Page 45 of Drowning Her

I had a gut instinct that Wilder knew about Green and Bambi long before that alarm had gone off. They must have been waiting for the right moment to set their traps.

Outside of the window, the last of the ranchers disappeared into the Calving Barn. They must have been rounding everyone up. Everyone who was innocent. Which meant that they knew it wasn’t me. But it also meant that they knew Bambi was here.

I had to get Bambi out of here.Fast.

“Where’s Green?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she stammered, her voice getting louder. “Please. You’ve got to?—”

I put a hand over her mouth. “You’ve got to follow my lead, okay?” I said. I let go of her mouth, and she nodded, biting her lips. “They’re dangerous. Not like Green-dangerous. Like, hitman, or even serial killer-dangerous. Focus on me, all right? Do what I say.”

The cars weren’t an option—not until they had lost interest in Bambi and Green. But could I take her there, letting her hide in my car until this was over? Would she be safe there?

I peeked out of the back door, then around the house to the parking area. One lone rancher stood there, a gun in his hand.

That wasn’t an option, then.

But there were trees on the outskirts of the pastures, where the grass grew into thicker woods. We could wait there until business resumed as usual. That was our best chance. If we stayed here, they would find us.

I grabbed her hand, and we scurried to the trees behind the house. We kept going forward, one step at a time. It was quieter than usual. The cows were silent, not daring to moan at a time like this. A spotlight flickered on, illuminating the trees. Laughter echoed through the grounds. A shotgun fired into the air, and Bambi gasped.

We had to get out of sight. We couldn’t hide in the trees.

The Dairy Barn loomed in the distance.

I grabbed Bambi’s hand, taking her straight forward. This was our only path.

I creaked the door open as quietly as I could. I held my breath.

“What did I tell you?” Green asked, standing up from behind a crate, a green cast on his forearm. I closed the door behind us. “Stay in the car. You blew our cover, you idiot.”

“Shut up, Green,” I hissed. “You had an arrangement. Forrest gave you more than?—”

His eyes lasered in on me, then he shoved my shoulders so hard I hit the ground. He turned to Bambi, ignoring me there. “If you had stayed in the car, we wouldn’t?—”

The door creaked open, and I grabbed Bambi from behind, pulling her behind some crates. Lights flickered on. Two sets of footsteps shuffled along the floor. Green was gone. I covered Bambi’s mouth. She shook against me. Wilder popped into my vision, followed by Sawyer. I tightened my grip on Bambi’s mouth.

“They’re in here,” Sawyer said. Wilder sniffed deeply. “You smell them?”

Wilder nodded. The two of them pulled back the hammer on their guns. Sawyer stepped closer to us. We had to go. If he caught us, I wasn’t sure what he would do. He wasn’t Wilder. We had to get away.

Sawyer blocked the entrance with one of the hay racks, the metal screeching against the concrete. It would be impossible to leave without being caught.

I motioned silently for Bambi to follow me. We inched our way through the crates and equipment. The openings between the crates filled with light. Sawyer’s dress shoes clicked across the cement.

The crack of a hammer hitting someone’s head echoed through the room. Sawyer headed toward the sound.

“You found him,” Sawyer said.

Fabric dragged against the floor, a body being pulled.

“Let go of me,” Green said. “You sad pieces of shit. You pathetic?—”

“Looking for this?” Wilder said.

Green’s gun fell to the floor, the metal rattling against the concrete.

“You think he’s working alone?” Sawyer asked.

---