Page 68 of Rough Stock

‘The rope will do. It’ll give the stock thief a taste of what it’s like being roped in a campdraft.’ As Finn stood, he used Dane’s head for leverage, pushing Dane’s face back into the dirt and hard. ‘Who’s got the bull?’

‘No one.’ Stone hung off the side of the shed like a chimpanzee. ‘So, how do stockmen control an unhappy bull?’

Craig struggled to get out of the truck, landing the wrong way on his bad leg. It collapsed under him, forcing him to roll in the dirt.

‘Craig!’Izzy clutched the sides of the cage. Gritting her teeth with frustration she shook the sides of her prison, desperate to get to him. ‘I’m so sorry, Craig.’ He was here because of her. She did this.

‘I’m okay.’ Craig nodded at her, even if he was in pain, and used the side of the truck to climb to his feet, while Finn, Stone, and Amara were busy at the rear of the shed herding the calves back into their pen.

But Wraith was still free.

And he was staring down Renzo.

‘Easy, moo cow.’ With his back to the truck, Renzo stepped away from the bull.

But the bull kept coming, slowly, one hoof after the other, inch by inch.

Again, Renzo stepped back.

Zap!Right on the side of his neck. Renzo’s whole body shook from the jolt of voltage as his eyes rolled and he dropped to the floor, passed out.

Izzy held the cattle prod at the cage door, ready to go again. ‘That’s for murdering Meghan, you arsehole.’

‘Let’s get you out of there.’ Craig hobbled over and squeezed the handles of the bolt cutters, to slice through the bulky lock.

‘Look out!’ Izzy pointed. With her heart in her throat, her eyes widened at the horror of one very angry two-thousand-pound bull. ‘Wraith’s right behind you.’

Twenty-four

Craig’s muscles tensed at the smell of the beast, followed by the all too familiar snort that had plagued his nightmares since he’d woken in the hospital.

It was Wraith.

The same beast that had almost crushed him in the rodeo arena.

Was today the day Death would finally call out his name?

Head down, with the ends of his horns catching the sunlight, the proud beast stood poised, nostrils flaring while glaring at Craig.

‘Stay back.’ Craig warned the rest of the team who froze in place. ‘Izzy, stay inside the cage.’ She’d be safe there. ‘Do not come out until I tell you.’

‘But…’

‘Trust me, I’ve got this.’ He’d been a rodeo rider for a decade now, and a stockman much longer than that. He understood these beasts.

Instead of fear or aggression, he channelled calmness, almost daring the bull to make the next move. He’d take him.

Wraith snorted, his eyes on Craig as his front hoof dragged across the concrete.

Slowly, Craig raised his open palm towards the bull. ‘Easy now, big fella.’

The bull’s massive head tilted, as if to consider him for a moment.

‘Easy now, Wraith. I just want you to go home to Ginny. She misses you.’

The bull’s ears twitched as if recognising the name.

‘Yeah, you know Ginny. In fact, I’ve got one of Ginny’s special homemade treats, just for you…’ He opened his top pocket and dragged out a chunky oat bar.

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