Page 55 of Falling For Her Cowboy
Ridge’s gaze was narrowed on Theo. Melah pushed up from the ground and tightened her grip on her knife.
“You can’t take both of us on at the same time.” She wasn’t going to allow Ridge to fight her battle for her. This was her fight. Theo had come for her,and she’d be damned if Ridge got hurt in the process.
“Stay back, Melah,” Ridge warned. His eyes didn’t move from Theo. His face was devoid of all emotions.
“Such a gentleman. Doesn’t want his woman in a fight. Don’t you know, she’s a fucking soldier?” Theo snickered.
“I’ll never forget it, but she doesn’t need to get her hands dirty today.” Ridge advanced on Theo with a confident stride.
Melah’s gaze flicked between both of the men. Ridge had more height and weight on Theo, but she knew from experience that Theo never fought fair. One of his training highlights had been for them to get dirty and use any means necessary to win in hand-to-hand combat.
“Ridge—” Melah paused at the sight of Ridge’s hand slicing down in a hard motion.
He was shutting her down. She stood with her heart in her throat as the two men circled each other. Theo clenched his blade and dove at Ridge. She bit back a scream, but there was no point. Ridge expertly dodged the attack and sent an uppercut to Theo’s jaw which landed.
Theo stumbled back and grinned, revealing hisblood-coated teeth. He turned and spat out the dark-crimson fluid. He shook his head.
“Lucky hit. Won’t happen again.” His smiled disappeared.
He struck toward Ridge again. This time the two men were engaged in a heated fight. Melah swallowed hard around the lump in her throat. She felt so damn helpless watching Ridge battle Theo, but it was soon revealed that Theo had bitten off more than he could chew.
Ridge at first allowed Theo to get a few moves in. A pure assessment of Theo’s fighting skills which were lacking compared to his. Ridge then went in like a storm blowing in. His movements were swift and precise. Theo swung his knife at Ridge, but he blocked the move. He brought his fist down on Theo’s arm, disarming him. The knife fell to the ground. Ridge somehow kicked it out of the way. Melah dove down to grab it. She didn’t want to chance Theo getting his hands on it. She crawled away. The love of her life faced the man she hated. She slid her small dagger back into the sheath on her ankle and gripped Theo’s hunting knife. It was large, serrated, and perfect for doing damage to flesh.
They both ignored her and continued to swing at each other. Theo’s movements were jerky andunformed, while Ridge was calm and calculated. Ridge pushed Theo away who came back flying at him with a loud roar. Ridge’s boot landed in the middle of Theo’s stomach and sent him sprawling on the ground.
“Stay down,” Ridge snapped.
He stood above Theo who glared at him with such devilish menace it sent a chill down Melah’s spine. His face was bloodied with his left eye swelling quickly. It was then Ridge’s gaze flicked over to her. It roamed her swiftly, leaving her breathless. She pushed up off the ground with Theo’s knife in her hand.
Love for this man filled her.
There were a few scratches on his face, his knuckles were battered and bloodied, but otherwise he remained unharmed.
“Are you hurt?” Ridge asked.
“I’ll be fine,” she replied.
Her face still throbbed from where Theo had hit her, but it was nothing compared to what could have happened had Ridge not arrived. He strode around Theo and came to her. He cupped her chin, tilted her face to the side, and visually examined her. She was sure a bruise was settling in on her cheek. A darkness filled his eyes as theyfocused on her cheek.
“Your woman can take a lot.” Theo’s grim chuckle sliced through the air.
Ridge froze in place. He tilted his head to the side and eyed Theo.
“What the fuck did you just say?” Ridge growled.
“No, Ridge. He’s just goading you.” Melah rested her hands on his chest to try to keep him away from Theo. The glint in his eyes was different. She’d never seen him like this before.
“I want to hear what the fuck he’s got to say.” He strode forward, but trying to push him away was like trying to get a stubborn bull to move.
Theo leaned over and spat out more blood.
“I said your woman knows how to take pain. She’s a screamer.” He rolled over and pushed off the ground.
It was then she took in the sight of a pistol in his hand leveled on her. Melah automatically reached for her gun, but her sheath was empty on her thigh. Ridge shoved her out of the way. She stumbled from the force and fell to the ground.
A resounding crack split the air.
“Ridge!” she screamed. Her gaze fell on Ridge but found him standing with a familiar gun in his hand aimed at Theo.
