LITMIR.BIZ

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better position to return fire. “Who are you?”

      The man laughed. “And here I thought you were smarter than that. After all, we do share the same DNA.”

      She could only see the side of Cord’s face, but she saw a muscle flicker in his jaw. “So, you’re saying you’re the Moonlight Strangler? Because you can’t be. He’s in a coma.”

      “I’m not just saying it. I am the Moonlight Strangler.”

      “Right,” Cord grumbled under his breath. Karina had no trouble hearing his skepticism.

      “Though I gotta tell you, I never liked that name,” the man continued. “Moonlight Slasher would have been a whole lot better, don’t you think?”

      “Haven’t given it much thought. A killer’s a killer no matter what he’s called. But I’m not convinced you’re who you’re saying you are. Convince me,” Cord insisted.

      The guy laughed. “Boy, you got a smart mouth. I like that. It’s something we have in common.”

      “I have nothing in common with you,” Cord snapped.

      Karina figured that Cord didn’t want her to be part of this conversation. Correction: a part of this taunting. But this might be the only chance she got to ask the question she needed her attacker to answer.

      “Why do you want me dead?” Karina shouted to the man.

      That earned her a glare from Cord, and he motioned for her to get back down. She didn’t.

      “Tell me why!” Karina said in an even louder voice when the man didn’t answer.

      “You’re not gonna like the answer, sweetheart,” the man finally said.

      The sweetheart turned her stomach. He’d used that same syrupy tone when he’d been attacking her.

      Except he had used a different tone when he’d mumbled those handful of words that she hadn’t understood.

      “Besides,” the man went on, “talking time is over now. I figure Sheriff Jericho Crockett or his lawmen brothers are trying to sneak up on me right about now. Hope they don’t step on anything that’ll make ’em go ka-boom.” He laughed. “Oh, wait. I do hope that happens. Crockett blood spilled all over these woods. What a nice way to end the night.”

      Oh, mercy. “You have to warn Jericho,” she told Cord.

      Cord motioned for the ambulance driver to make another call. The man did, and he told whoever answered that there might be explosives not just in the ditches, but also in the woods. Hopefully, the lawmen would get the word in time.

      “Time’s up,” the man yelled. “Hate to sound all dramatic, but hand her over or else.”

      “She’s hurt,” Cord answered. “And I’m sure you know why since you’re the one who hurt her. She can’t walk.”

      “Liar. I didn’t do a damn thing to her legs.”

      “It’s her head,” Cord explained. “You hit her hard enough that you might have fractured her skull. That’s why she’s in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.”

      Silence.

      For a long time.

      So long that Karina got a really bad feeling. A feeling that went all the way to her bones. If she didn’t do something fast, he was either going to kill them all or get away.

      “Cord can carry me to you,” she told the man.

      As expected, that really didn’t go over very well with Cord. “Have you lost your mind?” he snarled.

      Possibly. She didn’t have a fractured skull, as Cord had told her attacker, but she was dizzy and in pain. Still, this might be their only shot at catching the man. After all, he’d have to come out of his hiding place to get to her.

      “He doesn’t want to shoot me,” she whispered to Cord. “If he did, he would have done that in the barn.”

      Cord’s eyes narrowed. “A bullet isn’t the only way to kill you.”

      She was well aware of it and touched her fingers to her neck to let him know that. “If you’re carrying me, he won’t shoot. And once you’re close enough to him, you can drop me and grab him.”

      Cord cursed. “There are about a dozen things that could go wrong with a stupid plan like that—including he could kill us both and then come after the paramedics to kill them, too. Is that what you want?”

      Karina didn’t get a chance to answer that because her attacker ducked out of sight behind the tree.

      “Too late,” the man shouted.

      “Get down!” Cord warned them, and he moved back to the gurney to cover her body with his.

      Not a second too soon.

      The blast tore through the ambulance, tossing it and shaking the ground beneath them.

      It was deafening.

      And then everything happened much too fast for Karina to process a lot of it. They were moving, tumbling. Crashing into things.

      Debris, flying everywhere.

      Somehow, Cord managed to keep hold of her, and since the gurney was anchored to the floor, he was toppled around with her. No way to brace herself, no way to do anything but wait for this nightmare to end and pray they stayed alive.

      There was the sound of metal screeching against the pavement, and the ambulance finally stopped with a jolting thud.

      What had happened now?

      And was everyone okay?

      The ambulance was a jumbled mess, and it took her a moment to realize it was on its side. That was likely where the impact had landed him.

      “He set off the explosives,” she said. Though Cord had obviously already figured that out.

      There was a cut on his forehead and some blood in his light brown hair. Heaven knew where else he was hurt, but at least he wasn’t moaning in pain like the bald paramedic crumpled next to them.

      “Are you all right?” Cord asked her.

      No. Not by a long shot. But Karina didn’t think she’d gotten any other injuries, probably because she’d been held in place on the gurney. And because of Cord.

      “I’m not hurt,” she responded. Maybe that was true, but everything inside her felt bruised and raw.

      Cord pulled the straps off her and eased her sideways off the gurney and onto the floor. “Help him,” Cord told her.

      That’s when she saw the angry gash on the bald paramedic’s head. Not a simple cut like the one on Cord’s, either. This one was deep, and he was losing a lot of blood.

      It was hard to find anything in the debris, so she used the cotton blanket that’d been covering her and pressed it to his wound. While she did that, Cord checked on the paramedic in the front seat. It didn’t help her nerves any when he pressed his fingers to the guy’s neck.

      “Is he dead?” she asked hesitantly.

      Cord shook his head. “Just unconscious.” He used the radio in the front to call for assistance. “Stay put,” he warned her.

      Despite the debris and clutter everywhere, Cord managed to make his way to the back of the ambulance. He had his gun ready when he tried the door handle. It took several pushes, but he finally got it open.

      Karina couldn’t see anything outside because Cord was blocking the way. He didn’t go outside. He stayed there, his gaze firing around and his head raised. Listening.

      She heard the moan coming from the front seat, and several moments later, the paramedic in the front lifted his head. “What the heck happened?” he grumbled.

      “An

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