Angi Morgan - The Cattleman

Men—bad men—were chasing them down a mountain.

There was no place to hide. Nowhere to escape.

What did Nick do? He kissed her.

Beth was in his arms and her lips were smooth against his. She restored something in him that had been missing this past year. He lifted his head, unable to help the smile that spread across his face.

She looked up and behind them, steadying herself with her hands on his shoulders. “We should probably get …”

“Moving. Right. You going to be okay?” he asked, really curious if the near fall had bothered her as much as the thought of losing her had bothered him.

Small rocks skittered past their heads. “Great. More than great. Let’s go while we can.”

Choosing a path was hard. He could hear the grumbles about being caught off guard, about not doing her job, not protecting her asset.

“Am I your asset ?”

“Of course you are.”

“Beth, I’ve told you this before—I can look after myself.”

And just like it had been scripted, he heard the lone shot of a gun and zipped back to the cliff wall, covering Beth’s body.

The Cattleman

Angi Morgan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ANGI MORGANwrites Mills & Boon ®Intrigue novels “where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous situations. Angi and her husband live in north Texas, with only the four-legged “kids” left in the house to interrupt her writing. They recently began volunteering for a local Labrador retriever foster program. Visit her website, angimorgan.com, or hang out with her on Facebook.

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Thanks to Ron, the best cowboy I know. Jaxon, you keep chasing those cows for your new Pops! Jan & Robin, you are my rocks! Can’t do this without you gals.

Contents

Cover

Introduction Men—bad men—were chasing them down a mountain. There was no place to hide. Nowhere to escape. What did Nick do? He kissed her. Beth was in his arms and her lips were smooth against his. She restored something in him that had been missing this past year. He lifted his head, unable to help the smile that spread across his face. She looked up and behind them, steadying herself with her hands on his shoulders. “We should probably get …” “Moving. Right. You going to be okay?” he asked, really curious if the near fall had bothered her as much as the thought of losing her had bothered him. Small rocks skittered past their heads. “Great. More than great. Let’s go while we can.” Choosing a path was hard. He could hear the grumbles about being caught off guard, about not doing her job, not protecting her asset. “Am I your asset ?” “Of course you are.” “Beth, I’ve told you this before—I can look after myself.” And just like it had been scripted, he heard the lone shot of a gun and zipped back to the cliff wall, covering Beth’s body.

Title Page The Cattleman Angi Morgan www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author ANGI MORGAN writes Mills & Boon ® Intrigue novels “where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous situations. Angi and her husband live in north Texas, with only the four-legged “kids” left in the house to interrupt her writing. They recently began volunteering for a local Labrador retriever foster program. Visit her website, angimorgan.com , or hang out with her on Facebook.

Dedication Thanks to Ron, the best cowboy I know. Jaxon, you keep chasing those cows for your new Pops! Jan & Robin, you are my rocks! Can’t do this without you gals.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Extract

Copyright

Prologue

The gun barrel burned against his right temple after being fired during the attack. Nick Burke had made a fatal mistake putting his trust in anyone. A greenhorn like Beth Conrad was his second mistake. He didn’t struggle, dropped his rifle to the ground, raised his hands to his ears and watched his captor kick his favorite weapon over the cliff.

He cringed as it whacked its way to the bottom of the ravine. “That was my best rifle.”

“You won’t need it, buddy.” Keeping the gun in place, the man frisked the small of Nick’s back.

He had no distinguishing accent. Nick hadn’t caught a close-up glimpse of 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.