Zack (Armed and Dangerous Book 1) by Cheyenne McCray Page B

indication she should’ve settled for something a little more sensible, but she’d loved the way the sandals looked with the dress.
    And at this moment, she felt anything but sensible.
    A crashing sound jerked Sky’s attention to the barn, causing her heart to jump.
    Satan bawled and she heard more crashing like the bull was butting his stall.
    Were those footsteps pounding the ground away from the barn?
    Heart racing, Sky unfastened the purse and withdrew her cell phone, wishing she did have her Smith & Wesson with her after all. The purse slipped from her hands and dropped by her feet. Vaguely she was aware of the contents tumbling out, thumping and clattering across the porch.
    With her gaze still fixed on the barn, she punched the speed dial number for her foreman and brought the cell phone to her ear.
    The line rang once. “Rider.” He sounded slightly out of breath.
    “Luke.” Her heart still thundered as she stared at the long rust red building. “I think someone’s breaking into the barn.”
    “I’m close,” Luke said. “Where are you?”
    “The front porch.”
    “Get back in the house,” he said in such an authoritative tone it surprised her. “Lock the door.”
    Sky wasn’t exactly dressed to head out to the barn, but she wasn’t going inside her house. She could handle herself just fine if someone came up on her.
    The yearling’s loud bawl bellowed from the barn, followed by another crash. “Something’s spooked Satan,” she said.
    “I’m already here.”
    The line cut off and Sky startled for a second when she saw the shadow of a man with a gun, his back up against the side of the barn. Her shoulders sagged with relief when she realized it was Luke. How’d he get there so fast?
    Even though it was night, she made out the forms of two more of her ranch hands hurrying toward the barn, each armed with a rifle.
    With his handgun held in both hands, Luke motioned with his head for Sky to get into the house.
    He didn’t wait for her to obey as he slipped into the barn.
    Sky moved behind the countless potted vines and flowers on her porch and peered through the plants.
    Darkness. Quiet.
    Another crash. She jumped.
    Her pulse rate spiked.
    Lights flooded the barn and Sky blinked away the spots in front of her eyes.
    She realized she was holding her breath and slowly let it out as she kept her gaze fixed on the now lit-up barn.
    “Clear.” Luke’s voice cut through the night. “No one’s in the barn.”
    “Nothing on the east side,” came Hector Ramirez’s voice.
    “West clear, too.” That was Joe.
    To Sky’s surprise, two of her other ranch hands shouted from the south and east pastures that they hadn’t found anything. She startled when a fifth man called out, “Yard clear,” from the back of the house.
    Damn, Luke more than had it together. It was obvious he’d drilled the men for something like this.
    A couple of moments later Luke jogged up to the porch and Sky stepped out from behind the plants.
    “Someone was definitely in the barn.” Luke’s furious expression underscored his words. “Satan’s stall was wide open and you know there’s no way he could have bashed the damned door from where he’s tethered.”
    Sky’s stomach dropped as Luke continued, a hard, angry edge to his voice. “I saw shoe prints that tell me it wasn’t anyone here. Our men wear boots and the prints are too big to be your shoes, Skylar, when you’re not wearing your boots. Sonofabitch was probably wearing sneakers to make a faster getaway once he had Satan.”
    Her body prickled with heat. “So stealing the rest of my cattle isn’t good enough. They want my prize bull, too.”
    “Shit, Skylar.” Luke’s jaw tightened as he gave her a long, hard look. “Why didn’t you get back into the house like I told you? This could have been dangerous.”
    Sky narrowed her brows. “Who’s the boss here?”
    A flash of anger on his features almost caused her to take a small step back.