by Laura Ann
Sawyer nodded firmly, creating an unspoken promise that he wouldn’t let her down.
CHAPTER 19
Kinsley felt as if she might throw up. The closer they got to the barn, the more her stomach rebelled. Someone was in that barn, trying to hurt her horse. Logically she knew that Ridge and Roman were there and would keep anything major from happening, but she couldn’t shake the ominous feeling of impending doom.
Sawyer had slowed way down as they pulled into the ranch, trying to make as little noise as possible so as to not spook whoever was in the barn. With his headlights off, he pulled up as close as he dared.
Shutting off the engine, he moved to get out. “I’d really like it if you stayed here,” he said softly.
Kinsley shook her head. “Please don’t ask that of me,” Kinsley said, opening her own door and stepping out.
Sawyer sighed, but didn’t argue with her, for which Kinsley was grateful. She wasn’t sure she was in the right frame of mind to fight with him right now.
Sawyer looked down at his phone, then showed the text to her.
Ridge: Guy made it in the stall. We’re closing in for a better look.
Kinsley clenched her jaw shut and nodded once.
Sawyer tilted his head toward the barn and silently, they headed toward the entrance. Once there, Sawyer paused, his eyes seeming to plead with her, but Kinsley shook her head. She was not about to stay away. This is my horse and my life. There’s no way I can just sit back and twiddle my thumbs.
With a resigned nod, Sawyer pulled on the door handle.
Kinsley let out a quiet breath when they discovered it unlocked. The large barn door would have made too much noise, but the side office door wasn’t always open. Luck was on their side tonight. Let’s hope it stays that way, she thought, sending a quick prayer heavenward.
Crouching low, Sawyer led the way into the darkened office. Once they were at the door to the main part of the barn, he stayed down and shot off a text. Kinsley assumed he was letting Ridge know where they were. His screen lit up with an answer, but this time he didn’t show Kinsley. Sawyer pocketed his phone and reached for the doorknob.
Ever so slowly, he turned it, easing the door open, then glanced carefully into the hallway.
Kinsley desperately wanted him to move so she could see what was going on, but at the same time, she was terrified of what they might find. Is Addy okay? Has the man done anything to him? She could hear Amadeus whinnying, and it only served to send her heart into spasms.
Sawyer seemed unmoved by the noises and without looking back or whispering a word, he slipped out the door. Kinsley scrambled after him, determined not to be left behind.
Out in the long walkway, she could see Sawyer’s back, and in the distance, Ridge was pressed up against a stall. Nervous noises were echoing through the space as the other horses reacted to Amadeus’ angry cries.
Please be okay. Please be okay. Kinsley searched for the other bodyguard Sawyer had said was coming, but she couldn’t see anyone. Hopefully he’s recording all this, she thought.
Unsure of what to do, Kinsley forced herself to stay against the wall as they slowly made their way down to Addy’s stall. Her stomach continued to churn, and she was sure she would lose her dinner on the concrete if they didn’t end this all soon.
With each breath, she chanted a prayer for Amadeus’ safety, but at the same time, hoped that whoever was recording all this found evidence of foul play so the saboteur could be put behind bars.
Sweat began to trickle down her temple and spine, and she nearly jumped to her feet when Addy snorted hard and stomped. Sawyer reached back, grasping her forearm with a reassuring squeeze, but it did nothing for Kinsley’s nerves. She felt her muscles twitching with a repressed need to move, and she knew she was about to blow.
When Amadeus kicked his stall door and whinnied loud enough to wake the dead, she knew she could stand it no longer.
“STOP!” Kinsley screamed, jumping to her feet and rushing down the rest of the walkway. “STOP IT!” She ignored Sawyer’s shout and flung open Addy’s stall door. “THAT’S MY HORSE!” She sputtered to a halt. “Ty-Tyrone?”
Kinsley’s chest heaved as she sucked in air and took in the scene. She shook her head just as Sawyer came up behind her. “How could you?” she said on a sob.
Tyrone held out his hands. “This isn’t what it looks like,” Tyrone sputtered. His eyes darted behind her to Sawyer, and his wide-eyed gaze hardened. “You,” he spat. “What are you doing here?”
