Page 30 of Deadly Attraction
Chapter Seven
Igor might be old, but the animal still had spunk. As Emma kicked Twinkie’s flanks and followed Mitch, she was impressed by the agent’s ability to maneuver the aging horse through the woods at a healthy gait and at Igor’s ability to meet Mitch’s demands.
The dogs ran ahead of all of them. Once Mitch and Emma broke free from the trees, Mitch gave Igor his head, turning the animal loose to run, and Emma prodded Twinkie to follow suit. The horses’ legs worked quickly to carry them both back to the ranch.
Will waited for them, Emma’s shotgun in hand.
“What happened?” Mitch demanded as they wheeled up to the corrals.
“Stranger,” Will said, eyes scanning the area east of the barn. “Saw him slinking behind the stables. Called him out and he took off for the rocky area out there.”
Mitch jumped down from his horse. “You hit him?”
“Nah. Scared him off, but the shot was more to get your attention.”
Emma guided Twinkie around so she could get a better look at the path leading to the pond and the direction the stranger had taken. “What did he look like?”
“Get down,” Mitch demanded, grabbing Twinkie’s reins and holding the horse steady. “We need to get you in the house.”
“Shouldn’t we go after him?” she asked, scanning the tree line and hills.
Will held the shotgun like a baby in his arms, but he was ready for another round. “I didn’t get a good look at him, but if it was someone we knew, they wouldn’t have been pussyfooting around the place. Figured it was better to shoot first and ask questions later.”
Mitch nodded, pulling out his weapon. “Good call.”
“We should go after him,” Emma insisted. “Find out who it is. It might not be Chris. It might be someone displaced by the fires who was looking for help.”
Mitch shook his head. “Get down, Dr. Collins, and get your butt in the house.”
Curiosity demanded she find out who it was. She hated living in fear and had made a vow never to do so again.
But truth was, she didn’t want to go running off into the woods in search of a stranger. She wanted to make a cup of tea and think about what nearly had happened with Mitch under that oak tree.
Sighing, she gave in. The saddle creaked as she ignored Mitch’s hands and used the horn to swing off the horse’s back.
The ground should have felt solid under her feet. Instead, her knees gave a little. Her vision seemed to close in on her.
Fear. God, she hated that damned emotion, making her weak and shaky.
Not all of her bravado was false—she’d trained her mind and her emotions for the past two years and she never intended to go back to being a victim.
But there was something unnerving about the seriousness in the look Mitch kept giving her. Something about hearing that gunshot that had made the unnerved sensation go straight to her stomach.
Vulnerability.
Her heart beat a high, rapid tempo against her ribs. There had been a strange man—possibly a man who wanted to kill her—roaming her property. The old flash of terror, embedded deep in her bones, came flooding back with sudden ferocity.
Realizing Mitch might be right—that Chris and Linda were actually coming after her—pissed her off as well.
Anger was a better emotion. She could work with that, not let it freeze her up.
Stay angry.“Will, can you take care of the horses?”
“Happy to,” he said. “Long as you do as the agent here asks and get yourself tucked safely into the house.”
Pulling her Smith & Wesson from the holster, she took off the safety and gave the property one more scan. Nothing but the leaves on the trees blowing in the wind. Birds sang and the dogs meandered around in the grass, unalarmed.
Mitch moved in front of her, and started to take her elbow. She jerked away. “I’m going, but I want to know who the hell that was.”
