Ranch Refuge. Virginia Vaughan

here,” Colton told her as he moved toward where he’d heard the noise. He could discern nothing now, but he hadn’t imagined it. Someone or something was out there and his instincts were on high alert.

      He stopped and turned back to Laura. “Let’s head back to the house.”

      She didn’t argue as they moved to the ATV.

      A shot rang out before they could climb on and leave. Colton felt something zing past him and jumped behind the ATV, pulling Laura down with him. He caught movement in the woods and then another round of shots rang out. His first instinct was to rush into the woods after the assailant, but his training kicked in. He couldn’t leave Laura alone.

      He glanced at her for the first time and realized how pale she’d grown. She was holding her arm and blood was pooling around her shirtsleeve. Alarm skittered through him. “You were hit.” He kicked himself for not noticing before he’d grabbed her arm and pulled her off her feet. She must be in terrible pain, yet she hadn’t even cried out.

      “It’s nothing,” she insisted. “Just a scratch. I just need to keep pressure on it.”

      He knew she was downplaying her injury. The way it was bleeding, it had to be more than a scratch. He pushed up her sleeve and saw that the bullet had clipped her shoulder, though it didn’t look as if it had gone through. Still, it was bleeding like crazy.

      “We have to get you back to the house.”

      But the shooter was still out there.

      “When I say go, I want you to run into the woods. We’ll have better cover there.”

      She nodded and he wondered if she had the strength. But he had to get her to cover.

      He raised his gun. “Run!” he shouted, covering them by firing into the wooded area where the original shots had come from. He followed behind Laura as she sprinted across the grass and didn’t relax until he heard the crunch of her feet against the brush. Even then, he didn’t fully relax because the shooter was still out there, but now they were on even playing fields, which made him feel a smidgen better.

      “Stay here,” he whispered, parking her beside a tree while he went after the shooter. When she nodded, he moved quietly in the direction of the shots. A few yards away, he heard movement in the woods and spotted a fleeing figure dressed in camouflage.

      “Freeze!” Colton yelled, running in that direction.

      The camo-clad figure hopped onto a waiting motorcycle and took off.

      Colton fired several shots, but the shooter roared away.

      He didn’t follow. Instead he hurried back to Laura, who had grown even paler. “Let’s get back to the house.”

      They ran to the ATV and he asked, “Can you hold on to me?”

      She grimaced, then shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

      He helped her onto the front of the seat and then settled in behind her. She leaned back against him. The scent of her hair rushed through him as he started the ATV and took off across the pasture, going as gently as he could. She groaned in pain as the bumps jarred her, her face growing even paler. Her shirt was wet with blood and she felt frail in his arms.

      Colton pushed forward, refocusing his attention on reaching the house.

      How had he let this happen? He’d promised to protect her. He’d promised she was safe here, and he’d already let her down.

      * * *

      The wound wasn’t nearly as serious as Colton was making it out to be. It hurt, but once they stopped the bleeding, it wouldn’t be a life-threatening injury. He took the bumps through the pasture with ease, but she felt him cringe with each and every jolt. She tried not to cry out in pain, taking comfort in the strength of his arm cradling her as he maneuvered with his other hand. He was quickly becoming someone she felt she could depend on.

      He stopped in front of the house and helped her to her feet, a rush of dizziness washing over her. Colton caught her before she fell, and the next thing she knew, she was swept up in his big, strong arms. He carried her inside and placed her gently on the couch.

      “I’ll get the first-aid kit,” he said, rushing upstairs.

      Laura did her best to sit up, leaning against the back of the couch. She pulled at her sleeve, now wet and sticky with blood. Colton returned and stripped the sleeve away, then cleaned the wound.

      “How does it look?” she asked.

      “It’s a clean wound.” She felt his pulse begin to calm. “Looks like it just grazed you.”

      “I’m fine,” she insisted. “I don’t need all this fuss.”

      “Let me fuss, Laura. I promised to protect you and I didn’t. I underestimated Randall. That’s a mistake I won’t make again.” She felt him shut down, pulling away from her emotionally as he bandaged her wound. It was evident from the tense set of his jaw that he was beating himself up as he worked through how this could have happened.

      Her own tinge of guilt washed over her. She knew instinctively this was her fault. Had she inadvertently given away her location? “It was me, wasn’t it? When I called Randall? I led him here.”

      He shook his head. “No, he wouldn’t have had the time to do that before I crushed that phone. But from now on, you stay inside the house. No wandering around. I’ll also start doing sweeps around the property. You’ll be safe. I promise.”

      She saw worry crease his face. It reassured her in a strange way. She knew he took her safety seriously and personally. Was it possible this was a man she could trust to keep his word? She hoped so, because despite today’s turn of events, she felt safe here with Colton. She found herself trusting that he would protect her.