Chapter Eight

Billie didn't hear just a single gunshot but rather a barrage of gunfire, and the bullets came right at Presley and her.

Some of the shots flew over their heads and some smacked into the boulders they were using for cover. If Presley and she hadn't already been flat on the ground, they would have been hit.

"Are you both okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, for now," Presley answered.

He had to practically shout for his voice to carry over the sound of the gunfire. And the shots still weren't stopping. The gunmen had to be using some kind of rapid-fire assault rifles.

"Good," Ruby responded. "Stay down and let these assholes keep shooting at you. Fire up in the air every now and then to make them believe you're shooting back."

Presley did just that. He lifted his gun to the sky, his gaze sweeping around, no doubt to make sure the drone wasn't there. And he fired.

"Keep their attention on the two of you," Ruby added. "Once I know the shooters' locations, I'll try to get Angel, Hayes, and Owen in place to take them out. Can you see the hostage?"

"Yeah," Presley repeated. "Victoria's on her knees in the creek. Tied, gagged, and blindfolded. If we return fire, she'll be caught right in the middle of this gunfight."

Which might have been the kidnappers' intentions all along. Especially if the kidnappers were working for one of Victoria's stepkids or Jesep.

Billie tried to get a visual on the shooters, but it was impossible for her to lean out from the boulder. The equipment she was wearing was bullet-resistant, but that didn't mean the shooters wouldn't get lucky.

There were at least two of them firing nonstop. Had to be because Billie could tell that the bullets were coming from two different angles. One was coming from the west, the direction where her boss would soon be if he wasn't there already. The other shots, from the northwest which meant it was close to the area Angel would be approaching.

"The drone is trying to locate the position of the shooters," Ruby let them know. "But they must be well hidden."

Billie could see that on the screen of Presley's phone. The only thing the drone was picking up was the heavy tree cover.

"Shit," Presley growled.

The alarm raced through Billie when she glanced over at him and saw that he was peering out from the boulder. And the gunman took advantage of that. A bullet skipped off the top of his helmet, causing them both to curse. If it'd been a direct hit, it could have caused a concussion.

"Victoria's fallen into the water," Presley blurted. "I can't tell if she's been hit or not, but depending on how her feet are tied, she might not be able to get up. She could drown."

Billie cursed, too, and then had her own look—a maneuver that earned her a bullet skim to the helmet as well. Victoria was indeed face down in the creek, and the current wasn't working in her favor.

The water was coming right at her.

Added to that, the kidnappers must have had her anchored in such a way that she couldn't get up. Her body was flailing around, and it was obvious she was in serious distress.

Billie fired a shot up into the air. And she cursed some more when she saw the drone still hadn't found the shooters.

"We have to rescue the hostage," Presley said a split second before Billie had been about to blurt out the same thing.

Ruby hesitated for only a moment. "Go in," she ordered.

Billie had faced gunfire before, but certainly nothing like this, and she had to hope her protective gear would keep her alive. Had to hope, too, that all of Presley's and her training would be enough to get to Victoria and save her. Billie didn't want Presley to have to watch his mother die.

"You go to your left," Presley told her. "I'll go to my right. We move fast and dive behind the nearest cover," he added, sparing her a glance. "Wash, rinse, repeat until the job is done."

That meant he'd need to get across the creek and onto the bank so he could then move closer to Victoria. It'd be too dangerous for him just to charge forward from here to her location. Added to that, trudging through water would be slow which would make him a very easy target. It was best for him to dart across here where the water was shallow and hurry behind cover.

It'd been the exact plan she had in mind, except with her taking on the more dangerous route of crossing the creek. Still, it made sense for Presley to do it because he was already on that side.

While this did feel like a potential suicide mission, they did have some things working in their favor. With Victoria down, there was a lesser chance of her being hit. And the other thing they had on their side was they weren't alone. Soon, Owen, Angel and Hayes would be able to join in the attack.

