so she could try to see what had caused his reaction.
She saw the blurry figure, cloaked in the rain and carrying a rifle. But the person was no longer shooting at them but rather making a beeline for the ranch house.
Where Kirby was.
Oh, mercy.
Kirby was much too weak to fight off an attacker. Yes, Harlan was there as well, but the shooter might fire into the house before Harlan even realized what was happening.
Dallas dug his heels into the mud so he could get to his feet, but he remained in a crouching position. He fired at the figure. The blast jolted through her, making her nerves even more raw than they already were.
However, whoever it was must have been expecting Dallas to shoot because the person ducked out of sight behind one of the trees.
“I have to go to the house,” Dallas whispered. “And I have to take you with me.” It was definitely an apology.
One that she didn’t need.
Because Joelle was already getting to her feet, too. Whoever this shooter was, she couldn’t let Kirby become the target of an attack.
Dallas grabbed her wrist with his left hand and started leading her up the side of the road. The mud was so thick that her shoe got stuck in it, and she finally just stepped out of the heels and left them behind.
The rain spat at them, almost blinding them at times, and it didn’t help that it was still practically pitch-black. The farther they moved from the truck headlights, the worse it got.
Ahead, she could see the spot where the shooter had disappeared, but she saw no movement to indicate he or she was still there.
He. Or. She.
She mentally repeated that. Because in the darkness, it had been impossible for her to tell if the shooter was male or female. It could be Lindsey or Sarah. Of course, it could also be Owen or Rudy. Whoever it was, the person clearly meant to do them or someone in the house harm.
She and Dallas seemed to be running at a snail’s pace, mostly because of her. Joelle just couldn’t keep up, and with every step she took, she landed in a deeper and deeper bog. It didn’t help that the mud was now caked on her feet and legs because that only slowed her down more.
She caught another glimpse of movement. The person came out from cover for just a second before ducking back behind another tree. Definitely moving toward the ranch house.
But what did he or she want?
If it was one of their suspects, none of them had a beef with Kirby or Harlan. Well, not that Joelle knew of, anyway. Unless...
“Owen could try to hurt Kirby to get back at us,” she blurted.
She hadn’t meant to say that aloud, but it was clear from Dallas’s reaction that he’d already considered it. Probably because Owen hadn’t hesitated to hurt Dallas with the baby’s birth certificate.
Dallas kept them moving, but so did the person ahead of them. Joelle figured they could catch up with this shooter, but they were nearing the point where catching up wouldn’t help if the person fired that rifle into the house.
Behind them, she saw the slash of lights, and for a moment, Joelle thought the lightning had returned. But this light wasn’t coming from the sky but rather the road, and it was the headlights of a vehicle. She prayed it was one of Dallas’s brothers, but she was scared to the bone that it was help coming for the person who’d shot at them. After all, their attacker had hired those gunmen in the woods and could have called them back in to finish the job.
“Keep watch behind us,” Dallas told her.
She did, allowing him to lead her along the edge of the road. “Can you still see the person with the rifle?”
“Yeah.” And since that was all Dallas said, she figured that meant the person was still heading for the house.
Joelle pinned her attention to the headlights, watching them bounce over the watery road. She was breathing through her mouth now, waiting, and she saw the vehicle when it turned onto the road that would soon—very soon—take them to where Dallas had left his truck.
The lights slashed right in her eyes, blinding her, and Dallas yanked her out of the way. He pulled her into some shrubs that fronted a few massive oaks. The oaks were too far away to use for cover, but maybe the shrubs would protect them enough