Her rig appeared ahead, silver under the floodlights. My stomach knotted so tight it hurt. I slammed the brakes; the truck skidded sideways before coming to a stop. Gravel spat out under the tires in a storm of dust.
I was already out, boots pounding across the lot before the engine even cut off.
The trailer door loomed ahead, a thin slice of light showing through. My hand closed around the latch, the metal cold and slick under my fingers.
I yanked it open and came face-to-face with him. The roper. Big, broad, the same guy I’d seen hanging around her, too comfortable by half. His expression flickered from surprise to irritation.
“What the fu?—”
My fist connected with his face before he finished the word.
The sound was ugly, bone against bone. His nose exploded under my knuckles, blood spraying hot across my hand.
“How dare you touch my woman?” I roared, the words tearing out of me before I could think. I wanted her to hear me. I wanted her to know she was mine, that she wasn’t alone anymore.
He reeled back with a snarl, one hand over his face, blood seeping between his fingers. “You got no claim on her,” he spat, voice muffled.
I hit him again. Harder.
The impact jarred up through my arm, sharp and satisfying. He staggered, but this time he swung back. His fist slammed into my gut, air rushing out of me. Pain bloomed sharp and deep, but it only fed the fire. I didn’t back up. I didn’t give him the space to breathe.
He swung again, wild, missing by inches. I caught his wrist, twisted, and drove my knee into his ribs. The crack that followed was sickening, but I didn’t stop. My world had narrowed to the sound of her voice on the phone, the tremor in it, the thought of what could’ve happened if I’d been one minute later.
He tried to grab my shirt, but I shoved him into the counter, his back slamming hard against the edge. The crash of metal against metal echoed through the trailer. Something fell and shattered, glass scattering across the floor.
He lunged again, desperate, throwing a punch that glanced off my jaw. I tasted blood, felt it drip down my chin, and I saw red. I swung once, twice, again. The sound of skin splitting filled the air. His face was unrecognizable, his eyes rolling back in his head.
When he went down, I followed, pinning him with my knee, my fists still moving, slamming into the blur of his features until my arms burned.
Then I stopped.
For a second, all I could hear was the rush of my own breathing, ragged and uneven. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it was shaking the trailer.
He groaned once, barely conscious.
I grabbed his collar and shoved him back down. “If you ever breathe her name again, I’ll finish what I started,” I snarled.
I stood, chest heaving, blood slick on my hands, dripping down to the floor. The metallic scent filled my nose. The world around me steadied by slow degrees, the blur giving way to sound again, the hum of the floodlights outside, the wind rattling the panels, my own pulse in my ears.
“Kristin!” I shouted. “It’s safe.”
The door to the tack room creaked open, and she stumbled out. Her eyes were red and swollen, cheeks streaked with tears and old mascara. Her hair was tangled, sticking to her face.
Her gaze darted to the man on the floor, and her whole body shuddered.
“Don’t look,” I murmured, moving to her fast, tucking her head into my neck. “Keep your eyes closed.”
She trembled against me, but she obeyed. One leg wrapped around my waist as I lifted her, her weight featherlight. Her hands fisted in my shirt like she was afraid I’d vanish if she let go.
Her heartbeat thudded against my chest, fast and uneven. I could feel every tremor in her shoulders, every shuddering breath.
“I’ve got you,” I said against her hair. “I’ve got you.”
I carried her out of the trailer, past the mess I’d left behind, and into the night air. The floodlights above hummed, throwing everything into harsh contrast: the silver of her rig, the red streaks on my hands, her pale face against my chest.
The night smelled like dust and gasoline. Her tears soaked through my shirt, warm and steady.
I set her gently on the passenger seat of her truck. Her boots hit the running board with a slight thud, and she winced when the motion pulled at her ribs.
