Page 138 of Rangers Last Promise

I look through the rear window.

Sheriff Tate’s SUV crests the rise behind us.

Mara is in the passenger seat.

Even from this distance, I recognize her.

Hampton glances at me.

“You smiled.”

“No, I didn't.”

“You did.”

“Drive.”

“I've known you eighteen years and that's the first time I've seen you smile.”

“You haven't seen me in fifteen years.”

“Still counts.”

A bullet strikes the dirt several yards from the truck.

Hampton ducks.

“What the hell?”

I look back.

Wolf's truck has joined the chase.

Trigger leans out the passenger window.

I close my eyes.

“Idiots.”

“Your friends are shooting at us.”

“Warning shot.”

“How do you know?”

“Because if Trigger wanted to hit you, we'd be having a different conversation.”

Another round strikes the ground on Hampton's side.

He grips the wheel tighter.

“I liked him better unconscious.”

Despite myself, I almost laugh.

Then I remember Parker bleeding on the tavern floor.

My humor disappears.