Page 55 of Her Baby, Her Badge

That was all they had time to say because the semi driver revved his engine again, and Grace knew it was now or never. She threw open her door, which thankfully hadn’t been damaged, but her heart dropped when she saw that Dutton was struggling to get out.

She glanced at the truck, then at Dutton, and Grace knew if she didn’t do something, he’d be in the cruiser if the truck’s tires managed to roll over the top of it. Or crushed it with Dutton inside.

Grace bolted out of the cruiser, then took aim at the truck’s windshield.

And fired.

It was a risk since the bullet could ricochet off the metal. A risk, too, because she still didn’t know where Wilson was, and at the moment she was an easy target, especially if he was still behind her. He could just shoot her in the back. But Grace refused to think about that right now. She only focused on getting Dutton out of the cruiser.

Dutton gave up on opening his door and scrambled across the driver’s seat. Not easily. The now deflated airbags were in the way so he had to fight through those. And the driver just kept coming at them.

Grace took aim at the truck’s windshield again, specifically targeting the driver’s side of the vehicle, and this time she didn’t fire just one shot. She aimed three in rapid succession. The bullets all slammed into the glass, shattering it. Maybe hitting the driver, too.

Because the truck finally stopped.

Dutton bolted out beside her, but he didn’t stop. He took hold of her arm and got her moving away from the cruiser, away from the truck. And hopefully away from any bullets that the truck driver might send their way.

With each step, Grace steeled herself for gunfire.

But it didn’t come.

There was only the menacing roar of the truck’s engine and the sound of sirens. The deputies had no doubt heard the gunfire and were responding. She prayed that didn’t end up costing her mother her life, but she had no idea if Aileen was even anywhere near here. The truck driver could be another hired thug doing the killer’s bidding, and her mother and the killer could be anywhere.

They ducked behind some wild shrubs that weren’t much cover but were better than nothing. Dutton immediately started shifting his gaze between the truck and their surroundings. Grace did the same. It was too dark for her to see the driveror anyone else who might be inside the truck, but she spotted a cluster of trees not far from a narrow portion of the ditch.

“There,” she said, tipping her head in that direction. Moving there could get them farther away from the truck in case it came at them again. Plus, the trees would be better cover.

Dutton nodded and met her eyes for a split second. “Try to stay behind me,” he muttered. “Think of it as desk duty.”

Grace didn’t especially want to take him up on the offer, but she didn’t want to argue with him about this. She just wanted them both in a safer position so they could protect their child and maybe catch a killer in the process. The location by the trees might give them a better angle to see exactly who was in the truck.

Dutton sprang up from the shrubs, taking aim at the truck, and he started to move the moment Grace was in place behind him. She kept watch, ready for an attack. She didn’t see anything, but she heard something just as they darted behind the trees.

Maybe a door opening?

Her gaze fired to the truck, but the passenger-side door was shut. She couldn’t see the driver’s side, though, and she was pretty sure Dutton couldn’t, either.

They stooped there, with their breaths gusting, waiting for something,anything, that would help them pinpoint a killer. The seconds crawled by, the sounds of the siren getting closer. But even over the blare of that, Grace heard something else.

Running footsteps.

“I think someone just got out of the truck,” Dutton whispered.

Grace agreed, though she still couldn’t see anyone. Well, not by the truck, anyway, but she could definitely hear those running footsteps. Then, she caught a blur of motion from the corner of her eye and pivoted in that direction with her gun ready.

And then she saw something.

“Wilson,” she muttered.

Dutton followed her gaze and no doubt also saw Wilson doing some running of his own. He was sprinting toward the tree line, where they’d found Teddy Lunsford’s body. Was Wilson trying to retrieve some possible evidence that could be on the dead man? Or worse. Was there some kind of firetrap that Wilson was about to unleash?

“Wilson?” she called out.

He stopped and turned, and she thought he was trying to pick through the darkness to find her. “I have to go,” Wilson said, tipping his head to deeper within the woods. “It’s your mother. I just spotted Aileen.”

* * *

Dutton took holdof Grace’s arm when she started to bolt from the trees. He knew it was an automatic response for her, a desperate need to save her mother. But he couldn’t let her run out into the open, where she could be gunned down.

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