Dragging in a quick breath, Billie scrambled out from behind the boulder. It didn't surprise her when the gunfire came at her, several bullets whizzing way too close to her before she could drop down behind another rock.

She didn't stay there. Couldn't. She had to get closer so she could try to protect Presley once he reached Victoria.

Billie darted out again, and as expected, she drew more gunfire. She felt a shot skim over her neck guard, and even though the bullet didn't get through, it still packed a punch. She nearly fell before she could get behind a tree.

She glanced in Presley's direction and saw that he was going full steam ahead. He was already across the creek and onto the bank. And he wasn't stopping.

"Owen has visual on your shooter, Billie," she heard Ruby say. "Stay put for just a second while he takes him out."

Good. Billie was all for one less shooter, but she wished her boss had been able to eliminate the one firing at Presley. He was the one in the most danger now. Victoria, too, since she was still in the water. Billie could see that the woman was managing to lift her head up to get in some air, but the creek water just kept rushing at her, covering her face again and again.

She heard the sound of a different kind of gunfire. Not a barrage but two shots. Owen. He must have succeeded in killing the shooter because the shots stopped coming her way.

And that meant now she could help Presley.

She could do that by drawing his shooter's attention to her until Angel could get to him.

Billie darted out from cover, but she didn't sprint to the nearest tree. She let the shooter see her, and thankfully, it worked. The shots came. Man, did they. One skipped off the shoulder of her vest, but another smacked into her side.

The pain roared through her. The burning, the crushing pressure from the shot. Fighting for breath, Billie had to drop down, and she had one thought on her mind. That she hoped what she'd done had been enough to give Presley a fighting chance.

Staying on her back, she hurried to try to get the vest off her since the now lodged bullet was burning a hole in her. Normally, removing a vest would be an easy task, but there was nothing easy about this with the pain consuming her and with the air still not getting into her lungs.

Somehow, she managed to peel off the vest, and she immediately turned enough so she could try to see Presley. She couldn't. And she suspected he was behind one of the trees. The shooter was firing nonstop again.

Victoria was no longer flailing around. She was motionless, her face down in the water. That got Billie moving again. Not easily, but she readied herself to move out from cover so she'd be a target again.

Without the vest, she would almost certainly be killed.

But Billie was going for it anyway.

"Angel's in place to take out the second shooter," Ruby said through the earbud.

If Billie had had the breath to make a sound, she would have cheered instead, she dropped back onto the ground and waited. She didn't have to wait long. She heard the two shots. Kill shots.

And the gunfire stopped.

Ruby's voice cut through the silence that followed. "An ambulance is on the way. Is the hostage alive?"

Billie rolled over so she could see. And what she saw was Presley tearing out from behind a tree and rushing into the creek. He seemed to move at a speed much faster than humanly possible, and the moment he reached Victoria, he yanked her out of the water and into his arms.

"She's not breathing," Presley called out.

Billie forced herself to move, and she managed to get to her feet. She staggered her way toward Presley as she watched him put a limp, lifeless Victoria on the bank of the creek. He didn't waste a second starting cutting the duct tape from her hands so he could get her on her back and start CPR.

Angel seemed to come out of nowhere. Owen, too, and they both raced toward Presley and Victoria. Billie did the same, though she wasn't moving anywhere as fast as they were. She kept watch around them, just in case there was a third shooter who was waiting to gun them all down now that they were out in the open.

But no shots came.

Just the frantic sounds that came with the CPR. Owen did the chest compression while Presley breathed air into Victoria's mouth.

The seconds crawled by. An eternity. And the sickening dread went through Billie as she was starting to believe they had failed. That this had all been for nothing. That another woman had died on Presley's and her watch.

Billie said a whole lot of prayers as she staggered her way through the creek. She had just made it to the others when she heard a sound. Not gunfire this time. But a welcome sound.

Victoria gasped for air and started to cough.

Alive .