The Immortal Hunter(7)

The sounds now coming from the clearing were chaotic and loud. Her sister was screaming again, but the sound had been joined by men's shouts and several sharp cracking noises. Apparently arrows were no longer the only weapons being shot up there. Her thoughts on Stephanie, Dani began to climb back up to the ledge, her heart seeming to echo the cracks of gunfire from above. She reached the ledge, managed to get one arm over the top to hold her weight, and pulled herself up far enough to take in the scene in the clearing. Three of their six captors were down, two others had taken cover behind a large log and were being fired on by at least two, possibly three or more men crouching behind trees in the woods surrounding them. But Dani couldn't see the sixth kidnapper... or her sister.

"Dani!"

The scream drew her gaze to the right to see Stephanie being dragged off, used as a shield by the sixth man as he slid away into the woods. Cursing, Dani ignored the gunshots going off around her and began to struggle to pull herself out of the ravine.

"One of them is getting away!"

Justin's shout dragged Decker's attention from the two rogues shooting at them, and to the one slipping away through the woods. He was dragging the younger female with him.

"I've got it," Nicholas barked, and was off, leaping from his cover behind a neighboring tree and moving through the woods around the clearing, ducking and weaving as he went.

"No! Wait, Nicholas!" Decker roared, and instinctively lunged after him to give chase, but another shout from Justin brought him to a halt. Turning back, he followed the younger immortal's gesture to the woman presently trying to drag herself up onto the ledge on the far side of the clearing. Decker had seen her go flying off the cliff after Nicholas shot an arrow into the arm of the rogue holding her. He'd feared she would either be dead or seriously injured from the fall, but it appeared she'd managed to save herself and was now struggling to pull herself back to safety.

Even as Decker noted this, the woman slipped and began to sink from view. The desperation on her face and the way her fingers clawed frantically at the ground to stop her slide suggested to him that it would indeed prove deadly should she not be able to save herself.

Cursing, he immediately changed direction, charging straight through the clearing toward the cliff. Decker moved as quickly as he was capable, gritting his teeth as bullets whizzed past. While the rogues' bullets wouldn't be coated with tranquilizer like their own, they could still cause pain and a good deal of damage... and if they were lucky and shot him in the heart, he'd be down and helpless to prevent them from finishing him off.

Decker was surprised, and not a little relieved, when he made it to the ledge without taking a bullet. He managed to catch the woman's hand just as her fingers slipped from the edge... and that's when he finally caught one of the bullets being shot his way. It slammed into his back with enough impact that he nearly released the woman and tumbled forward off the cliff himself, but then managed to brace himself with his other hand. Pushing at the ground to keep from rolling forward, Decker jerked the woman upward with the hand grasping hers, turning back toward the clearing at the same time. The combination put more force behind the action than he'd intended and didn't just bring her back up to the safety of the ledge, but pretty much tossed her several feet away from it.

That's when the second bullet hit him, puncturing his chest below the shoulder and knocking the wind out of him. It felt like a serrated metal band was being cinched around his chest. Forcing himself to ignore the pain, Decker raised his gun hand. Pushing himself to his feet, he began firing in the general direction of the two men pressed up against the log, quickly moving sideways away from the mortal woman as he did. It was an effort to draw the gunfire away from her as he took in the situation. Both rogues had given up their cover and were now standing, one shooting at him and the other aiming for Justin, who was charging from the other side of the clearing.

Seeing that, Decker stopped moving, took aim at the one shooting his way, and hit him point-blank in the chest. He waited long enough to see the rogue clutch at the wound with surprise and start to fall back, but then immediately turned to aim at the second man. However, that one was already falling, shot by Justin.

Decker glanced toward the woman then, only to see her disappearing into the woods in the direction Nicholas had taken. Leaving Justin to handle the men in the clearing, he chased after her, intent on catching up to Nicholas. He followed the sound of the woman thrashing her way through the underbrush ahead and soon found himself back out on the wider path where they'd parked the SUV... only it was no longer there, nor was Nicholas's van.

Decker closed his eyes on a curse. He'd left the keys in the SUV, and apparently the rogue had taken advantage and stolen the vehicle.

Cursing again, Decker turned his attention to the figure standing where his vehicle should have been. Her back had been to him since he'd stepped out of the woods, but she turned now, a woman of medium height, with a curvaceous figure and mid-length blond hair that fell around her face in loose curls. It was all he really noticed just then-that and the fact that she came to an abrupt halt as she spotted him, her eyes shifting toward the road and back to him with a combination of worry and uncertainty. It seemed obvious the worry was for the girl who had been taken. The uncertainty was no doubt because she was unsure if he was friend or foe.

Decker hesitated, briefly considering taking the time to reassure her she was safe, but his back and chest were aching from the bullets he'd taken, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with an undoubtedly emotionally distraught woman. Besides, they didn't have the time for it; he and Justin had to do what they could to clean up the mess here and then head out after Nicholas... again, he thought irritably, and simply slipped into her thoughts to take control of her... or tried to. Much to Decker's amazement, he couldn't seem to pierce her mind.