Two more shots were fired in their direction. One came so close to Lydia that her eardrum hurt. She stepped to the side, not realizing how close she was to the steep drop-off. Her foot slipped. River reached for her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her from the edge. Rocks tumbled down the cliff, crashing into each other.
Another shot echoed around them as they headed for the trees. They exited the trail and ran toward the parking lot.
River swung the back door open so Frankie could get in her kennel while Lydia ran around to the passenger side of the patrol car. He started the engine and pulled the radio, explaining the situation. “If we can get an officer out by that dirt road, maybe we can catch this guy.”
The dispatcher’s voice came out strong and clear. “We’ll send an officer over there as quickly as possible.”
He put the radio back in the slot and pressed the gas. “Let’s get you out of harm’s way.”
The shooter had aimed for both her and River, which meant maybe they wanted River out of the way so they could get to her. When she glanced up the hill, she saw two hikers right before they disappeared over the hill. That explained the car that had arrived while they’d been on the other side of the trees. “Someone must have followed us from my house. How else would they have known where we were?”
River kept his eyes on the curving road up ahead. “I didn’t see a car on that dirt road by the creek, though. Where did they park?”
River drove down the mountain then turned onto a road that was bordered by trees on both sides. In her peripheral vision, she saw a car on a dirt road that intersected with the road they were on. The tan vehicle blended into the trees and barely registered in her mind right before it zoomed forward and slammed into River’s side of the patrol car.
Lydia screamed and gripped the armrest. Frankie let out a yelp of distress. The collision sent her side of the cruiser off the road, the incline leaving the patrol car at a precarious slant.
Her heart pounded when she peered through River’s window as the older model, tan-colored SUV loomed toward them, preparing to knock them totally off the road.
* * *
River pressed the gas, hoping to avoid a second collision. The other vehicle impacted his back end, sending them down the incline and careening toward a tree. He braked, stopping short of hitting the tree.
Lydia glanced through the back window. Her face had gone white with fear. “He’s coming toward us.”
River looked up toward the road. The driver had gotten out of his SUV and was holding a rifle. He wore a ski mask, so his face wasn’t visible. River pressed the button that would automatically open Frankie’s kennel.
The man raised the rifle.
“Out your side,” he said. The patrol car would provide a degree of cover.
The first bullet pierced the window, shattering it. Lydia was already on the ground. She opened the back door so Frankie could jump out. River crawled out her side of the car, dropped to the ground and pulled his gun as the side window in the back seat shattered. If Lydia hadn’t acted so fast, Frankie would have been dead.
River lifted his head to peer through to windows to get a bead on where the shooter was. The man’s SUV was parked perpendicular to his on the wrong side of the road. He scanned all around. Where had the shooter gone?
The breaking of a branch alerted him. The man had come down into the trees and was taking aim at them.
They sprinted around to the back bumper with Frankie following. Both of them were out of breath from the threat of death. He tilted his head around the cruiser to try to locate the shooter.
A shot came so close that his face burned.
A long, tense silence enveloped them. They were at a point of standoff. The rifle had enough range that the shooter did not have to move in closer. He just had to wait until they tried to make a run for it. “We can wait him out,” River whispered.
“What if he decides to arc around into the forest so he can get a shot at us back here?” Lydia pointed to the trees as her voice laced with fear.
Would the man be so bold as to do that? To stay out of range of River’s handgun, he’d have to go deep into the trees. He studied the area in front of him for a long moment. The sound of pounding footsteps caused him to drag his attention back up to the road. The shooter was running back to his SUV.
“Stay here.” River hurried up the steep dirt incline in time to see the man get in his vehicle and pull away. River aimed his gun and took a shot. When he peered up the road, he saw the reason the attacker had sought escape. A Ridge police car was coming out of the same intersecting dirt road the shooter had emerged from. That must be the backup he’d called for. The officer had traveled the whole length of the dirt road.
River waved him down. The officer opened his window, his engine still running.
“Tan SUV. Maybe you can catch him.”
The officer nodded, pulling forward and switching on his sirens. River hurried back down to Lydia. She fell into his arms. Her whole body was shaking.
“That was scary.”
“I know.” He held her until the trembling stopped.
