Fatal Vendetta

by Sharon Dunn

  Brushing branches out of the way, she dashed through the trees, trying to orient herself back to where she’d left Zach.

  A bright light shone in her face. She stopped in her tracks.

  A voice she didn’t recognize said, “I think you’d better back it up, sister.”

  She saw two men in silhouette.

  “He has a gun.” She recognized Zach’s voice. “You should do what he says.”

  The muscular man pushed Zach toward Elizabeth. His shoulder slammed against her. She could feel his body stiffen against the pain.

  “Well, Elizabeth, it looks like you don’t win after all.” Craig’s voice pelted her back like toxic rain.

  When she turned to look at him, he swaggered toward them.

  “This is the end of the line for you and your boyfriend.” Craig’s voice filled with bravado once again as if the humiliation of a moment before hadn’t even happened. He turned toward the muscular man. “Take care of them.”

  The man lowered the flashlight. Elizabeth saw a scar across the man’s lantern jaw. Tattoos decorated his muscular arms. His eyes were as cold as winter.

  Zach pressed closer to her. He was physically shaking from the pain he was in, yet he managed to straighten his spine and square his shoulders.

  The big muscular man said, “I brought them to you so you could take care of them. That was the deal.”

  “I’ll pay you extra. Whatever the going rate is,” Craig said. “I’ll meet you back at the helicopter.” Then he pressed close to Elizabeth.

  Zach stepped in between them.

  “It’s all right,” said Elizabeth. She touched Zach’s shoulder. “He doesn’t scare me.” And Craig Miller no longer lived inside her head, controlling her life and making it impossible for her to trust or to love.

  She and Zach would probably die here tonight, but the victory was hers.

  Craig lifted his chin and sneered. “My hands are still clean.”

  Her rage intensified. It bothered her that there would be no justice for the other woman Craig had destroyed. Knowing him, there had probably been more than one. If only there was a way to see him forced to face what he’d done.

  “You won’t win, Craig. God will see that justice happens,” she said.

  “God? God can’t touch me.” Craig sneered.

  Maybe she wouldn’t live to see it, but she had to believe Craig could not again get away with hurting another woman.

  Craig turned to go. Her anger boiled over, and she jumped on him and hit him over and over. Craig yelped in a very feminine way.

  Hands pulled her off him.

  Craig had crumpled to his knees.

  “Get out of here,” said the mercenary to Craig. She heard disdain in the man’s voice.

  Craig rose to his feet, smoothed his shirt and lifted his chin. He spoke to the mercenary. “The bodies need to be put where they can’t be found. Then you will be paid in full.” He disappeared into the trees.

  The mercenary shifted his gun from one hand to the other. “On your knees. Turn your backs to me.”

  Elizabeth could not take in a deep breath. Her whole body shook from the intensity of the terror stampeding through her. This was it. She and Zach were going to die out here. At least they would die together.

  * * *

  Zach’s mind raced at a hundred miles an hour. Even with Elizabeth’s help, he knew he was too weak to overpower the man with the gun.

  Elizabeth slipped her hand into Zach’s. “I love you. We could have had something together.”

  “Come on, you two. Get on the ground,” barked the mercenary.

  Her touch warmed him and gave him hope. He looked closer at the hired assassin’s tattoos. “Can you give us just a moment?” requested Zach.

  The man threw up his arms.

  Zach grabbed both her hands, leaned close and kissed her tenderly. He whispered in her ear, “We will have a life together.”

  He wasn’t about to give up on the two of them. After a silent, fervent prayer, Zach pulled away from Elizabeth and turned to face the man who intended to kill them. He pointed at the man’s tattoos, which indicated where he’d served as a soldier in Iraq. “How many tours?”

  “Four in the Sandbox.” The man’s voice was completely neutral and his gaze unwavering.

  “I’ve been in A-stan and Syria as a reporter.” If he couldn’t outmuscle the man, maybe he could form an alliance with him. The man clearly didn’t respect Craig.

  The man’s posture slackened. “You stay with the troops or back at the posh hotel?”

  “Embed is the only way to get the real story.”

  “He was kidnapped and held hostage,” Elizabeth said.

  The man stepped back. His rifle went slack at his side.

  “The man you’re working for raped me ten years ago while I was on a date with him. Now he’s done it to another woman,” Elizabeth said. “That’s why he’s doing all this—so I can’t testify against him. He’s making you commit murder so he can get away with rape without consequences.”

  The man stared off into the distance for a long moment and then turned back toward them. “I’ll fire two shots so he thinks I killed you. I gotta get paid for this job. I’ll be out of the country before he figures out what happened. You’re on your own to find your way out of here.”

