Sharon Dunn - Thanksgiving Protector

Plus, shooting a moving target from another moving target would be a challenge even for a highly trained sniper.

If the guy was willing to hunt them down like this, the assault wasn’t just about scaring them away from the van.

In the fading light, Austin scanned the terrain up ahead. The horse could go places where an ATV would struggle. He headed toward the foothills where the ground would be rocky. The nimble horse skirted through the boulders.

Kylie rested her head against his shoulder. Judging from how tightly she held on, she was still afraid. Like the good agent she was, she held it together. The sound of the ATV dimmed as he made his way into deeper, thicker brush.

He could no longer hear the ATV, but that didn’t mean the man wasn’t tracking them on foot. The man had either been lying in wait by the van or had followed them out, waiting for the time when they were most vulnerable and farthest away from backup for a targeted killing. All the more reason to think the van was most likely used by Garcia.

The horse slowed as anything resembling a trail disappeared. The thick brush hid them well but also made it hard to make progress.

Austin dismounted and pulled the horse along. His ears tuned in to every sound.

“I should get down too,” Kylie said. “The tall brush provides some cover.”

Austin nodded. It bothered him that the shooter had only fired at Kylie as though this was personal. Carmen had told the team that Garcia had vowed to kill any ranger or agent who got in his way. Why hadn’t this sniper taken shots at him, too?

Something rustled in the brush behind them. Kylie pressed close to him. The noise died away. Could be a nocturnal animal.

They worked their way through the brush and out into the open desert before radioing for help. When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw intermittent lights moving toward them from where they had just escaped. They were still being pursued.

“We better mount up. Help will meet us at the road.”

Kylie swung on again. The warmth of her touch permeated his shirt where she wrapped her arms around him.

“Watch behind us and let me know if he’s getting too close. We’ll find a hiding place and ambush him.” He spurred the horse into a gallop. They rode hard until the horse tired, and he slowed into a canter.

After some time had passed, Kylie spoke over his shoulder. “I don’t see lights anymore. He must have given up.”

A ranger with a horse trailer came to pick them up just as morning light warmed the desert.

They waited at the ranch where the ranger horses were kept for their ride into town. Though it was the ranch hand’s job, Kylie insisted on cooling down the mount that had served them so well.

He watched her brush the animal as the morning sun caught the coppery highlights in her auburn hair. She spoke soothingly to the horse.

“Any news on the other horse?” She stroked the mane. Her voice was tinged with sadness.

“They’ll send someone else to look for him. He was in good enough shape to run off. I don’t think he was hit, just frightened. They should find him.”

Kylie led the horse out to the corral. She was a natural with them. He was a city boy who had grown up on a skateboard. Riding was a skill he had had to learn for the job. She slapped the animal’s back flank and he galloped away.

She came to stand beside Austin where he rested one foot on the lower rung of the wooden corral.

Another long night over for both of them. Their work felt a lot like two steps forward and one step back. He was glad to make those steps with someone as good at her job as Kylie. At least they’d found the van.

A dust cloud up the road told him their ride had arrived.

Colt Blackthorn rolled down the window and rested his elbow on it. “You two again. We have to stop meeting like this.” The breeze ruffled his dark hair. “Heard you guys did better than Greg and I. Good job finding the van.”

Kylie climbed into the front seat and Austin got in the back. As they drove away, Kylie glanced out the back window. “Hey look, it looks like the other horse came in on his own.”

Austin checked his side-view mirror to see a ranch hand leading their runaway horse to the corral.

“They always know their way back to where the food is,” Kylie said.

They drove for several miles on a dirt road.

“How’s that new baby of yours?” Colt offered Kylie a warm smile.

The ride into town consisted of Kylie talking about every nuance of her hours with Mercedes. Her voice took on a light lilting quality.

Austin felt like he was a stranger in a foreign land. He didn’t understand a mother’s joy in talking about her child. He supposed his mother had loved him before the accident and before the drinking, but those memories were covered over by the years that followed.

He leaned forward in the seat. “Drop Kylie off first. I want to make sure she gets home safe and sound to that little girl.” His voice sounded a little stiff. As happy as he was for Kylie, he just wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to do her job and be a mom.

Kylie’s apartment complex was in a middle-class neighborhood next to a park. Kylie phoned ahead telling her babysitter that she was on her way.

Kylie nearly jumped out of the car as Colt pulled up to the curb.

Austin got out and climbed into the front seat. He peered in the rearview mirror at the scene unfolding behind him. The sitter, an older woman, had come outside pushing a baby stroller with Mercedes in it. He had to admit, the sight of that sweet baby face and round brown eyes had tugged at his heart the first time he’d seen Mercedes.

As Colt gained speed, something else in the mirror caught Austin’s eye. He craned his head. There it was, the glint of a rifle on top of the apartment building. A sniper with his sights set on Kylie.

* * *

When she was a few feet from Kylie, Mrs. Espina leaned over to unbuckle Mercedes from her stroller.

Kylie’s heart leaped when Mercedes kicked her legs with glee.

“That’s my little girl. You make coming home that much sweeter.” The bright eyes tugged at Kylie’s heart as her voice grew sadder. “I wish your mom was here. I know you must miss her even if you don’t totally understand what happened.”

The sound of squealing tires caught her attention.

She looked over to see Austin and Colt turning around in the road at a high speed. Something was wrong. Her heart seized up as she hit the ground and crawled toward Mercedes to protect her.

She heard the rifle shots nanoseconds before she covered Mercedes with her body.

She couldn’t put Gloria at risk. “Mrs. Espina, run, get to your apartment.” The older woman backed up and then hurried away. No shots were fired at her.

Kylie gathered the baby in her arms.

Austin was beside her almost instantly, lifting her while she held the baby, directing her toward the cover of the building.

She caught a flash of Colt running toward the neighboring building, probably to apprehend the shooter.

“Where do you live?” Austin’s voice was in her ear.

The question clarified her fuzzy thinking, and she answered as she kept running. Mercedes cried as she pressed herself against Kylie’s chest. Kylie raced toward her apartment. Once inside, her only thought was to comfort Mercedes.

Austin paced the room then drew back the curtains to peek outside.

A moment later, Austin’s phone rang.

“Yes, Colt.” Austin drew the curtain back again still looking for threats.

Austin listened for a moment, nodding. “Thanks.” He listened some more. “Let us know. We’re in apartment fourteen.”

He clicked off his phone and turned to face Kylie. “Colt couldn’t catch him, but he saw which way the guy ran. The police have been called. There’ll be half a dozen cops looking for him.”