Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Cole swore softly. That definitely didn’t look good, but it wasn’t nearly as frightening as watching JB slink toward the tailgate. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m going to find out who’s taking shots at us.”
“Not going to make any difference if I call you a suicidal lunatic, is it?”
“Nope.”
JB looked over his shoulder at Cole, frowning darkly. “I don’t have any more guns in the truck.”
“Don’t care. You’re not leaving my sight. I promised Noah I’d watch your back, so I’m fucking going.”
JB glared at him for another second before turning his attention in the direction of the shooter. “I’m going to kick Rowe’s ass for not teaching his people to have better common sense than this.”
“Save it. What do you see?”
Edging around JB, Cole looked across the road to find a field rising in a small hill. It was covered in yellow and green grass that swayed hypnotically in the light breeze. There were a handful of Texas ash and chinkapin oak trees offering up some shade and potentially good cover to a shooter.
“See any movement?” Cole inquired.
“Nothing, but I’ve got a guess as to where he was positioned.” JB jerked his chin toward a particularly tall tree on the top of the rise a few hundred yards away. “Don’t see him now, but it would have given him a good bead on the truck as we went by.”
“We need to get closer. How’s your aim?” Cole inquired.
“Excellent.”
“Great. Cover me.”
Cole swore this had to be one of the stupidest ideas he’d ever had, but he trusted JB and his aim. The former Army Ranger would protect him. He’d also have the most experience in spotting an attacker in hiding. Right now, without his computer, Cole’s best use was as bait.
Heart pumping, Cole shoved away from their hiding spot behind the truck and ran as fast as he could across the road. As soon as he reached the high grasses, he dropped down. His ears strained to hear the crack of shots and the whizz of bullets, but there were only birds and bugs breaking the silence of the day and his heart in his ears.
Slinking along the ground, dirt and gravel bit into his palms. He needed to edge closer to where JB had indicated the shooter might be hiding. He didn’t see anything, but his skin crawled. Someone was watching them. Someone was trying to kill JB. Possibly both of them now.
A few seconds later, there was the scrabble of shoes through the gravel before JB appeared next to him sweating and cursing.
“See anyone?” he inquired.
“Nothing, you fucking idiot,” JB grumbled.
“Let’s check out that spot,” Cole said, ignoring his companion’s temper.
They couldn’t attempt to replace the tire until they were sure this person was long gone. He wasn’t surprised there had been no talk of calling the police. Maybe he’d been around Rowe and the rest of Ward Security for too long. He was getting accustomed to people who liked to take care of problems on their own.
With Cole in the lead, they inched up the side of the hill, trying to remain at least partially cloaked by the high grasses and tree trunks. There were no more shots fired, but there was also no proof that the man had left the area.
As they reached the top of the hill, JB placed a hand on Cole’s hip, restraining him. “Wait a second. I need to go first.”
Cole nodded, ignoring the way JB’s touch seemed to burn straight through his clothes. Now wasn’t the time for this kind of confusion. He also ignored the way JB’s jeans hugged his thighs as he crawled past Cole to inspect the area around the tree.
“Yup. He was here.” JB pushed up so that he was now kneeling beside the tree and motioned to a place in front of him. “The grass has been flattened here. And there, an indent in the dirt. Probably braced his elbow here while resting on his belly.”
“And there’s also this,” Cole added, holding up a spent shell casing.
“Yeah, there’s that too,” JB agreed and then swore softly under his breath.
He pushed to his feet and turned his back on the road. Cole stood as well. Just a few feet away in front of them was a wooden split-rail fence that surrounded a larger, flat field. At the very edge, they could see a figure running toward the opposite tree line and starting to disappear in the shadows.
“There!” Cole shouted, pointing at the figure.
“Yeah, but we got another problem.” JB motioned toward an approaching rider while shouldering his weapon. As the guy on the chestnut horse got closer, Cole swallowed a new round of curses.
“What the fuck are you doing on my property, Alexander?” Logan bellowed as he drew up to the fence.
“I thought I would try to see who on your property thought they could take shots at me and Cole,” JB snapped at him.