Page 28 of Hawk and the Cougar

They were halfway across when a shot rang out.

“Run!” Hawk pushed Liz forward.

He whirled, swung the rifle up, sighted The Beanstalk, and fired again. The big man stumbled as if he’d tripped, then crashed to the ground. Hawk swung the barrel toward Jack and pulled the trigger as he dived for cover. Hawk pivoted and came up short at finding Liz standing twenty feet away.

“God damn it, Liz. Run!”

Hawk reached her in two seconds. He seized her hand and shot forward. She tripped. He yanked her to his side, her feet righted, and they raced forward. Another shot rang out. Dirt kicked up to Liz’s right. Red hot fury rammed through him. He hugged Liz closer and dove for the narrow saddle as another shot echoed around them.

They hit the ground, Liz on top of him. Hawk ignored the pain that radiated up his arm and pushed her from him as he rolled onto his stomach and pointed the rifle in the direction of the men. They were running at breakneck speed toward him and Liz. The Beanstalk pointed his pistol.

Hawk sighted The Beanstalk’s leg and fired. The Beanstalk dove to the right while Jack dropped.

The Beanstalk rolled and came up on his belly like Hawk, and shouted, “I’ll kill you, motherfucker!”

Hawk fired, then pushed to his feet and hauled Liz up with him. “We’ve got to keep moving.”

He pulled her forward, and they broke into a run for the next hill. They rounded the slope as more gunfire sounded. Hawk shoved Liz down and peered around the side. God damn it, the men were nearly halfway to where he and Liz now were. Hawk faced her. His gut wrenched at the stark fear on her face.

“Can you keep going?” he demanded.

She nodded, and they jumped up and started forward. This time, there was no saddle. They had to go over the top of the large rise. How far were Jack and The Beanstalk going to follow them? The two men weren’t equipped for getting lost in the mountains.

“Come on,” Hawk urged. “We’ve got to get over that rise before they get around the hill behind us.”

Seconds later, they started up the incline. Hawk glanced back. The men weren’t in sight. “Think Stairmaster,” he coaxed through heavy breaths.

Liz was breathing heavier than she had been when they’d started up the hill, but she nodded and picked up speed. Damn, the woman could move. They neared the top, and Hawk looked back in time to see that the men had nearly reached the bottom of the hill behind them. Hawk pulled Liz to the ground. She cried out.

“Crawl,” he ordered. She started to look back, but Hawk grabbed her arm. “Keep going.”

She crawled forward, and they were over the summit in three seconds. They jumped to their feet and raced to the bottom where Liz came to a halt, breathing hard.

“I need,” she drank in more air, “to rest.”

“I know. Soon.” He pulled her forward.

They moved as fast as they could to the next saddle, where the hills were twice the size they had been when they’d first fled into the foothills.

Shouts went up farther away behind them, and Hawk knew the men were losing ground fast. He and Liz slowed but didn’t stop until moonlight dimmed within the deepening shadows of even larger hills.

At last, Hawk brought them to a halt. He listened but heard only silence. “I think we lost them.”

A quiet sob broke from Liz.

“Sweetheart.” He pulled her into his arms.

“I thought they were going to follow us all night,” she cried against his chest.

“They were damned persistent,” he agreed.

She began to tremble, and he realized the adrenaline that had kept her going was wearing off. She was going to fall apart. He scanned their surroundings. They’d climbed to an open area against the incline of a gentle rise. He scanned for snakes among the tiny ground shrubs and found none.

“You need to rest.” Hawk pried loose the cooler she gripped, then dropped it to the ground and urged her down as he sat beside her. He laid the rifle beside them, and she melted into his arms, tears flowing in earnest.

“It’s all right.” He stroked her hair.

“I thought they were going to kill you,” she sobbed.