leaving his vantage point and hurrying back down to the road, he’d stayed close to the bank and sprinted around the sharp bend.

If the deputy had glanced in his rear view mirror he would have seen the fleeing suspect. Even worse, the space between the edge of the road and the bank was narrow. Drivers taking the sharp turn wouldn’t have seen him until the last second.

But fate had been on his side.

Sneaking onto the property adjacent to Cade’s, Gino had climbed over the fence and raced past the back of the barn. Once again he’d lucked out. Passing a window he’d spotted the ranch hand emptying large bags of feed into big bins and had ducked out of sight in the nick of time.

When he’d reached the entrance to the trees he’d been out of breath and forced to stop. As he’d stared up the hill, a chill had shivered through his body. An eerie grey mist cloaked the trees, and the strange silence seemed filled with foreboding. He’d almost turned back, but the threat of Karen’s testimony pushing him out of his luxurious life and into a prison cell had propelled him forward.

Opening his coat and lifting his gun from its holster, he’d walked up the slope. He’d been on edge and moved quickly, twice tripping over leaf covered branches before finally deciding to stop and wait for Cade and Karen to come back down. But suddenly hearing odd noises off to his right, he’d nervously peered around to see Cade’s golden retrievers digging furiously. It was just seconds later he heard Cade calling for them.

Then out of the blue Karen appeared. The young woman who could, and would, destroy his life if she wasn’t stopped. But before he had a chance to grab her, she’d darted away screaming for Cade.

* * *

As Cade burst out from the narrow track the first thing he saw was Karen hiding behind a tree, then a second later Gino Stallone walking slowly forward holding a gun apparently looking for her.

Grabbing his rope as he broke into a canter, Cade sent it flying though the air. Gino saw it, but too late to stop thelariat from falling around his body. As Cade pulled it tight and pinned Gino’s arms to his side, the gun fell to the ground. Leaping off Moon, Cade shoved Gino to the ground and picked up the weapon.

“Move and you’re dead,” he growled as Jack and Diane ran up and began barking.

“Cade, thank G-God!” Karen shouted, stepping out from the tree.

“Are you okay, darlin’?”

“Uh-huh, but you’re crazy, he could’ve killed you.”

“Hittin’ a movin’ target isn’t easy,” he retorted, moving his free arm around her and hugging her tightly. “I need to tie him up properly and call the sheriff. Can you stay with Jack and Diane for me? I don’t need them rippin’ him to shreds.”

“Yes, yes, of c-course.”

As she stepped away and sat on the ground with the dogs, Cade rolled Gino onto his stomach and hog-tied him.

“You’d better stop or you’ll regret this,” Gino bellowed. “Be smart. I can pay you more money than you’ll see in a fucking year!”

“Keep talkin’ and I’ll take off my boots and stuff my socks in your mouth,” Cade warned, tightening the last knot.

“You’ll regret this! You don’t know who you’re messing with!”

“You can tell me how tough you are later. Right now I’m callin’ the sheriff to haul your sorry ass away,” Cade quipped as he pulled out his phone. “Hey, Sheriff, it’s Cade,” he declared as the sheriff answered. “I’ve just caught Gino Stallone. He followed Karen and me up Smoky Hill.”

“Damn! I’m only a few minutes away. I’ll be right there.”

“I’ll call Joe and ask him to roll out the ATV. It would be a hike to get up here.”

“That’s great, thanks, Cade. I’ll see you soon.”

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