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Billie repeated the process two more times of shoot, roll, re-aim. Angel was helping her with that, too. He continued to send the occasional shot into the trees, and that would hopefully distract the shooter enough so that Presley could do what he needed to do.
She lost sight of Presley, but she knew he’d be weaving his way through the underbrush to get to Hattie. Whether or not he would actually be able to help her was anyone’s guess though, since she might bleed out before EMTs could get here.
Billie pulled the trigger again, rolled and waited for the shooter to return fire. And waited. But no shot came. She levered herself up just a little, trying to see if there was any other movement.
Nothing.
In the distance though, she could hear the welcome sound of sirens. How would the shooter react to that? Would he run? Or would he pull out all the stops to try and kill them? That could mean he might be trying to sneak up on Presley for an ambush attack.
With that thought flashing in her head, Billie started to move again. Fast. This time, toward Hattie and Presley.
Even though there was no gunfire now, it was hard for her to hear with her heartbeat crashing in her ears. Still, she tried to listen. Tried to watch for any signs of planted explosives.
“It’s me,” Billie whispered when she got close enough to Presley and Hattie.
Presley had his hand on the back of Hattie’s right shoulder, applying pressure to the gunshot wound. She was definitely bleeding, but the location of the injury hopefully meant nothing vital had been hit and that Hattie could survive this.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Hattie said, her voice broken from the pain. Her breathing was labored, and the woman was trembling from either shock or fear. Maybe both.
“What wasn’t?” Presley asked while he continued to fire glances all around them. Billie was doing the same.
“All of it,” she blurted. “I was kidnapped. Forced here. That shouldn’t have happened.”
Presley and Billie exchanged a quick glance, and she saw the questions in his eyes. She had her own questions.
“Damon Dumfries kidnapped you?” Billie asked.
“Yes,” Hattie said without hesitation. “He kidnapped me and brought me here so I could die. So I could be set up for the murders. He’s going to kill both of you and put the blame on me.”
Damon might indeed try to do that, but Billie didn’t intend to make it easy for him.
“He’ll kill Olivia, too,” Hattie muttered a heartbeat later. “I heard him say she had to die.”
“Why?” Presley asked, but he didn’t get an immediate answer because a shot came at them.
The bullet hit the ground not far from where they were. Too close. Angel was quick to respond. He sent out a stream of gunfire.
“Don’t let him shoot me again,” Hattie sobbed out. “Please stop him.”
Angel was certainly trying to do that, and he was getting some kind of help from overhead. The drone had arrived and was flying over the trees now. It was sending out some laser lights that would hopefully make it much harder for Damon to see much of anything, including them.
“We’re doing everything to stop him,” Presley assured her, keeping watch of the trees.
His phone vibrated with a text, and she saw Angel’s name on the screen. Billie also saw the drone feed that showed the shooter’s specific location. The SOB was in the center of the trees, and the only way Presley or she would have a shot was to get closer.
“Stay with Hattie,” Presley told her. “I’m going in after him.”
Their gazes met for a split second, and a dozen things passed between them. The most important of those things was for him to be careful.
Billie nodded, and the second that Presley moved away, she put her own left hand on Hattie’s wound to keep up the pressure. She kept her gun ready in case Damon bolted from the woods and came out after them.
Presley went into a commando crawl through the shrubs, and Billie prayed that would give him enough cover to make it all the way to those trees.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Hattie muttered, causing Billie to glance at the woman again. “No one was supposed to die. I just wanted you both punished. That’s why I went to Jesep.”
Both Billie’s body and mind went completely still for a moment. “Jesep,” she repeated. “What does he have to do with this?”
“Everything,” Hattie said on a rush of breath. “I went to him to tell him about what I’d learned. About Victoria being Olivia’s and Presley’s mother, about Joe being their father.”