Before either she or Harlan could demand details, Billy bolted. His body cut through the shadows, disappearing into the dense cover of trees in a matter of heartbeats.
The night had swallowed him whole.
Laney’s pulse hammered in her throat as she scanned the trees where Billy had vanished. The shadows were thick and restless, every branch moving like it might be hiding someone.
She swallowed hard and whispered to Harlan, “Should we go after him?”
Harlan kept his eyes locked on the tree line, his jaw tight. “No. Too risky. That could be exactly what he wants, to draw us in blind.”
Laney gripped her gun tighter, her chest rising and falling fast. The night pressed against them, heavy with silence. For a moment, she thought maybe Billy had run for good. Then the crack of a rifle shattered the stillness.
The windshield of the SUV exploded in front of her, a bullet slamming into the glass.
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Chapter Twelve
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Harlan yanked Laney down with him as more shots cracked against the glass. The sound was deafening inside the SUV, sharp jolts that rattled through his bones. He felt Laney’s breath hitch beside him, fast and shallow, and he pressed her head lower against the seat.
The windshield shuddered with each impact, white spiderwebs blooming across the surface. Thank God the bullet-resistant glass was holding, but the shooter was focused, pouring round after round into the same spot. The cracks thickened, lines spreading like veins, and Harlan’s gut tightened. Bullet-resistant didn’t mean indestructible.
Laney flinched as another round of gunfire smacked against the glass, closer to her side this time. “It’s weakening,” she whispered, her voice tight with fear and anger.
“I know,” Harlan growled, eyes narrowing as he tried to track the direction of the shots. The muzzle flashes were faint, quick bursts from the darkness beyond the tree line. Whoever it was, they knew exactly where to aim and were not letting up.
He forced his breathing steady, keeping his body between Laney and the windshield. “Stay down. If that glass gives, I’ll cover you.”
His heart pounded with every shot, but his mind was already moving, running through options, angles, and ways to strike back.
The night outside was alive with gunfire, and inside the SUV, it felt like time was running out.
Harlan raised his head just enough to peer over the dash. His eyes narrowed against the fractured glass, trying to cut through the dark. Nothing. No clear silhouette. Just shadows and the faint flicker of muzzle flashes. The shots were steady, precise, hammering from across the road. Somewhere in that cluster of trees.
His jaw tightened. Was it Billy? The man could have doubled back after bolting, slipped into position with a rifle. It would not take long. But Billy had sworn he was not carrying explosives or weapons. Was that another lie?
Or was it Sherry? Or Brannigan?
Both had motive, both had fury boiling under the surface. Or maybe this was someone else entirely. A hired gun, paid to take them out while suspicion kept circling around familiar names.
Laney shifted beside him, her grip tight on her weapon, her breathing fast. “Can you see him?” she whispered.
Harlan shook his head. “Not yet.” His voice was low, controlled, but inside his pulse raced. He hated being pinned like this, waiting for the glass to give way while the shooter kept raining fire from the dark.
Another crack spread across the windshield, splintering toward the edge. The SUV could hold, but for how much longer?
They were trapped, staring into shadows, knowing danger was only yards away.
Harlan’s gut was a hard knot as another round slammed into the windshield, the spiderweb of cracks spreading wider.The SUV could take it, but the shooter was not letting up. Whoever it was wanted them pinned and panicked.
“Text Garrett,” Harlan ordered, his voice rough but steady. “Let him know what’s happening.”
Laney already had her phone in her hand, fingers shaking as she typed.
“Tell him to stay with Evie and Carol,” Harlan added. “No matter what he’s seeing on the feeds, he does not leave them unprotected.”
Laney’s head jerked toward him, eyes flashing. “You think this is about Evie.”
