Chapter Ten

S hiloh shifted nervously in the saddle and clutched the reins tightly as the steady bay gelding plodded along the path. The day was gray but not overly chilly, and while clouds scudded across the sky, it didn’t rain.

Atop his own mount at her side, Colt glanced over. “Relax your hands. You’ve got it. Let Dusty do the work.”

Should she look at how Colt held the reins so she could copy him? Looking away from the track ahead of her felt like she’d lose control. “I feel like a new driver.”

He chuckled, the low tone too much like Oaks’s for her body not to react. At the thought of her bodyguard and sort-of husband, some of the tension eased from her shoulders. She forced her fingers to loosen on the reins.

“What if Dusty decides he wants to gallop off?”

“Then you hold on tight.” His lips curved on one side into a smile.

She was a good judge of character and from the first second she met Colt, she saw that he was probably more nervous about being saddled with a stranger than she was at being the baggage. He didn’t want to be out here riding trails with his brother’s fake wife. Who could blame him? He was just doing Oaks a favor, getting her out from under his feet so he and Carson could discuss everything she’d told him.

“I’m only joking. Dusty doesn’t gallop these days.” Colt kept pace with her.

“Why not?”

“He’s old. I keep him exercised so he doesn’t get too stiff with arthritis, but not even a carrot dangled in front of his nose would make that horse gallop.”

Feeling a measure more comfortable, she relaxed enough to chat with Oaks’s brother. “Sorry for the nerves. This wasn’t my lifestyle—ranches and horses.”

“It isn’t for many who come here. But it’s good for the vets.”

“I can see that. It’s peaceful.” She looked along Dusty’s long neck and over his ears at the landscape. The dim day had leeched light from all the colors, making them appear muted mustard yellow instead of gold and burnt orange instead of the rich brown earth of the trail.

“You’re Oaks’s younger brother?”

“One of them, yeah.”

“How far apart are you in age?”

“Three years.”

“I’m sure you have some good memories together.”

“Yup. Fought a lot too.”

“Were you competitive?”

“Oh yeah. The six of us boys were always trying to one-up each other when it came to sports. Football and baseball. A few years, we all competed in the rodeo in the same event.”

“What was it?” She smiled at the thought of all six Malone boys vying for the same title.

“Bucking broncs. In the end, none of us won. Though Denver came in first in his age group.”

She filed away this new bit of information. For being married to Oaks, she knew almost nothing about him.

Except how good he felt against her…moving inside her.

She quickly tried to stuff down the desire just thinking about Oaks raised in her. They rode for miles in companionable silence.

Finally, she asked, “Do you work with the veterans program?”

He went quiet for several hoofbeats. “A few times a week. Mostly I work with the security agency.”

“But you’re not in there talking to your brothers about me now.”

He gave a short huff. “I like the night shift.”

“Oh? You’re a night owl then?” She didn’t want to pry, but making small talk with a virtual stranger wasn’t very easy, especially while trying not to fall off a horse.

Their bodies rolled with each swaying step of their mounts. The trail curved ahead, and she was already starting to get anxious about guiding Dusty around the bend, but she focused on keeping the reins loose in her hands.

“I’ve always preferred staying up late. You grow up in a big family, you try to find spells of peace and quiet. For me, that was at night. But really, I took the redeye shift at Black Heart Security because…”

His low tone and the way he broke off midsentence made her look away from the trail and swing her head toward Colt. His lips were firmed into a straight line.

“You don’t have to tell me.”

He thumbed the brim of his cowboy hat in what she guessed was a nervous habit. “I served for fifteen years. When I came home, it wasn’t easy.”

She remained quiet, listening and reading between the lines. Like Oaks, he’d seen battle.

“I had a lot of support, and now it feels good to help other vets.”

“Are any of the men in the program friends of yours?”

He slanted a look her way. “Not mine. Oaks fought with one who is on the ranch. Decker Jansen, they call him Dutch. They’re close.”

Oaks hadn’t mentioned any friends of his, but then again, he’d been pretty distracted. She felt bad for taking up so much of his thoughts. Oaks hadn’t shared much with her about the program, but she sensed it was dear to his heart. A labor of love.

They rode along in silence for several more minutes. Wanting to steer the conversation away from anything that might put Colt on his guard and cause him distress, she attempted another topic that might put him at ease.

“You seem to have a lot of horses on the ranch. Do you raise them to sell or are they only for pleasure?”

As he began to talk, telling her about how they’d spent the past year breeding some of the better-quality stock to sell, she realized how much she needed the distraction from her own problems.

