Page 30 of Wyoming Bodyguard (Sunrise Security #1)

S econds ticked by like hours. Lily stayed on the hard concrete floor and leaned against the wooden door. Dust and dirt clung to her skin. She held her breath, both to stop the smoke from entering her lungs and to listen for Madden. He’d been right there. About to free her. Where had he gone?

“Madden?” She yelled as loud as she could, but the smoke swimming in her system stole her voice and zapped her energy. She pounded against the wooden barrier trapping her inside the smoke-filled barn.

A coughing fit took over her body. Her lungs screamed for clean oxygen. She couldn’t wait any longer. She had to find a way out.

Staggering to her feet, she crouched low and moved toward the cloud of smoke. The old stable only had one way in and one way out. No windows were inside to offer escape. She was stuck, but that didn’t mean she’d sit on her ass and wait to be saved, or worse, wait for death.

Clearing the fog and fear from her mind, realization smacked her over the head. There was a water source in the barn. She needed to find the cause of the smoke and extinguish it before things got worse.

The horses whinnied in panic, stamping their hooves, as she hurried by them.

Their fear pushed her to her limits. She couldn’t let them die.

She had to figure out how to get them all out of there alive.

Her gait was slow, and each breath harder to take than the last, but she forced herself through the wall of soot and dirty fog until she stumbled into the feed room.

Buckets. That’s what she needed. Buckets of water.

Summoning all her strength, she found a large black bucket and carried it to the sink.

While it filled with water, she surveyed the cloudy room, but couldn’t see fire.

The smoke had come from the back of the barn, so she struggled to carry the heavy bucket back into the aisle and turned toward Queenie’s stall.

The mare pranced and cried, demanding attention as she passed.

“I’m sorry, girl,” Lily said. “I’m doing all I can. I promise.”

Speaking to the horse calmed her nerves.

Made her feel as though she wasn’t alone—as though she had more to fight for than just herself.

Gritting her teeth, she kept moving. Her throat burned and tears fell from her eyes.

She wanted nothing more than to lie down and curl into a ball, but that wasn’t an option.

She had her entire life ahead of her with a man she loved.

An ache spread across her chest. She should have told Madden she loved him when she had the chance. She shouldn’t have let fear hold back the words. And now she might never get the chance to tell him exactly how she felt—how much joy he’d brought into her life.

The sickening sound of wood splintering snapped her back to the moment. Flames erupted on the far wall of the barn and snaked up the side. A burst of heat engulfed her, and she stumbled backward.

“No,” she muttered. She couldn’t combat the now-raging inferno with one lousy bucket of water at a time. Especially when she barely had the strength to carry the water at all.

The fire spread quickly to the rafters. The beam overhead morphed into a glowing red promise of death. Sparks rained down, and she covered her head with her arm to combat the onslaught of burning embers.

Hopelessness crushed her like the heavy blanket of smoke crushing her lungs. Dizziness made her head swim and pain thumped against her temples. Hours before she’d lain in Madden’s arms with a whole world of possibilities stretched out before her.

Now she was moments from death. Scared. Alone. And gutted to have come so close to having everything she’d ever wanted for it all to be ripped away.

Dropping the bucket, water splashed on the concrete and up her legs. Sobs wracked her shoulders and she fell to the ground. This was it. This was how she’d die. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed her mind to take her far away.

Queenie’s cry reached her ears, and an overwhelming desire to be with her mother’s horse brought her to her hands and knees. Loose stones scratched her shins as she crawled to the stall. She pulled herself to her feet, opened the door and staggered inside.

Smoke and tears blurred her vision. She looped an arm around Queenie’s neck and buried her face in the horse’s mane.

Queenie stood motionless, her shrieks of terror gone as if she accepted her fate alongside Lily.

Lily sucked in a shuddering breath and hacking coughs tore from her mouth.

She ran a palm down Queenie’s broad nose.

“Thank you for always being there for me, old girl. You’ve been such a comfort to me.

I felt Mama beside me every time we rode through the mountains together or meandered across the meadows. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

A sense of peace washed over her, as if she could feel the loving arms of her mother wrapped around her. She might not be ready to leave this earth, but at least she’d be reunited with the loved ones who went before her.

