Page 50 of Knot Her Cowboys (Big Sky Omegas #2)

W ith my arms full of foal, I cussed my way through the smoke, carting Bluebell to safety.

She was dense as a brick and a couple hundred pounds already.

Thank god I got enough exercise here on the daily that I could manage her weight without hurting either of us.

Buttons raced past me, running frantic circles around me and Bluebell before Dakota and Levi were able to push her through an open gate and away from the barn.

These horses were the only two using this particular barn, so all the other animals were safe and we just needed to get the fire under control.

The staff were already working with the hoses we used to fill the troughs, doing their best to combat the flames.

Cash came running over. “Fire department’s on their way. I’ve already got a staff team heading to the river to fill up the water tanks.”

“Good.” I wheezed, setting Bluebell on her feet next to her mama, well away from the flames.

“Where’s Riley?” Cash asked.

I swung my gaze around, finding her nowhere within sight. I called her name, but with the roar of the fire she probably wouldn’t be able to hear me if she was that far away. Leaving Bluebell with Cash, I bolted, sprinting a circuit around the barn in search of Riley, but found no sign of her.

The siren was going off, and I’d thought maybe Cash had triggered it to alert the property of the fire, but with no Riley, dread filled my chest. I detoured quickly to our stable, whistling sharply.

Ranger popped his head over the gate to look at me.

I didn’t have time to saddle or bridle him, but this horse was practically an extension of me, and I was willing to take the risk if it meant getting to Riley a few minutes sooner.

I grabbed a set of ropes, hooking it over my arm.

“Our girl is missing,” I told him as I whipped open the gate and used my momentum to get on his back. I almost never took him out this late, the low lighting a risk for everyone, but it wasn’t completely dark just yet.

With a squeeze of my thighs, Ranger took off. We passed Cash, and I used the pressure of my legs to guide Ranger.

“What’s happening?” Cash called after me. “Fucking fuck.”

I spared a quick glance back to see him dash into the stable as well.

Ranger galloped down the road, past our fire crew and toward the entrance gate. It was busted open, rough tire tracks in the dirt. Red tail lights gleamed in the distance.

Absolutely not.

If the Deckers lit our barn on fire so they could get Riley out of here, they weren’t making it far without a fight.

Grizzy charged alongside the truck, braying like she was berating me for taking this long to get involved.

Ranger couldn’t outpace a truck for long.

Our only chance was to catch up quickly.

It was an old shitty model, banged up to hell and probably stolen from the farm stock so it wasn’t recognizable.

That was good, though. Older vehicles had exploitable flaws.

The outline of Darrell’s arm and a pistol were visible through the small window on the back of the truck cab.

Riley’s face turned toward me. “Cooper!”

A second later, the brake lights flared, and the truck jerked hard to the right, skidding around before regaining control.

That’s my girl.

Fight back.

Give us time.

Don’t make me face a life without you.

Ranger surged forward, bringing us alongside the truck.

I gave the window a swift kick and instead of shattering, the glass clunked down inside the door.

I pulled Ranger back as Darrell tried to swerve the truck into us.

He cursed up a fucking storm when Riley launched herself at him from inside the vehicle, biting his arm and wrestling the gun away from him.

She flung it out the window, almost clocking me with it as we ran next to them.

Seconds flowed by like molasses in winter, everything in slow motion as I crashed against the reality of how easily I could lose her.

That wasn’t happening. I’d die before I let them take her.

Hooves thundered behind us, and I turned to see Cash catching up on our Quarter Horse, Betsy Boo.

Darrell flung Riley off, her back hitting the door hard, the glass in that window dropping off just like the driver’s side. They’d fixed that problem on newer models. I silently thanked Darrell for not wanting to wreck his god-awful expensive truck ramming through our gate like he had.

“Cash!” I yelled out. “Get her out of there!”

We had one chance, literal seconds to make this work. If we fucked up, who knew where Darrell would take her. Hell, we could know exactly where he took her and we still wouldn’t be able to get her back. It was now or never.

I grabbed the rope, holding the lasso loop in my hand.

Riley fought to reach out her window, kicking at Darrell where he was grabbing her feet to stop her from climbing out.

