Shadow of Sin(5)

“No.”

“Too bad.” His gut was screaming by the time they reached his truck. He glanced around the lot one more time as he clicked the remote to unlock the doors.

A loud noise shot out, resonating through the air. Fire singed across Caleb’s arm a split second before the passenger side window exploded. Caleb jerked, pulled Samantha against him, and spun them to the ground. He covered her body with his, protecting her head with his hands. He pressed her cheek against the dirt as two more rounds were fired, slamming into the side of his truck.

Caleb put his mouth to Samantha’s ear. “Listen to me. When I move, I want you to get your ass under the truck and stay there. Do you hear me, Samantha? Stay under the truck.”

“W-what are you going to do?”

“I’m gonna find the fucker who’s shooting at us, that’s what I’m going to do.” His hand went to his belt and he cursed. His weapon was in the truck.

“No, Caleb. Please. Let’s just go.”

The fear in Samantha’s voice made his chest tighten. She was fearless. The kind of woman who could tame a bar full of muscle-bound bikers in the blink of an eye, or take out their balls even faster. She’d never been afraid of anything.

“Crawl under the truck, Samantha. Now.” Caleb shifted, pushing at her as she dug her hands into the dirt and pulled herself out of sight, her red cowgirl boots the last thing he saw before she disappeared.

Dawn would break in a few hours, but that didn’t help him now. He couldn’t see shit beyond the road, but at least he knew the direction the shots had come from. If he could get around to the other side, he’d pull Samantha up and get her in the truck and they could get the hell out of here. Once she was safe, he’d hunt the shooter down and make whomever it was sorry they’d been born.

Making his way to the driver’s side of his truck, Caleb kept his head low and his eyes peeled. “Samantha? I want you to take my hand. I’m going to pull you up and I want you to get into the truck as fast as you can. I want you to stay low, on the floorboard. Keep your head down. You got it?”

Her voice was quiet. “Yes.”

Her hand closed around his. “Ready? Now!”

Caleb pulled her out from under the truck and threw open the door.

“Go, go, go,” he chanted, pushing her into the truck and climbing in behind her. Samantha crawled across the seat and moved to curl up on the floor, her head against the seat. Caleb didn’t waste any time. He threw the truck into gear and slammed on the accelerator, turning the wheel hard to the left to avoid hitting the other cars in the lot.

The back window exploded in a shower of tiny chips of glass. “Goddammit!” Caleb ducked and spun them onto the road leading to the highway.

Adrenaline surged through his system, pumping in his ears as he fought to gain control. He kept the lights off, randomly making turns and driving like a bat out of hell. He knew this area like the back of his hand, so he didn’t worry about the lights or getting lost.

Once he was sure they weren’t being followed, Caleb turned his attention to his passenger. The woman had been uncharacteristically quiet and he wondered if he should be worried. He never knew what to expect from her, and it kept him off balance. On edge.

“It’s okay for you to sit up in the seat now, Samantha.” His voice shook with the anger that still raged through him. He pushed a button on the steering wheel. “Alec,” he barked.

His call connected and Alec answered on the first ring.

“You get Sam home okay?” Alec said in way of greeting.

Caleb glanced at Samantha as she eased up into the seat. She moved slowly, carefully, as she reached over her shoulder for the seatbelt. No doubt she’d bear bruises tomorrow from the way he’d tossed her to the ground. He frowned, the thought of her smooth skin being marred affecting him more than he’d like to admit.

“I want to know where Vincent Matteo is, and I want to know right fucking now, Alec.”

“Did something happen? I told you, Caleb, he’s laying low. Off the radar.”

“He may be laying low, but the assholes who work for him aren’t.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Someone just took shots at us!” he roared.

“What? Are you okay? Jesus, Caleb. What the hell happened?”

“Where are we going?” Samantha’s voice broke into the conversation.

Ignoring her question, Caleb continued. “We were leaving the bar. First shot grazed my arm before taking out the passenger’s side window. Two more rounds into the side of the truck. Shooter went quiet for a minute, affording me the time to get Samantha in the truck. Last shot took out the back window as we were pulling out.”