Page 49 of Unexpected Danger (Mountain Justice #2)

Haack shoved Londyn to the side, causing her to trip and fall to the ground with no way to catch herself.

Brodie gritted his teeth, barely catching himself in time before protesting.

It took all of his control not to react—to not leap to his feet and bolt toward—and pay back Haack for what he had done and was doing to Londyn.

But to let Haack know his position at this point would set Brodie’s plan up for instant failure.

With God’s help, Brodie resisted that urge.

Instead, he remained as still as possible, keeping his ears fine-tuned to the sounds around him, including Haack’s pounding footsteps as the man grew closer.

Haack shuffled on the pine needles in Brodie’s direction, then stopped.

Londyn had maneuvered her way back into the canoe.

Haack must have realized it, because he turned around and started again toward her, his gun raised. This was Brodie’s chance.

And if he failed… no, he wouldn’t fail. He couldn’t fail. Failure was not an option.

Ignoring the stabbing pain in his head, Brodie pushed forward through the trees in pursuit of Haack. The man pivoted and scanned the area behind him as Brodie again slimmed himself behind a cluster of tree trunks. Silence, except for the cry of a red-tailed hawk.

Finally, he heard the sound of footsteps again. Brodie’s heart pounded wildly in his chest. He would never become accustomed to the adrenaline rush that tore through him when pursuing a perpetrator.

Londyn made a sound, distracting Haack from Brodie.

This was Brodie’s chance.

Brodie launched from his location and sprinted toward Haack, tackling him from behind.

Haack’s gun flew from his hand and landed a few feet away.

Brodie slithered along the ground, reaching for it.

Haack did the same. Brodie reached up and punched Haack in the face.

The man reeled backward before grabbing a rock and attempting to clobber Brodie with it, his aim striking Brodie slightly above the ear.

The combination of pain from that and his first head injury caused Brodie to momentarily freeze.

If he were in his top form, neutralizing Haack would be no problem, but at this moment, his being in tip-top condition was negligible.

In the canoe, Londyn attempted to remove the bindings from her ankles.

Brodie and Haack wrestled perilously close to the cliff’s edge. Brodie wasn’t afraid of heights, but being so close to tumbling down into a ravine, he would do all he could to avoid meeting his demise.

The gun lay beyond Brodie’s reach, resting in the prickles of a shrub. If he could just reach it…

Haack leapt on him, shoving them both closer to the edge. Brodie flipped Haack over, causing the man’s head to dangle perilously over the edge. Brodie palmed him in the face. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Haack muttered something unintelligible before spitting in Brodie's face.

Of all the things he was expecting, Brodie wasn't expecting that.

He flinched, and in that split second, Haack pummeled him hard in the side of the head.

Totally unprepared, Brodie slid partially down the embankment before he again climbed to the top and wrestled Haack for the upper hand before Haack could grab the gun.

This time, Brodie shoved Haack, and the man tripped and plummeted down the side.

Brodie released a stout exhale. The man lay at the bottom of the incline in a heap.

Brodie scrambled to his feet and limped toward Londyn.

“Stay in the canoe!” he shouted. There was no time to locate Haack’s gun. Londyn’s feet remained bound, but her hands were free. Brodie staggered to the boat, clutched the paddle, and dipped the end into the water, propelling them away from the bank and down the river.

If only he had his gun. Haack still had his, but if Brodie got a good enough head start, even if Haack did recover from his unconsciousness, they would be far enough ahead and out of range.

“I'm so glad you're all right,” Londyn breathed.

He stared at her pretty face. Bruising marred her cheekbones, and blood crusted near the corner of her forehead.

Whatever revenge he could think of wouldn’t be enough to compensate Haack for what he had done.

The reminder that revenge was the Lord's stirred in Brodie’s subconscious, and he struggled to remind himself of God’s Truth on that subject.

Paddling against the current when he was in less-than-stellar condition was not an easy task. Every muscle ached, and his biceps groaned against his demands. “I thought I'd lost you.” His voice cracked. He couldn't lose her again.

A gunshot rang through the air. “Get down!” Brodie craned his neck to see Haack running alongside the river’s edge.

How had he recovered so quickly? But in Brodie's line of work, he found that unhinged people most often had more tenacity.

Perhaps because they had more to lose, especially in eternity.

“I have my gun.” Londyn’s words surprised him.

“You do?”

“Yes, it's in my concealed carry.” Londyn fumbled around briefly, hoisting her life jacket up so she could access the belly band around her waist. She withdrew her pistol. At that moment, Haack took another shot.

Londyn jerked, her eyes going wide as her gun clattered to the bottom of the canoe.

Brodie followed her gaze to the now bleeding wound staining her sleeve.

“ Londyn!” Brodie’s voice reverberated through the remote area.

He tucked the paddle in the notches and, in one swift motion, reached for her gun.

He aimed it at Dustin Haack and shot twice, both times hitting the intended target in the body mass area.

Haack toppled to the ground. If the man survived that, he was truly invincible. Brodie knelt beside Londyn, careful not to tip the canoe as he applied pressure to the wound in her arm. “Stay with me.” Tears smarted his eyes.

“Brodie?”

“Don’t try to talk. Save your energy.” After tending to her wound as best as he could, he took advantage of an unexpected second wind pumping through him and navigated the canoe back to the lake.

A helicopter droned overhead, and he shifted the paddle to one hand and waved furiously, then continued on the route back to the lake.

The current had increased due to the winds picking up, and the canoe rocked back and forth.

The last thing they needed was to overturn.

The waves lapped at the shore, but at least the shore was in sight.

Brodie stopped a few feet from the docking area, the tumultuous water sloshing on the sides of the boat and tossing the canoe to and fro.

A Pronghorn Falls County Sheriff's truck peeled around the corner.

He'd never been so happy to see a co-worker.

He lifted Londyn and battled the current to get her to the shore.

The turbulent water battered his legs and nearly caused him to lose his footing, especially since the throbbing in his head increased tenfold, but he forged ahead.

The sound of ambulance sirens wailed in the distance.

“Brodie?” He stepped onto the rocky shore and struggled in the direction of the deputy’s truck and stared down into the eyes of the woman he loved.

“It's going to be all right, Londyn. The ambulance is almost here.” So much could have happened. How many times had he praised God in just the past five minutes?

“Brodie?” she whispered.

“Yes?”

“I will marry you.”

Those were her last words before she lost consciousness.