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J uliette

Fire-eating dragon.

Gargantuan hairy beast.

Man with an assault rifle.

I shuddered as soon as I thought of the last one, yet my legs were still responding to my curiosity and not any level of common sense.

Noises.

I had particularly keen hearing and had since I was a small child.

Because of that, every little noise I’d heard including typical house sounds had turned into a big bad monster.

It had driven my mother insane since she’d been the one to check every corner of my room, under my bed, and in the closet at least once a night.

That’s why the noise from earlier continued to drive me crazy. There was something out there in the woods and it certainly wasn’t just the rustling of trees.

To me it sounded as if there was a wounded animal maybe caught in a trap.

Maybe it was foolish, but I needed to find out. With the camera still strapped around my neck, I headed into the woods. There was still plenty of light to see where I was going and to make my way back.

The trees were thick, but I did my best to keep track of where I was headed, now certain I was right. Whatever the noise, there was at least one animal involved.

If only Tank was with me. He’d locate the source in a heartbeat.

I kept going, determined to find out what it was myself.

More trees.

More debris.

My legs were already tired, the hint of exhaustion a reminder of the ordeal.

I moved carefully, forced to step over some fallen debris, but not too much. The sound was getting louder.

Wait a minute. Was I hearing a horse? I stopped moving long enough to crane my neck.

There was a definite whinny.

No, two.

Oh, my God. More horses. I moved faster, pushing past even thicker trees, including scrubby pines.

Either the trees were getting thicker or I’d spent more time in the forest than I’d anticipated.

At least the moon was already adding some light, but soon, it might be too dark to make my way back home.

Just a few more steps.

When I finally came upon a clearing, I stood in awe even as shadows crept down from the horizon.

There were several large structures, so much grass and fencing.

And horses.

There had to be at least six horses roaming free inside a huge enclosure.

I moved closer, in awe of the majestic forms.

When I was almost to a portion of the fence, I stopped and took a few pictures, careful not to spook the horses. As Sadie had done with me before, when I approached, they were curious but kept their distance until I moved to the fence rails. I could tell they were afraid.

One horse decided to brave coming closer, doing so with a slow gait. That’s when I noticed he was severely underweight. I didn’t need any experts to tell me that.

But the horse walked closer, tossing his head up and down.

“Look at you,” I whispered. “Such a big boy.” A shiver coursed through me. What had happened to this horse and why would anyone starve an animal?

Anger swept through me as I stroked the horse’s nose.

As soon as I got back to the house, I was going to force Kage to contact the authorities. This kind of abuse couldn’t continue. I’d have the perpetrator arrested.

“Baby. Don’t worry. We’ll get you some food.”

The horse was happy to see someone, enjoying the attention. Meanwhile, I was growing angrier by the minute, also noticing another horse was limping. And another had burns similar to Sadie’s. And another had a bandage over her eye. What the fuck was going on here?

Oh, I was furious.

“I promise I’ll get you some help. I won’t let you suffer any longer.” I backed away, turning quickly to run back the way I came. The sooner the authorities were contacted, the sooner they could be taken away.

When I heard footsteps, I stopped short, suddenly realizing that I’d been a fool in leaving the safety of the house. Shit. Shit. What was I going to do?

The fear was starting to turn into panic. I couldn’t be taken again. I just… Fight. Fight.

I started to run away from the crashing sound just as I noticed a beam of light.

Then Tank bounded from the woods, racing toward me. When he jumped on me, I lost my footing, toppling backward onto the ground. “Oh, buddy. It’s you. Thank God.”

“What the fuck did you think you were doing?” Kage’s voice was now filled with rage. He lumbered forward, flashing the light directly in my eyes.

“I heard sounds. I told you I was right.” Tank licked my face, pressing the full weight of his body on mine.

“You ran off. I was explicit in my instructions that you were not to leave the property. Do you not understand what could have happened to you? Don’t you get it?”

“I’m sorry, but I heard a wounded animal and look at them. Just look. They’ve all been abused. Who does that?” I winced from the light, turning my head to the side.

“You are infuriating. Tank. Heel.” Exhaling, he growled at me then shifted his light into the fenced area while thrusting his arm out. “Grab my hand. Do it, Juliette.”

My heart was racing so fast, but mostly out of anger. He could be pissed at me all he wanted as long as he called the police.

