Susan Sleeman - Rodeo Standoff

The rodeo arena is always treacherous.

Now it’s deadly...

It’s no accident Deputy Tessa McKade is trapped with an angry bull ready to trample her to death. She quickly realizes that McKade Law is no longer enough to keep her safe—and it’s her rescuer, Braden Hayes, who stands in as her bodyguard. As they seek to stop a would-be killer, Braden will have to use all his professional skills to guard Tessa’s life.

SUSAN SLEEMAN is a bestselling author of inspirational and clean-read romantic suspense books and mysteries. She received an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award for Thread of Suspicion. No Way Out and The Christmas Witness were finalists for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence. She’s had the pleasure of living in nine states and currently lives in Oregon. To learn more about Susan, visit her website at susansleeman.com.

Also By Susan Sleeman

Love Inspired Suspense

McKade Law

Holiday Secrets

Rodeo Standoff

First Responders

Silent Night Standoff

Explosive Alliance

High-Caliber Holiday

Emergency Response

Silent Sabotage

Christmas Conspiracy

The Justice Agency

Double Exposure

Dead Wrong

No Way Out

Thread of Suspicion

Dark Tide

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Rodeo Standoff

Susan Sleeman

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08449-9

RODEO STANDOFF

© 2018 Susan Sleeman

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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“Ready?” Tessa asked.

Braden nodded and gestured for her to go first. They wound through dark shadows toward the exit leading to the livestock pens. At the back door, Braden stopped Tessa. “We’re good to go. No sign of Vic, though.”

“He could be in the booth.”

Braden searched ahead. Spotted a man on the ground, his legs poking out behind the booth.

“Man down.” Adrenaline kicking in, Braden reached for Tessa to leave.

Something small suddenly came flying out of the booth. Little sparks of light lit the night. Explosions sounded. Quick, staccatos. Pop. Pop. Pop. Firecrackers!

The horses spooked. Thankfully, the gate was locked.

Braden took a firmer hold on Tessa and started her in the other direction. Another set of firecrackers flew into the middle of the herd. Exploded.

A horse bumped the gate. It swung open. The animals stampeded out. One after another, they barreled down the chute toward them. Toward Tessa.

Braden’s gut clenched. He hadn’t reacted fast enough. There was no easy escape from the crazed horses.

And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage.

—Joshua 10:25

Dear Reader,

I miss the days when many generations of a family often lived in the same community. There was such a sense of belonging and togetherness. A sense of working for each other’s good and just experiencing pure joy in being together. I grew up in such a situation, and even though I was the family member who moved far away, I am still richly blessed from growing up in that togetherness. Maybe you had such an experience, too, or are fortunate enough to be part of a multigenerational family in one community.

In Rodeo Standoff , Braden has never experienced the concept of a well-knit family unit, and Tessa takes her family for granted. It’s through each other’s eyes that they come to see how amazing the McKades are, and I hope you saw this, too. I have loved creating and developing this family and look forward to writing the final two books for your enjoyment.

If you’d like to learn more about the McKade Law miniseries or my other books, please stop by my website at susansleeman.com. I also love hearing from readers, so please contact me via email, susan@susansleeman.com, on my Facebook page, Facebook.com/susansleemanbooks, or write to me c/o Love Inspired, HarperCollins, 24th floor, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

Susan Sleeman

For my family, who I often took for granted growing up.

Acknowledgments

A special thank-you to Ginger Solomon for naming Tessa’s horse Copper and to Lisa Hudson for naming Braden’s horse Shadow. I greatly appreciate your help!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Bible Verse

Dear Reader

Dedication

Acknowledgments

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

Extract

About the Publisher

ONE

Tessa kept her eyes trained on the deadly threat.

The eighteen-hundred-pound bucking bull’s menacing glare stole her breath. She couldn’t think. Act. Or move.

He tossed his head, his beady eyes immediately locking on her as if she had a bull’s-eye painted on her chest. He snorted. Shifted his massive black-and-white body, ready to attack.

He was coming for her, if she didn’t do something.

But what?

She’d come to the arena for some quiet time—a moment to think and prepare for the upcoming event. Instead, she found herself alone with an animal that shouldn’t have even been there, and she had no experience handling a crazed bull. None!