False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [96]
Vanessa sighed, coming back to the present. Did she have enough faith to believe that no matter what happened, God would use it for good? She looked out at the open space between there and the tree line, convinced it couldn’t be more than thirty yards.
Run!
The voice resounded in her head. Was it just her fear talking?
Go!
She hesitated for only a second, then sprang out into the open, running with abandon toward the log fence, the searing pain in her shoulder making her knees weak, but determination giving her legs.
She came to an abrupt stop at the log fence, slipped through it, and kept running, angling to the right and running along the perimeter of the woods.
A shot rang out across the gray Louisiana sky. She heard Shapiro’s angry shouts but couldn’t make out what he said. Only one voice was distinguishable, and it spoke from within with simple urgency.
Don’t stop!
A bullet zinged by her ear and ricocheted off a tree trunk.
Vanessa resisted the temptation to duck into the woods and hide and pushed herself harder than she thought possible, the trees to her left and the cane fields to her right. Judging from the muffled sound of Shapiro’s voice, she had a healthy head start. What if she was wrong about where she was? What if she couldn’t find the manor house? Or what if Zoe and Pierce were too afraid to answer when they heard banging at the door?
The words from one of the Psalms came rushing to her mind. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
“Lord, I am in trouble. I need You!”
The bullet whizzed by her left ear. Would the next one end up in her back? She didn’t want to die, to leave Ethan and Carter. But if she did, was she ready to meet her Savior face-to-face? She decided she was, and the fear left her.
Vanessa kept pushing herself but wondered how much longer she could keep it up before she collapsed. She saw a clearing up ahead. The manor house had to be there. She would run to the back door where Zoe and Pierce could see her from the bedroom. Either they would let her in—or she would be at Shapiro’s mercy. Either way, it was out of her hands.
Zoe stood looking out the front windows at Langley Manor, wishing she were out on the gallery at her apartment, watching the activity on rue Madeline. She heard the floor creaking behind her, and then Pierce’s resonant voice.
“Did you hear that?” he said.
“Hear what?”
“Sounded like gunshots.”
“I didn’t hear anything,” she said. “Where were they coming from?”
“Not far.”
“Could it be someone hunting?”
“Wrong season.”
“What should we do about it?” Zoe moved away from the window.
“I don’t know. But we can’t ignore it.”
“Maybe it was someone poaching.”
“Maybe it wasn’t.”
Zoe studied his somber face. “You’re really concerned.”
“Of course I’m concerned, Zoe! There’s a madman out there who wants you dead—and Vanessa’s missing!”
“You think Cowen got Vanessa to talk, that he’s coming here?”
“I don’t know.” Pierce exhaled, the lines on his forehead disappearing. “I guess if he were coming here to get us, he wouldn’t fire a weapon and announce his presence. I’m probably being paranoid.”
Probably, she thought. But wasn’t it nice to see his protective side kick in, especially when he had been so indifferent?
Zoe locked gazes with Pierce and, for a fleeting moment, connected with the man who cherished her. Caught off guard, she looked away, wondering if he felt it too.
A loud banging caused Zoe to jump, her hand over her heart. “Someone’s pounding on the back door!”
Pierce grabbed her hand and pulled her into the back bedroom, then picked up the ball bat and stood to the side of the window, his back to the wall, and craned to see out.
“Good grief, it’s Vanessa!”
Zoe heard Vanessa’s cries and her frantic banging on the door. “We have to let her in!”
“I’ll go.” Pierce took the key out of his pocket and gripped the ball bat tightly. “Stay here.”
“I’m coming with you.”
She followed Pierce