Witness Pursuit (Bodyguards #1)

Tyler was off. This was his worst nightmare. What would make Lydia leave the house in the middle of the night? And damn it, this homestead was her safe location. What had happened to that?

Over the stile he went, and Ronson and Brigs dropped in beside him. They slithered into the darkness. On his belly, he combat-crawled in a zigzag path through the long grass, alert to any movement or noise.

As he tracked downhill, Brigs closed in on his right and Ronson on his left.

“I hear voices near the bushes,” Brigs warned, the whites of his eyes gleaming.

“It’s a man and a woman’s,” Ronson added.

Swift and precise, they eased under the wire fence and crawled into the next field. His elbows were raw, the gun in his hand primed and ready to fire. No one would take Lydia from him and survive.

Near the fringe of thicket, she was being shoved to her knees.

A sneering man stood over her, the barrel of his rifle exposed. “This spot farther away will do.”

“Give me something. It’s not as if I can hurt you.” Her words were strong, but her voice wobbled.

“Ha, it was a stroke of luck seeing you at the pumps with the kid. Drake’s old lady told me where she’d hunted her kid’s address to, and I came up here the next day. I saw you and Drake having a chat on the porch, and I pulled the boss’s hit pic of you out of my pocket and stripped away the disguise.”

“That’s how you found me? But why shoot Drake?”

“That stupid brat. I followed Drake and that other kid to the river. I dealt with Drake first. To let him know his father’s serious about needing his kidney. My nephew will come around better now. He’ll know nothing else will fly but his agreement. Then I came back for you, only you’d disappeared in that truck of yours.” He stroked his rifle. “A bit of a pain that, but I’m getting the deed done now. I’m certainly not gonna cart you all the way to Wellington to let my boss see to his business. He’ll want you gone after a year of looking for you.”

“Who wants me dead? Who’s your boss?” She shook where she knelt.

Damn it, he couldn’t stand this, no matter the shooter’s answer was crucial to solving her case.

“He’s the head, and no one you know.” The shooter smirked. “Say nighty-night.”

That was it. Tyler pulled the trigger the same second as Brigs did.

The killer arched his back, the impact blowing his breath from his lungs. His knees buckled and his rifle slid to the ground. He collapsed and Lydia screamed.

Tyler raced to her. Hunched over, she gasped for air as he pulled her into his arms. “Are you hurt?”

“I couldn’t let him get to you. He was here for me.”

“What about the shot I heard?”

“It whizzed past me and hit the maple tree. He wanted to take me to his boss, the one who killed Johnny Taita. He dragged me down here.” Her eyes bulged wide as she stared at the gunman. “He’s Ladd Hyena, Drake’s uncle.”

“We’ll find out everything we need to know about him. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“No, Tyler.” She thumped his chest, shaking her head. “The man who murdered Johnny Taita’s still out there. Didn’t you hear him? He said his boss has been searching for me. This is never going to end.”

“This idiot may have come for you, but look how he’s leaving.” Stroking her hair, he tucked her closer. He glanced at Brigs kneeling over Hyena. “Is he dead?”

“No, he’s breathing.” Brigs heaved his cell phone from his pocket. “I guess we can’t interrogate a dead man. I’ll call emergency services.”

Ronson’s eyes were flat. “If Hyena moves a muscle, I’ll take it as a sign he’s going for his weapon.”

The same went for Tyler.

Brigs nodded. “I’ll call Ben and get him here.”

“I can’t believe I brought Jenna right into a hornet’s nest.” Ronson dropped to his haunches and checked the gunman’s pockets. “I had no idea Drake’s uncle was after him, and of any possible cross-over like this.”

Lydia fisted her hands against Tyler’s chest. “Who’s his boss?”

Her words were a fearful cry, ones which made his blood curdle. “We’ll find out. We won’t rest until we do.”

She burrowed her head into his shoulder, and one very precise fact blared at him. He would have lost all reason to live had she died this night. Her very essence was branded into him like fire.

“Let me take you inside, love.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Tears swam in her eyes as she lifted her chin. “The one who killed Johnny will come. H-he’ll know where I am.”

“You’ll be moved, and no one will ever get through me to you. I promise you.”

“That’s exactly my problem.” Her eyelids fluttered and she went slack in his arms.

He scooped her up as she lost consciousness, bent and checked her breathing.