  Zach nodded and took Elizabeth’s hand. They walked deeper into the woods. She jumped as the two shots reverberated through the trees, bullets that were meant for their heads.

  Zach slowed in his step. His jaw hardened against the pain.

  Even though the mercenary had spared them, he was pretty sure that if they had to walk down the mountain, he wouldn’t make it to help alive. He could barely stand up. He’d lost too much blood.

  Elizabeth looked right at him. “We have to get on the chopper, don’t we?”

  Zach raised his head, wanting to protest. Going to the chopper would put her in danger again. If they let Craig leave, at least Elizabeth would be safe. But she didn’t wait for his answer.

  Elizabeth turned around and headed back toward the man who wanted her dead. Zach trailed behind as dread filled his heart. The odds were not in their favor.

  * * *

  Elizabeth sprinted as the sound of the chopper starting up filled the forest. When she glanced over her shoulder, Zach had fallen farther behind her.

  Please, God, help me get him to the hospital before it’s too late.

  She came to the edge of the forest. The two men were in what looked like a heated conversation as they sat in the chopper, their heads close together to be heard above the helicopter blades.

  Zach came up behind her and touched her back. She could hear his raspy and uneven breathing.

  “You might need this.” He slipped a knife in her hand. “I have your back.”

  Now was the time to strike while the men were not paying attention. She darted across the open area and jumped into the back of the chopper, placing the knife against Craig’s neck.

  “Zach needs medical help. Take us there.”

  The mercenary wrinkled his forehead. “I’m not getting arrested to save your friend.”

  “What is going on here?” Craig blasted his question at the mercenary. “You were supposed to kill them!” The mercenary just rolled his eyes, not bothering to answer.

  Zach made his way to the chopper. He walked bent over and clutching his shoulder. The mercenary looked at Craig and then at Zach. “I’ll take you to the base of the mountain where you can call for help and make sure this guy goes to jail.”

  “You.” Craig’s skin turned red with rage.

  Zach slumped into the seat beside Elizabeth. He reached down, grabbed some duct tape, pulled off a strip and placed it over Craig’s mouth.

 
“Give me your hands,” Zach’s voice sounded weak.

  Craig shook his head.

  Elizabeth pressed the knife deeper into his neck. “You heard him.”

  Craig lifted his hands so Zach could bind them.

  The helicopter lifted off while Zach secured Craig in place by duct-taping him to the chopper chair. Elizabeth dropped the knife to her side.

  Zach sat back and collapsed in the seat, closing his eyes. She reached up and brushed her finger over the cheek of the man she loved and wanted to spend her life with.

  She only hoped they weren’t too late in getting him the medical attention he needed.

  * * *

  Zach awoke in the hospital bed to Elizabeth’s concerned but beautiful face. She leaned in close, gripping his hand.

  “How are you doing?”

  “My head is really fuzzy.”

  “Probably all the pain meds.” She squeezed his fingers.

  He squeezed back. “Thanks for getting me out of there alive. You did it.”

  She bent closer to him and kissed his forehead. “We did it.”

  “We? The two of us together?” The look of adoration in her eyes warmed him clean through. “I meant what I said back there on the mountain. We could have a beautiful life together.” He hesitated as fear gripped his heart, remembering the past rejection. “Can’t we?”

  Something thudded against the hospital window. Outside, Neil Thompson and another news crew had their faces pressed against the window.

  “Are you kidding me?” Elizabeth bolted up and shut the shade. She laughed. “I’ll be glad when this is over and we can get back to reporting the stories.”

  She still hadn’t answered his question. “We could have a lifetime of doing that together...and of being together as man and wife,” he said.

  Her expression changed. She walked over to him. She leaned down and covered his lips with hers. His skin electrified at her touch. She pulled back, looking deep into his eyes. “I’d like that very much.”

  His heart swelled with joy, and he wrapped his arms around the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. “Looks like you’re stuck with me after all, Betsy,” he teased.

  She laughed as she squeezed his hand. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”

  * * * * *

  If you loved this story, don’t miss these other exciting suspense books by Sharon Dunn

  MONTANA STANDOFF

  WILDERNESS TARGET

  COLD CASE JUSTICE

  MISTAKEN TARGET

  Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com

  Keep reading for an excerpt from PLAIN COVER-UP by Alison Stone

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  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed the romantic and exciting journey that Zach and Elizabeth went on. Because of his experiences being kidnapped and hounded by the press, Zach seems to have been put in Elizabeth’s life when she needs a protector and someone who understands what she’s going through. Both of them have been through painful and traumatic experiences. Sometimes when we are facing struggles, it is hard to understand why God might allow such pain into our lives or to believe that it might have a future purpose. During such times, it is an act of faith to trust God because He sees so much more than we can. I can say from my own life experiences that it is the painful events that have given me the opportunity to connect with other people, be empathetic and love deeply. Whatever trial you are facing today, I don’t want to trivialize your pain, but I do hope you will keep your eyes on God. He is in control. Sometimes what He allows into our lives does not make sense in the present. That is when we trust in His unfailing love and focus on who He is, not on our circumstances.

