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“Crawl!” Birdie said.
They did, on their bellies, and then they were rolling down the bank. Her head hurt, and her wrist was sore, but Nina was worse. Hitting the bottom, they got to their feet and started running.
“She’s close, run!” Birdie called.
With every step, she waited for a bullet to rip through her. Waited and braced herself.
“We made it,” Nina panted as they reached the trees. Birdie didn’t point out that they hadn’t made it anywhere but to the shelter of a tree trunk, and Jolena could still follow and shoot them.
“You sit,” Birdie rasped, lowering her friend to the ground. “Stay.”
“Birdie, no!” Nina tried to stop her from leaving.
“I have to see where she is, Nina. We can’t wait for her to come for us. I’ll be back.”
Creeping out from behind the tree, she made her way to the last one and looked.
Sawyer’s insane ex was on her bottom, scooting herself down the bank. Birdie looked around for anything to use as a weapon. Anything to stop Jolena from hurting Nina. From shooting them.
I don’t want to die. I want to get out of here and tell Sawyer I love him. Then I’m going to leave Lyntacky when he looks at me with pity in his eyes. But I am going to tell him.
The thought was almost worse than facing a bullet.
She saw the branch then. Not huge but thick and a weapon. Tiptoeing toward it, she picked it up with both hands.
The sound of sirens approaching gave Birdie hope. Sirens meant someone was coming. Surely it meant that and not that a traffic violation was being issued while a madwoman shot her and Nina.
Her head was hurting, and her eyes were blurry now. Wiping them, she looked at her hand. It was covered in blood from a deep gash in her palm.When had that happened?
“I saw you come this way! I’m killing you and then Sawyer is all mine!” Jolena shrieked.
Looking around the trunk of the tree, she saw her heading in a line toward Nina. Birdie grabbed a smaller branch that was at her feet and threw it with everything she had in the opposite direction.
The sound had Jolena spinning around. Soon she watched her sprint by. Birdie knew it was only a matter of time before she realized they weren’t that way, and she’d retrace her steps.
I have to stop her.
Raising the branch above her head, she followed, using all the skill her parents had once taught her when they’d gone camping. They’d searched for wild animals and the aim had been to get close without them knowing. Toes first and then the rest of her foot. One step at a time.
The loud shriek told her that Jolena hadn’t found them and was angry about that.
“Nina! Birdie!”
The yell came from the bank, she was sure of it. That sounded like Sawyer, but why would he be here? How would he know his ex, the crazy woman, was after Nina and her?
“Birdie!”
She broke out of the trees at a sprint.
“Help!” She saw them up on the bank. Sawyer, J.D., and Sheriff Dans. They were all running her way. Waving her hands, she sprinted.
“No!” She didn’t stop at Jolena’s scream. The gunshot sounded, and she threw herself to the ground.
More shots and then she heard her name again.
“Birdie!”
She lay there, eyes shut, wondering where the bullet hole in her body was.
