Page 67 of Lawless Ride

Sorrywasn’t going to cut it this time. She had probably already made arrangements to leave, and I’d be the last to know.

I laid there and rubbed the side of my leg for a few minutes and could feel the swelling coming up. Yep. I’d be limping for a while. When I could sit up, I leaned against the side of Outlaw’s stall and figured I’d gotten off lucky. Annie could’ve cracked me in the face with the shovel if she’d wanted to and I wouldn’t be getting up at all.

You know better than to underestimate her or push her too far.

Annie galloped on Outlaw like it was the most natural thing in the world for her. Harlan followed on Windrider enjoying the fresh air and the sheer freedom of the ride.

Still in shock from watching Annie cut Travis down with a shovel blade, he hoped he wasn’t hurt too bad. But to Harlan’s way of thinking, Travis was in the wrong on this one. Annie said something Travis didn’t like, and he was pissed at her. Annie was pissed right back and like Travis said in the break room, he never should’ve pissed her off. She was fuckin dangerous.

Just being near her made Harlan’s heart pound.

Thinking back on the scene in the barn, Annie had swung that shovel like she wanted to hurt Travis and he hadn’t even tried to move out of her way. He stood there and waited for it. What was that all about?

Hearing Annie yell brought Harlan back to the job at hand and he focused. He looked in the direction where Annie was pointing and waving.

“Hey, you,” she hollered as she picked up speed and Outlaw had lots of speed. Annie rode like the wind towards two rustlers chasing four of the mustangs. They were riding east to west like they’d come from Hannah’s ranch again and they were gaining on the wild horses.

Harlan blinked twice seeing Annie stand up in the stirrups and take aim with Travis’s rifle.

Bang. Bang.

Two quick shots and both of the rustlers tumbled off their horses.

“Harlan, help me,” Annie hollered to him as she galloped to where the rustlers were rolling in the grass clutching their wounds.

He dug his heels into Windrider in an effort to catch up and help Annie contain the guys before they could get back on their horses.

When he got to the back property line, Annie was standing over the two fallen riders pointing the rifle in their faces.

“Cuff these guys, Harlan, and let’s get them back to the house. Travis might have plans for them.”

“Yeah, he has big plans for them.”

One of the riders grimaced from the pain in his arm and he spit at Annie. “You shot us, lady.”

Annie laughed. “You were lucky I wasn’t aiming for your head.”

Harlan chuckled as he cuffed the second one.

“I’ll gather up their lassos and their horses, Harlan,” Annie handed him the rifle. “Shoot them if you have to. Aim for their nuts. Be right back.”

Annie returned a few minutes later leading the runaway horses, ropes slung over the saddle horns. She took the rifle back from Harlan and aggressively made the two cowboys mount up.

“Take the reins of one, sugar, and I’ll take the other.”

“Yep. I’ve got this one.”

The trip back to the house was slow, but they didn’t lose either one of the rustlers. If they had run off, Annie would’ve shot them.

Back at the house, Harlan secured both rustlers in the back of the squad and put Max and Sarge in the hatch to watch them while he rounded up Travis.

Not in the house with the kids, Harlan found Travis stretched out on a couple of bales in the barn nursing his injuries and his pride.

“Come on, Travis. Me and Annie got us two more rustlers and we’ve got to take them to the station and lock them up.”

Travis sat up and rubbed his left leg—the worst of the two. “Where are they now?”

“In the squad with the dogs. You coming?”

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