Page 75 of Wyoming Bodyguard
The overwhelming comprehension of the depths of his feelings for Lily stole his breath. He should have told her, should have screamed it from the mountaintops, but now she was trapped in a burning barn. Her life on the line.
He wouldn’t lose her. Wouldn’t watch her die and forfeit the life he wanted to build with her by his side. He just needed to get past Marvin. Tightening his grip on the wooden handle of the shovel, he prepared to charge.
“Sorry, son. I didn’t want you to get caught up in this mess, but I don’t see any other way now. Set down that shovel.” Marvin lifted a gun and aimed it at Madden’s chest.
Saliva pooled in Madden’s mouth as terror settled in his gut. Crouching, he laid the shovel on the grass at his feet then rose back to his full height. “You don’t have to do this. It’s not too late to turn things around and walk away.” He hated the thought of Lily trapped in the barn, but he couldn’t get to her with a gun pointed at him. If he could get Marvin talking long enough, he could figure out a way to distract him.
Marvin shook his head. “This is the way it has to be. I’m a simple man, Madden. You take what’s mine, I take what’s yours. Plain and simple.”
Madden worked his mind over everything he knew about Marvin as well as what he’d uncovered while searching for the person responsible for hurting Lily and her father.
And then it all clicked into place.
“Mr. Tremont stole your cattle,” Madden said, palms high in the night air. “You lost out on revenue, and that’s why you had to branch out to training horses. I don’t blame you for being pissed.”
Marvin worked his jaw back and forth. “You don’t steal a man’s livelihood. I don’t care how bad you’re hurtin’. Even you and your pops had the sense to just walk away. You didn’t mean to hurt anyone when you sold your land. I always understood that, even if it was a choice I could never make. But this is different. Coming onto my land and taking my cows—stealing food from my table. No, I couldn’t stand back and just let it happen. Not anymore.”
“I agree. Nobody should take other people down to better themselves. Is that what Mr. Tremont was doing? Using the money to feed his addiction?” He struggled to keep his voice calm as the heat from the barn engulfed him.
Marvin spat on the ground, as if just speaking about the crimes against his ranch was enough to make him sick. “I don’t know what the hell he was doing, and I don’t care. Don’t touch my cattle. Don’t steal my money.” His last statement came out on a wave of fury.
“I get that, but you don’t want to hurt Lily. You don’t want to hurt me or Pops. You know this would kill him. You’re one of his closest friends.”
“Like I said, ain’t got a choice anymore. You two wouldn’t stop digging, no matter what I did to discourage it. Even when I hung that good for nothing ranch hand from the rafters. I figured a staged suicide made him look guilty and made him pay for stealing my cattle at the same time. But you couldn’t leave it alone. I’m sorry, Madden, I really am.”
A loud pop sounded behind Marvin. Flames erupted on the far side of the barn. Marvin shifted to glance at the now-burning barn, moving the gun just enough so it pointed beyond Madden into the darkness of the night.
Madden sprang into action. Scooping the shovel off the ground, he swung the tool as hard as he could. The metal connected to the side of the old man’s head and vibrated Madden’s arms. The sound of crunching bone combined with the crackling of the fire, creating the soundtrack to hell.
Marvin crumpled to the ground. The gun fell from his hand and bounced away from his motionless body.
Nausea bubbled in the pit of Madden’s stomach. Marvin Williamson was a man he’d admired and respected, loved like family, for most of his life. He couldn’t reconcile the monster who would kill an innocent woman with the man he’d always known, but he didn’t have time to try. Not when Lily needed him now more than ever.
With his heart breaking, Madden plucked the gun from the patch of grass, aimed the barrel at the lock, and fired. The blast of the firearm rang in his ears. The padlock sprang loose. He ripped it off, unwound the chain, and flung the door open.
An onslaught of heat greeted him. Smoke poured outside, hitting him in the face and burning his eyes. With the inside of his elbow covering his mouth, he ran inside. “Lily!”
Nothing but the snapping fire and panicked horses answered him.
He suppressed the urge to race through the barn. The roof glowed red, prepared to give way at any moment. He squinted, and his lungs begged for clean air.
“Lily! Where are you?”
Moving quickly, he struggled to see through the dense smoke and falling embers. As he passed each stall, he opened the door. Horse after horse galloped toward the exit. The smoke thickened until he spotted the last stall door, which was open, but the horse stood tall and proud inside.
Queenie!
Gritting his teeth, he shoved aside the pain and fear and suffocating sensation of his lungs struggling to take in air. He followed his instinct. If all was lost, Lily would want to be with the animal she loved like no other.
She’d want to be with her mom.
Racing into the stall, he caught sight of Lily curled in a ball at Queenie’s feet. Her eyes closed. Dirt and soot covered her face, her hair a tangled mess. Relief crashed over him like healing water but fear still remained. He scooped her into his arms. “I’m here, baby. I’ve got you.”
Her eyes fluttered open and she gripped the neck of his T-shirt with weak fingers. “Save Queenie.”
“You heard her, Queenie. Get going.”
The horse whinnied, left the stall and sprinted down the aisle, Madden quickly on her heels. His skin was hot, blistering from the fallen embers. He coughed and sent spikes of pine into his scorched throat. A piece of the loft crashed to the floor, and he jumped back to avoid being crushed by the burning wood.
