Witness in the Dark (Love Under Fire #1)(65)

“We’re leaving?”

“No, just a trip to the store. We need more food.”

They’d gone through this before. They always packed and took their things with them, in case something happened and they couldn’t get back. Standard operating procedure, he’d said.

She nodded and packed up her clothes. When she picked up the game of Risk they had started and never finished, he stopped her.

“Leave it. We’ll be back. This is only a precaution,” he assured her.

She nodded and took a deep breath. Everything was fine. They just needed food.

Although she knew for a fact they still had food in the freezer.

Doubt began to twist in her stomach as she got in the truck. She put a smile on her face in an effort to quash her suspicions.

They listened to the radio on the hour-long trek to the store. There was a store closer, but he said he didn’t want to stop so close to the safe house. It made sense.

He had a nice singing voice. She smiled as she listened. Every once in a while, he would kiss the back of her hand and smile. Her earlier unease nearly vanished.

Nearly.

Until he leaned over and kissed her, still keeping the truck on the road, and whispered, “You are amazing,” then turned the radio up and started singing louder.

That was when her heart felt like it might burst with happiness. She was still smiling when they stopped for gas.

He circled the gas station, twice looking for cameras before he pulled up to the pump and got out.

“Do you want a drink?” she asked.

“Sure. Something with caffeine.” He unscrewed the fuel cap, his eyes moving around the parking lot, scouting for danger.

The bell on the door dinged as she entered the small store. The place smelled like gas and the hot sausages that were rolling back and forth on a mechanical grill. She used the restroom then headed for the case with the soft drinks in the back of the store.

She took a moment to study the colorful bottles for the one with the most caffeine. The bell dinged again as she made her way to the register by the front entrance. She was halfway up one of the three aisles when she froze.

The cashier was short and skinny with peroxide blonde hair. And she looked terrified.

Sam ducked down at the end of the aisle by the slushy machine, and drew her Glock.

There was another series of dinging, and then talking. There were two men standing at the register, both wearing flannel shirts and ball caps. One man was pointing a gun at the cashier and motioning for her to come out from behind the counter.

From where Sam was crouched, she could see the other man point in her direction and say something to the first guy.

Sam was trapped. She couldn’t get to the door.

Then again, she didn’t necessarily have to. The whole side of the building was glass.

But what about the terrified cashier? The first guy now had her by the throat. Sam couldn’t just leave her.

Now she knew what Garrett must go through, having to look out for her all the time.

She took a steadying breath, and shot the man holding the cashier. He went down. The woman screamed.

Sam ducked behind the rack just as the second man spun and fired at her.

Bullets peppered the glass behind her. But it didn’t explode into the escape route she’d expected. Instead, tiny holes appeared in the glass with a few spidery cracks radiating from them.

Ah, shit.

She heard gunshots coming from outside. A third man? She had to get to Garrett.

Where was guy number two? He was no longer at the counter.

She peeked out from behind the rack in both directions and didn’t see him. The gum and candy aisle was wide open. She stayed low and ran up the aisle.

Right to where the man was waiting.





Chapter Fifty-Three


The man grabbed Sam’s wrist at the same time she grabbed his. Both guns clattered to the floor.

She moved to get away, but he already had his other hand around her throat, gripping hard. She kicked at him while he choked her, but she only managed to piss him off more…and knock both guns out of reach with her flailing.

But she managed to shake herself loose. She elbowed him in the chest and scrambled for her gun. Before she got it up to shoot, she heard a shot.

The man fell to the ground, blood running from his mouth.

“Come on! Hurry up!” Garrett yelled.

They ran to the truck as tires squealed and a black sedan whipped into the parking lot. It quickly swerved back out on the road to follow them as Garrett floored it.

“I’m on it. Just drive,” she said as she slid between the seats. She ducked when the back window was shot. Damn it, more safety glass! She punched at the crackled window with her fist, making a hole to shoot through.

“Sam?”

“Still with you. Drive faster.”

The sedan passenger took another shot that lodged in the seat next to her.

“I’m going as fast as I can. Stay down.”

She couldn’t stay down and shoot bad guys. She popped up, took aim, and shot the passenger. His arm fell slack.

She aimed for the driver and fired. The car veered off the road, and rolled end over end into the ditch.

“Good job,” Garrett said as she climbed back into the passenger seat and checked her clip. “Are you okay?” He slowed the truck. With one hand on the wheel, he patted her down for injuries while sparing glances at the road. “Your neck is bleeding. How bad is it?”