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Hannah’s brow crinkled as something snapped into place. She inhaled sharply. “Thomas almost turned on you. The sketch created after Julie’s death was released to the public. It was used to remind you of the power he had over you.”
Dusty didn’t answer, but his jaw tightened. It was enough to confirm Hannah was right.
Lorrie laughed. “Don’t feel sorry for Dusty. He’s making a ton of money out of this and is going to start a new life in a country under a different name. It’s a win for everyone.”
Hannah filled in the blanks on her own. Thomas offered Dusty money after threatening him. Then they created a plan to make it look like Dusty was responsible for Julie’s murder. He broke into Hannah’s house and attacked her. Called in the bomb threat at the courthouse. Murdered Kristin. Whatever it took to muddy the case. Hannah's stomach churned and bile rose in the back of her throat.
They all deserved to spend the rest of their lives in jail. Killers. Every one of them.
Lorrie was practically glowing. “My man is always three steps ahead of everyone else.”
Dusty glowered. “If Thomas was so smart, he would’ve created a better alibi for himself and wouldn’t have ended up the prime suspect.”
The mirth faded from Lorrie’s expression. “Watch your tone when you talk to me.”
Dusty released Hannah and stepped in front of her to get into Lorrie’s face. “I don’t care if you are Thomas’s girlfriend. No one disrespects me. No one. You’d better shut that mouth before I do it for you.”
The couple began arguing. It was the opening Hannah had prayed for. She shrank back and sliced through the very last of her bonds. The movement must’ve caught Lorrie’s eye because she stopped midsentence and pointed.
Hannah turned on her heel and bolted for cover.
A blaze of fire erupted along her side. She cried out and pressed a hand to her shirt. Warmth spouted from a wound near her stomach. Shot. She’d been shot. Her breath heaved as she kept moving despite the agony spreading through her body. Branches grabbed at her clothes and tree roots threatened to send her crashing to the ground. Sweat formed along her hairline. Her heartbeat roared in her ears.
Dusty was chasing her. Hannah could hear him coming. Panic swelled. If he caught her, he’d kill her. She knew that for certain.
Bark exploded from a pine tree next to her head. Hannah yelped and automatically ducked. She zigged and zagged to make herself a harder target to hit. Her vision blurred. She pressed a hand against the wound on her side, but couldn’t apply any actual pressure. Blood seeped through her fingers and soaked her clothes. Her breath came in pants.
Move. Move. Move.
She put one foot in front of the other with no sense of direction. At one point, she’d been heading toward the road. Now she was all turned around. The pain in her body was blinding. She tripped, her knees crashing to the ground with a bone-jarring jolt that rattled through her body. Hannah pressed a hand against a nearby tree. She tried to get up. Willed her body to move. But it refused to obey. She sagged to the ground.
A bush shifted. Hannah whimpered and attempted to tuck herself into some foliage. Shivers racked her body.
Dusty appeared, chest heaving, his flashlight crossing over her hiding place. A sinister smile twisted his mouth as he raised the gun to shoot her. Hannah shut her eyes and said a final prayer of thanksgiving for every joyful moment God had given her.
Gunfire erupted.
TWENTY-NINE
“Why do they make this food so disgusting?” Hannah wrinkled her nose and pushed the mush on her hospital tray around with a bamboo fork. She glanced over at Eli’s tray. Instead of sad-looking mush, he had fruit and chicken. Mashed potatoes with gravy. He even had a pudding cup. She scowled. “You don’t have to eat the nasty stuff. That’s not fair.”
Eli arched his brows. “Actually, I did. It’s part of the fun of abdominal surgery. The doctors sew your insides back together and then you have to eat soft food until you graduate to decent stuff.” He picked up his pudding. “Don’t be such a whiner. Eat your food like a good patient so we can go on a walk together.”
Hannah narrowed her gaze at him. “Stop bossing me around.” She was dying for some actual food, abdominal surgery or not. It’d been three days since her harrowing experience in the woods. She was grateful to be alive, but not happy about her culinary options, especially when Eli took a huge bite of his pudding. “I don’t like eating lunch with you.”
“Eli, are you annoying Hannah again?” Ryker’s father appeared in the doorway with a bouquet tucked in a vase. Jack squinted at the younger man. “Don’t make me beat you over the head with your walker.”
Unfazed by the empty threat, Eli shoveled another spoonful of pudding into his mouth. “I’m not mean. I'm just telling her how it is.”
Hannah’s breath stalled as Ryker entered behind his father. He wore a soft T-shirt that molded over his broad chest and brought out the green highlights in his hazel eyes. Since he was off duty, he wasn’t sporting his ranger badge or gun, but it didn’t matter. Ryker carried himself like a lawman. It was in his stride and assessing gaze.
They’d only been separated for an hour. Just long enough for Ryker to run home for a shower and a decent meal. He’d been planted next to her bedside since the rescue operation. He’d saved her from Dusty. Ryker had shot the criminal twice before he could fire at Hannah. Dusty was seriously injured, but survived.
Hannah was in terrible shape by the time the medics arrived to help her. Dusty’s bullet had ripped through her abdomen. It’d taken two surgeries to put her back together, but the doctors believed she’d make a full recovery.
Ryker’s expression warmed as he approached her bedside. “Hey there, beautiful.”
Hannah’s cheeks heated. Ryker’s lips turned up into an easy smile before he tilted down to sweep a kiss across her mouth. The heart monitor she was hooked up to blipped. Her blush deepened as she realized everyone in the room knew just how much her pulse increased the moment Ryker was near.
