Matt Hilton - Slash and burn

'Get up,' I shouted at them. 'Stick together. Huffman still wants you alive, Imogen, they won't shoot at you.'

My words of advice weren't true of my own predicament. The muscle man loosed another volley of rounds at me and dirt and blades of grass were kicked into my face. I closed my eyes to avoid being blinded. They were only shut for a second. During that time, I heard the thunder of a sniper rifle and the man's M16 fell silent. When I looked for him he was lying belly down and his head was no longer fully attached to his body.

Then I had to move. Larry Bolan let loose with his Magnum and the noise was like a cannon-roll. Beside him, Huffman's gun also spat fire. Then Rink or Harvey put some Winchester rounds through the vehicle they were standing beside and both men leaped for cover.

Kate's police training was taking over now that she'd recovered from the initial shock. I saw her haul her sister up and they began running towards me. I covered them, firing at the remaining male stranger. This man looked whip-thin, and he moved sinuously to avoid my bullet. He fired back and I wasn't so quick. The bullet nicked my trapezius muscle and took a chunk of meat with it. Luckily for me it was on my left side so my gun arm was not impeded – that was if I discounted the feeling that I'd just been kicked by a mule and the resulting fire that spread down my chest.

'Get in the car and keep your heads down,' I told Kate as she bundled Imogen towards me. Our eyes met for a fraction of a second and I saw that the hatred there a moment ago was gone. She now appeared full of gratitude and not a little concern at the blood pouring out of my jacket collar. 'I'm OK, just get going.'

'Give me a gun, Joe,' she said. 'I can help.'

'Just help me get Imogen in the car.'

The sinuous man and the woman had dropped to their knees and both had their guns trained on me. However, Imogen and Kate were now in their line of fire and they could not shoot for fear of hitting Imogen. I back-pedalled, keeping up the status quo. I didn't fire on them, merely kept them in my sights. I couldn't see Huffman or Bolan, and guessed both had taken cover when Rink and Harvey had opened up on them.

'It's done, Huffman,' I yelled over the sudden silence. 'Finished. Leave it at that and we'll disappear. You've got the damn camera and the evidence you're worried about. You don't need Imogen any more.'

My words were all bullshit.

I knew that things weren't finished and so must Huffman.

But they were for now.

Kate and Imogen piled in to the Windstar and I was only seconds behind them. Throwing the vehicle into reverse I drove backwards at speed, hit a handbrake turn and then rocketed for the gate. In my rear-view mirror I saw the four remaining figures converge at the front of the lead car. None of them raised their guns.

The last thing I heard from behind was a defiant roar that I put down to Larry Bolan. There was no way things were finished.

We had a short wait but Rink and Harvey were back at the same place I'd dropped them off within a few minutes. My friends materialised out of the long grass next to the road, each with his rifle in hand. Harvey clambered in the front while Rink got in with the sisters. Rink stashed both his and Harvey's M24s in the luggage compartment behind the back seats and covered them with a blanket. As soon as that was done, I hit the gas and we took off for our cabin by the lake.

'Jesus Christ,' Harvey said. 'You've been hit, Hunter. Pull over and let me drive.'

'I'll be fine…' I said through gritted teeth. To be honest the pain was engulfing me and there were shadows at the edges of my vision.

'Pull over, Goddamnit!' Rink said in my ear.

'We'll put some distance between us and Quicksilver Ranch first. The bastards could be following.'

'After you drove off they got back in their vehicles, but they looked like they were heading to the ranch,' Rink said. 'I put a couple bullets their way just to keep 'em moving, but I don't think I hit any of them.'

Kate turned to peer back along the road. It was empty, but that didn't mean that they weren't coming. Our sudden attack had disarrayed them, but they were still capable of fighting back. It was only the threat of the M24s that had stopped them following. Once they realised the hidden snipers had left the scene they would be mounting their pursuit. Huffman wouldn't give up so easily. And neither would Larry Bolan. He'd be royally pissed off that he'd missed his chance at me again.

'We should have dropped them all when we had the chance,' Rink said.

'That wasn't our purpose.'

'I know.' Rink turned to the sisters, saying what I wanted to say. 'Sorry you had to go through that, but there was no other way to get both of you out of there alive.'

'It was terrifying, but it doesn't matter,' Imogen said, looking at her younger sister's face.

'Not now,' Kate agreed and hugged her sister.

They had barely stopped hugging since they'd got into the Windstar. Finally Kate extricated herself from Imogen's arms and leaned forward and touched a point on my neck just above the bullet wound. Her fingers were soft and warm and I trembled.

'Except for one thing, Joe Hunter. You ever do anything like that again and I swear to God I'll kill you myself.'

I'd have responded, except her words were as soft as her touch. I sighed wearily. It had been a long few days since we'd met on the Gulf Coast. My eyes began to close. Not so much fatigue as relief at seeing her alive. Maybe my eyes stayed shut a little too long.

'That's it!' Harvey became animated beside me. 'Pull over now. I'm taking over. Before you do what Huffman couldn't and kill the lot of us.'

I brought the Windstar to a halt and we all shifted position. Harvey drove and Rink took shotgun. I was wedged between the two women in the back. It wasn't a bad place to find myself. Between them they had my shirt undone and they fussed with the wound in my shoulder. I fell asleep with a smile on my lips.

The next time I woke up, I was back at the cabin. Everything was dark and still. My head was a little fuzzy and I thought that at some point someone must have fed me a bucketful of painkillers. My left side was numb, and reaching tentatively with my good hand, I found my shoulder compressed by expertly administered bandages. Sitting up, I found I was on the single bed in the cabin. There was a light on in the bathroom but the door was closed. It sounded empty and I guessed the light had been left on to add some ambient glow without the harsh overhead light waking me. A low buzz of conversation came from outside.

I was naked but for my boxer shorts. I found my jeans and tugged them on, twice falling back on to the bed before I managed to button them up.

My steps were unsteady as I negotiated the room. Opening the door, I saw my friends sitting in a loose group down by the lakeside. They heard the door and all turned to look at me. They had got a fire going and it looked like they were enjoying a late dinner. My stomach did a flip at the greasy smell of burgers and I had to push down the urge to vomit.

Kate and Imogen were so alike in the flickering light from the fire that it took me a second or two to differentiate them. Making matters worse was the fact that Kate was dressed in some of the spare clothing Imogen had brought with her. Kate helped by standing up and moving my way. Imogen, Rink and Harvey watched her approach me, then discreetly returned to their own conversation.

'You're supposed to be sleeping,' Kate said softly.

'You know me, Kate; I never do plan on doing much sleeping. I'll be OK before long.'

'You've been shot, Joe. You're weak and the rest will do you good.'

'I've been shot before. Much worse than this.'

Kate placed a hand on my chest. She traced an old wound just to the left of my sternum. This wasn't a bullet wound but a scar left by a knife that had come very close to ending my life. Tubal Cain – the serial killer who kidnapped my brother last year – had almost killed me, but I'd killed him instead. The other bullet wound I referred to was hidden beneath these latest bandages.