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The side door kicked open and Renzo came inside towel-drying his hair, only to stop and screw his nose up. ‘Crikey, this place stinks.’ He turned around and with the sound of roller doors screeching, he pushed the entire wall open, allowing fresh air and flying dust particles to churn under the harsh outback sun.

‘Oi, drongo. The sun bounces off those solar panels this time of the day.’ Dane pushed off his chair to close the door again. ‘It’s why I keep that side door shut.’

With the two men arguing, Izzy cautiously shimmied further back into the cage, trying to find the safest spot where they couldn’t touch her.

Then something outside caught her eye. It was Craig.

She nearly screamed with joy.

Near the truck’s cab, with his back pressed to the outside of the open shed door, Craig held his finger over his mouth for her to remain quiet, while Dane and Renzo continued to argue over the door.

Using his rifle, he limped over to the truck and peered into its cab. He then crouched down, to just inside the shed itself, and unhooked a short rod off the wall, then slid it towards her. ‘Hide it.’

‘What is it?’ It was a long handheld device with a plastic grip and a metal-tipped end to it.

‘Cattle prod. Just squeeze the trigger and jab with the pointy end.’

Oh, wow, she was no longer unarmed. ‘Got it.’ With a rush of bravado, she slid it under a stash of hay. Then looked at him with hope. ‘And me?’

‘Sit tight, baby. We’ll get you out of there.’ Craig disappeared against the side of the shed.

Her heart sank seeing him leave like that.

But then his hat brim peeked out, just enough for him to wink at her, then he was gone again.

Sitting cross-legged inside the cage, she spun around to gather some hay, using it to conceal the cattle prod under her leg, hoping she didn’t accidentally press the trigger and end up shocking herself in the arse.

Then she spotted more movement outside the shed. It was Finn.

For a big guy, Finn moved quickly, disappearing under the dash of one of the ATVs, then swiftly moving to the other ATV. He must be disarming them or unplugging them or something, but it meant the rest of the Stock Squad were here.

And she had her part to play.

Renzo pranced towards her, his tone taunting. ‘What are you doing in there, Is-o-bel?’

‘I’m making a voodoo doll.’ She held up the straw doll that she’d been busily weaving to stop her panic. ‘Can you guess who it’s for?’

You’d think Renzo would get mad. Instead, he laughed. One of those evil, sickening kind of laughs that made her skin crawl.

‘Sit tight, my pet. I’ll deal with you in a minute. I have some packing to finish, because I get to go home today.’ Renzo casually whistled some tune as he hung his wet towel over the back of the chair, then dragged a duffel bag onto a camp bed and began packing.

That meant her time was running out!

Even Dane looked back at her, slowly shaking his head. ‘I suppose I should clean out the fridge if we’re leaving camp tonight.’

‘Wait, I’ll take that beer before you do.’ Both men stood at the fridge.

‘Oi, that’s my tucker for the road.’ Dane snatched back a plate.

‘Don’t care. Buy something at a roadhouse.’ Renzo grabbed some roasted meat and a beer. ‘You can drop me off in Darwin.’

‘I’m going the other way, mate.’

‘You’ll be going the way I say.’

A low guttural grunt came from the far side of the shed. It was an unusual noise that Izzy assumed came from the heifers. Except they’d lifted their heads with their ears moving like sonars.

Again, there was that weird grunt.

This time the calves, who’d been napping, skittishly got to their feet. Their large brown eyes filled with curiosity.

There was another grunt. But it was coming from another direction. Izzy couldn’t tell which cow or calf was making that noise.

But it made Wraith spin his big butt around from his water trough, with his hoofs clapping on the concrete, to peer at something on the other side of the shed.

Wraith was a beast. And when that strange noise called out again, his wide dangerous horns dropped and he headbutted the gate.

It made Izzy jump, the straw from the doll falling from her fingers.

Again, that strange noise rose in the air. It wasn’t a grunt or a growl, it was like a pig or another bull.

No, it was Stone! Mimicking a wild animal, successfully capturing the attention of the two-thousand-pound bull.

Wraith gave a loud snort as he backed up to the wall of his pen. One of his heavy hoofs stomped hard, then scraped across the ground, creating a gritty, deliberate drag that sent dust particles to rise with short clippings of hay.

Izzy winced as the bull’s hoofs rumbled like thunder as he charged for the gate.

BANG.

‘Dane, the bull’s trying to get out.’ Renzo closed the fridge, putting his food on the table, and cracked open his beer.

‘Here now, you settle down, Wraith.’ Dane pushed back the brim of his hat and sauntered towards the pens.

From her heightened position in the truck, Izzy spotted Amara. Crouched low, the policewoman opened the pen the calves were in, allowing them to bolt free. Bleating and kicking, their skinny legs had them scampering across the shed floor, with their clattering hooves and cries creating a loud, chaotic echo from the other side of the shed.

‘ Quick. Stop those calves from escaping.’ Dane shouted at Renzo, who was drinking his beer.

‘Do I look like a cowboy to you?’

