He wasn’t sure how far he had to go to get back to the pride compound, but he knew it had to be at least a few miles. They’d been in the truck for at least ten minutes before they crashed.
And just how did they crash anyway? Jackie remembered the back window shattering right before Boone lost control of the vehicle. Something had shattered that window. The question was what?
Jackie picked up his steps, afraid to leave Boone for too long. If someone had made them crash, they might be coming for them. They would only find Boone, and he was injured. He couldn’t protect himself.
Boone couldn’t protect himself.
Jackie spun around and started running back the way he’d come. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of this before. Maybe he’d been too rattled by the accident to be thinking clearly. It was obvious, now that he was thinking about it, that someone had shot out their window. It was the only explanation.
It had to be Drummond. He was increasing the threats. Instead of sending kids to vandalize Jackie’s store and house, he was actually trying to kill him, or them. Jackie was pretty sure Boone had been collateral damage because they were in the same vehicle.
Jackie just couldn’t figure out how Drummond had found him so quickly. He had been so careful. He hadn’t told anyone except Elder Hamilton where he was going, not even his father. He’d stayed away from shifters until Boone came barreling into his life, but the harassment had started before that, which made Jackie think this was about him.
Jackie raced back to the truck as fast as he could. He knew he needed to go for help, but he just couldn’t leave Boone. There had to be some other way to alert someone they needed help. Maybe a gunshot. Boone was the sheriff. He was armed. They could shoot into the air until someone heard them or they ran out of bullets.
Yeah, that might work.
Jackie skidded to a stop when the sound of a gun going off shattered the night air. His heart thundered in his chest, and his stomach threatened to rebel as it tried to evade the knot tying it up.
Jackie started running again, running faster. He ignored the pain from the branches that slapped him in the face and arms as he darted through the trees and underbrush. His heart pounded so fast that Jackie was worried it might pound right out of his chest.
When he reached the small clearing at the edge of the road where they had crashed, his worst nightmare came to life. The driver’s side door was open. There was blood everywhere and a body on the ground.
“Boone!” Jackie raced toward the body. Fear stole his breath as he dropped to his knees and grabbed the man, then rolled him over. “You’re not Boone.”
Jackie had no idea who it was.
