Lawless (21 page)

*        *        *

When Ariana woke the next morning, Milo was
gone.  It was barely past dawn, but his bed was made and only his sheriff's SUV
sat in the drive.  She tried to take a breath, her lungs still having
difficulty accepting oxygen.  She didn't need to look in a mirror to know her
eyelids were swollen from crying.

She was grateful though, at some point during
the night, she'd come to terms with the consequences of her bad decisions.  She
was
not
like her father.  He made choices to purposefully hurt people. 
Yes, she'd been careless and was still to blame, but she'd never intentionally
hurt someone.

No doubt she'd pay a price for her lies,
though.  In all likelihood, she'd destroyed whatever she'd built with Milo. 
With each of life's lessons, there was a cost.  But being here with him had
taught her many things about herself, and she couldn't regret that.  The first
of which was she was stronger than she'd thought.  The second was there was
still happiness to be found in the world.  If she couldn't find it with Milo,
she'd heal and search until she found it somewhere else.  There may never be
another man who could compare to her sexy deputy with the startling blue eyes,
but she'd find a way to be happy.

In the kitchen, Milo had left a note stating he'd
gone into town and that Quinn would arrive around noon.  She wanted to call
Milo a coward for not sticking around to see her off, but she wouldn't judge
how hard this might have been on him, too.  She'd known he'd cared.  She slammed
a fist against her heart as a wave of pain rippled through.  God, she'd miss
him and regret for the rest of her life the choices that had pushed him away.

It took her less than fifteen minutes to pack
her belongings in a suitcase and tuck the cell phone in her pocket.  No sense
throwing away a good phone, and she'd already wasted enough of Quinn's and Milo's
hard-earned money.  Somehow, she'd find a way to pay them back for the kindness
she'd taken for granted.

Now she was cursed with time, waiting for Quinn
to show.  Waiting for the trial that would begin in a few days.  Waiting until
she could start a new life.  A life she would cherish and not mess up.

*        *        *

Milo's handgun fit well in her hand.  Ariana
shot off several rounds, sending cans rocketing into the air, enjoying the way
the gun kicked as she fired.  Power.  She liked it, but she would not abuse it
like others in her family had.

She climbed the fence and reset the cans.  It
would be at least another hour before Quinn arrived, and she could not sit
around doing nothing.  Empty time generated anxious thoughts in her head. 
Thoughts about Milo.  Thoughts over what Quinn would say.  He might forgive her
even if Milo couldn't.  At least she hoped so.

She scaled the fence again, surprised to hear
an engine cruising down Milo's drive.  She glanced at her watch.  Was Quinn
early?  A thought popped into her brain, and her heart soared.  Maybe Milo had
come back to say goodbye.

She hurried around the side of the house, her
hopeful heart prepared to meet whoever it was. 

The violent sound of wood shattering stunned
her.  It sounded as though someone had kicked in the front door.  From her
stance, she could see a foreign black sedan parked in the drive.  Illinois
license plates caught her attention and nearly cut off her blood supply. 

Her father's men had found her.

The irony of her situation didn't escape her. 
She'd become the little boy who'd cried wolf.  Only she didn't intend to die.

If she ran down the road, they'd find her
before she ever made it to someone's house.  And then there was that
possibility she'd put her rescuers in danger.  She couldn't do that.

Especially not now.

Her best bet was to head to the river and hide
out there.  If they didn't see her leave, they might think she wasn't living
there any longer.  Without wasting another second, she dashed to the back
fence, adrenaline allowing her to hop right over it.  She'd call Quinn.  Not
Milo.  He might be closer, but she couldn't put him through the angst he'd
suffer from leaving her alone.

She made it several hundred yards when she
heard a holler from behind.  Whoever was after her had spotted her and hiding
was no longer an option.  She'd have to follow the advice Milo had given her weeks
ago and head south to Luke's house.

The sound of a gun exploded behind her, but she
didn't think the bullet had come close enough to reach her.  She glanced back,
spotting two men sprinting through the prairie grass, far enough away that she
doubted even Milo could hit her if he were behind the gun.

