Page 35 of Montana Manhunt

“Joe won’t sell him before we return home, will he?”

“Nope. Joe owes me a ton of favors. He’ll be glad to hold the puppy for us.”

Noah threaded his fingers through Violet’s and headed toward the hospital’s front entrance, where Grant and Rayne waited for them. The glass doors slid open as they approached.

He quartered the area as they hurried to the SUV. Although Noah saw nothing suspicious, something was very wrong.

Urging Violet to move faster, he lengthened his stride. Just a few more feet until they reached the vehicle. Unfortunately, the SUV wasn’t equipped with the standard safety features of their Fortress vehicles.

Five feet to go. Four. Three. Two. Just as his hand grasped the handle of the door, shots rang out.

CHAPTER SIX

VIOLET DOVE INTOthe backseat of the idling SUV as a barrage of gunshots shattered the peaceful morning. Hunched low, she glanced over her shoulder. Noah was still outside the SUV, trying to find the shooter. “Noah!”

A second later, he scrambled into the vehicle and closed the door. “Get us out of here, Grant.”

His friend put the vehicle in gear and pealed out of the parking lot. “Scoot down in your seat, Rayne,” he snapped. “I don’t want the shooter getting a bead on you.”

She slid as low as her seatbelt would allow. “Noah, Violet, are you hurt?”

“Not me,” Noah said. “Violet?”

“I’m fine.” She growled. “I didn’t think I’d been in town long enough to tick anyone off besides Fitz and the detectives. Surely they wouldn’t be shooting at us.”

“I hope not.” Grant scanned mirrors and took a circuitous route away from the hospital. “The last thing I want to do is clean house in another cop shop. Already been there, done that, and burned the t-shirt.”

Violet laughed, surprised she could in this high-stress situation. “Anybody get a look at the shooter?”

“Just saw the light flash off the shooter’s scope,” Rayne said.

“Where was he?” Noah demanded.

“The roof of an apartment building.”

Violet frowned. “Unless things have changed drastically since I left town, there are no security measures in and around that building. Accessing the roof would have been easy.”

“Sight line would have been perfect for the shooting,” he muttered.

“What do you want me to do, Noah?” Grant asked.

“Circle back to within two blocks of the apartment building. I want a look at the roof.”

“The cops will be on scene soon.”

“Got to do it now. If we wait, we’ll lose any chance of examining the scene before Morrison’s finest figure out where the shooter set up his nest.”

“Copy that.” Grant turned at the next corner and worked his way back to the area they’d left. Sirens sounded as officers raced to the scene of the shooting.

“Let’s hope we don’t attract attention,” Rayne said. “The last thing we need is to be hauled back into an interrogation room.”

Violet leaned forward and laid her hand on Grant’s shoulder. “Turn left at the next intersection. We can park in a quiet neighborhood two blocks from the apartment building. It’s a busy area, so I doubt anyone will notice our vehicle.”

“We won’t be there long enough to rouse suspicion,” Noah said.

She hoped not. Violet could just imagine the trouble she and the others would have with Fitz and his cronies if they caught the Fortress operatives on the roof.

Two minutes later, Grant eased the SUV to a stop at the curb and turned off the engine. “Let’s get this done so we can get out of here.”

---