Grayson by Delores Fossen Page B

That’s because the gunman was on the move. He dropped back into the thick patch of trees. The SOB was trying to circle behind them.
    Grayson had faced danger alone and had even faced it with other lawmen, but being under fire with a civilian was a first. And to make matters worse, that civilian was Eve. He wished he could go back in time and save her from this.
    He repositioned Eve behind him and went deeper into the woods as well, but not toward the gunman. They needed to get into a better position, so with Eve in tow, he started moving, going at a right angle. He tried to keep his steps light so that it wouldn’t give them away, but that wasn’t easy with the dead limbs and leaves littering the grounds.
    Eve and he ran, until he lost sight of the road and truck, and he didn’t stop until he reached a small clearing.
    Another shot came at them.
    It wasn’t close, at least twenty feet away, but the gunman had sent it in their direction. However, Grayson now knew the gunman’s direction, too.
    He moved Eve to the right, and they followed the thick woods until they reached the other side of the clearing. Grayson glanced back at Eve to make sure she was okay.
    Her breath was gusting now, she was pale, but she didn’t appear to be on the verge of panicking. There was some fear there in her eyes, but there was also determination to get out of this alive.
    Eve motioned across the clearing, and Grayson saw the gunman duck behind another tree. He caught just a glimpse of the man’s face, but Grayson was more convinced than ever that this was the same person in the photo with the dead woman. Grayson hadn’t had many doubts left that this was connected to the photograph Eve had taken, and he certainly didn’t doubt it now.
    The gunman continued to work his way to his right, and Grayson did the same. It was a risk taking Eve deeper and deeper into the woods, but he had to figure out a way to stop this guy. Preferably alive. But he was more than willing to take him out if it meant Eve and he could get out of there.
    When they’d made it all the way to a new section of the creek, Grayson stopped and waited.
    He didn’t have to wait long.
    Grayson spotted the gunman just as the man spotted them.
    The gunman lifted his weapon, but Grayson was already braced for the attack. He shoved Eve back, took aim and fired before the gunman could. It was a sickening sound of the bullet slamming into human flesh.
    A deadly thud.
    Clutching his chest, the man flew backward and landed among the dense underbrush.
    “Is he…dead?” Eve whispered.
    “Maybe.” The moments crawled by, and Grayson waited. Watching. He looked for any movement, but he didn’t see it. “Stay here.”
    Eve caught on to his arm and looked ready to launch into an argument about why he should stay put, but her gaze dropped to his badge. Resignation went through her eyes as a worried sigh left her mouth. “Be careful.”
    “That’s the plan,” he mumbled, and he headed in the direction of the fallen gunman.
    He kept watch on Eve and tried to push aside all the other things that crept into his mind, but Grayson knew once this threat was over, he had a dozen other things to deal with—especially Eve.
    Grayson reached the spot he’d last seen the gunman, and he cursed. The gunman was still there, in the exact place where he’d taken his last breath. His gun had dropped from his hand.
    “He’s dead,” Grayson relayed to Eve.
    She started toward him, practically running. “You’re sure?”
    Grayson leaned down and checked for a pulse, but that was just to keep everything straight for the reports he’d have to write up later. “Yeah.”
    Eve was nearly out of breath by the time she made it to him. She took one look at the man’s ash-white face, and she shivered and leaned against Grayson.
    He’d seen death before, maybe Eve had, too, but it was different seeing it like this. She was trembling hard now, and there were tears in her eyes, so he took her arm