Page 46 of Vanished in the Mist
The distraction cost him.
Troy slammed an elbow against Kaden’s face, and jerked the gun around toward him.
Shanna didn’t have a clear shot, but she couldn’t wait. She fired up in the air.Bam! Bam!
Troy screamed and threw himself against a truck tire.
Kaden grabbed his wrist and wrenched it up against the truck’s frame.
Troy screamed again, blood gushing from where the frame had sliced his wrist. The gun went skittering across the ground.
As Kaden scrabbled forward to grab it, Troy took off toward the woods, cradling his wounded hand.
Shanna lowered her gun, lining up the sights at Troy’s back. Just as she was about to squeeze the trigger, the gun was plucked from her grip.
Kaden swore. “What are you trying to do? Send yourself to prison over that sleazeball?”
She blinked, then blew out a shaky breath. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“Damn straight, you weren’t. You should have stayed in the cabin, not offered yourself as a target. You took ten years off my life when you came back out here.”
She put her hands on her hips. “A simple thank-you would be fine, instead of a lecture.”
His swear-laced reply had her gasping in outrage. “Kaden Rafferty. How dare you—”
His mouth came down hard against hers as he pushed her back against the side of the cabin. He ravaged her mouth, setting her nerve endings on fire like molten lava. She whimpered deep in her throat and grasped his shirt, desperately trying to pull it free from his pants.
He broke away, swearing again. “You’re dangerous.”
“You’re a tease.”
“For the love of… Get in the cabin, Shanna. Call the police and—”
The sound of a siren had both of them looking down the road.
Shanna crossed her arms. “Looks like Dawson heard the shots.”
“Good.” He handed her gun back to her. “You can unlock the door once he gets here. In the meantime, barricade yourself inside. Warren’s wounded but he’s not down for the count.”
He checked the loading of Warren’s gun, then took off toward the woods, where he’d disappeared.
“Kaden, don’t you dare go into those woods on your own. Let the police handle it.”
He made a disgusted sound and jogged into the forest.
In desperation, Shanna yelled, “Don’t you dare leave me alone to face some murderous psychopath while you go off chasing my idiot ex!”
Silence.
Then, Kaden slowly stepped out from the trees, his jaw set and the gun down at his side.
Dawson’s SUV slid across the gravel driveway, barely stopping a few feet from Kaden’s truck.
Kaden ignored him as he stalked forward to where Shanna stood at the bottom of the steps. “You don’t play fair,” he accused.
“As long as you’re safe, that’s what matters.”
“Kaden, Shanna, what’s going on? I heard gunshots.” Dawson ran up to them, his weapon out and down at his side. “What happened?”
