at the assailant.
The sequel of tires followed a loud truck engine roar, and then it
was all over.
* * * *
“Sara? Sara? Can you hear me?” Sara barely registered Tyler’s
voice. “I think she’s coming around.”
Sara blinked up into the sunlight, squinting into the worried faces
of Gage and Tyler.
“Thank God. She’s conscious. Don’t move, honey. We’ve got to
make sure you don’t have any broken bones. Does anything hurt? Can
you feel your toes?”
“I think I’m fine,” she groaned. “What happened?” Sara moved
her fingers and toes, making sure that everything was still intact.
“Apparently Jeremy found you and saw fit to take a couple of
shots at you. I don’t think you were hit, and neither were the horses, but Johnny threw you pretty good.”
Sara sat up slowly. Her head spun.
“You should stay on the ground,” Tyler instructed. “The
ambulance is on its way. You shouldn’t move without a neck brace.”
“I’m fine,” Sara protested. “Where’s Jeremy? Did you catch him?
Is anyone hurt?”
“No one got hurt, except you, of course. Gage came out after him
with a shotgun, but Jeremy was already getting in his truck by the
time we realized what was happening. He took off.”
“Shit,” Sara swore.
“Don’t worry about it,” Gage said. “We’ll get him. The detectives
are already out after him. Just worry about you for now.”
Sara reluctantly let the ambulance take her to the hospital where a
doctor checked her over and then released her back into their care.
She was lucky. There were no broken bones and no concussion, just a
84
Samantha Blair
bump to the back of the head and some splinters embedded in her
shoulder from where the tree bark had split apart.
Hungry and rattled, the three of them went back to the house.
Gage immediately set the alarm and made sure that both of their rifles were loaded and ready. He would not be taken by surprise again.
Tyler made sandwiches and homemade vegetable soup for lunch.
Sara blew on the hot soup on her spoon and considered her options.
She was endangering them with her presence, just as she knew she
would. Jeremy was running now, and she wasn’t sure that they would
catch him. He was as smart as he was mean. He wouldn’t stop until
she was dead. She was sure of it.
“Maybe I should go hide out in a hotel somewhere for a while,”
she quietly suggested. “I don’t want to keep endangering the two of
you.”
“Absolutely not,” Gage growled. “You’re staying right here with
us, where you belong.”
“What did I tell you about his protective instincts?” Tyler asked.
“You’re not leaving our sight until that asshole is behind bars.”
Knowing that she was fighting a losing battle, Sara wisely kept
the remainder of her thoughts to herself.
“The one thing that I just can’t figure out is how he knew you
were here,” Gage said. “No one has been back here since you came,
and I’m quite sure that he didn’t see our truck that first night. If he had, he probably would have come yesterday. It doesn’t make sense
that he would wait if he knew where you were. Do you think he went
through the whole town looking for you?”
“Someone was here, though,” Tyler interjected. “We had that pizza delivered. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but the pizza boy kept trying to look in the windows. I thought it was just because the two of you were half dressed and all over each other, but maybe
he recognized Sara.”
“Do you know who it was? What did he look like?”
“He was young, dark hair, kinda scrawny.”
Protectors
85
“Billy Barack, maybe?” Sara asked. “He just graduated from high
school. Curly hair? Clothes probably didn’t match?”
“That sounds right,” Ty agreed.
“He worships the ground that my ex-boyfriend walks on. Police
academy wannabe. He probably ran straight to Jeremy the minute he
saw me here. I am so stupid! Why didn’t I think to
The sequel of tires followed a loud truck engine roar, and then it
was all over.
* * * *
“Sara? Sara? Can you hear me?” Sara barely registered Tyler’s
voice. “I think she’s coming around.”
Sara blinked up into the sunlight, squinting into the worried faces
of Gage and Tyler.
“Thank God. She’s conscious. Don’t move, honey. We’ve got to
make sure you don’t have any broken bones. Does anything hurt? Can
you feel your toes?”
“I think I’m fine,” she groaned. “What happened?” Sara moved
her fingers and toes, making sure that everything was still intact.
“Apparently Jeremy found you and saw fit to take a couple of
shots at you. I don’t think you were hit, and neither were the horses, but Johnny threw you pretty good.”
Sara sat up slowly. Her head spun.
“You should stay on the ground,” Tyler instructed. “The
ambulance is on its way. You shouldn’t move without a neck brace.”
“I’m fine,” Sara protested. “Where’s Jeremy? Did you catch him?
Is anyone hurt?”
“No one got hurt, except you, of course. Gage came out after him
with a shotgun, but Jeremy was already getting in his truck by the
time we realized what was happening. He took off.”
“Shit,” Sara swore.
“Don’t worry about it,” Gage said. “We’ll get him. The detectives
are already out after him. Just worry about you for now.”
Sara reluctantly let the ambulance take her to the hospital where a
doctor checked her over and then released her back into their care.
She was lucky. There were no broken bones and no concussion, just a
84
Samantha Blair
bump to the back of the head and some splinters embedded in her
shoulder from where the tree bark had split apart.
Hungry and rattled, the three of them went back to the house.
Gage immediately set the alarm and made sure that both of their rifles were loaded and ready. He would not be taken by surprise again.
Tyler made sandwiches and homemade vegetable soup for lunch.
Sara blew on the hot soup on her spoon and considered her options.
She was endangering them with her presence, just as she knew she
would. Jeremy was running now, and she wasn’t sure that they would
catch him. He was as smart as he was mean. He wouldn’t stop until
she was dead. She was sure of it.
“Maybe I should go hide out in a hotel somewhere for a while,”
she quietly suggested. “I don’t want to keep endangering the two of
you.”
“Absolutely not,” Gage growled. “You’re staying right here with
us, where you belong.”
“What did I tell you about his protective instincts?” Tyler asked.
“You’re not leaving our sight until that asshole is behind bars.”
Knowing that she was fighting a losing battle, Sara wisely kept
the remainder of her thoughts to herself.
“The one thing that I just can’t figure out is how he knew you
were here,” Gage said. “No one has been back here since you came,
and I’m quite sure that he didn’t see our truck that first night. If he had, he probably would have come yesterday. It doesn’t make sense
that he would wait if he knew where you were. Do you think he went
through the whole town looking for you?”
“Someone was here, though,” Tyler interjected. “We had that pizza delivered. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but the pizza boy kept trying to look in the windows. I thought it was just because the two of you were half dressed and all over each other, but maybe
he recognized Sara.”
“Do you know who it was? What did he look like?”
“He was young, dark hair, kinda scrawny.”
Protectors
85
“Billy Barack, maybe?” Sara asked. “He just graduated from high
school. Curly hair? Clothes probably didn’t match?”
“That sounds right,” Ty agreed.
“He worships the ground that my ex-boyfriend walks on. Police
academy wannabe. He probably ran straight to Jeremy the minute he
saw me here. I am so stupid! Why didn’t I think to
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