Page 30 of All Bets are Off

I don’t see Logan and the kids but feel certain Logan took them straight out the back of the restaurant and into the woods across from the parking lot, so I exit the area and pull into the closest neighborhood, scanning for them while keeping an eye out for the three vehicles on our trail. When I see no sign of Logan and the kids, I begin to get worried. Where the fuck did they go? Another gunshot rings out, and in the distance, I hear sirens.

“Come on, come on, Logan,” I mutter, staring at the line of trees, worried about that shot. Could their pursuer have hit one of them? I look around, knowing the driver of the Escalade and the Ford could show up any second. Digging my phone out of my pocket, I check it for a message. I’m not surprised there isn’t one. Whatever’s happening, Logan has his hands full. My fingers itch to call him, but the possibility of a sound alerting someone of his location if he’s hiding stops me. Gripping the phone hard, I go back to alternately scanning the perimeter of the woods and the entrance to the neighborhood.

A dog barks in a yard nearby. The sirens in the distance become louder, and beyond the edge of the well-kept subdivision, I see flashes of red and blue through the row of pines that separates it from the road. Hands clenching on the steering wheel, I consider my options: fight or flight. Fighting would endanger civilians, but I can’t bring myself to leave Logan. He’s more than capable on his own, but with two possibly hysterical teenagers? He wouldn’t do anything that might mean Felix and Celine could be harmed.

Thankfully, the decision’s made for me when, seconds later, Logan breaks from the treeline, running with Felix beside him and Celine on his back.Shit.

I pull the SUV out from behind the hedge I’ve been hiding it behind and up to the curb. Logan looks relieved when he spots me. A moment later, he’s shoving the kids inside the car.

“Go!” he yells as another shot rings out. This one hits the side of the SUV. In the backseat, Celine screams and a glance in the mirror shows her clutching her brother, whose face is pale and tense.

“There’s the truck.” Logan points to a side street where the blue Ford suddenly whips out, coming straight at us. I gun my engine, swerving at the last second and barreling past while the driver tries to turn around on the narrow street.

“The guy who was shooting at us is getting into the truck,” Logan informs me as we exit the neighborhood, only to find the Escalade waiting just outside it.

“Get down!” Logan shouts at the kids when their heads pop up. When seven police cars swerve onto the street, the Escalade backs into a driveway and turns, heading in the other direction. I stop the car, watching five cop cars whiz past, the sixth and seventh pinning us where we are.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Logan

Two hours later, West and I enter the Boring house with a quiet and slightly traumatized Felix. Parker Boring has escorted his daughter to the hospital to get her ankle, which she twisted when running in the woods, taken care of, his personal bodyguard with them, and security has swept the house.

“Take a shower. You’ll feel better,” West advises Felix.

I pat the kid’s shoulder. “You did great. I couldn’t have handled everything without you.”

The tension in Felix’s shoulders eases a bit as he heads up the stairs. When he disappears around the corner, West turns to me.

“I figured you ran for the woods, so I circled around to wait for you. Then I heard the shot.”

“He fired in our direction. It nicked the tree we were hiding behind.”

West curses and looks me over. “You okay?”

I grin. “Just a few scrapes and bruises. The whole thing might’ve been fun if I hadn’t been so worried about the kids. What did that officer you were talking to while I was with Boring say?”

“The police caught the motherfucker driving the Escalade, but the other two got away. I’m sure they’ll round them up eventually. Those guys weren’t professionals.”

“I agree.” I rub my back, which both aches and stings.

“Sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, but I took a tumble in the woods and landed hard on some exposed roots. Feels like something prickly’s sticking in my skin, too.”

“Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll have a look.”

In the bedroom, I strip off my shirt, and West makes a noise of commiseration.

“That’s going to be a big bruise.” He touches my back and I wince. “Sorry. Looks like you fell into some blackberry bushes. Some of the thorns are still in your skin. Here, lie face-down on the bed, and I’ll get them out for you.”

He disappears into the bathroom, and I ease myself onto the bed. Now that the excitement is over, my body’s throbbing. When that shot rang out in the woods, I threw myself onto the kids, taking a rock to the kidney in the process. The tangle with the blackberry bush came later when we were hiding. Fortunately, Felix and Celine crawled into a friendlier hedge and came out unscathed.

I hear West return but don’t open my eyes. Suddenly, I’m exhausted, the adrenaline pumping through my veins earlier replaced by a heavy lethargy. The bed dips beside me, and then a prick of cold metal precedes a sharp pain.

“Ouch!” I complain, looking over my shoulder.

“Sorry, I have to use tweezers. There’re quite a few thorns, so man up.”

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