She just hoped Madden didn’t blame himself. He’d done so much for her. She’d make sure to find a way for him to feel her love in the days and months to come.

Unable to keep her eyes open a second longer, she let them fall shut and brought forth an image of Madden’s face.

His strong jawline and beautiful eyes. The smirk she used to hate but now couldn’t get enough of.

The picture of him was the last thing she saw before she slid to the floor and her body finally gave in to the blessed relief of oblivion.

* * *

Pain ricocheted through Madden’s brain, urging him to keep his eyes sealed shut and stay in the warm cocoon creating a fuzzy feeling around his body. But something nagged at him to shake off the pain and confusion and get to his feet.

A scream broke through his muddled thoughts.

Lily!

Fighting through the agony stabbing into the back of his head, he staggered to his feet and grabbed the shovel laying on the ground.

Tingling sensations shot up and down his arms and legs as if he’d been locked in the same position for too long.

His motions were slow and jerky, but he had to get to the barn.

Had to break open the lock and free Lily and the horses.

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?”

The familiar voice came back to him, hitting him harder than whatever had taken him out moments before. Madden tightened his grip on his shovel and swung it around as he turned toward the voice.

The man chuckled and leapt out of the way. “Nice try. Do us both a favor and walk away. This doesn’t concern you.”

Madden faced his attacker. His vision blurred, and he narrowed his eyes to get a better look at the man before him.

The cloud of smoke parted. A skyful of stars twinkled above and poured out enough light to highlight the man mere feet away.

The broad shoulders and bushy, gray beard took shape.

The sight of the constant cowboy with the burnt red material around the base of his hat was like a pickax straight though his heart.

“Marvin?” Shock made his voice rise an octave.

Marvin Williamson’s ranch took up a large parcel of land on the opposite side of town. The family had been a staple in the community since before he was born. Fellow cattle ranchers had ridden the trails alongside him and his father for years.

Hell, Marvin hadn’t missed a poker night for as long as Madden could remember—had been one of the few people in town who hadn’t turned his back on Walter and the rest of the McKays. He couldn’t be the person responsible for tormenting Lily and her father.

The person who now stood in the way of him saving the woman he loved.

The overwhelming comprehension of the depths of his feelings for Lily stole his breath. He should have told her, should have screamed it from the mountaintops, but now she was trapped in a burning barn. Her life on the line.

He wouldn’t lose her. Wouldn’t watch her die and forfeit the life he wanted to build with her by his side. He just needed to get past Marvin. Tightening his grip on the wooden handle of the shovel, he prepared to charge.

“Sorry, son. I didn’t want you to get caught up in this mess, but I don’t see any other way now. Set down that shovel.” Marvin lifted a gun and aimed it at Madden’s chest.

Saliva pooled in Madden’s mouth as terror settled in his gut.

Crouching, he laid the shovel on the grass at his feet then rose back to his full height.

“You don’t have to do this. It’s not too late to turn things around and walk away.

” He hated the thought of Lily trapped in the barn, but he couldn’t get to her with a gun pointed at him.

If he could get Marvin talking long enough, he could figure out a way to distract him.

Marvin shook his head. “This is the way it has to be. I’m a simple man, Madden. You take what’s mine, I take what’s yours. Plain and simple.”

Madden worked his mind over everything he knew about Marvin as well as what he’d uncovered while searching for the person responsible for hurting Lily and her father.

And then it all clicked into place.

“Mr. Tremont stole your cattle,” Madden said, palms high in the night air. “You lost out on revenue, and that’s why you had to branch out to training horses. I don’t blame you for being pissed.”

Marvin worked his jaw back and forth. “You don’t steal a man’s livelihood.

I don’t care how bad you’re hurtin’. Even you and your pops had the sense to just walk away.

You didn’t mean to hurt anyone when you sold your land.

I always understood that, even if it was a choice I could never make.

But this is different. Coming onto my land and taking my cows—stealing food from my table.

No, I couldn’t stand back and just let it happen. Not anymore.”

“I agree. Nobody should take other people down to better themselves. Is that what Mr. Tremont was doing? Using the money to feed his addiction?” He struggled to keep his voice calm as the heat from the barn engulfed him.

