Lakeside Peril. Lenora Worth

next. The truck came at them again. When he heard the shot, he braced for the worst, his right hand automatically reaching for Chloe. “Get down.”

      She screamed and leaned forward.

      But the shooter wasn’t trying to hit either of them.

      He’d gone for one of the tires.

      And now Hunter’s truck was spinning out of control.

      Hunter gritted his teeth and held on to the wheel, letting the truck do what it had to do before he could get it back into control. Once he’d righted it, he’d done a complete one-eighty turn and was now facing the truck idling a few yards away.

      “Are you all right?” he asked Chloe. He pulled his gun out and readied it.

      “Yes.” She sat up and glanced over at him. “Hunter?”

      “Keep holding on,” he said. “Time to play chicken.”

      “What are you doing?” Chloe held so tightly to the door handle she thought her knuckles would crack. “Hunter?”

      “Just hang on,” he said, the grit in his words enough to warn her to stay quiet. “Get down in the seat.”

      He let down his window and held the gun close to the opening while he revved the engine, making the big truck roar with power. Then he hit the gas pedal and headed straight for the truck that had tried to run them down, firing bullets all the way. “I’ll show these idiots how it’s supposed to be done.”

      Chloe took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, willing her body to curl in a tight ball as she tried to stay out of the line of fire. They were going to crash into the idling vehicle. Even with one bad tire, the Chevy ate up the space between them and the people who’d chased them.

      Return fire popped and sizzled all around the Chevy.

      She opened her eyes for a fraction of a second and peeked over the dash, a scream wedged inside her throat. Bracing herself for the crash, she thought about Laura and wondered why in the world she thought she could trust this man. He was as full of rage as her late stepbrother.

      And then at the last second, the other truck jerked to the left so hard and fast the driver couldn’t right it as he tried to swerve away. The vehicle hit the soft earthy drop-off leading down into the bay and went over, dirt spraying out behind it and the smell of burning rubber lifting up into the air.

      Chloe held her breath, her eyes on Hunter. He slammed on the brakes and stopped the truck, his right hand still on the steering wheel. His gun still aimed out the door.

      “I guess we won that round,” he said on a low growl. Then he turned to stare over at her. “How ya doing over there?”

      Chloe wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry. “You scared me.”

      “I had to stop them, one way or another.”

      She nodded and finally let go of the door, her hands shaking so badly she gave up and held them together in her lap.

      He watched her in that quiet, dangerous way that unnerved Chloe. But she wouldn’t fall apart now.

      “What’s next?” she asked, swiping at her hair.

      “Do you know how to change a tire?”

      Amazed that he somehow made her smile in spite of what they’d just been through, she said, “As a matter of fact, I do.”

      His look of surprise was replaced with one of admiration. “It’s okay. I was messing with you. That flat tire is evidence. We can’t touch it.”

      “What about them?” she asked, looking back toward the road behind them.

      “Not my problem.”

      “Aren’t you going to report them?”

      “Eventually.”

      He got out and came around to her side of the truck and opened the door, his dark gaze scanning her until he seemed satisfied that she wasn’t hurt. Then he handed her the gun. “Stay here while I make sure we’re safe. Shoot anything that moves.”

      Chloe did as he said. He turned and stalked over to the bay side of the curving road and stared down into what looked like a thicket of scrub brush and palmetto palms. Then he pulled out his phone. She heard him giving details, so he must have called someone official.

      He came back to stand by her and he took back his gun. “The truck’s halfway submerged in the shallows, but I can’t tell if they’re still in it or not. They probably got out and ran up toward the beach area. I reported the accident, so I’ll have to stay here and give a statement to the police.”

      “I have to get out of here,” Chloe said. “But do I go back to Oklahoma and start all over?”

      “It’s not safe there, but we’ll come up with a plan.”

      “We need to keep moving.”

      “I know,” he said. “And this could take a while, but if I’m going to be your official bodyguard, you need to wait here with me for now, understand?”

      She didn’t like having to wait, but she did like the part where he’d accepted being her bodyguard. “I’ll wait.”

      “I’ll try to hurry things along,” he said.

      She stared out into the distance where the crescent moon hung over the bay like a bright lantern. “Should I call my dad and play coy?”

      “No. They might have a tracking device or a tracer on his phone, too.”

      “They know where I am already, Hunter.”

      “But they don’t know if we have any new information or not. You can’t talk to him right now. Or anyone else, either. I’m sorry.”

      Chloe didn’t protest. When they heard sirens echoing from the east, she gave Hunter one last glance. “I hope those men run into some sharks out there.”

      He nodded and took off to meet the ambulance and the cruiser.

      Chloe thought she probably should have told him that Bridget knew why she was here and that she would have a hissy fit once she found out what had been going on. How could she tell her nervous Nellie friend that she’d been shot at and chased since she arrived in Florida early this morning? Even though she’d helped Chloe track down Hunter, Bridget had warned her against this trip. But Hunter had been her last hope.

      Now she’d put him in danger, too. When would this ever end?

      The only glimmer of hope came from Hunter actually witnessing this attack. He believed her when no one else would.

      Thank You, Lord.

      Right now Hunter had his hands full. She’d tell him later about everyone who knew she was here and about what she’d found in Laura’s notes. Once they were away from this swamp-infested curve in the road, she’d be able to think about who might want her dead.

      Because she’d never believe her father was behind this.

      * * *

      Hunter’s work sometimes involved talking to the locals and filing reports, but tonight he didn’t have the stomach for the mundane part of being a private investigator.

      He needed to get Chloe somewhere safe. This road was too isolated and too exposed for her to be sitting here in the dark.

      So he hurried things up with the two patrolmen and then called Blain to give him an update and waited to see what the first responders had found in the dense foliage along the hillside down to the bay.

      “The vehicle is empty,” he heard one of the EMTs telling the responding officer. “We checked all around. One door is open, so if anyone was inside, they either managed to get out or they drowned.”

      Hunter had heard enough. He’d done all he could here and he didn’t need to be in on any further