Page 26 of The Wrangler

KEELY

Keely had started to believe, for a few fleeting moments, that they might have bought themselves some breathing room. It had been almost a week since Jesse had dragged her out to the middle of nowhere, and despite her frustration at being caged, she couldn’t deny that the isolation brought a strange kind of calm.

No phone calls. No emails. No looking over her shoulder, reminding her she had a price on her head. It was the first time she’d felt remotely safe since she’d found those diamonds.

Then something ripped it away in the space of a few moments. It started with the sight of dust coming up the long drive, heading straight for them. Keely had been in the kitchen, stirring sugar into her coffee, looking out the window when she saw them—not Jesse’s truck. Not someone who belonged here. No one belonged here but her and Jesse.

She moved from the kitchen window to the front, setting the mug down, careful to stay out of sight. Dust kicked up as three SUVs rolled down the driveway—too fast, too controlled. The lead vehicle slowed first, stopping about fifty yards from the house. Then the doors opened.

Her pulse spiked. They’d been found. Jesse was outside, near the barn, running through drills on a makeshift target range, armed only with a paintball gun.

Keely didn’t think—she moved. She grabbed Jesse’s Glock from the kitchen counter, the one he never left far from reach, and sprinted for the door. She didn’t get two steps before gunfire erupted. The first bullet shattered the kitchen window, glass spraying the floor behind her. Keely ducked low, clutching the gun as she forced herself to breathe, to think.

Jesse. She needed to get to Jesse.

Her heart pounded as she slid toward the back of the house, dropping to her knees and crawling. She couldn’t afford to be seen. More gunfire ripped through the air, the deep, brutal sound of automatic weapons cutting through the quiet Texas morning.

Then—Jesse’s voice.

“Keely! Stay down!”

She didn’t listen. Not when he was out there alone. She reached the back door and eased it open just enough to see Jesse crouched behind the small outbuilding where he kept the ATV and other essential equipment. He’d exchanged his paintball gun for a rifle and his expression was deadly.

He looked up, catching sight of her, his entire body tightening. “Get back inside!”

Keely ignored him, her grip on the pistol firm. “Not a chance.”

“Goddamn it...”

Another round of bullets cut off his curse. Jesse swung out from behind the small building, firing three precise shots, dropping two of the men before they could make it to the house.

Keely moved, sprinting low across the back porch, heading straight for Jesse. She slid in behind him, breathing hard, her fingers wrapped too tightly around the pistol.

Jesse grabbed her by the waist, yanking her flush against him. “I told you to stay inside.”

Keely’s breath caught, but she fought past the heat curling low in her belly. Not the time.

“You seem to have forgotten. I don’t take orders well,” she said, forcing a calm she didn’t feel.

Jesse’s jaw clenched, but before he could say something infuriating, another round of gunfire split the silence, hitting the building and the dirt beside it.

He pushed her down behind him, moving to a new vantage point. “You see how many?”

Keely peeked over his shoulder, her hands shockingly steady. “Five. Maybe six. Moving toward the porch.”

Jesse muttered something low and deadly, then adjusted his grip on his rifle. “Keep your head down. Only shoot if you have to.”

Keely bristled. “I’m not a damn damsel in distress, Jesse.”

His eyes burned as they flicked to hers. “Then don’t get yourself killed.”

Keely swallowed hard. They fought side by side, moving in perfect, unspoken sync, like they’d done this a hundred times before. Maybe all that time they’d spent having sex in the past few days had been good for more than just making her feel good.

Jesse took out another man as he tried to flank the barn, his rifle kicking back against his shoulder.

Keely spotted movement from the corner of her eye—another figure darting toward them, gun raised. She didn’t hesitate. She fired, the pistol jerking in her grip as the man collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

Jesse glanced at her, his gaze flicking to the body, then back to her face. Approval. Pride. Something else. But before he could say anything, the last two shooters appeared.

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