Sudden Setup. Barb Han

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СКАЧАТЬ Eyes have identified the rock thrower?

      She crawled into the front landscaping of the modest home on Sixth Street, gasping. How long could she stay there unnoticed? A few minutes? Hours? The night?

      It was getting late. She’d barely escaped the gunman. If only she’d been able to get a look at his face. And now she was hiding, on the run from someone determined to get her out of the way. She searched her mind for a name, anyone who would want her gone. Could this be related to her father’s death? Or was the timing a coincidence?

      Her father had enemies and plenty of people didn’t like him, but it was as if he’d been made of Teflon and she could scarcely believe that someone had managed to get to him. Her heart fisted and grief shrouded her, weighing down her limbs. Her larger-than-life father was gone. She was hiding in someone’s landscaping and she had nowhere to go.

      A sob released before she had time to force it back. Tears brimmed but she couldn’t allow herself to cry. Not now. Let that dam break and the flood might just leave a trail big enough for her attacker to find her. Start crying and she might not be able to stop.

      A branch snapped. She glanced around, afraid to breathe in case the gunman was closing in on her.

      Hope that the noise could’ve been the sheriff or one of his deputies—anyone who could help—fizzled when she saw the bobcat winding through the front landscaping. He was fairly small and definitely not a threat. But it reminded her that there would be others. Soon.

      Ella needed a plan. Her thoughts shifted to the compelling stranger in her father’s cabin. He was strong enough to defend her. She told herself that was the only reason he entered her thoughts and not because of something deeper, something like missing him. Missing a stranger sounded ridiculous, even to her. How much blood had she lost? She had to be delirious if she was thinking about Blue Eyes.

      One thing was certain. If she surfaced in the open, she’d be killed the second her chaser caught sight of her. The shotgun that had been fired at her shot real shells, as evidenced by the blood on the outside of her thigh where shrapnel had grazed her. Speaking of which, she needed to clean her wound before it got infected.

      She couldn’t go home. There was too much chaos going on since news of her father’s murder broke and she’d be an open target.

      She had no idea what the person targeting her wanted. Ransom? Revenge?

      She and her siblings were close-knit. They’d had to be since it was generally up to the four of them to handle things at home. Their father had been tougher on the twins. She’d been protective of Dade and Dalton when they were young. They’d long since grown into men who could take care of themselves and everyone around them. Ella and the twins had always looked after their younger sister, Cadence.

      Speaking of her siblings, she needed to warn them but had no way to contact them. Thankfully, they were tucked away, far out of town, having left immediately after news broke of their father’s murder. They’d decided to get away from Cattle Barge until this whole mess blew over and life returned to normal, whatever that would be now that their father was gone. With his unconventional lifestyle, she and her siblings had feared people would come out of the woodwork to claim stakes in his vast fortune. Based on the traffic she’d seen coming into town and the resulting chaos, the others had been smart to leave. Someone had to stick around and make sure the ranch was still running, and Ella had convinced them it should be her.

      But being in town was dangerous. So was the ranch. She didn’t suspect any of the workers who’d been around for years. There were a few new hands. She couldn’t rule out the team her father had put together even if she doubted he’d put anyone questionable to work on his ranch. He loved his family and was fiercely protective of them even if their relationships with him were highly individual and complicated. He’d never knowingly put them in jeopardy. Knowingly might be the key word. Could her father have put his trust in someone who’d duped him?

      Her brain hurt. Her body ached. And some of her memories were patchy thanks to the blow she’d taken. At present, she was exhausted, hungry and bleeding. Her mind was going to places that she wouldn’t normally consider. She knew exactly where she needed to go so she could take a step back and think this through but had no idea how to get there. Her Jeep was parked near Devil’s Lid, which wasn’t doing her a lot of good. Blue Eyes had ridden her into town on his motorcycle.

      There was no way she could make it to the sheriff’s office. The person who was after her could be watching. If she got anywhere near—

      A hand clamped over her mouth. Ella gasped. She tried to bite but whoever was behind her was too fast at securing his grip—and it had to be a man. His hand was huge. He’d been stealthy, too. She hadn’t heard a peep. Her pulse pounded and adrenaline caused her body to shake.

      “Be quiet and I’ll get you out of here,” said the familiar voice—the voice that belonged to Blue Eyes. “Can you walk?”

      Her pulse raced from fear mixed with another shot of adrenaline. She nodded and his other hand slipped around her. A second later, she was being helped to her feet.

      “I’m shot,” she said and could feel the physical impact of those words. No matter how much Blue Eyes tried to deny he cared about what happened to her, his body language belied his words when his muscles pulled taut with the news.

      “How did you find me?” she asked as the initial shock began to wear off while they were on the move.

      The motorcycle was parked at the end of a quiet street.

      “I saw the news story about the attempt against your life,” he responded without missing a beat. “I recognized this area as close to where I dropped you off and tracked you by the blood trail I found.”

      He made it sound easy but it couldn’t have been. How had this stranger become so good at hunting down a person? She decided this wasn’t the time to ask. By all accounts he was helping her...but he was so secretive before and it had her imagination churning against all logic. She didn’t like the confusing feelings she had toward him.

      “How do I know you’re not going to hurt me?” she asked.

      A frustrated-sounding grunt tore from his throat. “Seriously?”

      Now all her defenses flared. “Yes. I’m a woman. I’m injured. Basic survival instincts kick in at some point. I have no idea who you are. I don’t even know your name.”

      “If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve already done it.” That deep voice reverberated through her, sending a trill of awareness coursing through her. “We’ve already covered that.”

      Okay, she could concede that point.

      “Who are you?”

      “My name is Holden Crawford. Now that you’ve heard it, forget it as fast as you can. Knowing my name will only end up hurting you more,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t tell you before now. It’s not because I’m trying to hide something from you or don’t trust you. I haven’t had a real conversation with someone in more than two years. So I’m guessing by your reactions to me that I’m pretty bad at it. Can’t say I was especially good with idle chitchat before, so...” He shrugged massive shoulders. “And the last person I really cared about ended up dead.”

      She gasped.

      “Not telling you my name has been my way of trying to protect you,” he continued. СКАЧАТЬ