Last Stand Ranch
HER COWBOY HEROAfter crossing a mob lawyer, Olivia Dillon knows she has to run for her life. But on the way to her great aunt's remote Arizona ranch, she’s forced off the road. The message is clear. She can run, she can hide…but she’ll never be safe again. So with Elijah Morales—the rancher next door—by her side, she’s determined to face the danger head on. The former Army Ranger and natural born protector promises to end the attacks against her. Even if helping her puts him directly in harm’s way. Staying means risking his life, but can Olivia leave to confront her enemies—and the future—without Elijah?
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HER COWBOY HERO
After crossing a mob lawyer, Olivia Dillon knows she has to run for her life. But on the way to her great-auntâs remote Arizona ranch, sheâs forced off the road. The message is clear. She can run, she can hideâ¦but sheâll never be safe again. So with Elijah Moralesâthe rancher next doorâby her side, sheâs determined to face the danger head-on. The former Army Ranger and natural-born protector promises to end the attacks against her. Even if helping her puts him directly in harmâs way. Staying means risking his life, but can Olivia leave to confront her enemiesâand the futureâwithout Elijah?
Things had just gotten a whole lot more dangerous.
Two shooting incidents, a wounded shoulder. She should get a customer loyalty card at the docâs.
She didnât know whether to laugh or cry. She did neither. She turned to Elijah. âIf itâll make my aunt safer, Iâll take your advice and go to your ranch.â
âItâll make things safer for you, too.â
âYou donât know that. Nobody knows whatâs happening.â She heard the shakiness in her voice.
How long was this going to go on? She was sick of being afraid. Tired of seeing other people get hurt. Angry enough to fight back. But she didnât know how. And she didnât know where to strike.
âItâs going to be all right,â he told her.
All right? The scrapes on her hand and face from getting thrown down on the asphalt stung. Her head pounded. She was so tired she could barely move. She couldnât stop trembling.
Fear and helplessness gnawed at her. This was never going to end. Not until the shooter got what he wanted.
JENNA NIGHT comes from a family of Southern-born natural storytellers. Her parents were avid readers and the house was always filled with books. No wonder she grew up wanting to tell her own stories. Sheâs lived on both coasts, but currently resides in the Inland Northwest where sheâs astonished by the occasional glimpse of a moose, a herd of elk or a soaring eagle.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
âJohn 14:27
To my mom, Esther. Thanks for the faith!
Thank you editor Elizabeth Mazer for selecting me to be on your team in the Love Inspired Suspense Killer Voices contest. Your encouragement and stellar editing skills are much appreciated. Yay, Team Elizabeth!
Thank you agent Sarah E. Younger for your guidance and for making the pathway to publication clearer. Yay, Team Sarah!
Contents
Olivia Dillon gripped the steering wheel of her sedan tighter and pressed the accelerator a little harder. She didnât want to drive recklessly, but Las Vegas, Nevada, and the threat to her life were only two hundred and fifty miles behind her.
Sheâd left the busy interstate twenty minutes ago, turning onto a quieter county highway that snaked gradually upward through scrubby Arizona high desert. To her right and left, shadowy rust-colored mesas towered like thunderheads in the distance. Straight ahead, the crumbly strip of asphalt angled sharply upward.
When summoning the courage to leave Vegas, sheâd promised herself she would be at her great-auntâs ranch in Painted Rock, Arizona, before dark. That wasnât going to happen. Jamming the last few items from the apartment sheâd just vacated into her rented storage space had taken longer than expected. Now the sun barely clung above the horizon to the west and she still had several more miles to go.
âIt will be okay,â she told herself for probably the hundredth time today. Not that she believed it.
She continued on, covering another twenty miles and gaining close to a thousand feet in elevation. The sun dropped off the edge of the world and the surrounding purple dusk took on a darker tinge.
She arrived at the edge of the tree line marking the start of rich northern Arizona forest, so she must be on the right track. A few more miles and the highway would intersect with the turnoff for Painted Rock, the only town for miles.
A flicker of light in the rearview mirror drew her attention to a set of car headlights in the gray distance behind her. It was the first car sheâd seen since leaving the interstate.
She turned her gaze back to the road in front of her.
A few minutes later, a flicker of light in the mirror caught her eye again. She was startled to see the car had covered half the distance between them. That wasnât possible. Not unless the driver was going over a hundred miles an hour.
Well, sheâd just get out of the way. The guy was probably drunk. She scanned the side of the road up ahead, looking for a place to pull over. But sheâd just entered the forest and there was nowhere she could go. No breakdown lane. No service roads.
