Chapter Nineteen
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Flames shot up in front of them, an explosion of orange and red roaring to life.
The heat slammed against the windshield, the fire crackling, already wild and angry.
Jesse hit the brakes, the truck skidding on the gravel but not stopping until the front end and engine were right in that wall of fire.
“Shit,” Jesse muttered, his heart pounding. His hand shot out instinctively, pressing across Lauren’s chest like a protective barrier as his eyes scanned the edges of the flames. This damn sure wasn’t an accident. It was too precise, too sudden. A barrier. A trap no doubt meant to kill them.
Reggie was dead. But the nightmare wasn’t over.
Someone else was still out there.
Lauren’s gaze met his for just a second, but he saw the sickening dread in her eyes. Here they were, right back in the middle of danger, and they still didn’t know who wanted them dead.
Jesse thought of their suspects. Of Reardon, Dr. Graves, and Isabel. One of them could want something silenced for good, and they obviously thought the way to do that was to murder Lauren and him.
But Jesse wasn’t going to let that happen.
Jesse gave the voice command on his phone to text for backup. No way was anyone going to arrive in time though, and even if they did, there was little chance of stopping what had already been put into motion.
Definitely not a comforting thought but one that riled him to the core. Some SOB was playing god with their lives.
His fingers tightened around the butt of his gun as the heat from the flames bled through the windshield, a suffocating wall of fire just feet in front of them.
The crackling grew louder, more violent, licking at the dry grass and gravel, and Jesse knew it was only a matter of time before the truck’s gas tank went up.
“We’ve got to get out,” he muttered, his jaw clenched. “There’s no ditch like at Reardon’s place, but we can’t stay put.”
Lauren nodded, her face tense but focused, her gun gripped tightly in her hands.
Jesse’s eyes flicked to the left, to the small cluster of live oak trees about twenty yards away, their shadows cutting through the moonlight. It wasn’t much cover, but it was all they had.
“We’ll make for those trees,” he said quickly, pointing at them. “But whoever set this fire is probably waiting for us to do exactly that. Could be aiming for us right now.”
His gut twisted, a mix of adrenaline and pure, raw frustration. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to protect Lauren, keep her out of shitstorms like this. And now they were sitting ducks, boxed in with flames on one side, and God knows who was waiting in the dark.
Damn it.
Jesse glanced at Lauren again, the flickering firelight reflecting off her face. She was steady, determined. She wasn’t going to back down—and neither was he.
“On my signal,” he said. “Stay low. Move fast.”
Lauren gave a sharp nod, her jaw tight.
Jesse took one last breath, his heart pounding like mad in his chest. Then he threw the door open on the driver’s side of the truck, the blast of heat hitting him like a punch.
“Go!” he shouted, his boots landing on the ground with a hard thud.
He took hold of Lauren to help her crawl over the seat toward him, and the moment she was out of the truck, he got them moving. They sprinted for the trees.
Jesse expected the gunfire before he even heard it.
And he heard it all right.
Dragging Lauren down with him, Jesse hit the ground hard, gravel digging into his palms as gunfire erupted, blasting through the night air. Bullets tore past them, too close. Lauren was right beside him, thankfully keeping her body low, but that might not be enough to stay alive.
So, he had to think. Had to do something to turn the tables on this asshole.
The shots were coming from ahead, somewhere in the trees. With the fire raging behind them, the heat clawing at their backs, they were trapped—pinned between the flames and an unseen shooter.
“Move!” Jesse barked, his voice somehow managing to cut through the gunfire.
Lauren levered herself up when he did, and they scrambled toward a cluster of rocks, barely enough cover to shield them both. Jesse threw himself behind the largest one, pulling Lauren down with him just as another bullet slammed into the dirt where she’d been a second before.
Too damn close.
The rocks offered little protection—just jagged edges and not nearly enough bulk to stop a well-placed shot. Bullets pinged off them, others tearing into the ground around them. Jesse’s heart pounded, not from fear for himself but for Lauren.
He risked a glance over the edge of the rocks, trying to catch a glimpse of their attacker. A muzzle flash flared from the tree line—quick, bright, and gone just as fast. The shooter was smart, staying low, using the darkness and their vulnerable position.
Jesse cursed under his breath, the frustration burning hotter than the fire behind them. He should have seen this coming. He should have protected her better. But then it occurred to him that Lauren was probably thinking the same thing about him.
Lauren’s breathing was steady, her gun clutched tight as she pressed her back against the rock. Despite the danger, her eyes were focused—determined. She wasn’t panicking.
Jesse shifted just enough, peering from around the side of the rock to catch a quick glimpse of something. There—a flicker of movement. A figure crouched low between two trees, the faint glint of a rifle barrel reflecting the fire’s glow.
Got you.
Jesse whipped up his gun, taking aim, and he squeezed the trigger, the sharp recoil of his gun jolting through his arm.
The shot cracked through the night, and the figure ducked, disappearing behind the tree trunk.
Jesse didn’t wait. Neither did Lauren. She aimed, and he adjusted his gun ready to fire again before the shooter could regroup.
That was the plan anyway.
But neither of them got off a shot when the truck exploded behind them.
The deafening roar of the blast shook the ground beneath him. The shockwave slammed into Jesse like a fist, throwing him forward as heat surged over his back. Debris rained down—shards of metal, glass, burning fragments of what had been his truck.
Jesse dragged Lauren beneath him, trying to protect her as best he could. Which wasn’t fuck-all enough. His ears were ringing, his face pressed against the dirt. His head spun, disoriented by the blast, but he shook it off as fast as he could.
Because this was their chance to survive. Their chance to catch the sonofabitch doing this to them.
Jesse’s heart pounded in his chest, the roar of the truck’s explosion still echoing in his ears. The air was thick with smoke and the acrid stench of burning fuel. Flaming debris kept raining down around them, casting brief, flickering shadows across the ground.
But Jesse didn’t flinch. This was their chance. Their chance to survive.
Their chance to catch the son of a bitch who was trying to kill them.
He met Lauren’s eyes—and they were filled with the same moment of reckoning burning through him. No words were needed. They both knew.
It was a risk. Anything they did at this point was. But Jesse gripped his gun tighter, nodded once, and they moved.
Pushing off the ground, they sprinted toward the trees, weaving through the smoke and falling embers. The distraction of the burning wreckage was on their side, masking their approach. Dirt kicked up under their boots as they closed the distance.
Gunshots came at them again, wild and desperate. Bullets ripped past, tearing into the dirt and splintering tree trunks, but Jesse didn’t slow. He fired back, quick bursts aimed toward the flashes of muzzle fire in the trees.
Lauren was right beside him, her movements fluid, controlled, returning fire with precision. They reached the tree line, diving behind cover just as another round slammed into the ground where they’d been seconds before.
Jesse’s breath came hard and fast, but his focus was razor-sharp. He could hear footsteps now—someone retreating, trying to fall back.
Not this time.
Jesse signaled to Lauren, and without hesitation, they pushed forward, closing in on their target.
Because this wasn’t just about survival anymore.
This was the hunt. And Jesse wanted to make damn sure it was a hunt that Lauren and he won.