Page 32 of Shadow of Death
Amy glanced at Hunter, giving him a wince and a nod. Yes, she wanted to stay with the young woman.
“Come on, come on, we’re going to get you to safety,” Amy said gently. “Magda, we’re going to get you to a hospital. And this is Special Agent—”
“Toby. Toby Driscoll,” the man said.
“Thank you,” the young woman murmured. “I can’t stop shaking. I...”
She looked as if she were going to fall. Amy caught her and the girl leaned on her.
Driscoll looked at Amy, arching a brow to make his words as much a question as they were a statement. “I’ll take point?”
“And two of us will take the offshoots of the straight trail down,” Crandon said, nodding to Hunter. “The rest of you, fan out, down the trail, back into the brush! Special Agent Forrest?”
“Into the brush,” Hunter said.
They all moved. The victim’s safety had, of course, been the first order of business. Now they needed to move.
Amy supported Magda Kenward. Driscoll was in front of her. The man was wearing a bulletproof vest. Hunter noted Driscoll took up the position of scout and protector in good form.
As they walked away, Amy suddenly turned back.
“Hunter!”
“Yeah?”
“There was one kid, maybe more, in the group! I saw a boy of about ten.”
He nodded to her. “Gotcha!” he said quietly, turning to look at Crandon and the others.
They all nodded. It was good to know. They wouldn’t be surprised by a child in the line of fire, and they wouldn’t want to risk the life of a child—especially if a parent used that child as a shield. Being forewarned was being forearmed.
Even if the parents had armed the child.
Amy nodded and headed away with Driscoll and the young woman who had been intended as a sacrifice. Hunter nodded to Crandon who spoke to his team. “We move! Stay on earphones and mics and—Agent Forrest! Set up with us, I’ve got an extra set—”
“That’s great. Thank you. Communication may be the key here,” Hunter said, gratefully accepting the tiny mic and earphones that could keep him in contact with the others. Then he nodded to Crandon and started down the trail that led down the cliffs to the opposite side.
They had returned gunfire, but ineffectually. Hunter believed some members of the “flock” were armed, but not necessarily well trained.
Someone out there was, however. Someone had thought to take the body of their leader. Someone who had an agenda.
He moved carefully, staying within the trees. And while he was sure Amy had hit and killed a man, he thought there had to be someone else in charge of the “flock” since they had been savvy enough to pick up the body and see it wasn’t left at the scene.
The moon was amazing tonight, casting down a light that was generous yet soft, allowing for both illumination and shadow. The spruce trees that so richly carpeted the hills and cliffs in the area seemed to glow with a soft emerald sheen.
Colorado was truly beautiful. It offered crystal waters, rushing brooks, the richness of the trees, the sweet scent of the earth. It was pristine here; by day, it was a hiker’s paradise.
And yet now...
He heard a shuffle in the trees ahead and held himself dead still as he listened.
The shuffle came again.
And then whispering. Muffled.
Then words he heard clearly.
“I’m scared!”
