Page 27 of Rangers Last Promise

We hit hard.

I turn before we land, taking the impact against my shoulder and pulling her beneath me. Glass rains across my back. Somewhere in the darkness, Wolf shouts for everyone to get down.

Mara’s elbow slams into my ribs.

“Get off me.”

“Stop moving.”

“I need my weapon.”

Another shot punches through the front window.

Wood splinters from the table above us.

I cover the back of Mara’s head with one hand and reach beneath my jacket with the other. My pistol clears the holster as emergency lights flicker to life above the bar, bathing the tavern in a dim red glow.

Trigger is already moving.

He crawls toward the hallway leading to the kitchen while Wolf reaches beneath the bar and comes up with a shotgun.

Sheriff Tate crouches behind an overturned table, his weapon aimed toward the broken window.

“No one returns fire unless you have a clear target,” he orders. “There are homes and businesses across that street.”

A third shot doesn’t come.

The storm fills the silence instead.

Rain blows through the shattered window, carrying broken glass across the floor. The street beyond appears empty, but the darkness between the buildings could hide anyone.

Mara twists beneath me.

“Doc.”

“Not yet.”

“If you don’t move, I’m going to shoot you myself.”

“You can’t reach your gun.”

“I can reach yours.”

Her fingers close around the grip of my pistol.

I look down.

She’s glaring up at me, her dark hair spread across the floor and a thin line of blood forming near her temple where a piece of glass caught her skin.

Grant’s eyes.

But the fury is entirely hers.

“Let go of my weapon.”

“Let go of me.”

“We’re in front of a window.”