Cash wedged Betsy Boo in between Grizzy and the truck, snaring Riley around the chest and drove everyone onto the shoulder the same moment I thrust my arm through the window and hooked that rope around Darrell fucking Decker’s neck.

I urged Ranger to slow and we narrowly avoided Darrell’s truck swerving toward us, but the speed of it quickly snapped the rope tight.

I let go so it didn’t drag me off my horse.

The whole vehicle whipped to the left and hit the ditch, flipping straight over and coming to a stop with metal groaning.

Ranger trotted his way down to a full stop and I slid off his back, sprinting down the now-dark road where Cash had slid off Betsy Boo and was holding Riley in his arms.

She wriggled free when she saw me, slamming against my chest. Relief struck me even harder and I sank to my knees in the gravel road with her clutched to me.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I tried to get away sooner. He was going to hurt Grizzy and I couldn’t let him.”

I hushed her softly, burying my face against her throat and inhaling the sweetness of her floral scent.

Between the heat of her body and her scent weaving into my soul, I could actually convince myself she was real.

She was here, safe in my arms. My mind kept replaying everything, every horrific second of her being out of reach and on her way to a life she’d fled.

I hugged her harder, as if I could compress us into a single body so I’d never have to part with her again.

Cash dropped down next to us, wrapping both of us in his embrace. “Jesus Christ, Cooper. You don’t do anything by halves, do you?”

I shook my head, not lifting my face to answer him more than that.

Grizzy shoved her nose up to Riley, snuffling and whimpering as she assured herself she’d succeeded in helping her favorite person.

Another truck came barreling down the road, getting to a stop when the headlights hit us. Dakota and Levi rushed out.

“Holy shit,” Levi gasped, falling to his knees to join us. “What the fuck happened?”

All four of us touched Riley anywhere we could.

“I felt her panic in the bond,” said Cash, “but I thought it was because she was scared for the horses. Then I couldn’t find her, and Cooper took off on Ranger. Dawned on me pretty quick what he thought had happened, and I figured it was better safe than sorry, so I followed him.”

Their words faded in and out. All that mattered was the omega in my arms. The scent of distress clung to her, but beneath that was all floral, her comfort growing the longer I held her.

I squeezed her tightly, until her little wheeze sounded in my ear, followed by a loud intake of air when I loosened my grip.

Riley nuzzled closer. My whole fucking world was right here and I’d almost lost her.

The fire still glowed in the distance. We should get back to help, but I couldn’t make myself move.

“Are Buttons and Bluebell okay?” Riley asked, her voice watery.

“They’re both fine,” Dakota assured her. “We got them out safely and the staff are all trained on what to do during a fire.”

Levi tried to extract Riley from my arms, and it took every exhausted ounce of willpower not to bite him for it. He gave me a sympathetic look when I growled, murmuring softly about how we needed to get Riley somewhere safe.

Dakota got Cash and me to our feet. The adrenaline drained from my body like a kicked-over trough, leaving me unsteady and queasy.

A headache burrowed into the base of my skull.

Hadn’t I endured enough today? Now my body was trying to punish me for letting Darrell get his hands on Riley for even a second.

“Come on,” Dakota said softly. “We can’t sit here in the middle of the road. I’ll walk the horses back.”

“I’ll help,” I insisted. Ranger would follow me and it would be less hassle for Dakota. Cash got into the driver’s seat and Levi settled with Riley in his lap for the short drive back.

Once they were moving and Grizzy was cantering after them, I backtracked to the wreck, jumping into the ditch to see if the world was actually rid of this monster.

Fucker hadn’t been wearing his seat belt and had gone straight through the windshield when he hit the ditch, the truck flipping on top of him. His glassy eyes stared back at me.

Thank god for that.

Riley was the last person he would ever hurt.

I loosened the rope around his throat and looped it to hang over my shoulder.

Police would see the marks when they removed the body, but that wasn’t something I’d worry about right this moment.

Plenty of more important things were on my mind besides whether or not I was going to prison for helping Darrell along to his demise.

Ranger fetched me and I held onto his mane to stay upright. Dakota walked at my side, my rope looped around Betsy Boo’s neck.

“I knew your instincts were incredible, but that was wild,” said Dakota.