Chapter 39

The girls were loud and furious and could be heard from the second level. “You picked a pair of demanding children,” Reed chuckled. A loud shot like the crack of a whip echoed through the mountain air and carried down to the deck. Both men broke into a run up the remaining platform. Outside furniture was upset on the first patio and the alarm began to screech as they ran. The sound of the large caliber shot reverberated and glanced off the cedar railing. Reed ducked and threw himself over Jim covering the smaller man with his body.

“What is that? Does someone have a gun? Reed, talk to me,” Jim wailed.

“Shush, baby, let me think.” A second shot hit the fleshy part of Reed’s arm. He gasped. “Baby, I’m going to stand up, you go for the bushes and make a run for it under the deck. Call 911, then Bear.”