Page 56 of The Perfect Revenge
Hannah didn’t even try to look for it.Instead, she shot both her hands up toward his face, palms up.He put his own hands up to block her and managed to avoid the worst of it, as her palms collided into his own, slamming into his chin, but with much less force than she would have hoped.
His startled expression twisted into rage, and he swung at her.She tried to raise her own hands to protect her face, but he got there first, slamming her left cheekbone with his right fist.Even as Hannah stumbled backward, dazed, she heard him squeal in pain.
It occurred to her that she might have broken his right forearm when she smashed it into her knee.Her eyes were watery, but she could see clearly enough to catch sight of Dallas.He must have assumed he'd temporarily incapacitated her, because he'd turned away from her to search for the gun.She looked up and saw that the clouds would clear again in a few seconds, making it easier for him to find it.She had to move fast.
Ignoring her throbbing face, she took a big step forward.Summoning all the rage she felt at what he'd done to Finn, she kicked Dallas in the ass.He sprawled forward, slamming into the side of the tent.One of the poles gave way, and the whole thing toppled on top of him.
For half a second, she considered sticking around to see if she could find the gun.But if she didn’t, and he recovered quickly, she’d be in trouble.She knew how to defend herself, but she could tell that Dallas had some training too.Plus, he also had about fifty pounds on her.Fighting him out here, completely unarmed, was a losing proposition.
So she decided to take advantage of the temporary blanket of darkness the clouds were providing.Turning around, she fixed her attention on the trail that had gotten them here.Once she had it in her sights, she started running
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
Hannah wasn’t sure how much longer she could go.
She guessed that she’d been running for close to ten minutes at a full sprint.Her chest was burning.Her cheekbone was aching.But she had to continue to put distance between herself and Dallas.
It was hard to see the trail in the intermittent moonlight.She was tempted to pull out her phone and use its flashlight to guide her.But she feared that the bright light would be a beacon for Dallas.She’d already heard him fire off an additional round after she’d darted away from the camp.She didn’t want to give him a reason to shoot again.
She rounded a bend in the trail where the brush rose to shoulder height.She hoped she might be able to use the foliage as cover while she stopped briefly to catch her breath.But as she bolted around the curve, she ran straight into someone.The force of the collision sent them both tumbling to the ground.
Hannah popped up as quickly as she could, ready to defend herself.But in the faint light, she saw that the person sprawled out on the ground in front of her was a park ranger.He looked stunned.But Hannah was less interested in how he was doing than in what she saw attached to his belt: a radio.
“Is that a walkie-talkie?”she gasped as quietly as she could.
The ranger, who looked to be in his late twenties, was slightly built with curly blond hair.He seemed to be having trouble processing her question.She was about to ask again when he managed to speak.
“Ma’am, you shouldn’t be out here running these trails at night.It’s not safe.”
"Listen," she hissed."I don't have time to explain everything to you, but there's someone out here chasing me.He has a gun.I need you to call for help on that thing, whatever it is."
“It’s a satellite phone,” he said, getting to his feet.“And I’m happy to use it to call, but I need more information from you before I can do that.”
Hannah glanced behind her.She hadn’t moved in the last thirty seconds and didn’t know how much of a head start she had on Dallas.If he was still on her trail, he could be getting close.
“Please listen to me,” she said, her voice low.“First, I need to you keep your voice down.He could be nearby.And second, I need you to get on your phone and call for help.Tell them there is an armed man trying to kill me.My name is Hannah Dorsey.”
He stood there, uncertain.She gave him an extra push.
“I know this seems crazy.And it is.But it’s real.I’m not running out here in the dark for my health, man.Didn’t you hear those loud pops a few minutes ago?That was him shooting at me.”
She could tell that his skepticism was fading, but not fast enough.
Look,” she pleaded, “If I’m lying, the worst thing that happens is you’ve got a good story.But if I’m telling the truth—and I am—there is a guy with a gun somewhere nearby.Both our lives are at risk.Isn’t your job to keep people safe?”
She let that hang in the air for a moment and used the silence to listen for any approaching noise behind her.She heard none.The ranger made his decision.He pulled out his satellite phone and pushed a button.Hannah allowed herself a sigh of relief.
He was just raising it to his ear when a gunshot went off.For a second, the world froze.The ranger was still standing in front of her, a shocked expression on his face.Then the phone fell out of his hand.He reached for his stomach, where a dark liquid had begun to stain his shirt.He looked at her pleadingly, then fell to the ground.
Hannah was moving again before his body hit the dirt, running past him down the trail.Without looking back, she raced around the bend, hoping her constant movement and the tall brush might shield her from Dallas, wherever he was.Then his voice rang out.
“Now you’re going to be responsible for the death of an innocent man,” he yelled.
Hearing him both relieved and terrified her.At least now she knew where he was.But based on his shouted words, he was close.Maybe more than twenty yards away, but certainly less than forty.
Then another shot rang out.She didn’t know whether Dallas had fired at her or at the helpless ranger on the ground.Either way, she hadn’t been hit.For now, that was enough.
When the bend in the trail straightened out, her spark of hope faded.In front of her was a straightaway stretch of the path without any tall brush for cover.It went uphill for what looked to be at least a couple of hundred yards.If she kept on it, she’d be a sitting duck when Dallas got to this spot.
