Page 103 of Countdown

She bit her lip. What was she doing?

The snap of a twig to her left spun her around and movement caught her eye. Raina sidestepped around the trunk just as a bullet plowed into the place she’d been standing. Raina kept going. Four steps was all she needed. One, two ... the woman saw her and the gun swung around ... three ... four...

...swing.

She connected the tree limb with the hand that held the weapon and the gun discharged before it fell to the forest floor.The bullet missed and the woman screeched her fury. Raina kicked out and connected with her attacker’s gut, sending her sprawling.

Still screaming her rage, the woman retched, but managed to scramble to her feet. Raina threw a hard punch to her head, connected at the temple, and the woman went down for the last time.

Raina sucked in a breath, then blew it out on a sob, finally able to release the terror she’d kept in check for the past few hours.

“Raina!”

Panting, knuckles throbbing, tears streaming, Raina jerked her head in the direction of the shout. She knew that voice. “Vince!”

His name was just a whisper on her lips. She wanted to go to him but had to find the gun first.

The woman stirred and groaned.

Panic flared.

Raina felt around the snow-covered forest floor, shoving aside leaves and other debris to no avail. Where was the thing? It had flown from the woman’s hand and hit the ground. “Vince!”

Another groan and a grunt reached her. “I’m going to kill you.”

This time Raina’s scream echoed as her attacker rolled to her feet, the gun held in her right hand.

“Federal agent! Put the weapon down!”

“No!” Her yell pierced Raina’s ears even as the woman lifted the weapon to point it at Raina.

Three pops sounded and the woman’s eyes went wide, a dark red stain seeping through the holes in her black puffer jacket.

The gun tumbled from her fingers once more and she fell facedown into the snow.

????

Vince had followed the tracks in the snow and had reached the scene just as the woman had risen to her feet, weapon pointed at Raina. Vince lowered his weapon. Officers hurried toward him while more sirens screamed to a stop in the driveway of the house behind him. Raina knelt next to the woman on the ground and checked her pulse.

Her gaze snapped up to his. “She’s still alive!”

Vince rushed to her side. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll live. Help me flip her over.” He did so and Raina unzipped her attacker’s coat and parted it to find the wounds. “That one is the worst.” She scooped snow into her bare hands and placed it over the bleeding hole. “Press here. Keep adding snow and make a pack.”

He did as instructed, not even questioning the fact that she would work to save the person who’d almost killed her. Raina felt for a pulse once more. “It’s pretty strong,” she said. “Bullets must not have hit anything too vital.”

“Backup is here,” Vince said, looking over his shoulder to see more officers and medical personnel heading their way.

Joseph had stopped and was directing the others. He must have noticed they had it under control.

Raina nodded and sniffed. Tears streaked her cheeks, but she simply wiped them on her sleeve and kept working on stemming the flow of blood from the other two wounds.

“Who is she?” he asked.

“No idea. The bullet in her shoulder is a through and through. Saw it when she was on her face.”

Vince brushed the hat off her head and strawberry blond hair spilled over the ground. “She looks familiar.” Where did he know her from? The picture. “I think that’s Leslie Baldridge.”

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