Sharing her whole story with Oaks hadn’t been easy. She did trust him, but she hated how stupid she’d been, how na?ve when it came to her relationship with William. It always left her burning with embarrassment on the inside. It had taken every minute of those six months she spent in hiding to begin restoring her self-esteem from the blows it took.

It hadn’t been easy trying to convey the guilt her parents made her feel over dating a man with money. Then the money turned out to be just as evil as her parents claimed it was.

But looking around at the Malone family, at the well-kept ranch and the private jet fueled up and waiting on the runway at their beck and call, she saw this family had money too. A lot of money.

Both William and Oaks had wealth. They both took her to fancy places. The difference was, William wanted to be in the spotlight at all times.

Oaks had her in the kitchen, in a safe, controlled environment.

William used his money for destruction and pain, while Oaks used his to help others and for pleasure and peace of mind.

The differences struck her hard, and she realized that Colt quit talking.

She pointed at the bend. “What’s up ahead?”

“A great view. Wanna go see?”

“Absolutely.” They continued along at their slow but steady pace. They’d been riding for quite a while and must be a nice little distance from the ranch by now.

The trees grew more sparsely on this stretch of the trail, giving a larger glimpse of the sky.

All of a sudden, Colt reached over and grabbed her reins. “What in the world?” she burst out as he directed them under some trees and yanked the reins to make her horse stop next to his.

“Colt?”

He slipped off his horse. When he reached around and pulled a gun from the waist of his jeans, her mouth dried out.

“Uh…I didn’t mean to offend you with all the questions. We can go back to the house, Colt.”

“Shh!” He had his head tipped back, staring at the opening in the trees. The low whine of some giant insect filled the air, growing louder with each throb of her heart.

She spotted the small black craft hovering in the air. “A—”

Her exclamation was cut off by Colt firing a shot at the object. The explosion echoed, making her horse shy to the side. It bumped into Colt’s mount, and it let out a loud snort.

Colt ran up to the drone he just shot down. Carefully, he collected the object in his gloved hands.

Shiloh’s chest burned with fear. “Whose drone is that?”

“I don’t know.” He carried it in front of him. The parts were destroyed and flopped in his hands. “Can you canter on this horse so we can get back quicker?”

She didn’t bring up the fact that he told her Dusty couldn’t do more than plod along and nodded in answer. “I can try.”

Her pulse pounded in her ears, and her hands shook on the reins. Someone had flown that drone over the Black Heart Ranch, but why? What—or who—were they looking for?

Deep down, she knew the answer to the question she was too afraid to ask. More than anything, she wanted to get back to Oaks. To the safety of his arms.

He would know what to do.

* * * * *

A sharp snapping noise made Oaks jerk in his seat. He lifted his gaze from the information he and Carson had uncovered to his brother. “Do you hear that?”

His brother slowly swung his head to pierce him in his stare. “Gunshot.”

“And horses. Coming fast.”

They both shoved to their feet and rushed out of the office. By the time Oaks made it outside, he already knew something happened.

He swept the area in front of the barn. A cat slinked around the corner on the hunt, but there wasn’t anything else in sight. Hurrying down the front steps, he rushed around the paddock where the trail that Colt and Shiloh had taken began.

A step behind him, Carson let out a low growl at what they were both looking at.

The trail began at the paddock and circled the property, most of it a scenic route through the woods. In the distance, Oaks saw two riders, Colt and Shiloh, pushing their mounts to reach the house faster.

Oaks stared at Shiloh. She sat stiffly as poor old Dusty was pushed to the limit of his ability.

Oaks was never the fastest man on his SEAL team, but he was fast enough. He took off running toward her, boots thumping on the hard-packed dirt track. As soon as she saw him, relief rippled over her face, wiping away some of the strain.

“What happened? What’s going on?” he demanded of Colt.

He reached up and caught Shiloh’s reins. She clung to the leather with a death grip.

“I’ve got you, honey. Let go.” He took the reins and pulled back to bring the horse to a halt.

Colt dismounted in a smooth swing of his leg over the side of the horse. In his arms, he had what looked to be a broken black device. Carson strode over to their brother to inspect it.

Oaks’s first concern was his ward. His wife.

He drew her off the horse’s back and into his arms. With her arms crossed over her chest protectively, she shivered in his hold but not from the temperature.

“Are you hurt?”

“No. Just scared. Oaks, someone sent a drone out and Colt shot it out of the sky!”

Over her shoulder, he looked up sharply at his brothers.

