“And you will, too, because I think you’re thefairest one of all.”
“Oh, Zack.” She wanted to laugh again, but he was being serious. “What does that make you? The Magic Mirror, or... Prince Charming?”
He laughed out loud. “Can I be both?”
She liked the way his brown eyes danced with kindness. “No. One or the other.”
He pulled her closer and bent his head inches away from hers. “Then I want to be your Prince Charming.”
Whitney’s heart burst with happiness, lunging her forward to place her lips on his. The kiss was tender, but urgent. His mouth slanted over hers, and she clung to him like she never wanted to let go. The truth was, at this moment, she never wanted to leave her fairytale with Zack and this ranch. If only they could be together forever and ever...
The pop of gunfire rang through the stillness of the morning. She jerked away from Zack and pulled him down. Another shot whizzed by them. The bullet connected with the tree trunk not far from where they were.
Panic filled her, and she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t have her gun to protect them. Because of her forgetfulness, they were both in danger of being killed. Right here. Right now.
THIRTEEN
At first, Zack wasn’tsure what was happening. He was all caught up in Whitney’s steamy kiss, and the next thing they were on the ground as gun shots popped all around them. The shots were coming from the thicket of trees not far from them, which meant, they’d better go the other way.
He cussed, grabbed her hand and crouched as he led her toward the stable. His heart slammed against his ribs. Had the senator’s hitman found them? Or was this the act of some drunken deer hunters? The first one was easier to believe.
Another shot zoomed by them, flipping a lock of Whitney’s hair. A sob escaped her throat. Cursing again, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer as they ran toward the stable.
When they reached the wall of the structure, Whitney withdrew her cell phone with a shaky hand. Seeing her face so white made him sick to his stomach.
“Are you hit?” she asked him.
“No. Are you?”
“I don’t think so. Nothing hurts.”
She pushed a few numbers and held the phone up to her ear. “Joe! Someone is shooting at us.” She paused. “We’re on the north side of the barn.” Another short pause. “Thanks.” She clicked off her phone and pushed it back into her pocket.
Zack took her back in his arms and they huddled together, crouched between two bushes. Of course, he knew the bushes wouldn’t protect them. Not from a trained sniper.
Suddenly, a thought popped in his head. If the shooter was hired by Senator Sterling, he would have been dead by now. Even though the bullets came close, neither of them had been hit. So was this a hired hitman at all? Perhaps his guess of the drunken deer hunter was correct, after all.