Sawyer’s hands clasped Kinsley’s upper arms and gently pushed her aside. “Taking you in,” Sawyer said calmly, stepping in between Kinsley and Tyrone.
Amadeus shied sideways, and Kinsley jumped in front of Sawyer to be with her horse. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she spoke soothingly in his ear. “I’m here, boy. I won’t let anything happen to you.” She glanced down at the tack and glared at Tyrone. “What were you going to do?” she asked, her tone trembled, but Kinsley was too upset to care. She was just grateful Tyrone hadn’t actually managed to hurt her horse before she intervened.
Tyrone ignored her question, instead continuing to glare at Sawyer. “You shouldn’t have interfered,” he growled in a voice that Kinsley had never heard before.
Her heart broke as she thought of the man she thought she knew. She had been completely fooled by Tyrone’s quiet, shy demeanor.
“Someone had to stop you,” Sawyer said calmly as he stepped further into the stall.
Tyrone tensed and Sawyer stopped moving. Even Kinsley could tell that Tyrone was feeling threatened and ready to bolt.
Sawyer held out one hand in supplication. “Just come with me, Tyrone, and make it easier on everyone.”
“You don’t understand,” the young man snarled. “You don’t understand at all.”
Kinsley bit her tongue. She was completely shocked as well as livid, and she knew if she spoke, she would only say things she shouldn’t. The weight of betrayal felt as if it would crush her. I’ve been defending him! All this time I’ve been defending him, and Sawyer was right. How could I have been so blind?
SAWYER COULD SEE THAT Kinsley was close to losing it, but the man in front of him was his biggest worry. He knew Kinsley had to be feeling horrible right about now. She’d defended Tyrone for so long, and here he was, trying to hurt the thing that was most precious to her.
“I understand that you want to be noticed,” Sawyer said with forced calm. He leaned his weight forward a little more. Tyrone was tense and ready to bolt, and normally Sawyer would have just gotten the jump on him, but with a horse only a couple feet away and Tyrone’s hands full of metal tools, it was too easy for someone to get hurt.
Tyrone’s lip curled. “Noticed? You think I want to be noticed?”
Sawyer blinked, taken off guard for a moment. Not sure what else to do, he kept speaking, praying that Ridge and Roman would make themselves known soon. “I know how easy it is to get caught up in someone who doesn’t give you the attention you want...the attention you deserve. You’re far from the first man to fall for a pretty face or a sweet smile.”
Tyrone began to chuckle, then it turned into a wild, maniacal laugh. “You don’t know ANYTHING!” he screamed, suddenly serious. His knuckles turned white as he held onto a hammer and crowbar. “You think I did this because of Kinsley?”
Sawyer paused. “You aren’t in love with Kinsley?”
Tyrone snorted. “You’re even dumber than I thought.” He laughed. “All brawn and no brains.” Tsking his tongue, Tyrone’s eyes darted to Kinsley. “You sure know how to pick ‘em, Kins.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she shot back, holding tighter to Amadeus’ neck.
“No...YOU don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tyrone shouted. “All day, every day I sit in this barn and work. Work until my hands bleed and my knees ache.” He pounded his chest. “I’m twenty-two years old and my body feels like it’s eighty. I have no life outside these horse
s.” He stepped back and Sawyer tried to follow, but Tyrone held up the crowbar. “Why, you might ask?” Tyrone raised an eyebrow. “Because my mother had an affair.”
Sawyer’s body froze. His senses were twitching. Everything he’d thought about Tyrone was wrong. Sawyer thought the young man was in love with Kinsley and trying to get her attention, trying to play hero, but as the truth came spilling out, Sawyer realized his intuition had been completely off base.
“I don’t understand,” Kinsley responded quietly.
“Of course, you don’t,” Tyrone said calmly, too calmly. “You’ve never had to wonder about your family. You knew your parents.”
“What does your mother—”
“My mother had an affair with Coach Ritton,” Tyrone spat. “I was the inevitable result.”
“So all this time you’ve been trying to get your father’s attention?” Sawyer pressed, ignoring Kinsley’s gasp of shock.
Tyrone snickered. “I wouldn’t want that man’s attention if he was the last person on Earth.” Tyrone leaned in slightly, a wild smile on his lips. “No...I want to ruin him.”
