If I Should Die_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [39]
He didn’t know why he hesitated; maybe it was the repetitive training his brother had put him through, but for some reason he stopped an inch away from the top.
Slowly, he peered over the edge.
His truck was where he left it, right on the edge of the overgrown logging road about twenty yards away. Birds chirped in the trees; a light breeze rustled the leaves. The sky was blue; the air was crisp.
But something felt wrong. Electric.
Sean slipped off his backpack and tossed it over the edge, five feet away.
A rifle echoed, hitting the ground next to him, a plume of dirt jumping into the air.
Fuck.
“Sean?”
Lucy’s voice was concerned, but not panicked.
“Stay there,” he commanded. He already had his gun in hand, but a handgun against a sniper rifle was like a match against a flame-thrower.
Which direction had the shot come from?
He pictured the area surrounding the mine shaft. Trees and foliage surrounded them on three sides; the only exposed side was the logging road. On the other side of the road were more trees, but the ground sloped down.
Based on the trajectory of the exploding dirt, the sniper was higher than the ground. Up a tree?
He didn’t have binoculars on him, and the tree line was thick on the opposite side of the road, roughly a hundred yards away. A good sniper could take him down as soon as he climbed out.
He assessed his surroundings as best he could without a clear line of sight. To his left, the trees were thinner, but to the right there was a low rise. If he could get out on that side, he could use the natural rock formation and foliage to hide.
Then what?
He wasn’t going to leave Lucy here, but he needed to get to the truck. He could drive it closer to shield Lucy when she got out. But a good sniper would go for the gas tank. What he needed to do was get out, determine where the sniper was located, then provide cover for Lucy. They wouldn’t go directly to the truck; they’d head into the woods. There was no guarantee the sniper didn’t have a partner. In the pit, they were sitting ducks, but no way was he going deeper into the dangerous mine.
He pocketed his gun and took out his cell phone. He had a weak signal.
He sent Tim a message.
Sniper at the mine. We’re going to run for the highway. Need pick-up ASAP.
Ideally, he’d like to sit tight and wait for the cavalry, but he didn’t know how long that would take, or if the sniper had friends. They could come after them here and he and Lucy would be trapped in the tunnels, with no idea of where the danger spots were.
He climbed back down the ladder.
“I have a plan,” Sean said moving the ladder to the right side of the ventilation shaft. “Leave everything except your gun.”
Lucy frowned.
“Luce—” He couldn’t believe she was poised to argue with him. She was smarter than that.
Lucy shrugged off her backpack, retrieved her Glock, and then the small bag with the jar of maggots. “If that’s the killer out there, I’m not leaving the evidence here for him to destroy.” She shoved the paper bag down her shirt, which was tucked into her jeans. She zipped up her dark jacket.
“I’m going to climb out, roll into the bushes to the right, and whistle. You get up this ladder as fast as you can when you hear it, but don’t show yourself. I’m hoping he’ll shoot at me so I’ll know exactly where he is. On the second whistle, count to three and get out, as low as possible, and roll over to my position; I’ll provide cover.”
She nodded, her jaw tight, and Sean kissed her quickly before he scaled up the ladder.
Lucy watched as Sean paused at the top, gun ready, every muscle poised, listening—feeling—for movement. Sean didn’t have to tell her how screwed they were—the sniper had plenty of time after spotting Sean to come closer. He could be standing at the edge of the mine, ready to shoot both of them as soon as they emerged.
She had her gun pointed at the edge, even though she had a very limited view of the surface. She looked for movement, shadows, anything that put Sean in jeopardy.
Sean gave her a hand signal that he was moving. He moved fast for