Page 2 of Ranger Devotion

“No, it’s okay,” Annie interjected. Evan had already hauled three of Kayla’s suitcases up the stairs. If he kept helping out like this, Annie would have to add him to the payroll. “I’ll handle it.”

Kayla beamed. “Thanks, Annie. It’s the Mercedes SUV parked on the left side of the lot.”

Kayla and Heather turned away, but Kayla’s voice carried over the click of her high heels. “Frumpy Annie is still as chubby as ever. Remember that prank we played on her at senior prom? I’ll never forget the look on her face. How she ever thought Tate Atwood actually liked her, I’ll never know.”

The two women dissolved into laughter.

Annie stiffened. She’d put most of the bullying behind her, but the incident at prom, and the memory of Tate Atwood, still hurt. By senior year, she’d known Kayla and Heather, along with some of the other kids they’d grown up with, could be cruel, but Tate…she’d considered him a friend. She’d trusted him.

He’d been her first heartbreak. Not her worst, or the most painful. But the first.

Brooke’s pen stilled over the check-in sheet. Horror and anger flashed across her face. “Annie⁠—”

“It’s okay.” She forced a smile. “Kayla’s just being…Kayla. After everything I’ve been through, a few nasty comments won’t faze me.” She scooped up the fob from the counter. “I’ll grab her stuff and be right back.”

On wooden legs, she crossed the lobby and the industrial-sized kitchen before reaching a small mudroom. The plastic of the fob cut into her hand. It shouldn’t matter. She hadn’t seen Kayla in two decades. And yet…Kayla’s barbs had pressed on a bruise she’d thought was long gone. It made Annie angry at herself for agreeing to fetch Kayla’s things. But what would be the point in arguing or making a scene?

She’d learned a long time ago to pick her battles, and working as a police officer had cemented that trait. It was a waste of time to get worked up over every insult or demeaning comment a criminal hurled her way. The teenagers who came to her camp could be just as smart-mouthed.

She drew in a deep breath, remembering what her grandmother always told her. I am a child of God. Perfectly designed.

Annie knew who she was. She didn’t need to prove it to Kayla, and she didn’t need to strike back, either. Grace wasn’t weakness. It was strength under control.

Donning her heavy jacket, Annie stepped out into the December night. Cold hit her like a smack to the face. She jogged down the wooden steps to the trail and followed it to the parking area. The dark pressed in as she weaved between the vehicles toward the far side of the lot. Gravel crunched under her tennis shoes. Wind whipped through the pine trees, their branches swaying and creaking ominously.

Annie shivered, partly from cold and partly from an unease she couldn’t explain.

She slowed her pace, scanning the lot. The moon hid behind cloud cover. The only illumination was a faint glow from the main lodge. Her breath fogged out in front of her. She’d been out here hundreds of times at night, but she’d never had this sense of dread before. Goosebumps rose on her arms.

“Hello?” She gripped Kayla’s key fob, suddenly wishing she had her trusty Glock. Since leaving the force two years ago, Annie had gotten out of the habit of carrying. Haven Ranch was located in a small corner of the Texas Hill Country. Crime was almost nonexistent. “Anyone there? Can I help you?”

Silence answered.

She was being ridiculous. The reunion was dragging every old insecurity to the surface, and now she was jumping at shadows.

Spotting Kayla’s silver Mercedes SUV, Annie hurried toward it. The vehicle unlocked as she neared it, responding to the fob in her hand. She opened the driver’s side door. The overhead light washed the interior in a dim yellow. Kayla’s cell phone rested on the charging pad in the console. Her laptop bag sat in a heap on the passenger-side floorboard.

Rather than cross to the other side of the vehicle, Annie leaned over the seat to grab the bag. Her nose wrinkled at the discarded makeup staining the leather seats and the food wrappers scattered across the floor mats. Kayla owned expensive things, but clearly didn’t value them.

Backing out, Annie hauled the laptop bag over her shoulder and snagged the cell phone. She slammed the SUV door shut. Darkness shrouded her.

A twig snapped. Annie’s head jerked up.

Someone stood at the bumper of the SUV.

She barely had time to react as the dark figure lunged. Years of police training kicked in as she twisted away. The laptop bag slid from her shoulder, and she raised her arms defensively. Cold steel sliced through the air. The knife caught her jacket sleeve, ripping through the fabric with a sickening sound.

Annie stumbled backward, adrenaline flooding her system. Her attacker was nothing more than a shadow against the night. She lashed out with a kick that landed in his solar plexus. The figure grunted—a masculine sound—but didn’t retreat. He grabbed her ankle and yanked hard.

She hit the ground with a bone-jarring jolt. Her head cracked against the edge of the SUV’s fender. Stars burst across her vision. Something whistled near her, and Annie threw up a hand to protect her face. The knife sliced through her jacket again, this time biting into her skin. Heat and pain flared. She ignored it and, guided by muscle memory rather than sight, drove the heel of her other hand into her attacker’s chin.

His head snapped back, and he staggered away from her.

“Help!” Annie pushed herself to her feet. Her vision swam. She took two steps and lurched, her hand shooting out to catch the vehicle for balance. Nausea swelled. Blood coursed down her injured arm. Annie tried to push off and keep moving, but her feet wouldn’t cooperate. “Help! Someone!”

Her knees hit the gravel.

The crunch of footsteps echoed behind her as the attacker closed in.