Dangerous Refuge

chapter Forty-five



Shaye scrambled back on her feet from the spot where she’d thrown herself when the vehicle came roaring up out of the night. She had heard the rending, endless battle of rock and metal, the echoing silence filled with hissing sounds, and then the quick snaps that could only have been Ace’s .22.

The thought of him walking up to the wreckage and murdering the driver made her ache to be armed herself.

She was terrified that Tanner had been at the wheel.

She knew the driver had saved her life by wrecking the vehicle rather than hitting her. The square grille and placement of the headlights had been that of a truck, while the violent light and screaming engine had been the stuff of future nightmares.

Even as she had flung herself back, the truck had gone sideways, and the stark, spearing headlights had bounced and bounded until it all ended in a hideous crash that she hadn’t seen because she was too busy trying to get to her feet.

Then Tanner’s voice calling her name.

Followed by two shots.

He wrecked trying to miss me and now he’s—

Viciously she slammed down on the thought.

The sound of Ace’s gun wasn’t that close, not really. He could have been shooting at me.

If so, he had missed by several hundred feet.

Tanner!

But she only screamed in her mind. If he was alive, he could be hurt, needing help.

And Ace was out there, somewhere.

Surely he has to be running out of bullets.

She could find out the hard way if he carried extra ammo, or she could be smart and try being invisible.

Remember, it’s just business for Ace. He’s got three people who know too much running around in the darkness. He’ll go after the closest one first.

The truck.

He’ll be coming in from the direction the shots came from. I have to get to the truck first. Tanner will be armed, and it won’t be with a yappy little Chihuahua of a gun.

She headed down toward the truck as fast as she dared. Her leg had settled into a steady kind of burn that didn’t get in her way. Most of the time.

The truck was in a small runoff channel. Moonlight gleamed on the pale rocks and dirt around it. She was tempted to shine her light through the windows, but knew it would only make her a target. Instead, she half skidded, half ran down the slope. If she moved quickly enough, she would be able to get the truck between herself and the source of the shots.

Maybe Tanner isn’t alone. August could be with him.

The thought made her feel better, even as she doubted it. If the deputy had been present and conscious, he would have returned Ace’s fire.

Her eyes readjusted to the dim moonlight again and she could make out a single headlight turning silver the ghostly seething of steam around the truck. Breath coming hard, she ran close enough to look inside.

Empty.

The .22 barked again. Glass broke as the single working headlight exploded.

Damn you, Ace!

Shaye abandoned the treacherous cover of the truck that was also a magnet for a killer. She followed the straightest line she could take and still keep under some cover, hoping that Tanner had done the same.

The gunshot had come from up the hill, almost a straight line from where Kimberli had fled the Bronco. Darting from one ragged shadow to another, Shaye waited to hear the next shot.

Nothing but her own breathing.

She saw another shadow ahead. Moving.

Tanner.

Shaye wanted to call out to him but was afraid she would only draw fire in their direction. Hoping Tanner heard her coming—she was hardly catlike in her scramble around trees and boulders—she sprinted toward him.

But the shadow was gone.

Was it my imagination?

Too late to change her mind. She knew Ace was coming and all she had was a flashlight she couldn’t use and a prayer that she was afraid wouldn’t come true.