Page 3 of Ranger Loyalty

“Yes.” Olivia double-checked them with trembling fingers. Her gaze swept across the park once more, but there was no sign of the shadowy figure. Where had he gone? What kind of game was he playing? As terrifying as it was to have him chasing her, this disappearance act was more frightening. She was trapped in her vehicle without a weapon and with no idea where the danger was.

Lord, please help me.

“Put me on speaker and try to start your car again,” Cole ordered.

Shakes overtook her body, but Olivia got the call on speaker. She reached for the keys still hanging in the ignition. Maybe the SUV would start now that she wasn’t in a panic. Then something shifted in the corner of Olivia’s vision. Her head swiveled.

A shapeless face appeared in the driver’s side window, right next to her, dark eyes boring into hers.

She screamed.

TWO

Cole’s heart rate spiked. Olivia’s scream was bloodcurdling and filled with terror. Then it abruptly cut off as the call dropped.

“Olivia!” He hit redial on his Bluetooth system, and her phone rang, but she didn’t answer. Cole pushed the gas pedal to the floor. Trees whipped by as his truck flew down the dark county road. Serenity was a short distance away. Two minutes tops. But a lot could happen in two minutes. He knew from personal experience. His parents died in a heartbeat. One moment there, the next gone. Killed in a motor vehicle accident during a heated argument. He’d been in the back seat and had nearly died too.

Cole dialed Olivia again. Still no answer.

Using voice commands, he ordered his phone to call the Serenity Police Department. He identified himself to dispatch and explained the situation in clipped tones. She assured him officers were en route. Unfortunately, they were on patrol and it would take fifteen minutes to respond. Cole was the closest law enforcement officer. He gripped the steering wheel until it hurt. He’d been to Serenity once before, just passing through, and knew the park was on the opposite side of town.

The seconds clawed at him. They churned his insides and made him want to scream. His grandmother would’ve told him to pray. Nana’s faith was bone-deep, and she’d instilled that same sense of belonging in Cole. Her words of wisdom replayed in his head, as they often did in times of worry.

When you’ve done all you can, and you feel hopeless, that’s when you need prayer the most.

The gas pedal was pushed to the floor. He’d called for backup. Nothing else could be done, so Cole followed his Nana’s advice and sent up a winged prayer toward heaven. The weight of responsibility pressed down on his shoulders, his duty as a Texas Ranger made more potent by the fact that he knew Olivia. They weren’t friends, more like acquaintances, but she’d impressed him with her quick wit and willingness to go the extra mile. She was also stunningly gorgeous. More than one of his fellow rangers had commented that Cole and Olivia would make a great couple. He’d ignored them. After witnessing the downfall of his parents' marriage, he avoided commitment with every fiber of his being.

Cole blew past the courthouse and the police station on the outskirts of town. The flashing turret lights mounted on the roof of his official state vehicle announced his presence to anyone on the road. Picturesque shops and quaint restaurants lined both sides of the wide street. His focus narrowed to the park up ahead.

Olivia’s SUV sat at the far end of the parking lot, the driver’s side door facing the playground. Cole shoved his own truck into park while simultaneously reaching for his handgun. His fingers wrapped around the grip, the weapon as familiar as the worn cowboy boots on his feet. There was no sign of Olivia or her attacker. It was likely they were on the other side of the vehicle, near the driver’s side door. From his position, Cole didn’t have a visual.

On silent footsteps, gun leading the way, he approached. Embedded training slowed his movements even as every cell in his body screamed to hurry. It was reckless to run headlong into an unknown situation. Getting himself shot or killed wouldn’t help Olivia.

Wind whipped through the trees, scattering leaves. The frigid cold snaked down the collar of his shirt. Cole barely felt it as he slid up to the rear of Olivia’s SUV and peeked around the corner. His breath caught.

The driver’s side door of the vehicle was open, the interior light illuminating the empty seat and the surrounding area. Glass sparkled on the asphalt. The window was busted. The attacker had likely broken it in order to open the door and drag Olivia out. But where were they now?

His gaze swept the surrounding area. The nearby street was empty, as was the playground. Could she be inside the vehicle? Dead? It wouldn’t have taken long to shoot her.

Heart pounding, Cole eased closer. Olivia’s cell phone came into view, resting on the floorboard. More glass littered the seat and the console. But no blood. A momentary blip of relief was shattered by a muffled scream.

He spun. His gaze scanned the park, but the weak streetlights didn’t reach the far side. Branches from the ancient oak trees created long shadows big enough to hide an army of men. Walking trails from this area of the park led into a nature preserve, with a lake and more picnic areas. Another muffled scream drifted on the wind. It was drowned out by the sirens of approaching patrol cars. Backup was on the way, but they weren’t close enough yet.

On instinct rather than by sight, Cole moved deeper into the park. Scattered leaves drifted across the grass with every gust of wind. Darkness encased him. Self-preservation urged him back. He ignored it. Fear was a tool, but it could also be deadly. It could cause a man to hesitate when he should act, or retreat when he should move forward. Cole had learned a long time ago to disregard his emotions. To maintain control at all times.

There. Shadows shifted to his left. Cole silently moved in that direction and two people took shape. A man wearing all black and something over his face dragged Olivia closer to the walking trails that led into the nature preserve.

“Police!” Cole pointed his weapon at the attacker. “Freeze!”

The man stopped. His head turned and twisted, as if searching for Cole. He likely couldn’t see him in the dark. A faint trickle of moonlight filtering through the tree branches illuminated Olivia’s face. Her eyes were wide with terror. The criminal had a hand over her mouth and held a blade to her throat. Liquid trickled down the long column of her neck.

Blood. The sight of it—along with the fear etched on her pretty features—heated Cole’s anger. His jaw clenched. He couldn’t shoot the man without risking Olivia in the process. “Drop the knife. Now.”

For a breath-stealing moment, Cole feared the attacker would slit Olivia’s throat right there. But then he pushed her in Cole’s direction. She stumbled with the force of the sudden shove. Cole had no choice but to lower his gun to catch her. She sagged in his arms.

Footsteps retreated into the trees. Cole wanted to give chase, but his first priority needed to be Olivia. Was she hurt? In the darkness, it was hard to tell, but her body trembled violently in his arms. Shock was a real possibility. She’d been attacked and nearly kidnapped. The approaching sirens were growing closer, but help was still too far away. Out in the open, Cole and Olivia were sitting ducks if the attacker had a gun on him. Criminals usually had a weapon of choice—this one had used a knife on Olivia—but it would be foolhardy to assume the attacker wasn’t carrying more than that.

Cole was not a foolish man.

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