Page 32 of Stranded
“It fell down?” she asks, brow furrowed.
"Something like that," I murmur.
“That doesn’t make any sense. There’s no wind.”
I bite my inner cheek as my angel is too clever to deceive. “I think someone chopped it down.”
“Why would they do that?”
I shrug, my stomach churning. “Maybe they know what I did to those men.”
She gasps. “Are we in danger?”
I move toward her and wrap my arms around her waist, drawing her close. “You aren’t in danger whenever I'm near, got it? I’ll give my life to protect you.”
Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears and despite her fear, she nods and buries her head against my chest.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a flicker of light. I turn sharply, my gaze drawn to the window on my left. In the distance, dancing maliciously against the night sky, are flames. Fire. It’s one of my barns. The sight turns me feral. No one comes onto my fucking land and threatens me like this. When I get my hands on the perpetrator, I’ll enjoy watching the life fade from their eyes.
The sickening glow of the burning structure illuminates the darkness, a beacon of the danger encroaching on our sanctuary.
“Someone is definitely pissed,” I murmur.
Ivy follows my gaze. “What the hell?”
“I need to put out the fire. But you’ve got to come with me. We don’t know who’s out there or their intentions.”
We dash outside, and my grip on her hand is iron-clad. I feel the heat from the barn even at a distance, the flames licking and swallowing everything in sight. I have an old fire hose attached to the faucet outside my other barn. I trust it’ll do the job, but my priority is keeping Ivy safe. Everything else can burn.
I turn it on, and the power is immense as I hold the hose toward the inferno, watching as the water slowly douses the flames. It’s not long until the freezing air and water stifle the flames.
But then I realize I’ve been distracted. Ivy’s hand isn’t on my arm. A shiver of warning prickles the back of my neck. When I turn to look for her, I find a man to one side with his arm around her neck.
Her eyes are wide with fear.
“Let her go,” I roar.
My blood turns to ice in my veins, every instinct screaming at me to protect her.
The man grins, his teeth gleaming in the wicked light of the dying embers. “Or what?” he taunts, his grip on Ivy tightening.
The fear in her eyes fuels my fury. She’s mine, and I’ll be damned before I let anyone take her away from me.
“Or I’ll rip you apart with my bare hands,” I snarl, my eyes never straying from his.
He studies me, weighing his options, and then he laughs. “Oh, I’ve seen what you can do,” he says. “I watched you take down my two friends without a blink. Impressive.” His gaze flicks to Ivy, his intentions clear as day. “They were the only two people I had left on this God-forsaken earth.” His eyes cut back to me, narrowing. “And I’m going to take this pretty little thing as payment.”
“You’re a dead man,” I promise, knowing there’s no world in which this man lives after threatening my angel.
His laughter is replaced by a grim smile. “Is that right? And how are you going to kill me when you’re over there and I’m here with your girl?”
Without wasting another second, I rush toward him. A rage so acute blazing through my veins. It’s powerful enough to put the sun to shame. The world narrows to her terrified face and the hideous grin on his. Each step takes me closer, anticipating the fight.
Then the bastard pulls out a gun from his waistband. Adrenaline floods my veins and my senses peak. He squeezes the trigger, the crack of the gunshot splitting through the silence. But I’m fast. I twist, the bullet whizzing past me, grazing my shoulder, ripping through the fabric of my shirt.
A grunt escapes my lips, but it’s swallowed by the rush of adrenaline. The pain a mild annoyance that pales against my rage. Before the guy realizes he’s missed his mark, I’m on him.
Ivy falls to one side and to safety as I tackle him to the ground, placing my hands around his neck and squeezing hard. The gun drops to the side.