Cowboy Protector

by Margaret Daley

  She’d panicked yet again with those two men sitting in the truck a block away. She realized she needed to know what had really happened two years before when she’d run away and dropped out of the Witness Protection Program because she thought someone sent by Devon had found her and broken into her house. She wasn’t sure she could find the answers, especially if it had been one of Devon’s men.

  But after only twenty minutes, she’d discovered the truth. Her house had been one of many in a series of robberies that had plagued the small town until two teens had been stopped. She’d fled for no reason.

  So did she want to contact the U.S. Marshal’s office in Billings and let them know where she was?

  As long as she followed their rules and never tried to contact her family in California, she would be all right. They could relocate her to a different state because when she left Austin she couldn’t stay in Montana. Too many painful memories.

  Then she remembered what Violet had said about a leak at the U.S. Marshal’s office. She couldn’t contact them. She would have to leave Montana on her own.

  Before she walked away from Austin when his daughter didn’t need her anymore, she would tell him everything. Although that conversation would be hard, he deserved to know the whole truth about her. But one thing she would keep to herself: that she loved him.

  Her future decided, Hannah slid off the boulder and strolled toward her backpack on the ground. Hungry, she sat and unwrapped her sandwich.

  After lunch she snapped a few more pictures, then stretched out on the soft pine needles that covered the ground and used her backpack as a pillow. Staring up, she noticed a couple of white fluffy clouds sailing across the sky. Her eyes drooped closed and with the sounds of the birds chatting in the trees, she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

  Austin felt like celebrating. The news from the doctor was good. Misty’s bones were healing well, and he had gone ahead and put her in a leg immobilizer, instead of another cast. She still couldn’t bear weight on her leg and would continue to use the wheelchair, but the doctor was happy with his daughter’s progress.

  Only a couple of miles to the ranch. He couldn’t wait to tell Hannah. She would share his joy and that fact made him smile. Granny had a feeling about Hannah from the first. That she would be perfect for the job. She was and much more.

  Thank You, Lord, for bringing Hannah into our lives—into mine.

  Less than a half a mile from the turnoff for his ranch, he spotted a black truck off the road in a small clearing. The vehicle, a brand-new shiny one, didn’t look familiar. He’d keep an eye out when he got home. Hunters sometimes wandered onto his property although he had signs up saying, “No hunting. No trespassing.” He loved the fact elk and deer ran freely on his land. But some of his neighbors supplemented their income by hosting hunting parties and other tourists.

  Ten minutes later he pulled up to the front of the house, barely containing his eagerness to see Hannah. They’d only been gone six hours. Shorter than he thought. Probably because he’d wanted to get back to the ranch—to see Hannah.

  “I’ll get the wheelchair,” his grandmother said as she climbed from the car.

  “That’s okay. I’ll carry Misty to the deck.” With adrenaline pumping through his system, he could easily take his daughter to her wheelchair.

  After settling Misty, he opened the front door for her and his grandma. When he entered, he knew immediately Hannah was still out by the lake. The house felt empty, too quiet.

  “Granny, can you take care of Misty for a while?” he asked as his daughter made her way toward her room.

  His grandmother’s bright eyes twinkled. “Going to find a certain young lady?”

  “I saw a truck back not too far from our gate. I want to make sure no hunters are on the property.”

  “Sure. That’s all you’re going to do?” she asked with a laugh.

  “Okay, I’m gonna head for the lake after I check on the progress at the barn because I want to see Hannah. There, I admitted it to you.”

  Grinning, his grandmother waved her hands. “Go. Have some fun. You certainly deserve it. Misty and I are going to practice her finger knitting now that she has the use of both hands.”

  He walked through the house, searching to make sure that Hannah was really gone and to tell his daughter he’d be gone for a couple of hours. Standing on the back stoop, he noticed the vehicles he’d told her to use if she wanted were still parked where they’d been that morning.

