Didn’t matter.He’d take out whoever was there, then hunt down the other.
Either way, he was the only one walking out of here alive.
FIFTY
T
ripp crouched behind the base of a wide fir and paused, taking stock of his current position.By his best estimate, he was less than a quarter mile from the road, although at this point he had no idea how far he was from his truck.
He hadn’t spotted the shooter for several minutes now.That worried him.The entire point of splitting off from Willow was to lure him away from her.He needed to put enough distance between them and buy time while he figured out how to take him down.
For a brief moment he thought he heard faint movement in the direction where he’d left Willow.He crouched lower, using the deepening shadows stretching along the ground for added camouflage.His khakis and black shirt helped him blend in somewhat with the woodland surroundings.
There it was again.Over toward Willow’s spot.
He shifted his position, slowly moving to get a better view while staying behind the tree trunk.His heart stuttered when he spotted the shooter moving through the brush off in the distance.
Away from him.Toward Willow.
He shot to his feet, ready to break from cover, but stilled when the man turned slightly, giving Tripp a good view of his face.
Darren fucking Lassiter.
He had to alert Rafe.If something happened to him, or God forbid Willow, at least Rafe would know whom to go after.
With his back flat against the tree, he pulled out his phone.Thankfully, he had reception.
He shot off a terse text, using those few precious seconds to name Lassiter and ask for immediate backup.When he finished, Lassiter was still in the same spot, looking around him.
They both heard it at the same time.Something rustling off to the right, near Willow.
Lassiter spun toward it and kept going, a pistol in his right hand.
Tripp clenched his jaw, thinking fast.He’d already misdirected Lassiter once by throwing something.He couldn’t expose himself now to draw attention away from Willow.He was too close, within easy pistol range.He was no good to her dead or too badly wounded to move.
There was only one way he could think of to draw Lassiter away from Willow.He quickly glanced around, looking for a good spot to set his phone, then typed out a message to her.
