AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can help if—”
“I’ll let you know.”
She found herself sharing the space behind the front seats of the aging SUV with fast food wrappers and a pair of muddy boots. At least she hoped it was mud. “What’s happening?”
She expected him to tear out of the parking lot. Instead he maneuvered slowly out of the space and drove away from the range as if he had nowhere to be and all day to get there.
“We’re moving to a safe location.”
“Got that.”
“You don’t think the sniper will notice the car leaving the lot?”
“He’s got his hands full with the other two shooters on the range.”
“I didn’t hear return fire.” How had she missed it?
He didn’t answer and she couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t easy to behave in a calm and rational manner when that fight or flight instinct kicked in. When everything inside told you to bolt—and fast.
Being tucked back here out of sight, with Carson dealing with the immediate physical threat, reminded her of her active duty days when she unraveled intel while the team handled things on the ground. Except she was absolutely blind and mostly useless right now.
Her heart pounding, she forced herself to breathe deep and slow, despite the unappealing aroma of the cluttered floorboards. “How about we pay Jeremy back for the inconvenience with a gift card for detailing.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
She braced against another abrupt turn, grateful he wasn’t driving any faster. “Are we being tailed?”
“I don’t think so, but I’m not taking the chance.”
She felt the car slow, heard the sirens of emergency vehicles blow by. Anyone on Bakr’s team would be looking for a man and a woman in a deputy’s car. “Fair enough. Let me know when I can stop being a sack of potatoes down here.” Being useless wasn’t an acceptable long term solution.
“Will do. Hang in there.”
It was the only option, so she went with it. Replaying those critical seconds in her mind, she tried to recall the return fire, to remember anything about the sniper’s location. But she’d been looking at the target, not the tree line.
What kind of desperation drove a person to launch an attack at a police-operated firing range?
There wasn’t much else she could do until they got back to Ruth’s house and the FBI set up. The only support she could offer Carson was to sort out the information she had and brainstorm solutions to put a stop to Bakr’s power play.
The car lurched and bounced along and she didn’t bother to ask if they’d gone off-road. For all she knew, Carson was taking back roads and hunting trails to Ruth’s house. Not a bad plan, really. She’d have bruises on her ribs and knees, but all of that was better than a bullet in her head. Or his.
Analyze. Assess. Abe had said Bakr had tasked a three-person team to track her down and force her to give up whatever intel he thought she had. One of those three men was loyal to Abe.
“Oh! I’ve got it,” she said, pushing up enough to peek over cracked plastic of the center console. “Abe’s man is the sniper.”
“What? Where?”
“Not here,” she began, but Carson hit another rut that strained the suspension and tossed her back. She landed on her healing shoulder and hissed at the lance of pain.
“Shit. Eva?”
“I’m fine,” she lied, trying to draw air into her lungs.
“Stay down. Please.”
“Staying,” she rasped. She’d seen just enough through the windshield to know it was overkill. There was no way anyone else was out here touring this anonymous field with them. And a sniper at the police range couldn’t possibly have found them and set up in the stand of trees she’d seen.
