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“You might as well stop hiding,” Alexander said. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
Darren stopped himself from pointing out they were standing in plain sight. With Andrew out of the picture, there was at least a little hope they could survive these twisted bastards. He took a small step back. The farther he could get them away from these jerks, the better chance all three of them had at getting out of this alive.
What he needed right now was a miracle. If he could get them close enough to the trees and distract them, Reese could run with Tandra.
“I told you to get your hands up,” Alexander said, his voice filled with rage.
Darren complied. There wasn’t anything to hide, anyway, now that Reese had the gun and cell phone. She also had the keys. Could Darren draw the men away from the ladies?
“Don’t do it,” Reese said so quietly that he almost didn’t hear her. “Don’t risk it. We’ll figure something out.”
“Now, send us the bitches and no one will get hurt,” Alexander demanded. “It’s just like Mama said. The only woman we can trust is her. The rest are evil just like Me-ma. Me-ma used to torture Mama. Now, all Mama was trying to do was find ones for us and teach them how to be good girls. She said we have to start young before they become too worldly.”
One on one, Darren had no doubt he could take these men down despite their hefty size if they didn’t have weapons. But as it was, one wrong move and one of the ladies behind him could end up paying the price.
“Hold on,” Darren hedged, trying to stall for time.
“Time’s up,” Alexander said, weapon aimed at the center of Darren’s chest while the man walked right toward him.
“Go,” Darren said out of the corner of his mouth.
A second before Reese and Tandra could react, the buzz of a small airplane or helicopter came roaring up. The drone. It was the drone. That must mean Buster was alive. His condition was unknown, but he must still be breathing, conscious, and reasonably coherent.
The drone attacked Alexander, who waved his right arm around to stop it from smacking him in the face. Aiden’s gaze was fixed on his brother, his mouth agape.
Darren didn’t waste the chance to bolt into the tree line with Reese and Tandra. He stopped as soon as they reached cover, took the gun from Reese, aimed and fired. A look of shock stamped Aiden’s features. It took a second for him to realize he’d been hit in the calf. He squatted down to one knee and used his hand to stop the blood squirting from his wound, dropping his weapon in the process.
If only Darren was closer, he would take the bastard’s gun.
The drone was bouncing around, just out of reach for Alexander. Darren took aim and shot, hitting Alexander in the shoulder. He dropped his gun as he shrieked in pain.
“Freeze and I’ll let you live,” Darren shouted from the trees.
Aiden put up his hands in the surrender position. Alexander came gunning toward the trees. Darren had no choice but to shoot. This time, he hit his thigh, bringing him down.
A sound coming from behind said Darren’s luck might have just run out.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A deep growl came from behind Reese. She spun around and tucked Tandra behind her. Whatever came out of those trees would have to get through her first.
Darren handed her the gun one more time. “Shoot if you need to but know what or who you’re shooting before you fire.”
He was gone before she could tell him she had no idea how to handle a gun.Point and shoot.She’d played video games with her brothers when she was a kid. This must be close to the same thing. Right?
Not thirty seconds later, a figure emerged. Her finger hovered over the trigger mechanism. But then she froze.
“Buster,” Reese said as he stumbled out from behind a tree. And then he collapsed. “Darren, it’s him. He’s alive.”
With Tandra clinging to her, she ran toward him. A siren sounded in the distance, the welcome shrieks filling the air. This would also alert Mr. and Mrs. Archer, but Reese couldn’t care about that right now. She needed to get Buster off the Archer property.
Reese dropped to her knees, not caring that she was stabbed by scrub brush in the process. Tandra stayed right beside Reese but let go of her neck, which was helpful. “Buster.”
He didn’t look as though he was breathing, so she unbuttoned the top couple of buttons on his shirt. His eyes were closed and his breathing shallow. She checked for a pulse and got one, but it was faint.
“What do I do?” Reese asked, searching her brain for something that could wake him up.
“Move over...” It was Tandra’s tiny voice. “We learned CPR in school. Let me try something.”
