“Go, Maya, please!”
Maya sprinted for the shed, her boots crunching in the crusty snow. He waited for the shooter to open fire again, but no more bullets came his way. The sun broke through the clouds again, casting a shadow from the ventilation shaft and a figure outlined on one side. He fired in the direction of the shooter once more, making sure his bullet hit the concrete hiding place. He wanted to know where every bullet he shot landed. He glanced back to see Maya yank the metal door open and bolted to join her. He slammed the door shut behind them and drew in a ragged breath.The musty interior smelled of motor oil and old wood, and while the building was solid, constructed of metal and wood, he wasn’t confident it would stop bullets.
A sound caught his ear. “Do you hear that?”
“Security sirens?”
“Yeah.” They didn’t sound like police sirens, but they were music to his ears nonetheless. “No doubt someone heard the gunshots and reported them.” He glanced out the small window to see a figure hurrying away from the ventilation shaft area. “It’s Ellie,” he said.
“She must not have been hurt too bad, then.”
“No, I guarantee you Vance didn’t take her down to the medical area. He probably patched her up as best he could, and they hatched this little plan and came after us.”
“I don’t understand why he’d gone along with this whole thing so far. He doesn’t want the land, but he wants Ellie blamed for my death.”
“Sounds like it.”
“What now?” She winced and looked down at her arm.
“What is it? Are you hit?” He bolted to her.
“Grazed, I think.”
“Let me see.”
She shot him an amused look. “I’m the doctor here. I’ll let you know if I need anything. In the meantime, what about Ellie?”
“Thinking about how to handle her. Hang on a sec and let me take care of this.” He shrugged out of his outerwear and ripped part of his T-shirt into a long strip that he tied around her upper arm.
“At least it’s the same arm that I hurt earlier.” She raised her right hand. “Still have one good one.”
“Okay, I have a plan. It’s not a good plan, but it’s the only one I have at the moment. You stay here.”
“What are you going to do?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m going after her.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“Maya, you’re hurt—”
“It’s nothing. I’m not staying behind. And besides, we have to catch her to keep Vance in line. He’s probably awake by now and no doubt looking for Ellie—and us. You have his gun, but Ellie has hers.”
True enough on both counts. Gideon could only hope the man had a raging headache. He and Maya made their way through the wooded area and came out at the back of one of the cabins.
Vance and Ellie’s cabin.
With fresh footsteps too big to be Ellie’s leading to the sliding glass doors. “He’s in there.”
“Yes, but where’s Ellie? Is she in there too?”
“There are only his prints leading into the house, but she could have gone in the front door, I guess.”
“I’ll look,” Maya said. “You stay here in case they come out that way.”
“And if they come out the front?”
“I’ll be hidden. And I’ll scream if I need to.”
