False Security

Add to that, if they hiked out of here with these two men, maybe there would be safety in numbers. They had to make it to Gideon. Even if the men weren’t willing to accompany them, Zach owed them a warning about the two dangerous men. They should leave these woods and stay clear for a few days, at least.

The two men had stopped and, instead of running away to make an escape, were waiting for their approach.

Realization slowly dawned. It washed over him along with dread. Too late, he saw his mistake. These men were not her poachers. Olivia hiked ahead of him, but the snow slowed her down. Zach used the tracks she’d made to run for her. One of the men cracked a wicked smile.

The other one dropped the doe.

Both pulled out their weapons and aimed.

“Down! Get down!” How many times would he shout those words before this was over?

Olivia slowed to a stop and turned to glance back at Zach—the men ahead of them fired their weapons at the same moment Zach threw himself into her, knocking her into the snow.

He pressed his ear to hers. “Are you hurt?”

Beneath him, she lifted her head slightly and shook it.

That had been much too close. But they weren’t out of danger yet.

It had happened so fast, she might not even realize it if she had, in fact, taken a bullet.

God, please let her be okay. Please help us!

No matter if she’d been shot, they couldn’t stay here. He grabbed the back of her snowmobile suit, hauled her up with him and, hunkered together, he slid them over behind a tree. Then he fired back at the men to hold them off. Zach had been right to carry an extra magazine, though that had seemed like overkill at the time. He was also glad he hadn’t used all his rounds yesterday against these guys.

He faced them again today.

Behind the tree, he took a moment to look at Olivia. She appeared stunned. He brushed the hair from her face. “You okay? You’re not shot, are you?” he asked again.

He would look her over completely but he forced his gaze back to the woods. He didn’t want to take his eyes from their surroundings too long.

The two men split up. He could see their forms running between the trees. Zach fired at them, forcing them to take cover again. They would probably come around to ambush Zach and Olivia from behind, if he didn’t take them out first.

“No, I’m not shot. But I don’t understand.”

“These aren’t your poachers, Olivia.”

“But they’re wearing hunting clothes. Carrying rifles. The same exact garb my guys had worn. I recognized them.”

Their clothes. She’d recognized their clothes. But he said nothing more. He didn’t want to think about the reasons why that could be but could see that Olivia was thinking about it. Shock registered in her eyes and on her face. “You don’t think...”

Bullets slammed into the tree.

Both he and Olivia ducked. Their eyes locked.

“Stay here and stay down. Don’t try to be a hero or try to be strong for me. I’m going to take these men out. But in order to do that, I can’t be worried about you. Do you understand?”

She nodded. Averted her gaze.

Zach didn’t want to waste another round until he was certain she’d understood. “Olivia, look at me.”

Her eyes found his again, the shock slowly dissipating and shifting toward rage at the shooters’ audacity, and a visceral emotion that just might save her life—terror. “I promise. I’m not moving from this tree until you tell me otherwise.”

Good. She didn’t like to take orders, but he could see in her eyes she understood it could mean their lives.

Zach peered from behind the tree again. “I’m going to move so that I can get a better shot. You stay hidden. Dig down in the snow.” Which wouldn’t be hard. The real trouble came in staying on top of it.

He left her then, trusting that she would be safer hidden next to the tree than with him. Zach hated to leave her, but he wasn’t doing her any favors by just sitting next to her like a shield, waiting for the men to trap them. He had to go on the offensive or they weren’t going to make it.

Crawling through the snow, he trekked to a patch of manzanita and elderberry bushes, then crouched and ran to a thick-trunked cedar. He lost sight of one of the men, but saw the other creeping his way around. At least he could see one of the shooters.

That would have to be enough for now.

Taking even one of these guys out could buy him and Olivia some time and maybe even the real chance of getting to Gideon. The sheriff would want to know, too, what happened to the hunters. Had the shooters killed them and disguised themselves as hunters to draw out their human prey? Or had they simply forced the real hunters to switch clothing and then tied them up in their camp somewhere?

Either way, that strategy had worked. Zach and Olivia had been fooled. But none of it mattered. What was done was done.

He concentrated on watching for his chance.

The shooter crept through the woods unaware that Zach had his sights on him. While he watched the one, he also searched for the second guy, who was probably coming around from the other direction. That’s what Zach would do. But Zach couldn’t shoot at someone he couldn’t see, so he focused his attention on the shooter he could see.

This guy might be a distraction to pull Zach’s gaze away from the real threat. Once Zach made his shot, he might also give away his position and would need to move quickly if he could.

Inhale...

Exhale...

A few more slow breaths. He focused on the man he would shoot. He wished he had one of their rifles with scopes on them that must have belonged to the hunters. Holding his hands steady, he aimed.

Waited for the shot.

The man slowly crept from one tree, heading for another.

Zach could barely make out his form.

The forest stilled.

Nothing existed outside of the one shooter.

Inhale... Exhale...

Zach fired.

His shot echoed through the quiet.

The shooter dropped.

Zach ducked and pressed into the snow. Now the other shooter would know where to look for him, if he hadn’t already. Zach kept low, grateful the snow wasn’t as deep in this part of the woods so he could crawl to another copse of trees without too much struggle. A quick glance at where he’d left Olivia told him she was there and remained hidden.

He only spotted her because he knew where to look.

Sucking in a breath, he drew consolation from the fact he’d dropped one of the shooters. Now for the other one. Without getting up, he did his best at reconnaissance to see if he was being watched. The other man might use the hunter’s rifle and watch for Zach through the rifle’s scope, hunting Zach and Olivia like they were just two deer instead of two people.

Like they were animals.

He couldn’t move yet, not until he spotted the other shooter.

God, please let Olivia stay put. Please, keep her safe. I can’t let her down. I can’t let her down like I let Sarah down.

The memory crushed his heart. He couldn’t afford to think of it now, and shoved it away.

And yeah, he’d prayed a lot lately. He hoped it worked. After this was over, he’d need to have that long, heart-to-heart talk with God that he’d avoided for too long.

A jackrabbit dashed away, crossing between Zach and Olivia. Had someone disturbed the small animal? Zach searched the woods. He spotted the glint of metal, much too close to Olivia’s position.

Every muscle in his body stiffened. If only he could signal her to keep down.

Don’t even flinch.

But she couldn’t hear the thoughts he willed at her.

He saw now what must have drawn the shooter’s attention—the small bush near the fir under which she’d taken cover shook. That shaking bush gave away her location.

What are you doing, Olivia? You can’t afford to move right now.

This wasn’t working. Zach could no longer stay where he was and wait it out. The guy would shoot and kill Olivia. He simply waited for his shot. Zach would need to draw the man’s attention to himself. But he didn’t have a good shot from this position.

He would fire his weapon anyway. That should do the trick.

He sucked in a couple of breaths and got ready to run. It was a risk, but one he was willing to take for her.

Standing, he pushed from the tree and fired rounds as he ran toward where the shooter waited.

A bullet grazed Zach’s jacket, slicing deep enough to cut across his skin. He dropped to the ground and crawled forward to a tree.

Another rifle shot rang out.

Olivia screamed.

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