Page 75 of Countdown

As he hung halfway out the window, a sudden sting in his calf made him gasp, but he kept going, both of them landing on the hard, wet ground. Water sloshed to his ankles, rolling over the edges of his boots and turning his feet into blocks of ice. The cold wind and rain bit through the sweatshirt and heavy vest, chilling him to the bone, and the smell of earth and rain filled his nostrils. “Go up,” he said, “but stay low. Army crawl.”

“Right. That sounds like so much fun.”

He ignored the coping sarcasm, but was grateful she scrambled to do as ordered while the rain came down, sluicing over them, turning the normally grassy ground into quicksand-type mud that sucked. A pasture lay in the distance, with trees beyond it. A barn, a house, and two other outbuildings dotted the landscape.

The shooting had stopped, but that didn’t mean the shooter was gone. “Stay low. Roll under the fence and use the post for cover.” Not that it would provide much, but she was small, so maybe it would at least cover her back.

“Where’s he shooting from?” She rolled, the grimace on her face saying more than words what she thought about the current situation.

“I can’t tell.” He followed her, figuring the look on his face probably mirrored hers. He ignored the burning in his shoulder and the fiery sensation in his calf. Scrambling, he leaned his back against the fence’s thick wood beam. “Maybe from across the street in the other pasture. How far are we from the hangar?”

“A good three miles.” She patted her pocket. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“My phone’s gone.”

He pressed cold-numbed fingers to his eyes. “And I thinkmine went flying out of the cupholder when he hit us the first time.” He’d been hoping she had hers.

“Great.”

“Yeah, but the shooting’s stopped.” Because the person was scouting for a better angle?

“I’m really tired of being sh-shot at. And cold. I’m tired of that too.”

“I’m with you on that.”

“S-sorry, I’m complaining. I’ll sh-shut up now.”

“I get it, Raina.” And he did. Law enforcement personnel used all kinds of coping mechanisms, including sarcasm, a morbid sense of humor, and so on. During the verbal sparring, he’d been watching the home. “Okay, I don’t see any cars in the drive or lights on in the house. No one came out to investigate the shots. The barn is the closest place for some good cover. Let’s make it there and regroup.”

“Okay.”

He crawled over to her, ignoring the squishy mud and the rain sliding down under his collar. Shivering, he shook his head. Unbelievable.

“At least we’re n-not trapped on an island this time,” she said.

“You read my mind.” With her cold hand tucked in his almost-frozen one, he squeezed, then pulled his weapon from his holster. “When I say run, get to your feet as fast as possible and aim yourself to the barn. I’ll be right behind you.”

“O-okay.”

It was only about twenty yards away, but bullets could still do their damage before they got there. And while the shooter wasn’t shooting ...

“Run.”

She lurched to her feet with his help, and together they raced to the door of the barn, with him aiming his gun in the direction the bullets had come from.

But they made it and Vince sent up a prayer of thanks that itwas unlocked. They slipped inside with no more bullets coming their way.

It had been too much to hope the building was heated, but at least they were out of the rain. His shoulder and leg throbbed, but he and Raina were alive—which meant they had the chance to stay in the fight. He swiped the rain from his face and shook his head. Water flew from the strands and slid under the collar of his shirt to make its way down his back while goose bumps pebbled his skin. He tucked his weapon back into his holster.

A violent shudder rippled through Raina and he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you warm.” The barn was a simple layout. Six stalls, three on each side. The doors on each end mirrored one another. Four horses peered curiously at the newcomers. Two stalls were empty. Four windows—one in each corner— offered some natural light. He hesitated to flip the switch on the wall.

“Didn’t we just live this?” Raina asked, sweeping a hand over her sopping head. “I feel like I’m in the twilight zone. Or that old movie,Groundhog Day.” He raised a brow and she shivered. Her jaw trembled and her teeth chattered. “Apparently, I’m destined to be freezing. I’ll get warm later. Think there’s a phone in here?”

“I’ll look. But if you’ll dig in one of those hay bales, you could get enough to cover up with. Might help. And there are probably some horse blankets somewhere.”

“I’m fine. Let’s just focus on getting out of here. Penny’s going to be at the airfield in”—she nodded to the clock on the wall—“two hours. I don’t want her to have to wait on us.”

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