Cowboy In The Crossfire(18)

"Stay on the floor, I'm getting your mom."

Ethan hugged Leo to him and buried his face in the animal's fur.

The smoke was dwindling, but there was still enough to distract. Blake raced for the barn door. When he entered, Amanda stood, her entire body shaking, an empty gun in her hand, her face pale.

"Ethan?"

"In the truck. Give me the gun."

Blake snapped in one of the extra clips he'd pocketed. He handed Amanda a set of keys and a wad of cash. "I'll cover you. If anything happens to me, take the truck. Disappear."

She stared at the money and stuffed it in her pocket. The color returned to her cheeks. Damn she was brave.

"Ready," she said.

"Go." Blake shot several rounds as Amanda raced out of the barn.

When she rounded the corner, he took aim at the intruders' tires. Two shots. Two flats. Then he looked at his Sheriff's SUV. He sighed. They could hot-wire it in seconds.

Two more shots, two more flats. Another hit to his budget he'd eat, but it should delay them for a while.

A wild set of whinnies escaped from the stalls. The horses. Sugar banged against the wooden slats. He opened up all the stalls except Sugar's and let out a roar.

"Get out of here!" he yelled. "Yah!"

The horses raced out of the barn toward the pasture. Blake opened Sugar's gate and the horse eyed him with suspicion.

"You, too, beast. Protect them."

As if the animal understood, Sugar raised his hooves in the air and galloped out the gate. Blake dived around the corner and ran to the now-idling truck. Amanda sat in the driver's seat.

"Scoot over," he said. "Lay down until we get clear."

She slipped across the torn vinyl and tried to comfort Ethan. Blake wrenched the old truck into gear. "Come on, baby," he coaxed. He pulled the truck around and behind the barn.

The gunshots had stopped. He tore across the alfalfa field to a section of old wooden fencing. Without hesitation he barreled through the planks.

In his rearview mirror he caught one the guys in the ski masks kicking the flattened tire. The other limped toward the Sheriff's SUV. They'd be frustrated for a while. Blake stomped on the accelerator and headed toward the main road.

"You can get up now," he said.

Amanda rose, shoving her riotous curls out of her face. She reached down to the floorboard. "Ethan, want to sit with Mommy?"

The boy shook his head at Amanda, remaining huddled next to Leo at their feet, clutching the yellow truck.

Amanda shot Blake a concerned look. He didn't like the returned vagueness on the boy's face, but nothing would erase the fear until Blake could arrest the perps. "Leave him be. He feels safe."

She let a hand rest on Ethan's head before looking around them. "Where are we going?"

Blake eased his foot off the accelerator as he reached a bridge. He recognized the glisten of black ice. "Off the pavement for one thing."

He turned onto a dirt road that clearly hadn't seen traffic since the storm hit. The truck hit a pothole. Amanda yelped and clutched at her side.

"Sorry," he said. "Can you gut it out for a while longer?"

"If he can, I can." She nodded at Ethan who was whispering to Leo. "There were two of them this time," she said, her voice low.

"Only one attacked you in Austin?" Blake asked.

"I couldn't have fended off two."

"You held your own today. Good shot."

"I was lucky."

"You were smart. I was impressed. Learn how to take a compliment."

When she didn't respond, Blake stared out at the frostbitten landscape. "It was too easy," he mused.

"What are you talking about? We barely escaped," she hissed.

"They could've taken us out. They had the firepower. They knew my name, and I recognized the moves. Definitely Austin cops."

Amanda shivered in her seat as Blake sent her a sidelong glance. "They want you alive. For a while."

"They have a funny way of showing it." Her hand moved to her side.

"What do they want from you, Amanda?"

She bit her lip. "The guy who attacked me said something about Vince's file. He tried to bargain with me. Our lives for the file." She paused. "I didn't believe him."

"Evidence," Blake surmised. "What was Vince up to?"

The truck hit a large dirt pothole, and Amanda whimpered. "I don't know, but he never gave me anything."

Blake steered around the next hole in the road. "Well, we know one thing. We've got to find that file. Before they do."

*

AMANDA SHIVERED in the frigid cold of the old truck, wrapping Blake's coat tighter around her as he dialed a number on his cell phone. Leo warmed her lower legs, so she knew Ethan wouldn't be chilled. She had no idea how long they'd driven, and she wouldn't mind continuing all the way to Mexico--if that's where Blake headed--except that every bounce on the road made her side burn. She could live with the hurt. Each slice of pain was proof they were alive. Blake had saved Ethan. Blake had saved her.

"No, I don't want to leave a message," Blake snapped into his cell phone. "I'll call back later."

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and glanced at the dashboard.