A bullet splintered the tree trunk above their heads before she could answer. Someone had shot at them from the forest on their side of the stream. That meant the shooter Leon had been keeping track of had crossed over and circled around behind them. Or the shot could mean there was more than one gunman.
Leon moved around the tree to look across the stream with his binoculars. Shots fired from that direction confirmed that the original shooter was over there, so that answered the question. “There are at least two shooters,” he whispered. “One on each side of the stream.”
“We obviously can’t stay here,” Cassie responded.
“No,” Leon said. “And I don’t like the idea of trying to hide deeper in the forest. We don’t know how many shooters there are. They could surround us. We need to head back downstream, toward the road. The cops should be showing up at any minute. Or, if they aren’t there, and we can make it to my truck, we can get in it and drive away.”
“Walking in the streambed will take us to the road the fastest,” Cassie said. “Of course, that also means we’ll stick out like a couple of sore thumbs.”
Leon risked a quick glance at his phone, intending to call 9-1-1 to see how far out the cops were. It didn’t look like he had any bars. So, no connection. A sudden barrage of bullets had him shoving the phone away. He grabbed his gun and fired in the directions of the two known shooters, driving them to dive and take cover. And then he grabbed Cassie’s hand. “We’ve got to go. Now!”
They struggled to run through the weeds and soft mud, and then finally splashed into the streambed. When they’d gone several yards downstream and Leon felt certain the gunmen were behind them, he tucked his gun into his waistband and half pulled, half carried Cassie until he had her in front of him so that he shielded her body with his. If they meant to shoot her, they’d have to go through him.
Running down the streambed, Leon could hear the crack of rifle shots behind him, followed by the zing of bullets ricocheting nearby.
Just before the stream curved around a bend, Leon pushed Cassie forward, whirled around and fired several shots, hoping to buy some time for her to run further ahead.
He turned back around and made it past the curve, where red and blue lights flashed through the trees. Help was nearby, but it hadn’t reached them yet. Cassie kept running for the road and the cop cars, and Leon did, too.
He heard the crack of one more shot and felt a bullet tear through his jacket, narrowly missing his left hip. He kept running and saw that Cassie had reached the spot where the stream passed through a culvert. From there, it flowed under the pavement and then emptied into Lake Bell. She staggered partway up the weed-covered bank toward the half dozen cops moving around near their patrol cars.
Leon caught up to her and she held out her hand. He reached for it, and she pulled him up the bank for the final few steps until they made it to the road.
Thank You, Lord, he prayed as the officers approached and began questioning Cassie. Relief coursed through him, but at the same time he still felt unsettled. The attack on Cassie was not really over. He was sure of it.
She might be safe for the moment. But somebody really really wanted her dead.
Copyright © 2021 by Virginia Niten
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ISBN-13: 9780369704665
Widow’s Secrets
Copyright © 2021 by Shelley Sabga
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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Widow's Secrets Page 20