  That gave him an idea. He’d saddle two horses. Hannah could ride back on her mare. Or if she didn’t feel confidant in her new skills, she could ride double with him. Actually that thought appealed to him a lot.

  But it would be Hannah’s decision. He wouldn’t push her into something she wasn’t ready for. From the beginning he sensed she held something back. He wanted to know everything about her because he wasn’t going to fight the deep attraction he had for her anymore.

  A rustling noise, as if squirrels scampered across dry leaves, woke Hannah up. Her lower back ached from lying on the hard ground, but she didn’t hurry to sit up. Instead, she took a moment to orient herself to her surroundings. The lake. The forest behind her, which would account for the sound. She stared straight up at the clouds thickening, turning darker.

  And then she noticed the chill whispering across her front, the cold earth seeping through the thickness of her coat and jeans to make lying on the ground doubly uncomfortable. She rolled to her side and glanced at her watch. It was getting late and the clouds were moving in fast. The temperature felt as though it had dropped fifteen or twenty degrees since she’d arrived. Hannah rose and gathered up her belongings, then hiked toward the woods a hundred feet away.

  Going what she thought was due east, she picked her way through the maze of predominantly tall pines. Their scent hung in the air, giving off a clean fresh aroma. Voices drifted to her, and she slowed her pace, trying to figure out where the sounds were coming from. There was a slight echo through the trees. She wanted to avoid meeting any people, but perhaps she first needed to figure out where those men were so she could evade them.

  Tilting her head and listening to the male voices, she tried to catch what was being said. The murmurs quieted, but she thought they came from the right. She snuck closer and saw two men, dressed in jeans, flannel shirts, jackets and hiking boots. The thin guy carried a rifle. The other didn’t. One hunter and the other coming along for the ride?

  They stopped. Hannah hid behind a tree, flattening herself against its rough bark.

  “I think we’re going around in circles,” the thinner of the two men said in a low voice she strained to hear.

  “We need to pop our mark and get out of here before it gets dark.”

  Mark? Hannah tensed. The hit men Violet had told her about?

  “This time we need to make sure it’s Eloise Hill or the boss is gonna have our heads.”

  “This one fits the description. We saw that last night.” The more muscular one pointed toward the way she’d come, not far from where she was hiding. “She’s here somewhere. She went in and hasn’t come out.”

  I’m not Eloise Hill, she wanted to shout, trying to pick up what else they said.

  “Let’s go that way. It doesn’t look familiar.”

  “How can you tell?”

  The thin intruder frowned. “I just can.”

  “Yeah, you’re a regular Boy Scout.” The muscle man cackled.

  “Shh, we’re getting close to the lake. We can’t mess it up this time.”

  Mess it up this time? Those two murders Violet told her about? Those women’s deaths really were murder by hit men? Confusion mingled with Hannah’s mounting fear.

  Please, Lord, let this all be a mistake. No hit men. No women murdered. No one who has mistaken me for this Eloise Hill.

  As they got closer to the water, she saw her chance to make a break for it. If they kept going, they would be at the lakeshore, and she could get away without them know
ing. Heartbeat thundering in her ears, she darted from one tree to the other, trying to hide as much as possible.

  She peeked around the large trunk. The muscular man separated from the thin one, making his way deeper into the forest instead of toward the lake. She had to get help.

  Backing away, she pulled out her cell to call 911. When she stepped on a limb, it snapped in two, the sound reverberating through the trees. She looked down, then jerked her head up. The heavier-built intruder pivoted, and fifty yards away, his gaze fastened onto her.

  She whirled around and started running as fast as she could, her hand still gripping her cell but not daring to take the time to make a call. Help wouldn’t come in time. She had to do something. Now.

  Zigzagging through the woods, her back tense in anticipation of being hit with a bullet, she frantically searched the terrain for an escape, a place to hide. Anything.

  Lord, I need help!

