Patrick flung open the door and sprinted into the back yard, his weapon high.
Laney charged out the door behind him, drawing up next to him. She kept pace with him, praying they could make it to cover before there exit was noticed.
A man appeared over the top of the hill. Well, that prayer didn’t get answered. She raised her gun. Before she could take the shot, the retort of Yoni’s high-powered rifle echoed through the space. The man dropped to the ground and was still.
Another two men appeared from different sides of the yard and Yoni took them down as well. Laney sprinted for the top of the hill. She glanced over at her uncle. His expression focused, his eyes scanned the area for any threat. For the first time in her life, she saw her uncle as the Marine he once was.
They flew over the crest of the hill together, their guns raised. No one was in sight.
The land sloped down towards the woods with a two-hundred-yard clearing. Laney could hear the retort of Yoni’s machine gun as he switched his attention to the front of the house.
They sprinted down the incline. A man appeared from the woods to their right. Patrick fired off two shots, hitting the man in the chest.
Another man appeared to the left. Laney pulled the trigger three times. He disappeared from view. She wasn’t sure, though, if she’d gotten him. Her aim was off. Note to self: If I get out of this, practice running and shooting.
Dirt spit up from the ground next to her. Laney looked over her shoulder and saw two men bearing down on them. Spying an outcropping of rocks ahead and to the right, she yelled, “Head for the rocks.”
Laney dove over the barrier and quickly rolled out of the way as Patrick crashed down next to her. Gunfire raked the rocks surrounding them.
“Shooters are to our right,” Patrick said, his breathing ragged.
Laney nodded her agreement, fear choking off her words.
“Okay, on the count of three," Patrick told her.
Laney put a new clip in her Beretta and nodded again.
“1, 2, 3.”
She popped up with Patrick. Using the rocks as cover, she took aim at three men approaching them from the right. She dropped one, but felt the sting as rock shrapnel hit her from a shot coming from behind them.
“Got it!” she yelled.
She swung around and took aim at another two gunmen who were trying to sneak up behind them. She took down one. The other man took cover behind some trees. He only showed himself as he moved from tree to tree. Panic coursed through her. She couldn’t get a bead on him.
She dropped the Beretta and grabbed the M4. She was much more accurate with it. Her hands began to shake as fear forced adrenaline through her system.
Stop it. Calm down. You know where he’s going. Just shoot where he’s going.
The next time he showed himself, she aimed for the next tree and just before he entered her cross hairs, she pulled the trigger. She saw a flash of blood as the bullet punched through his neck. She grimaced as blood poured from the wound, but a small part of her cheered.
A shadow fell across her and her gaze jerked upwards, followed by her gun. A man had crawled up while they’d been distracted by the attackers from each side. She knew she wasn’t going to get him in time.
“Laney!” Patrick dove in front of her, while firing at the gunman.
The gunman toppled as Patrick’s bullet found its mark, causing the gunman’s shot to go wild. Patrick’s head crashed into a rock as he fell to the ground. Laney quickly swiveled three hundred and sixty degrees. She didn’t see any more attackers.
She reached down to her uncle. He was out and blood was streaming from the wound in the side of his head. She checked for a pulse. It was beating steadily. “Thank God.”
Laney could hear Yoni continuing to hold them off from the house. That was good, but it also meant he wouldn’t be able to help them any time soon.
She pressed her sweater to her uncle’s head, trying to staunch the flow. The blood slowed, but didn’t stop. And he wasn’t stirring. She was pretty sure he was going to be out for a while.
Her eyes darted around, looking for somewhere to hide him. Nothing close. She wouldn’t be able to carry him to safety. They’d catch them both for sure. Her only hope was to lead the attackers away from him.
Grabbing some of the straw grass that blanketed the area, she spread it over him. Then she positioned some loose rocks around him, placing a few light ones on top of him. It wouldn’t fool anyone who looked too close, but from a distance he would look like he was just part of the landscape.
She reloaded her M4 and looped the strap over her, pulling out her handgun. Discarding the clip, she slammed in a new one. She sat back on her heels, preparing to run.
“I love you, Uncle,” she whispered.