  Sharon Dunn

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  Plain Cover-Up

  by Alison Stone

  ONE

  The gathering storm clouds hastened nightfall’s arrival. In the distance, lightning split the sky. Christina groaned. If she hadn’t been so swamped at the healthcare clinic, she might have taken a second to check the weather forecast and realized a more prudent decision would have involved driving to the Apple Creek Diner for takeout versus walking the half mile.

  A gust of wind whipped up and rustled through the trees, thick with green foliage after a harsh northern winter. The air was heavy with the expectation of rain. Dr. Christina Jennings wrapped the plastic handle of the takeout bag around her wrist and quickened her pace. The thought of getting drenched when she still had hours of paperwork to do in the clinic was about as appealing as, well, dealing with the paperwork itself.

  As the soft footsteps of her tennis shoes sounded on the pavement, fingers of awareness kneaded the back of her neck and she resisted the urge to glance back at the diner. No doubt Dylan Hunter had a perfect view of her on the street from his window booth when she left the diner. She refused to let this man occupy her thoughts. A man who had broken her heart in two.

  Christina’s stomach growled, snapping her focus back to the purpose of her short break from work. The thought of the BLT sandwich in the bag dangling off her wrist made her walk even faster. She was so hungry.

  Georgia Summers, the newly hired physician assistant at the clinic, often joked that Christina probably would never stop working if she could find a way to function on no food and zero sleep. The sleep she sacrificed, food, not so much. Christina smiled at the memory of Georgia’s laugh. It was nice to have someone to work with after running the clinic by herself for so many years.

  With her free hand, Christina pulled her light jacket closed and fastened the zipper at the bottom. A shudder twined its way up her spine, making her feel unsettled.

  Had chatting with Dylan for a few moments at the diner really thrown her this off balance?

  Christina had carefully avoided him since he moved to Apple Creek earlier in the year to teach at the law school. She still had no idea why he was on leave from the FBI, his self-proclaimed dream job. And frankly she didn’t care. She figured he had lost interest and moved onto his next thing, much like he had done with her. Maybe he’d go back. Maybe he wouldn’t.

  But tonight she’d had no choice but to make small talk with him because the diner was empty and Flo, the long-time waitress, took a while to pull her order together. If Christina had been suspicious by nature, she’d have thou
ght Flo’s delay had been intentional.

  What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. Franny’s favorite expression floated to mind. Well, one of many favorite expressions of her parents’ housekeeper.

  A deep rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. Maybe she should have taken the ride Dylan had offered.

  She probably would have taken the offer if it had come from anybody else.

  Christina hustled past the stores on Main Street to the residences with postage-stamp-size lawns. She used to rent one of these apartments, until she’d realized she wanted a more rural setting where she could have privacy.

  Cigarette smoke wafted in her direction. Instinctively, she turned to see where it was coming from, but could only see the red glow of a cigarette in the shadows. Feeling like she was being watched, she squared her shoulders and walked with an air of authority.

  Don’t walk like a victim.

  The notion that a victim somehow asked for it by acting a certain way made her bristle. However, being aware of one’s surroundings was always a good idea. A college student had been attacked in the nearby apartments a couple of weeks ago.

  Christina had treated the woman for minor injuries, including a superficial knife wound across her cheek. Thank goodness the young woman had gotten away, but Christina and her brother, Deputy Nick Jennings, worried the attacker might grow bolder. The woman couldn’t identify whoever had assaulted her, and any leads had dried up.

  Maybe that’s where Christina’s apprehension stemmed from. It had everything to do with a recent attack and nothing to do with seeing Dylan Hunter again.

  Christina kept her steady pace, refusing to live in fear.

  Been there, done that.

  However, there was something to be said about being smart. Safe. Christina walked more briskly, ignoring the whisper of dread sending goose bumps across her flesh.

  A gust of wind picked up and whipped loose strands of hair across her face. She hooked a piece of hair with her free hand and dragged it out of her mouth. Even though they were a month away from the official start of summer, a storm could sweep in and drop the temperature by ten or even twenty degrees. All she had on was a light jacket.