Colt tossed him a glance. “She okay?”

“Yeah.” He cupped her head against his shoulder. “She’ll be all right.”

“Good. I’m taking this inside so we can see if there’s a recording device attached to it.”

“Oh god…” A full shudder rolled through Shiloh, causing Oaks to tighten his grip on her.

Gently, he drew back to search Shiloh’s face, gauging if she was capable of walking or if he needed to carry her into the house. Those gray-blue eyes were steady on his.

Ahead of them, Colt and Carson hurried to the house. Oaks grabbed both horses and brought them to the paddock. A sharp whistle brought one of the vets out of the barn.

He nodded at the man dressed in faded jeans and a Black Heart Ranch T-shirt. “Can you take care of them?”

“Of course.” He moved forward swiftly and took the horses from him.

Oaks turned back to Shiloh. She stood waiting for him, head held high and a composed expression on her face. In the few heartbeats it took him to pass off the horses to the care of the ranch hand on duty, Shiloh had done a turnaround.

He’d seen her do it once before—freak out. But before a single tear could fall, she stuffed down her emotions like a switch flipped.

There wasn’t time for discussing this phenomenon right now. He needed to get her inside, safe, and find out what the hell happened, though her behavior was a jab in the back of his mind, urging him to address it. He couldn’t be part of the veterans’ therapy and not understand that what she was doing was probably hurting her more than she knew.

He wrapped an arm around her and led her swiftly across the yard. All the way, he kept an eye out for danger.

He never should have let her go off with Colt on that ride, whether it was for her own mental health or not.

He had plenty to say now, but it wasn’t the time. They had other matters to worry about.

Once they were in the house, Oaks guided her straight to the conference room. Colt and Carson were already there, and Willow had come running at one of their calls. A sheet was spread on the table, and Colt set down the drone on top of it.

“Motherfuckers!” Willow’s voice held an edge of fury only the Malone brothers would know was cause for worry. Their sister’s lips twisted as she stared at the equipment.

Oaks had to admit, it looked like pure evil. And he’d seen plenty of weapons of destruction—seen what they could do too. But this…was an invasion of their home. A threat to people they cared about.

Carson leaned over the equipment, a screwdriver in hand.

Oaks stopped him. “Wait! It might be armed.”

Colt shook his head. “I’ve seen armed drones before.” His jaw tensed as a memory seemed to sweep through his mind. “It’s not armed or I never would have shot it down. But there is a recording device, which means there’s most likely a chip still transmitting to whoever owns it.”

Shiloh turned her face aside. Seeing how upset she was, even if she wasn’t in a fit of tears, he pulled her up against him and cradled her head against his chest.

Willow’s sharp, narrowed eyes saw everything. She probably saw too much, such as how Oaks’s feelings were far from distant when it came to Shiloh.

He met his sister’s gaze and challenged her to say anything with an arch of his brow.

“Wrap it up,” Oaks instructed. “We’ll get it to the lab for analysis.”

Colt shot him an amused glance. “Sure you don’t want to be the person to take the drone to the lab, Oaks?”

He knew what his little shit brother was doing. He referred to a certain doctor at the local lab who had caught Oaks’s eye at one time. Now when he thought about the woman, he couldn’t even recall her face in his mind.

All he could see was the beautiful one buried against his chest.

Firming his jaw, he looked to Carson. “Send Colt. I’m going to take care of Shiloh.”

As he guided her to the guest room, the world zeroed in like crosshairs on a target.

His gut was reacting to her being in danger.

Maybe it was time for him to take her away from the ranch. She wasn’t safe here.

When he closed the door behind them, she turned into his arms and clung to him.

He smoothed a hand down her spine. “If anything happened to you… Thank god you’re all right, honey.”

Nodding against his chest, she made a soft noise in her throat.

A Russian spy was after her. Within the scope of capability that woman probably had at her fingertips, a drone was nothing. What was next?

He inhaled Shiloh’s sweet scent and closed his eyes at the feel of her locked against him. “Protecting you is everything. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He opened his mouth to tell her that they were leaving the Black Heart.

Suddenly, he realized his error. It was a flashing neon light in the forefront of his mind. Fleeing from the ranch—or even the state—wasn’t the right move. He was making the same mistake his brother did.

When Layne had a stalker getting a few steps too close to her, Carson’s instinct had been to flee with her to another country, but soon he realized the Black Heart was the safest place for her.

“There is safety in numbers,” Oaks gritted out. Tucking his wife closer, he brushed a kiss over her hair. “No one is getting through the Malones.”