The pieces all began to click into place. “You thought by taking down his star student, you would ruin Ritton’s reputation.” Sawyer laid it all out. “That’s why you kept messing with Kinsley’s things during the shows. You wanted Kinsley to fail so that your father would look bad.”
Tyrone shrugged and readjusted the tools in his hands. “It would serve him right. The media praises him like he’s some kind of horse god when in reality, he’s a homewrecker.”
“I defended you,” Kinsley said hoarsely. “I stood up for you how many times, and this is what you do? You put my life, my reputation, and my horse in danger?”
A brief moment of shame flashed over Tyrone, but it didn’t last long. “I’m sorry, Kins. You were the only person who was kind to me, but I couldn’t let that stand in the way of taking down Ritton. He doesn’t deserve everything he has.”
Sawyer tried to step forward one more time, but Tyrone held the crowbar back up again.
“Nuh-uh, muscles. Hold it right there.” Tyrone smirked. “I knew you would be trouble the day that Kinsley brought you in. She was so trusting, it made it easy to mess with her stuff, but then you showed up.” Tyrone sidestepped and waved the crowbar at Sawyer and Kinsley, warning them to back away.
Sawer put his hands up and made sure he moved so he was in between Kinsley and Tyrone. Kinsley pushed Amadeus to the side, turning the horse slightly in the stall.
“You didn’t like me from the beginning,” Tyrone continued while shrugging. “While the feeling was mutual, I knew it would be more difficult to do what I needed to do.” He continued to threaten them with the weapon and walk sideways so he was approaching the stall opening. “However, I’m not about to let some steroid junkie take me down.”
Sawyer shook his head. “You won’t make it out of here,” he said. “Now that we know who it is, cops will be hunting you down. You’ll never live normally again.”
Tyrone shrugged. “I’m sure I can get out of the country before it’s a big deal.”
Sawyer did his best not to react to Ridge coming up behind Tyrone. He didn’t want to tip Tyrone off, but he hoped his brother could see the tools in the perp’s hands. “If Kinsley was so kind to you, why did you risk her life by poisoning her?”
Tyrone snorted. “Her life was never in danger.” His lips curled as he stepped backward. “Who do you think takes care of the rats in the barn?” Tyrone shook his head. “All it took was a simple calculation to know how much would cause a reaction, but not hurt her.”
“You’re crazy,” Kinsley whispered.
Sawyer tensed, worried the words would enrage the unstable young man, but Tyrone just shrugged. “I might be crazy, but at least I’m going to be free.” His eyes flashed. “But in a moment, you won’t be.” Tyrone tucked the hammer into a belt loop and reached in his pocket, still holding the crowbar out. Pulling a lighter out of his pocket, he flicked it to life.
Kinsley let out a sob, and Sawyer reached one arm back to hold her in place. He didn’t speak as he waited for Tyrone to make his move. Standing in a pile of sawdust was the last place Sawyer wanted to be with fire close by, but he couldn’t do anything until Tyrone took one last step back.
As Tyrone waved the flame around and laughed, then he finally backed into the walkway. Got him. “NOW!” Sawyer shouted.
With a yell, Ridge jumped Tyrone from behind as Sawyer aimed for the crowbar.
Tyrone howled in pain as he was wrestled to the ground and the tool and lighter were wrenched from his grip.
“Sawyer, duck!” Kinsley screamed.
Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Sawyer leapt to the side and rolled. He quickly looked back, freezing when he saw Amadeus’ hooves come down on Tyrone’s legs.
Tyrone screamed and Ridge shouted.
“RIDGE!” Sawyer scrambled back, desperate to make sure his brother hadn’t been hit in the fray.
CHAPTER 20
“Easy, boy,” Kinsley cooed, tugging Amadeus back inside his stall. Her legs were trembling so fiercely, she was sure she would collapse at any moment, but she needed to get the angry horse away from the men. Addy had already kicked out and landed on Tyrone, and despite the fact that Kinsley felt betrayed and sick about Tyrone’s story, she didn’t want to kill him.
