Page 65 of Ride Hard
Crawling toward the car, my gaze darted around, looking for signs of the mystery men. Nothing stirred, so I keptgoing.
My head throbbed with a headache to end all headaches. Asphalt dug into my palms. I’d made it to the road unseen. Through the broken window of the car that had taken us three-quarters of the way across the country, I spied the glove compartment. It was within reach. All I had to dowas…
Two men were on the other side of the wreck, and Ihesitated.
Chaser was on his knees, his head lowered. An unknown man was standing over him, and the gun in his hand was pointed at Chaser’stemple.
My heart twisted, and I forgot all about myheadache.
Reaching into the car, I popped open the glove compartment, wincing as the sound echoed. There was a rattle as whatever was inside scraped acrossplastic.
“I won’t ask again,” the man said. “Where’s thegirl?”
“Woman,” Chaser replied, his voice rasping. “She’s awoman.”
“A debt has to be paid, Gunnar. If you deny us now, I wonder how long it will take for Fortitude to find out what’s really going on here. How long will it be before youdie?”
“Not long at all,” Chaser declared. “You’ll have to shoot me before you take me alive, and you’ll especially have to shoot me before you lay a single finger onher.”
Holding my breath, I picked up the gun and pulled my hand back through the broken window. Who the fuck wasGunnar?
Checking the magazine, I counted my lucky stars it was full and edged away from thewreck.
How was I going to do this? The man’s finger was on the trigger, which meant if I shot at him, he could pull it and kill Chaser. Even if I hit the guy, he could still fire. I saw no otherchoice.
I had to kill him before…but how? Chaser was on his knees, which meant I had to go for the headshot or at least the torso. If the man didn’t drop on the first shot, I had to be prepared to fire again. Nohesitation.
God, help me, I thought tomyself.
Rising from behind the car, I aimed at the man and fired. A boom echoed across the desert, and I stumbled back a step as I failed to absorb the kickback through my arm andshoulder.
The man stumbled and clutched his shoulder, turning toward me with agrunt.
“Surprise, asshole,” Ideclared.
I recovered, adrenaline searing through my veins and stabbing me in the heart. I fired again, and this time, the bullet found itsmark.
The man’s head splattered like a soft watermelon as the bullet tore through him, and I almost gagged as he fell back onto the asphalt. Blood pooled beneath him, the puddle spreading thick and fast underneath his limp body.Thick like cranberrysauce.
Chaser was right when he said to close your eyes and mouth. I was only now understanding he was always right about matters of life andmurder.
“Sloane.”
I jumped as I felt Chaser’s hand curl around mine. He untangled my trembling hand from the gun and clicked the safety on, then he turned me away from the road and the spreadingdeath.
“We have to be careful,” I muttered. “There could be more ofthem.”
“There were two,” he replied. “I got the otherone.”
I stared at him, shock settingin.
“Are you okay?” His eyes sparkled in the twilight, and I was almost fooled by the panic I saw inthem.
“I was thrown from the car…” I glanced over his shoulder at the desertbeyond.
Chaser’s hands poked and prodded at me, massaging my arms and ribs, searching for broken bones. When he pressed his palms against my stomach, I shoved himaway.
“Don’t.”