  The thrashing sound of the big man behind her spurred her faster. Pain seared her lungs. Her legs burned. Her side felt like a knife kept stabbing it.

  Suddenly she plunged forward, her body impacting with the hard ground. Her cell flew from her grasp.

  NINE

  Austin guided his gelding into the woods on a familiar trail that led to the lake nestled at the base of a mountain. There was a chance he and Hannah would miss each other if she went a different way. He constantly scanned the terrain to keep an eye out for her red jacket. He couldn’t wait to see her. Hold her. Kiss her. He’d missed her today while in Missoula.

  A sound to his right alerted him to movement. Hannah? An elk? Something else? A large man was running. He stopped and lifted his hand—holding a gun. Not a rifle.

  Austin turned his horse toward the intruder and peered at the area he was aiming. Something was on the ground. A wounded animal? Hannah!

  The air rushed from Hannah’s lungs from the collision with the forest floor. Cell? Where was it? Panic spiked her heartbeat rate. A sharp stone cut into her palm.

  Through the pounding in her head, she heard the pounding of approaching steps. No time to look for her cell. Run!

  She shoved to her feet, starting forward before she’d fully straightened. Slightly in front of her something struck the tree trunk and wood sprayed outward. A piece sliced across her cheek. Without thinking she lunged behind the pine.

  Can’t outrun a bullet.

  Help, Lord!

  Austin pulled his rifle from the scabbard, lifted it and sighted the assailant stalking Hannah. With a calmness he hadn’t thought possible, he squeezed off the shot. Then another—both meant to wound, not kill. The man went down, the gun flying from his hand.

  Urging his horse forward, he rushed toward the fallen target, sweeping the area for anyone else. “Hannah, stay where you are.”

  Still clutching the rifle, Austin leaped from his gelding and hovered over the man, his weapon pointed at the attacker. Blood oozed from his left shoulder and the fleshy part of his thigh. Pain carved into his features, he groaned while feeling around him for his lost gun with his good hand.

  “Who are you?” Austin seethed, his gut churning.

  The man fixed his hard gaze on Austin, giving up his search for his Glock. But he didn’t say a word.

  “Hannah, are you all right?” Austin shouted, deciding the sheriff could sort this all out.

  “Yeah.”

  Her voice came from behind him only a few feet away from him. “What part of stay where you are is unclear?”

  “Austin, I’ve got his gun. There’s another man with this one.” Hannah stood behind Austin. “He has a rifle. We need to get out of here.”

  “You won’t get away, Eloise,” the man on the ground uttered, a laugh escaping him.

  Its sound chilled Austin. Who’s Eloise? Hannah? What’s going on? Question after question demanded answers but there was no time.

  Austin positioned his body between Hannah and her assailant. “Untie the mare’s reins from my saddle and get on her.” As Hannah grasped the reins, Austin backed away from the shooter, his rifle still pointed at the man’s chest.

  “I can’t ride her.” Her voice shook as her body did.

  He wanted so badly to hold her, calm her fears, but instead he said, “Grip the reins. Hold on to anything but stay on her.”

  His rifle cradled against him but still aimed at Hannah’s attacker, Austin lunged toward her, patting his thigh. “Use this to get on her.”

  She started to hike up her leg when a crack frightened the mare. The horse pranced, backing away, eyes wide. Hannah immediately let go of the reins she still held.

  Austin dove toward Hannah at the same time another rifle shot thundered through the forest. He rolled them down an incline that would partially protect them from the new threat coming from the direction of the lake.

  He fumbled for his cell in his jean pocket and handed it to Hannah. “Call 911.”

  As she reported what was happening, he kept a vigilance on the woods, trying to see where the man was holed up. Depending on how good a shot he was, he could be hundreds of yards away. He zeroed in on his cohort trying to crawl away, his blood staining the earth.

  “You might tell your partner the sheriff is on his way.”

  “You’ll be dead before he arrives.” The large man spoke in a hoarse whisper as he gave up moving and sank to the ground, moaning.

