Page 36 of Peril in Piney Woods

“I did.”

He met her gaze. “Why?”

“Because he would have killed you if I hadn’t.”

“Don’t believe her,” Darlene shouted. “Ted and I are cops from Los Angeles. We’re here to take her back. She’s wanted for murder.”

Griff blinked once, twice.

“If you believe that,” Meg said, urging the other woman toward her truck, “I have some oceanfront property in Arizona to sell you.”

Griff nodded. He knew Darlene was lying. If she and Ted had been cops they would have said so up front and showed some ID.

When they reached Meg’s truck, she opened the driver side door and nudged the woman in the ribs with the muzzle of her gun. “Get in.”

Darlene did as she was told, though her glare was lethal. It was clear she wanted to tear Meg’s head off.

Meg glanced at Griff then. “Secure her.”

While Meg held the gun aimed at Darlene’s head, he secured her left wrist to the steering wheel. The keys weren’t in the ignition, and the tire was flat, making an escape unlikely unless she chewed off the zip tie. It didn’t appear she could move her right arm. The bleeding was worse.

Griff stepped back. “She needs medical attention.”

Meg stared at the other woman. “But she doesn’t deserve it.”

Griff started to argue with her, but she faced him. “Let’s go. You drive.”

Griff glanced at Darlene one last time before doing as Meg said.

“You just going to leave me to die?” Darlene shouted after them.

When he and Meg had climbed into his truck, he noticed she had at some point grabbed her backpack, and more importantly, she still had the gun, and it was aimed at him.

“You going to shoot me too?”

“Just drive. Toward Chattanooga.”

He started the truck.

“I need your phone.”

He gave her his cell, fastened his seat belt and then shifted into Drive.

When he was on the road heading away from his place, she took her eyes off him long enough to do something on his phone.

Several thoughts zoomed through his mind. He could wreck the truck, and that would stop whatever this was. He could just stop and demand answers.

She tossed his phone onto the middle of the bench seat between them, then fastened her seat belt.

He glanced at her again as he drove.

“I sent a text to Ernie,” she said. “Told him there were two thugs from LA in your driveway, one dead, one injured. He should call for backup because the woman is incredibly dangerous and an ambulance because she’s injured. So don’t look at me that way.”

Before he could say anything, his phone started to vibrate. He glanced at it, saw Ernie’s name on the screen. “You should let me talk to him.”

Meg grabbed the phone, accepted the call and set it to speaker. Ernie’s voice shouted, “What the hell is going on, Griff?”

“This is Meg,” she said in answer. “Listen to me, Ernie. Don’t be fooled by the injured woman. She is very dangerous. She will kill you if she gets a chance. Keep your weapon trained on her until the paramedics arrive, and then do the same while they attend to her. She will kill whoever she has to in order to escape.”

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