The Cattleman. Angi Morgan

their attackers until now. If this guy was helping the Mexican cartel from the US side of the border, he was the first solid lead they had come across in a year.

      Where the hell is Beth? If the DEA Agent had fallen off her horse again, he might do something crazy. Or might just end up dead. What if she was hurt or worse?

      Neither was his first choice of scenarios.

      “So what’s the plan?” he asked, attempting to be casual. In his opinion, he pulled off not caring pretty well. He practiced it every day.

      “You in a big hurry to die?”

      “Been there. Recovery’s harder.”

      “Got that right.” A bit of southern poked its way through that long i.

      “So you’ve been shot before?”

      “Shut it, this ain’t no social hour.” The guy shifted his feet, stabbing Nick’s temple with each move. “You listen up. You’re gonna take me to your horse and give me directions out of this forsaken place. Understand? Or I’m going to kill you.”

      The cooling cylinder was shoved harder against his skull. Nick could feel the man’s nasally breath on his neck each time he turned. Searching for who? Nick’s partner or his own? He and Beth had followed at least two horses from the drug traffickers’ camp they’d stumbled upon. And the cloud of dust he’d seen farther up the ravine was probably his captor’s partner.

      “Can’t help you, so we might as well get this over with.” Nick kept his eyes open, surveying as much as possible without moving. Still no Beth. “What are you waiting on?”

      “Might be waiting on his partner.” Beth’s steady voice came from in front of them, somewhere off the trail. “But that’s not going to happen.”

      “Get in front of me with your hands up or this guy’s brains spatter on the rocks.” The man shifted nervously behind him.

      “Are you a mind reader? That is exactly what I was about to instruct you to do.” Half of Beth’s tall frame stepped onto the path, the other—the half that held her handgun—was still covered by a juniper tree. She stretched her neck, dipping her chin to look over the top of her sunglasses.

      Nick had seen her do that before, just before she fired her weapon to prove how good she was with a gun. She actually could shoot the tip off a cactus from fifty feet. He’d told her she should be in a Wild West show with that accuracy. That was if she could ride a horse. He’d never seen anyone as petrified of the animals as her.

      “Do I have to officially say it?” Beth stepped fully onto the path, presenting her gun and badge. “DEA. You’re under arrest. Drop your weapon, drop to your knees and cross your ankles.”

      “I don’t get on my knees for any sweetmeat.”

      “That’s too bad.” She took a step forward.

      Nick noticed the tiny frustrating clinch in Beth’s jaw. “Wait. Don’t shoot him. We need this guy alive.”

      The barrel slid from his temple just as Beth released her badge and took a very practiced stance to pull the trigger. Nick tried to knock his captor out of the line of fire, but out of the three rapid shots, at least one hit its target.

      The sound of a bullet piercing human flesh was close to what it sounded like when an animal had to be put down. The sound of a man in pain was unique and easily recognizable. Both momentarily pierced his ears.

      “You okay, Nick?” Beth held her gun on her prisoner, kicking the man’s weapon from his fingers. “I didn’t hit you, did I?”

      “No. You hit him. Bad from the looks of it.”

      Nick rolled him to his back. A burst of red spread across the man’s tan shirt, like he’d been hit by a paintball. The thin streak of blood trailing from the corner of his mouth changed the paintball image into something all too real. Nick tried to find a pulse with no luck, then searched for an ID. Nothing.

      “Is he dead?” Beth asked, still standing instead of checking the man out for herself.

      Nick stood and nodded, battling with himself over just how angry he was about to get. “This was a mistake. I should never have agreed to lead you back up here. That was the first guy who could give us information about the operation on my land. He wanted out of here. He would have gone for a deal. You didn’t have to kill him.”

      “You don’t know if he would have given up anything worth trading on.” She holstered her weapon and put her arms around Nick. Almost as tall as he was, she dropped her forehead heavily on his shoulder. “Besides, I was aiming for his leg. He fell into the shot.”

      His captor hadn’t fallen into the shot. Nick had pushed him into the line of fire. Their lead was gone because Nick had tried to save him. But Beth had shot him.

      “I watched his partner leave in a hurry with the second horse,” she said into his shirt. “He had a gun to your head. I had to shoot. I couldn’t risk you getting hurt.”

      She was being awful clingy for a federal agent. Even one he’d slept with. He held on to her arms wondering if she would lose it after killing someone.

      “He wouldn’t have killed me,” he answered. “I was his ticket off this mountain.”

      “I can’t really argue about this now, Nick. Any chance you’ve still got your horse or any cell reception?”

      “Both. The horse is secure and I can probably climb up the ridge for a signal.” She stepped back, turning and stumbling a little. “Those damn fancy shoes are going to be the reason you break your neck up here.”

      She retrieved her badge and straightened slowly, unsteady once on her feet. She leaned against the tree she’d hidden behind earlier, then turned to slip down its side, rough bark against her back.

      “Good Lord, Beth! You’re shot.”

      “That makes sense. I figured something was wrong since I’m about to lose my breakfast and can’t stand up anymore.”

      He ripped her sleeve, and used the ends to pad the wound in her arm. “It doesn’t look too bad. Can you walk?”

      “Sure. Let’s get out of here before his buddy decides to make a U-turn.” She pulled herself upright using his arm, then smiled at him. “Yeah, walking’s okay as long as you steady me. That’ll work.”

      Her smile flipped a switch that he thought someone had cut the electricity to a while back. Since their night under the stars, he was always crazy with desire for her. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t seen each other for a couple of weeks. He couldn’t let her see him smile, though. He was still angry. He put his arm around her waist and started down the path to his horse.

      “I realize we don’t know each other that well, but are you mad at me for getting shot?”

      “Hell no. Our only lead is dead.” He honestly tried not to sound mad, but he didn’t succeed. “Hard not to be disappointed. It’s my own dang fault for letting you talk me into bringing you out here.”

      “Should I have let him kill you?” She pulled away and continued walking.

      He admired her strength and independence, but she didn’t belong here. Not in the raw mountains of West Texas. She didn’t even have a pair of jeans with her. She spun to face him, continuing to walk backward in her black slacks.

      “Beth, get serious. It’s dangerous up here. Look where you’re going.”

      “Well, you let me tell you something, Mr. Nick ungrateful Burke,” she slurred like she was drunk, waving a finger at him. She stopped a second before he would have lunged to keep her from tumbling to the uneven ground. She swayed and he was there to catch her. “Get away. I don’t need your help.”

      “Sure, you don’t.” He bent, knowing that scooping her into his arms and carrying her to his horse was