Page 222 of Ironwood Ranch Cowboys

Everything happens at once after that.

Jake slams hard into Cody, knocking him sideways just enough to break formation. Duke lunges immediately.

I hear Annie gasp behind me, then somebody grabs her.

My entire body locks.

A figure comes out of the shadows beside the stalls with one arm hooked violently around Annie’s waist and the other clamped across her mouth.

She fights. Hard.

Camera crashing against the concrete, boots scraping, elbows driving backward.

“Move,” the man snarls.

The voice hits me first.

Familiar. Wrong.

Then Annie goes completely still for half a second.

Benji.

Fury detonates through me so hard it whites out my vision. Benji drags Annie backward toward the rear barn exit while Jake bolts toward the aisle.

Duke goes after him.

Cody recovers almost immediately and cuts sideways toward Annie with terrifying speed, intercepting the angle before Benji can reach the doors.

And me?

I become the storm.

I hit Benji hard enough to send all three of us crashing into the stall gate.

Metal screams.

Annie tears free the second the grip loosens enough and stumbles sideways gasping for air.

Benji swings at me.

Big mistake.

I catch his wrist mid punch and drive him face first into the wooden support beam hard enough to crack it.

He grunts violently.

Somewhere behind me I hear Duke roaring Jake’s name across the barn while boots thunder through mud outside.

Cody reaches Annie first. “Annie.”

She’s shaking.

Cody cups the back of her neck, checking her over with efficient movements. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay,” she breathes.

Lie.