Montana Standoff. Sharon Dunn

and pulled her to the ground, placing a protective arm across her back. A zinging sound followed by an explosive echo shattered the silence of the forest.

      Panic made her voice shake. “He has a rifle. Where did he get a rifle?”

      “He probably had it with him in that car.” From the ground where they lay, he turned to face her, reached out a hand and smoothed her wet hair back from her face. “It’s going to be okay.”

      The tenderness of his voice was a soothing balm to her anxious, fear-filled thoughts.

      “We’ll get to that store,” he assured her. “Stay low. The high grass will provide some cover.”

      They crawled the remaining distance to the road taking an indirect path. Still lying on his belly, Bryan lifted his head and peered over the asphalt then back down the hill.

      He tugged on her wet shirt. “Follow the road but use the slope of the bank for cover. We should be safe.”

      Sarah took in a breath to calm her nerves. Her heart still hadn’t stopped racing.

      Why was this happening? What kind of trouble had Crew gotten himself into? This had to be something more serious than an unpaid debt.

      Bryan must have picked up on her fear. He grabbed her hand and pressed it between his. “We’re almost there.”

      She nodded. They ran, crouched over until the store came into view. At that point, Bryan straightened, grabbed her hand and sprinted the remaining distance. Sarah glanced over her shoulder at the forest beyond the road.

      As they neared the store, the windows looked dark. The car that had been parked on the side of the building earlier was gone. Sarah slowed her pace. The store was closed.

      “Now what?”

      Bryan surveyed the parking lot. “We’ve got to break in. We can leave a note, letting them know what happened. Maybe they have an alarm system that will bring help out here.”

      He trotted around to the side of the building, picked up a rock and smashed the glass on the side door. No alarm sounded. Bryan reached through the broken glass and unlatched the door. “Not exactly high security.”

      They stepped into what looked like a combination storage and break room. All it held was a Formica table with mismatched chairs, a coffeemaker and a shelf lined with canned goods, paper towels and boxes of fishing lures. They secured the door behind them as best they could, then with Bryan taking the lead, they walked into the darkened main part of the store.

      Sarah reached for the light switch. Bryan grabbed her hand and shook his head. Sarah’s gaze traveled to the large window at the front of the store.

      A percussive boom shattered the air as the glass in the window splintered into a thousand pieces spraying everywhere. Sarah screamed and dove to the floor.

      Bryan dragged her toward the protection of the checkout area. He kept one arm around her while he reached up to the top of the counter and pulled the phone down. “We can’t wait for the sheriff.” The beeps from him pressing the numbers seemed to come on top of each other. “Jake, how fast can you get to the bait store on River Road? I’m in some serious trouble here. Armed man on the perimeter. Bring extra firepower if you’ve got it....Good.”

      Sarah pressed her back against a cupboard. “Who was that?”

      “A friend. He lives close. He’ll get here faster than the cops.”

      “Why didn’t you call the police?”

      Bryan’s expression hardened. “They’ve got a pretty lousy track record so far today.”

      She grabbed Bryan’s shirt and glanced toward the broken window. “That guy knows we’re in here. We don’t have much time.”

      “Which is why we’re not staying in here.” Bryan opened and closed the drawers and cupboards on the checkout counter, clearly searching for something. “Sometimes they have a gun for protection.” He opened one more drawer before giving up. He looked at her. “Make a run for the back door. Open it as little as possible. I’ll be right behind you.”

      Questions raced through Sarah’s head—How would the friend find them if they left the store? Wasn’t there a risk that the friend would be shot, too?—but she knew it wasn’t the time to ask them.

      Sarah crawled toward the back door, reaching up to work the latch. She glanced back at the shattered window. The shooter wasn’t in view, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t see them leaving the store. He had to be hiding in the trees across the road. She eased the door open to a narrow slit and squeezed through. Bryan pressed close to her back as they made their way along the outside wall of the store.

      “Over there,” he whispered, pointing to one of the boats for rent. He scrambled toward it and lifted a corner of the canvas cover. “Get in.”

      When she came to the end of the boat, she saw that a shed concealed it from view of the trees where Acne Scars likely hid. Sarah crawled through and lay down on the bottom of the boat, positioning her feet underneath the seat. Bryan crawled in beside her, reaching up to move the canvas cover back into place.

      Lying on his side, he turned toward her and whispered, “Stay quiet. Jake’s car has a loud engine. We’ll hear it coming. We need to jump out and be ready to get in when he arrives.”

      She nodded, wondering when her heart rate would return to normal. She knew it wouldn’t be any time soon when he lay close enough for her to feel his breath on her cheek. She inhaled his faint musk scent and looked into his deep brown eyes. The minutes ticked by. She dared not move.

      A door slammed. She gasped. Bryan placed a calming hand on her shoulder. Footsteps crunched on gravel, growing closer. Every muscle in her body remained frozen. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. Warmth radiated from her shoulder where Bryan’s hand remained.

      The footsteps passed by the boat and then stopped. She dared not take a breath. If Acne Scars tore the cover off the boat, they’d both be dead in an instant. A century went by before the footsteps resumed.

      Bryan squeezed her shoulder. She turned her head to see him better. For a long moment, they lay in silence facing each other. She used to think she could drown in the deep brown of his eyes.

      He motioned with his eyes. At first, she didn’t know what he was trying to say. Then she heard it, the distant rumble of an engine.

      This plan was fraught with risk. Was the killer lying in wait in the store? Had he returned to his post in the trees or had he assumed they’d run back into the forest and left altogether? There was no way to know.

      The engine noise became more distinct. Bryan reached up to flip back the cover. He lifted his head above the rim of the boat and then pulled himself out. She rolled toward the edge of the boat and sat up.

      “Hurry, we don’t have much time.”

      She jumped to the ground and followed him as he raced toward the shed, pressing his back against it. She leaned close to him, holding on to his muscular arm. The car engine sounded like it was on top of them.

      “Now, now.” He pulled her toward the parking lot. The car was still twenty yards away. The first rifle shot kicked up rocks in front of them. The car zoomed into the lot at a high speed, turning a hundred and eighty degrees. The second rifle shot hit the side view mirror.

      Bryan yanked open the back door, pulling Sarah ahead of him so she could get in first. A bullet hit the door as Bryan crawled inside. He slammed the door shut. The car stirred up gravel, swerved and sped down the road.

      FIVE

      By the time they had reached the outskirts of Discovery, Sarah’s heart rate had mostly returned to normal. Though she kept glancing over her shoulder expecting to be fired at, she could manage a deep breath.

      Bryan hadn’t said anything on the ride into town other than to ask her if she was okay and introduce