‘Cut them off. Don’t let ‘em get outside.’ Dane waved his arms in the air as if waving down a plane. ‘Ee-yah, back. Git back, ya mob.’

The skittish calves scattered in various directions. It was like they were playing a game of tag, trying to skip around Dane and then Renzo.

BANG!

Wraith headbutted the pen’s gate again, backing up for another shot.

‘Will that gate hold?’ Renzo called to Dane over the moos, grunts, and rising dust.

With Renzo distracted, Craig limped around to the driver’s side of the truck, then pressed a finger to his lips to keep Izzy quiet. ‘Hang tight. I’ll drive us out.’

With a wince, while holding his ribs, he opened the truck door. It creaked. Izzy and Craig froze.

BANG. Again, Wraith rammed against the pen door.

‘Get that far side, Renzo. We can’t let ‘em out.’ Dane and Renzo were busy trying to corral the calves back into their pen.

Craig climbed into the cab and released the handbrake, allowing the truck to roll silently down the slight incline.

‘What is going on with the cattle?’ Renzo paused, to peer around for a solution.

Izzy held her breath as the truck quietly inched out of the shed, the tyres crunching on the gravel.

‘Oi!’ Renzo pointed at the truck. ‘ It’s a distraction.’

Renzo rushed for the truck, just as the flatbed’s cab cleared the shed doors, but not quick enough for Izzy to be free.

‘Hurry, Craig. Renzo’s coming. ’ She had no way of escape, and nowhere to run. It was finally time to fight, to take that stand, even if she was on her knees, dragging out the cattle prod, ready to face the demon racing for her cage.

Renzo’s hands wrapped around the bars. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’

‘Leave me alone.’ Izzy poked the cattle prod through the cage and into Renzo’s side. She pulled the trigger, sending a powerful jolt of electricity, and did not stop.

But the truck stopped.

And so did Renzo, who’d yelped in pain, stumbling backwards to fall to the ground. His eyes wide and disoriented, as if in shock at what she’d done. But it didn’t last long, where his filthy look was positively murderous. ‘I’ll kill you for that!’

But then Wraith charged hard—BANG! The gate flung open, and one enormous, agitated bull stared them down, fuming with fury.

‘RUN!’ Dane made a dash for it but tripped over the calves.

Wraith swung around with his wide horns catching the sunlight, and locked eyes on Renzo.

‘Oh, Mother Mary…’ Renzo scrambled to get to his feet, but his fancy town shoes struggled to gain traction on the dusty concrete floor covered with spilled straw.

Finally getting to his feet, Renzo rushed for the table to get his gun. But the bull charged, cutting him off with a powerful snort, forcing Renzo to stumble backwards. With the whites of his wild eyes, Renzo searched for an escape.

‘Dane’s getting away.’ Izzy pointed at Dane running out the door.

But big bad Finn was there, swinging a rope like a proper cowboy. His roping skills were impressive, the lasso flying at Dane to capture him by an ankle, tripping him to land face down in the dirt with a thud.

‘Ugh!’ Dane’s sweaty face was covered in red dirt, his hat knocked off as he struggled to get rid of the rope around his boot.

Finn shoved his knee into Dane’s back, then swiftly bound Dane’s hands and feet with the rope, like a steer, leaving Dane to spit and snort out the dirt that covered his face.

‘Sir, I have handcuffs.’ Amara ran over, holding out her handcuffs.

‘The rope will do. It’ll give the stock thief a taste of what it’s like being roped in a campdraft.’ As Finn stood, he used Dane’s head for leverage, pushing Dane’s face back into the dirt and hard. ‘Who’s got the bull?’

‘No one.’ Stone hung off the side of the shed like a chimpanzee. ‘So, how do stockmen control an unhappy bull?’

Craig struggled to get out of the truck, landing the wrong way on his bad leg. It collapsed under him, forcing him to roll in the dirt.

‘Craig!’ Izzy clutched the sides of the cage. Gritting her teeth with frustration she shook the sides of her prison, desperate to get to him. ‘I’m so sorry, Craig.’ He was here because of her. She did this.

‘I’m okay.’ Craig nodded at her, even if he was in pain, and used the side of the truck to climb to his feet, while Finn, Stone, and Amara were busy at the rear of the shed herding the calves back into their pen.

But Wraith was still free.

And he was staring down Renzo.

‘Easy, moo cow.’ With his back to the truck, Renzo stepped away from the bull.

But the bull kept coming, slowly, one hoof after the other, inch by inch.

Again, Renzo stepped back.

Zap! Right on the side of his neck. Renzo’s whole body shook from the jolt of voltage as his eyes rolled and he dropped to the floor, passed out.

Izzy held the cattle prod at the cage door, ready to go again. ‘That’s for murdering Meghan, you arsehole.’

‘Let’s get you out of there.’ Craig hobbled over and squeezed the handles of the bolt cutters, to slice through the bulky lock.

‘Look out!’ Izzy pointed. With her heart in her throat, her eyes widened at the horror of one very angry two-thousand-pound bull. ‘Wraith’s right behind you.’