Page 23 of Murder at Rescue Ridge

Good intentions didn’t always pan out. Sometimes, they hurt others instead of helping. She’d learned the lesson the hard way.

Since her mother was passive, Nikki had most likely gotten her temperament from her father. Her temper was getting the best of her while she was near this man, but the thought of being away from him sent panic shooting through her.

She needed to calm the hell down. Her emotions were heightened from being tired. This wasn’t the time to think about how they’d just traipsed through the woods for the past two and a half hours along with whatever wildlife could have been stalking them.

On second thought, she wished she’d taken the barn. At least she would have been inside and not out here, prey for any predator that might have been tracking them.

Calm down.She took in a couple of slow breaths as Conrad slipped around the corner and out of view.

Not two seconds later, she heard acommotion coming from the barn area, and then came, “Run!”

Nikki didn’t need to be told twice. She bolted back into the woods as Conrad came sprinting around the barn. He was fast. At this rate, he would catch up to her in no time. The thought comforted her.

Until she heard the sound of a bullet split the air.

Oh. God. No.

A quick glance behind to check on Conrad brought the relief she’d been hoping for. It was only temporary because someone had a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it on him. There was no way his family would shoot at him. Would the law?

Conrad hadn’t pulled a weapon, so, no, that wouldn’t happen.

Then who the hell had just fired a shot?

Underbrush caught her by the toe, tripping her. Nikki faceplanted. Sticks and rocks stabbed her forearms and hands. Those hands planting on the hard, unforgiving ground spared her face from actually smacking a rock. By some miracle, her purse contents were still intact.

She sucked in a breath and popped to her feet. Conrad was next to her in a heartbeat, urging her to keep moving.

A floodlight turned on behind them, spotting them through the thicket as they dodged in and out of trees. It dawned on her that Conrad would make those maneuvers to avoid being shot. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, giving her a much-needed energy boost. She pushed her legs harder, faster, in an attempt to put more distance between them and the light coming at them from behind. Whoever was back there could run like a demon.

Branches slapped her face, arms, and torso as she ran. Her lungs clawed for air as more panic shot through her. This could be it. They could be caught. Conrad could end up dead or in jail.

Another shot rang out. A bullet fragment nicked the same tree she used to push forward, hitting a spot three inches from her head.

Did someone want them both dead? No witnesses?

Nikki hadn’t seen anything yet. Her stepfather’s reward could only be claimed by her being brought back alive.

Keep running,said the voice in the back of her head.Whatever else you do, keep going.

Nikki couldn’t keep this pace up much longer despite the extra boosts from adrenaline. Conrad stayed by her side. She was holding him back. His long legs could probably run twice as fast as hers.

“You should go,” she managed to say in between gasps for air.

“No way,” he said with the kind of decisiveness that she wouldn’t normally argue against.

“I mean it,” she huffed. “I’m holding you back.”

“Bullshit,” he said. “Just run.”

He kept the zigzagging up until the light disappeared behind them. Her side cramped so hard she thought she might black out. However, giving up wasn’t an option. She kept going.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably more like fifteen minutes, Conrad slowed to a stop.

Nikki gasped for air like a beached fish. She crumbled onto the ground, trying to catch her breath again.

Conrad was barely fazed. The man had to be in amazing physical condition to pull off a run like that and come out barely winded.

Slow breaths—in through the nose and out through the mouth. Repeat.

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