  “I’m not this Eloise Hill you’re looking for.” Then louder Hannah repeated that sentence as though she hoped that would stop the other assailant.

  He needed to find where the man was located. Austin stuck his head up a few inches farther and a bullet whizzed by, nicking his scalp.

  “Let my foreman know what’s happening. We need help. Tell him the man is just in the forest by Crescent Point.” Austin gave her the number.

  “You’re bleeding.” Her voice quavered.

  “It’s nothing. At least now I know where he is. Max can get here in fifteen minutes. He was an Army Ranger. He’ll know what to do.” Because the man was right. They could be dead before the sheriff arrived.

  The sight of Austin’s blood flowing from his head threatened Hannah’s composure more than the man had chasing her. She’d never wanted this. And the thing was these men here had nothing to do with Devon Madison. Eloise Hill? Who was she? What was going on? She’d never had the time to search the Internet for Eloise Hill. Why hadn’t she done that first? Because after not discovering much on the two women’s murders, she hadn’t thought there was anything to Violet’s theory.

  “Max said he’d call when he took care of the man by the lake.” The assurance in his foreman’s voice didn’t calm her. She quaked so badly she finally thrust the gun she’d picked up from the ground at Austin. “I’m afraid I’d shoot myself. I don’t like guns.”

  He laid it in front of him on the ground, using a tree and the ditch to protect himself enough to keep watch on any movement. “Just stay down no matter what happens while we play this waiting game. Do you know who this Eloise Hill is?”

  “I don’t know who she is.”

  The minutes ticked excruciatingly slow. She tried to inhale deep breaths to calm her rapid heartbeat, but all she did was gulp in shallow ones. Watching the second hand go around and around on her watch only frazzled her nerves even more. She tore her gaze from it.

  Then a thought intruded. What if the goon with the rifle made a wide circle to come up behind them? Flipping onto her back, she searched the woods behind them, not sure what she would do if she saw him creep closer. But at least she knew what he was wearing and could possibly see something.

  The ring of Austin’s cell jolted her. She flipped it open, her hands trembling so much she almost dropped it. “Yes?”

  “This is Max. Tell Austin the man was here, but he’s gone now. We found some spent cartridges at the scene. His footprints are heading away from the woods along the shoreline. Several of us are tracking them. A few more are making their way toward you, combing the area as they go.”<
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  “Thanks.” Hannah ended the call and peered toward Austin. “The man’s gone. At least that’s what Max thinks. They’re checking it out while others are coming this way.”

  “I see Rodney.” Austin cautiously stood, shielding part of himself with the tree and shouted, “We’re over here.”

  Five men, all carrying guns, converged on them. Hannah stayed on the ground in the ditch as two of the hired hands hauled the assailant up while one retrieved Austin’s gelding about a hundred feet away. They slung the would-be killer over the saddle, none too gently.

  Hannah turned away and kept her gaze trained on the forest behind them. Just in case, she told herself, but really she didn’t want to look at Austin at the moment, not with blood matting his hair, trickling down his neck. It only emphasized what could have happened earlier if the bullet had been an inch to the right.

  “Hannah, are you ready to go?” Austin said slightly behind her and to the side. “One of the men found the mare. We can ride together back to the ranch. I found your cell.”

  She clasped her knees to her chest. No matter how much she hugged herself she couldn’t stop the fear tumbling through her. Her whole body shook so badly she didn’t think she could stand. She could have lost Austin today. Misty could have been without a father and mother. She couldn’t get that out of her mind.

  “Hannah? Are you okay?” Austin knelt in front of her.

  Her gaze riveted to the bullet graze on the side of his head, the red mocking her with the type of life she had been forced to live. She couldn’t take her eyes off the sight.

  He grasped her upper arm and, with his finger on her jaw, swiveled her attention toward his face. He smiled. “The cavalry arrived in time. We’re safe. We can go home now.”