When he pulled me to my feet, he did so with so much force I was pitched against him. “Goddamn you, lady. I should spank you for hours for this. Maybe I’ll lock you in a room. Hell, I’ll keep you in a cage.”

His vehemence almost pulled a laugh. “You were worried about me.”

“You’re damn right I was!”

“Look at the horses, Kage. Look at them. They’re all in terrible condition.”

“Yeah, I get it.” He held me close, his breathing labored. “That doesn’t give you the right to disobey me.”

“You don’t care about them at all. Do you?” I jerked from his hold, rubbing dirt off my jeans.

He softened, but only somewhat. “It’s not that I don’t care, Juliette.”

“Then what? I can take care of myself.”

Obviously exasperated with me, he lowered the light, using his arm to wipe his eyes. “That’s not a discussion we’re going to have. We’re going back to the house.”

“Not until you tell me that you’ll call the police. We can’t allow this to continue. I won’t. I’ll walk into town if I need to.”

He cocked his head and even in the dim light of the late afternoon, I could see his eyes, the pain and worry. And anger. The man was always angry.

“You don’t understand,” he said.

“What don’t I understand? You have a neighbor abusing their animals. That’s pretty clear.”

“That’s not what’s happening here.”

“Then what is?”

He shifted the light once again, shaking his head. “You don’t understand because I own the property and the horses. They belong to me.”

“What?” I pressed my fists against his chest and managed to break free from his hold.

He grabbed my arm, swinging me around. “This is a horse sanctuary. These horses are being saved. They have experts. Hell, I don’t know their stories, but they were brought here to be healed. Why did you run from me? Why?”

Shock was right there, disbelief as well. “You own the ranch?”

“Evidently so. I just found out. That’s what I was doing when you had to find out on your own. Do you know what might have happened to you? Do you seriously not get it?”

“Why do you care so much? You act as if nothing matters to you. So why? You tell me why!”

His bristling only infuriated me even more.

“Why?” I repeated.

“Because you didn’t follow my orders. You didn’t seem to care that any mistake could cost you your life.”

His words were laced with anger, the fire in his eyes more intense than I’d witnessed before.

For some insane reason that would haunt me for weeks to come, I’d thought he cared about me. Why should it matter?

Because the man hovering over me, the larger-than-life soldier was everything I’d never wanted. Dominating. Arrogant. Unyielding.

Exciting.

As he gripped my jaw, I took several scattered breaths. Leaning in, I realized how much I wanted him to kiss me. He lowered his head, his lips parting. My heart continued to race, thoughts of the man drifting from fury to uncertainty. “I’m fine. I’m just fine.”

“But you might not have been.” Kage rubbed his thumb across my cheek. The slow head shake sent more electric vibrations through me.

I wrapped my fingers around his shirt, pulling myself even closer. “I just care about animals.”

“I know you do. I get it. I do.” He took a deep breath, his face even closer.

My tongue had a mind of its own, the tip brushing across my bottom lip. “I promise I won’t do anything stupid again. Now, we can help the horses.”

“The horses can wait, but you’re right. You’re not going to do anything stupid like that again. And I’m going to make certain that you won’t.” He brushed his lips across mine, his hot breath cascading along my cheeks creating a firestorm of wanton need.

This man was everything I couldn’t stand and nothing I should want, but my body wasn’t agreeing with my mind.

He reared back. “No, I’m not going to allow you to endanger yourself again.”

Instead of a kiss, he tossed me over his shoulder.

There was no arguing with the man. There was no chance of breaking free from his hold.

But I continued to try, pummeling my fists on him as he took long strides through the forest. Fallen limbs and debris didn’t stop his advancement. He simply strode over them or crushed wood beneath his powerful boot. His anger remained hot and heavy, his breathing labored.

Tank trotted along beside us, never whining or making a single noise. There were so many thoughts in my mind, concerns about the horses and curiosity about why he now owned the property.

And whether or not he gave a damn he was willed the land for a reason.

When he broke through the forest behind the house, he refused to set me down. The silent hunk growled once as he headed inside, slamming the doors behind him.

And locking them.

As soon as he dropped my feet to the floor, he leveled a harsh glare in my direction. Then he paced back and forth, running his fingers through his disheveled hair.

“I don’t understand you,” he snapped.

“What’s not to understand? I have a heart. I find it horrifying that you don’t.”