“Come on, Addy,” Kinsley continued, working hard to keep her voice soft as she turned him around to keep him from hurting anyone else. Her voice was just as wobbly as her legs, and her fingers felt numb as she stroked the animal’s nose. “It’ll be okay. Let’s just take it easy.”
“Ridge!” Sawyer’s voice broke and Kinsley turned to see if Ridge was all right.
“I’m fine!” Ridge called out, untangling himself from an unconscious Tyrone. “I’m fine. Bruised liked the dickens, but fine.”
Sawyer stood next to the men, pressing his hands onto his knees as he took several deep breaths. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” he finally rasped to his brother.
Ridge grinned. “Ah, Sawyer...I didn’t know you cared so much, bro!” Ridge finally got to his feet and slapped Sawyer on the back.
Sawyer hauled off and slugged Ridge in the shoulder hard.
“Geez,” Ridge muttered, rubbing the spot. “I already told you I’m bruised. No need to add to the collection.” He smirked. “Although if it makes you hyperventilate again, it might be worth it.”
Sawyer rolled his eyes and shook his head, grumbling quietly under his breath. He turned and his eyes locked onto Kinsley. “You got this guy, right?” Sawyer asked Ridge, gesturing toward Tyrone without removing his eyes from Kinsley.
Her breath caught in her throat and now Kinsley worried she’d collapse for an entirely different reason. Sawyer’s gaze was so intense, she felt trapped. She didn’t want to look away. Addy snorted, and the air blew Kinsley’s hair into her face, but it still didn’t faze her.
“Yeah, I got him,” Ridge grumbled, looking down at Tyrone’s prone body. He kicked at Tyrone’s arm. “What exactly are you planning to do?” he asked Sawyer.
“Celebrate freedom,” Sawyer said immediately. Without further warning, he stormed into the paddock with Kinsley and wrapped his arms around her, bringing their mouths together. “You are never allowed to go on an assignment with me again,” Sawyer whispered hoarsely in between their kisses.
“Okay,” Kinsley agreed. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, her fingers enjoying the soft feel of his hair.
“You’re gonna stick to your horse shows,” he continued.
“Okay.” Kinsley sighed as Sawyer kissed down her neck.
“And you’re not allowed to ever be in danger.”
“Okay.” Kinsley continued to agree with everything he said. She wasn’t even sure what some of his demands were, but right now, she’d have agreed to anything if it meant having his arms around her like this forever.
“And if you ever get the idea
to have another fake boyfriend, I’ll take him down,” Sawyer growled right before taking her mouth in a fierce kiss. “I love you,” he rasped. “I love you more than you can know, and I’m not willing to give you up.”
Kinsley wasn’t able to answer him for some time, but eventually the adrenaline-induced frenzy slowed and their kisses became far more sweet and gentle. “I love you, too,” she whispered. “And I have no problem complying with your demands,” Kinsley said softly, pulling back to look Sawyer in the eye. “I haven’t had a problem with it for a long time now.”
Sawyer sighed and brought their foreheads together. “Think you can manage to take your actual boyfriend around instead of a bodyguard fake boyfriend?”
“I think that sounds like the best idea you’ve ever had,” Kinsley answered with a grin.
“No, the best idea I ever had was for you to wait in the truck,” Sawyer complained. “Then I wouldn’t have lost ten years of my life in worrying about you.”
“Actually,” Ridge interrupted their moment, “the best idea you ever had was back during our senior year in high school when you decided to—”
“Are the police on their way yet?” Sawyer interrupted, his face turning pink.
Oooh...I’ll have to have Ridge finish telling me this story another time, Kinsley thought, fighting a grin at Sawyer’s discomfort.
“Should be here any second,” a deep voice said from down the breezeway.
They all turned to look at the extra large man coming their way.
“Roman, dude!” Ridge called out with a wide smile. “I nearly forgot you were with us!” He chuckled. “Too bad you missed all the action.”
A small grin tugged at the large man’s mouth. “Don’t worry. I got it.” He held up a small camera. “Every bit of it.”
Sawyer’s shoulders sagged. “You didn’t happen to catch audio, too, did you?”
Roman nodded. “It’s not going to be perfect, but it should be enough.” He glanced up. “I was tucked back, but managed to get high enough for a decent view.”