Usually, he stuck close to Shiloh, but when he saw me pulling out the fencing gear this afternoon, he’d come straight to my side. He knew it meant that he’d have a chance to run in the woods while I repaired the fence line. But he’d soon gotten bored and had been whining at me to move back in the direction of the barn.
“You can go on your own. You know that, right?”
Kai barked.
He wanted all his people together. I didn’t blame him. “One more rail, and we’ll head back.”
My phone buzzed, and I tugged it from my pocket. The app for my Halo system flashed an alert. I tapped on the screen. It was a motion sensor on one of the cameras. My gut tightened as I pulled up the feed.
Cain had warned me that we’d likely get some false alerts from wildlife in the area, but I didn’t see a deer or an elk when the video came into view. Not even a damn cougar.
A man scaled the fence and climbed over—one I recognized.
I was running before I knew what was happening, as if my body had put the pieces together before my brain had. I pushed harder, my muscles burning. Kai was at my side in a flash.
The barn and the rest of the ranch were too far away. I strained harder, my lungs crying out. I didn’t give a damn. All I could think about was Shiloh. All I saw in my mind was her face. The way her eyes danced when she laughed or sparked with wonder when I touched her. How she’d changed everything for me.
The barn came into view, but I still couldn’t see the round pen. I pushed faster, rounding the building. The sight that met me had panic tearing through me. Shiloh was on the ground, not moving. Kenny straddled her, his hands at her throat.
Kai let out a growl and a bark and charged—faster than I ever could have.
Kenny’s head snapped up, and he whirled around. His eyes widened for a moment, and then he fumbled on the ground for something.
Shiloh coughed and wheezed, writhing on her side as Kai jumped through the rails of the round pen. My heart lodged in my throat as silver glinted in the afternoon light—a knife.
My muscles seized as I forced them to work even faster. I launched myself over the fence just as Onyx reared up with a loud whinny. The motion had Kenny’s focus jerking away from Shiloh, but it was too late.
The mare struck his shoulder with a swift blow. Kenny yowled in pain. He raised the knife to strike, but I was there.
I caught him with an uppercut to the jaw. His head snapped back, but his arm came down, the silver of the knife flashing in the sun. Sharp pain bloomed in my arm.
I landed a second punch and then a third.
“Ramsey, stop,” Shiloh croaked.
Only her voice could’ve broken through my haze. But I couldn’t take my eyes off Kenny. He mumbled something, trying to sit up, and I leveled a final hook to his cheek.
Shiloh’s hand fisted in my flannel. “You got him.”
Kai let out a growl, baring his teeth.
I snatched the knife from Kenny’s hand and instantly moved back to Shiloh. My hands skimmed her face, down to her neck, hovering where red marks encircled it. “Where are you hurt? Can you breathe okay?”
Sirens sounded in the distance, and I realized I must’ve hit the emergency alert in the app. I had no memory of doing it. All that had filled my mind was Shiloh.
She rested her forehead against mine. “I’m okay.”
I hauled her into my arms, cradling her against my chest. I wanted to believe those words, but I needed to feel their truth. To feel Shiloh’s breaths come and go. To feel her heat. Her life. I needed to know that I wasn’t going to lose her.
I hissedout a breath as Hadley cleaned the wound on my arm.
“Careful,” Shiloh ordered in a harsh rasp.
Hadley arched a brow. “You want it to get infected?”
“No,” she muttered.
I linked my fingers with Shiloh’s, squeezing gently. “I’m fine.”