Page 20 of Twilight Tactics

A horse broke through the dense vegetation. Belle’s hooves thundered on the ground. Harley reared and his hoof barelymissed her head. Only because her would-be kidnapper jerked her hard. Off-balance, she stumbled after him and crashed into his back. He whipped around and secured her hands behind her, then shoved her forward. “Go. Or my partner will shoot him.”

Partner? She registered the order and allowed him to pull her over the fence, then push her toward a waiting truck. His grip slackened a fraction in preparation to open the vehicle door.

“Federal agent! I said stop!” Sully’s voice rang out once more.

“Sully, down!” From the corner of her eye, she saw him jump from the horse and hit the ground while she twisted her right wrist out of her captor’s grasp, spun, and aimed the edge of her palm at his throat. He pivoted out of reach but left his midsection open. She got in a swift kick to his ribs that doubled him over.

Still bent at the waist, he took off, rounded the front of the truck, jumped into the driver’s seat, and roared down the road.

Footsteps and hooves sounded, and then Sully had his hands on her arms. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.” At least she thought she was. She took inventory. Her thigh ached, ankle throbbed, but overall she was still in one piece.

“Why’d you tell me to duck?” he asked.

“He said he had a partner waiting to shoot you.”

He glanced around. “I don’t see anyone. And I never saw anyone with him. No one shot at me, so that’s a good sign.”

“Definitely. I’m very grateful for that.” So grateful. “I thought he was lying, so I called his bluff.”

“How’d you know I’d duck?”

She raised a brow at him. “You’re trained.”

“Good point.”

She walked to the area of the fence that had been cut, not far from the northern gate. “He was here waiting.”

“For who?”

She shrugged. “The first person who came along? I don’t know.”

“That wasn’t the person I chased earlier.”

“No, this was a man. Definitely not a woman.”

He frowned. “He had on the same kind of hat, though. A tactical hat.”

Elena blew out a breath. “I noticed that too.”

“So, they’re possibly working together?”

“Maybe.”

He shook his head. “But why grab you? He could have stayed hidden and waited for us to move on.”

“Who knows?” She wasn’t sure, but she had some suspicions. It would take some investigating to figure it all out.

“Did you see his face?” Sully asked.

“No. Not with the hat and sunglasses. Stupid hat didn’t even come off in the fight. I couldn’t pick him out in a lineup, I don’t think.” She paused. “And I don’t remember any identifying features. Like a tattoo or whatever. Honestly, everything is kind of a blur.”

“Understandable. All right, well, we know there are at least two people who’ve been on this property who aren’t supposed to be.”

“Yes. We do know that.”

“What are you doing out here anyway?” he asked.