Marvin spat on the ground, as if just speaking about the crimes against his ranch was enough to make him sick. “I don’t know what the hell he was doing, and I don’t care. Don’t touch my cattle. Don’t steal my money.” His last statement came out on a wave of fury.

“I get that, but you don’t want to hurt Lily. You don’t want to hurt me or Pops. You know this would kill him. You’re one of his closest friends.”

“Like I said, ain’t got a choice anymore.

You two wouldn’t stop digging, no matter what I did to discourage it.

Even when I hung that good for nothing ranch hand from the rafters.

I figured a staged suicide made him look guilty and made him pay for stealing my cattle at the same time.

But you couldn’t leave it alone. I’m sorry, Madden, I really am. ”

A loud pop sounded behind Marvin. Flames erupted on the far side of the barn. Marvin shifted to glance at the now-burning barn, moving the gun just enough so it pointed beyond Madden into the darkness of the night.

Madden sprang into action. Scooping the shovel off the ground, he swung the tool as hard as he could. The metal connected to the side of the old man’s head and vibrated Madden’s arms. The sound of crunching bone combined with the crackling of the fire, creating the soundtrack to hell.

Marvin crumpled to the ground. The gun fell from his hand and bounced away from his motionless body.

Nausea bubbled in the pit of Madden’s stomach.

Marvin Williamson was a man he’d admired and respected, loved like family, for most of his life.

He couldn’t reconcile the monster who would kill an innocent woman with the man he’d always known, but he didn’t have time to try.

Not when Lily needed him now more than ever.

With his heart breaking, Madden plucked the gun from the patch of grass, aimed the barrel at the lock, and fired. The blast of the firearm rang in his ears. The padlock sprang loose. He ripped it off, unwound the chain, and flung the door open.

An onslaught of heat greeted him. Smoke poured outside, hitting him in the face and burning his eyes. With the inside of his elbow covering his mouth, he ran inside. “Lily!”

Nothing but the snapping fire and panicked horses answered him.

He suppressed the urge to race through the barn. The roof glowed red, prepared to give way at any moment. He squinted, and his lungs begged for clean air.

“Lily! Where are you?”

Moving quickly, he struggled to see through the dense smoke and falling embers. As he passed each stall, he opened the door. Horse after horse galloped toward the exit. The smoke thickened until he spotted the last stall door, which was open, but the horse stood tall and proud inside.

Queenie!

Gritting his teeth, he shoved aside the pain and fear and suffocating sensation of his lungs struggling to take in air. He followed his instinct. If all was lost, Lily would want to be with the animal she loved like no other.

She’d want to be with her mom.

Racing into the stall, he caught sight of Lily curled in a ball at Queenie’s feet. Her eyes closed. Dirt and soot covered her face, her hair a tangled mess. Relief crashed over him like healing water but fear still remained. He scooped her into his arms. “I’m here, baby. I’ve got you.”

Her eyes fluttered open and she gripped the neck of his T-shirt with weak fingers. “Save Queenie.”

“You heard her, Queenie. Get going.”

The horse whinnied, left the stall and sprinted down the aisle, Madden quickly on her heels.

His skin was hot, blistering from the fallen embers.

He coughed and sent spikes of pine into his scorched throat.

A piece of the loft crashed to the floor, and he jumped back to avoid being crushed by the burning wood.

Lily curled against him and buried her face in his neck.

“I’ve got you,” he said, praying it was true.

He leapt over the spreading flames. Stumbling outside, he drew in large gulps of fresh air. He carried her as far away from the barn as he could until his legs gave out and he settled onto the cool grass.

The sound of sirens screamed in the distance. Flames overtook the barn. The structure shuddered and groaned before collapsing into a giant pile of burning rubble.

Watching the destruction, he cradled Lily on his lap. “We made it, Lily. The horses are safe. You’re safe. It’s all over.”

Her eyes slid shut again, but a flicker of a smile shone through her dirty face. “I love you, Madden.”

He kissed her forehead and held her close. “I love you, too. I need you to stay awake, okay? Sounds like help’s on the way.”

She snuggled against him, and a cough shook her body. “Don’t need help. All I need is you.”