Page 65 of Outlaw Ridge: Ryker
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The crack of the gunshot sent Emma and Ryker diving to the frozen ground, their bodies hitting the packed snow hard. Another shot ripped through the trees, splintering bark just above her head.
Emma kept low, heart pounding, scanning the area.
It wasn’t Ethan who had fired.
She spotted him still crouched behind his tree, rifle steady, unmoving. No, the shot had come from behind the hostages.
Janette.
The woman was no longer on her knees. Her hands hadn’t been tied at all. The gag around her mouth hung loose now around her neck.
Emma caught a glimpse of her scurrying behind one of the trees, a gun clutched tightly in her hand.
Damn it.
Janette hadn’t just been bait. She was part of the trap.
Another shot cracked through the cold air, kicking up snow a few inches from where Emma crouched. Janette ducked back behind her tree before Emma or Ryker could even think about returning fire.
Emma ground her teeth together, fingers tightening around her weapon.
She had the angle to shoot back, but her line of fire would put bullets dangerously close to the road. She couldn’t risk it. Not with civilians who could drive past if fate was feeling cruel.
Across the small clearing, Dr. Colvin scrambled sideways, desperate to reach cover. Her hands were tied. The gag was still in place. She wasn’t part of the setup. She was a pawn.
Emma’s breath caught as another shot rang out, this time from Ethan’s position. The bullet slammed into the tree inches from Dr. Colvin’s head. Missed, but barely.
“Hell,” Ryker muttered under his breath beside her.
Emma was already shifting, searching for a better angle, when Ryker’s phone buzzed. He checked it quickly, shielding the screen with his hand.
“It’s Hayes,” he whispered. “They heard the shots. They’re moving closer on foot.”
Emma’s pulse jumped. Good. They needed the help. But it also meant more bodies moving through a kill zone, one that Ethan and Janette had no doubt prepared for.
She flicked her gaze toward Ryker, reading the same urgency in his eyes. They needed to end this. Now. Before backup walked into the crossfire. Before Ethan made good on his promise to spill more blood.
Ryker shifted slightly behind the thick tree trunk, his voice low but carrying enough to reach Janette.
“Janette,” Ryker called out. “You need to end this. Ethan’s hurt. He needs medical attention. You know that.”
For a moment, there was only the cold whisper of the wind through the trees. Then a hoarse, broken sob cut through the stillness.
Emma tightened her grip on her weapon, heart hammering.
From Ethan’s position came a snarl, sharp and filled with rage. “She already lost that argument,” Ethan barked. “I’m dying. And before I take my final breath, I’m tying up loose ends.”
Loose ends. Meaning them.
Emma’s pulse pounded against her ears. “You want Ryker and me dead, Ethan,” she called back, voice steady. “But killing us won’t fix you.”
Another ragged sound from Janette, closer to a wail than a sob. “It’s not too late,” she cried, her voice shaking. “If we get you to the hospital, you can still be okay.”
“No!” Ethan’s roar ripped through the trees. “You said you love me. If that’s true, you’ll go through with the plan.”
Emma caught movement from the corner of her eye, Janette raising the gun again, her hands trembling so badly the weapon wobbled.