She pulled the phone from her pocket and hit
redial on Quinn's cell number.  The second she heard his voice on the line, her
words burst from her.  "They're here, Quinn.  Two men.  They have
guns."  Her voice came out rough and choppy from running.

"Shit.  Where are you?"

"Running.  Toward the river behind Milo's
house.  I have a good start.  I'll head south once I reach cover of the trees. 
Going toward Luke's house like Milo told me."

"Good girl.  I need to hang up to call for
back up, okay?  But I'll call you back."

"I have Milo's gun."  She was far
from safety, but hearing Quinn's voice helped.

"Don't stop to shoot unless it's
necessary.  Don't let them get close.  Just keep running, honey.  I'm not far away."

She hung up and pocketed the phone, needing to focus
on running.  She took another glance back.  The men seemed to be farther away
than before.

She had a chance.  And she had a weapon.  She
wasn't powerless like she'd been when she was sixteen.  If she got a good shot,
she could take down her assailants.

*        *        *

Milo spotted the black vehicle in his drive the
same moment his phone rang.  Quinn's name showed on the screen.  "Hey." 
If his friend could have been patient a second longer, he could talk to him in
person.

"Milo." 

It only took one word for Milo to recognize the
fear in his friend's voice.

"There's a situation at your house.  Ariana
is being chased by two armed men.  She has your gun.  She's headed toward the
river, and then to Luke's house.  I have aerial support on the way."

"Oh, Jesus.  I just pulled up."  He
shoved his truck in park and tucked the phone in his pocket.  The closest
weapon he had was the sniper rifle in his SUV.  He grabbed it, not bothering to
check his house for intruders and ran full out to the backyard and over the
fence.

If Milo couldn't reach her in time, he prayed Quinn
would.

There was no doubt.  He would not survive
Ariana's death.

*        *        *

Ariana's lungs burned like a wildfire in her
chest.  No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get enough air.  Focusing
had become a difficult chore.  She glanced behind her.  She couldn't see her
assailants, but she'd coursed up and down several small hills so it was
possible they were just out of sight.  The river lay not too far ahead, along
with trees that would provide some cover.  Once she reached the water, she'd
slow down.  She had to.  Then she'd head south, and maybe if the fates were on
her side, she could reach Luke's property before the gunmen caught up to her.

Excitement at reaching the sparkling river gave
her an extra squirt of adrenaline, and she raced toward the rushing water. 
Without hesitation, she stepped into the thigh-high stream, careful to avoid
the deep parts and to keep her phone and Milo's gun out of the water.  Thank
God she'd been outside shooting when the men had arrived.  It had given her
half a chance to survive if she could keep a clear head.  If she'd still been
asleep, she'd be dead for sure.

She made it to the other side with no problem. 
She had to pull herself out of the water using tree branches in order to make
it up the steep slope, but this side of the bank had more trees and bushes.  She
could only hope the men wouldn't think she'd crossed.

Her wet shoes mixed with the dirt as she
hurried across downed trees and rough terrain, slowing her progress.  But the less-frantic
pace allowed her to catch her breath a bit.  She pulled the phone from her
pocket, wondering why Quinn hadn't called her back yet.

She hit redial again, but the screen had gone
blank.  "No."  Panic raced through her as she pushed the power
button, hoping it had been turned off.  Low battery registered on the screen
before the phone shut down again.

She tossed the useless device aside, her head
pounding with fear and lack of oxygen.  She jogged along, jumping tree roots
and small rocks. Was it even possible to make it to Luke's?

She'd just about convinced herself she could,
when she misjudged the height of a root and tripped.  Tendons in her ankle
shrieked as she twisted and hit the ground.  What little air she had whooshed
out of her lungs on impact.  Swift and violent pain radiated from her ankle,
bringing tears to her eyes.

Desperation overtook her, knowing her running
had come to an end.  Ahead, lay a large rock that appeared to have tumbled and
crashed into a grouping of thin aspen trees at some point in the past.  She crawled
and dropped behind it, gasping for air.

