He heard the crack behind him, and instinct had him throwing Macy to the ground beneath him.
“What?”
“Someone's shooting, and I think at us.” He whispered the words into her ear.
“My God, are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“C-could it be hunters?”
“It's possible, but I'm not willing to take the risk that hunters didn’t realize we were people and not prey.”
Her hair brushed his cheek as she nodded.
“We need to get out of this clearing now.”
Lifting his head, Brad looked around them, but couldn't see any movement.
“I'm going to roll off you, then I want you to get to your feet and run in a crouch to the closest trees, then keep moving, but not in a straight line.
“But—”
“Do as I say.”
He looked down into her frightened eyes. “Now.” Brad rolled off her, and as she rose, he crouched behind her, hiding her as they ran. The next bullet hit the tree as they reached it. Brad cursed, but kept following Macy as she ran. She did as he asked and moved from side to side, ducking behind trees as she went.
Her breathing started to rasp the further they ran, but she kept moving.
“Y-you're protecting me by making me go first.”
“Yes,” Brad said. “Keep going.”
She huffed out a breath and then did as he asked. He saw a fallen tree with a fat trunk, and grabbing her arm, he took the lead and dragged her behind it. Pushing her down, he took the space beside her.
“It's okay.” He touched her shoulder. “We're going to be okay.”
Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked at him, and it was instinctive that he open his arms, and that she would dive into them.
“I w-want to see B-Billy grow up.”
“You will, baby, I promise.” He held her close for a few seconds, and then released her. “My guess is that someone was left behind out of that group and this is a scare tactic on the part of my father.”
“He’d do that?”
“Honey, he’d do just about anything to win.”
“I hate him.”
“Me too. Now, I need to check cell phone coverage.”
“There won't be any out here, Brad.”
“Okay, that makes sense now I think about it. We need to warn Ethan somehow. I don't want him to fly in with some asshole shooting at him.”
“We need to get to the lake. He followed that in, remember?”
Brad nodded. “Okay, let's go.”