A long minute passed before the dizziness in
her head cleared, and the pain started to ease.  Maybe the men would never find
her.  She'd gotten a good head start on them, and the area was quite vast. 
Plus, she'd have the police out looking for her soon.  She'd just need to hold
her ground until help arrived.  She wiped the dirty sweat from her brow.  It
wasn't the best possible situation to be in, but it wasn't impossible, either.

She tried to swallow, but her exertion had
dried the saliva in her mouth and left her wishing for a cold drink of water. 
She wiped her crusted mouth and scooted closer to the rock, peering over the
edge, using the trees for cover.

Nothing.  She sucked in another breath and let
it slide out.  The endorphins released when she'd twisted her ankle were
fading, leaving pain and swelling to build in her ankle.  She could try to
stand on it, but that would be foolish.  She was safe where she was for the
moment.  Even if she could stand, the best she could do would be to hobble.

A movement from the corner of her eye rocketed
her straight back into panic mode.  She could only see one of the men, but he
had crossed the river, too, and was headed in her direction.

She could no longer use her flight response, so
fight would have to do.  She scooted farther around the edge of the rock,
hiding herself as best she could from his view.  She slipped Milo's gun from
his holster.  There was no doubt in her mind, either she or the unknown man
jogging toward her would not see the end of the day.  She couldn't bear the
fact she wouldn't have a chance to apologize to Milo and thank him for
everything he'd done for her.

She had everything to live for, everything to
lose, and she refused to die.

She rested the gun against the rock to steady
her hand and waited.

Her pulse pounded in her head with each step
the man took.  He was close now.  Had to be several years younger than her, and
she was sure if he really looked he could spot her.  She held still, grateful
she had on a black shirt and not something eye-catching like red.

She narrowed him in her sights, aiming for his heart,
and squeezed the trigger.

A shot rang out in the distance, and Milo's
heart rolled with a nauseating thud.

Holy Mother of God.  No.

No shots without him present.  No shots until
he was close enough to protect Ariana.  Already, he swore he could feel her
life blood slipping away, and the thought tormented him.  He forced himself to
breathe and run like no other.  The river wasn't too far away.  He prayed she'd
found cover there.

*        *        *

Ariana waited with her gun trained on the spot
where her would-be attacker had stood.  She was pretty sure she'd hit him, but
she'd closed her eyes at the last second and now wasn't taking any chances.

More movement across the river drew her
attention.  A heavier-set man made his way along the edge of the water, his
weapon drawn, his gaze scanning the riverbank as he made his way north.  "Tony,"
he called out, and she was certain she recognized the voice.

Manny?  Her father had sent Manny to kill her? 
They'd played together as children, and now he would try to take her life. 
There really were no scruples in her father's world.  She slid down farther
from view.

"Tony," he called again.

"She's over here."

Her blood chilled at the sound of Tony's voice
coming from her side of the river.  She hadn't hit her target after all, and
now they both knew her location.

Manny wasn't quiet as he splashed his way
through the water and up the other side.  It appeared the additional pounds he
carried slowed his pace, but what difference did it make?  He had a gun, and he
was coming for her.

He stopped not far from where she'd shot her
first bullet and ducked to the ground.  She could hear their voices, but not
what they said.  Then Manny moved again.

"Come on, Ariana.  Give yourself up.  I'm
not going to hurt you.  Your father just wants to talk, a chance to convince
you to see his side."

She didn't answer.  The thought of killing
someone sickened her, but they left her with no choice.  She was sure Manny
knew her general location, but she wasn't going to pinpoint it for him.  She
slowly lifted her weapon and trained it in his direction.  He was good, keeping
to the trees, using them for cover.  But he couldn't stay hidden one hundred
percent of the time.

She aimed for a spot ahead of him where the
trees provided an opportunity and waited for him to step into it.  When he did,
she kept her eyes wide open and pulled the trigger.  A queasy sickness shot
through her as the bullet hit somewhere in his chest cavity, and he fell to the
ground not a hundred feet from where she lay hidden.