Loving Baby. Tyler Anne Snell

truck accelerating threw Suzy even more off balance. She slid down. More ripping sounds let her know Mara’s dress was tearing again. It sure wasn’t made for the field.

      A familiar bang cut through the night. One of the men stood defiantly in the backyard with his gun out, but his face, as well as his aim, was becoming obscured by the distance and night. It was easy to hit a house. Not so much a moving target.

      Which told Suzy these men might be familiar with guns, but they weren’t pros.

      “You okay?” James called. He didn’t let up on the gas pedal as he took a left, putting them back on the road. Suzy was flung to the side.

      “If they don’t kill me, your driving might!”

      Through the chaos that had turned into Suzy’s evening, she heard James Callahan howl in laughter. Despite everything, it made her smile.

      But it didn’t last long. A pair of headlights raced onto the road behind them.

      “They’re following us!” she yelled.

      “Might be time to get in here, then!”

      Suzy eyed the window opening and did some quick math. She was a slim woman, thanks to the job and the need to stay in shape that came with it, but her part-Hispanic heritage had graced her with hips on the wide size, just like her mother. The pickup wasn’t old, but it wasn’t brand-spanking-new, either. Its window wasn’t made for a grown woman to slide through and into the cab. Actually, it was a surprise the millionaire was driving this dinky truck rather than some sports car or hopped-up truck with a lift kit.

      “I don’t think I can fit,” she said. “The window is too small.”

      James didn’t turn his attention away from the windshield. The headlights were bouncing in front of them as the tires ran across the same holes that had prompted James to hold her down earlier.

      “Simmons, you just jumped out of an attic vent and into a truck. You can manage this window!”

      Suzy glanced over her shoulder at the approaching vehicle. It was too close. If she got stuck, then she’d be one easy target.

      “There’s no time!”

      She pulled out her phone. She should have called the department when they were in the attic, but she hadn’t wanted to give their hiding spot away.

      “Here!”

      Suzy turned in time to see James passing her a present.

      It was a gun.

      A loaded gun.

      “You know the saying ‘it’s like shooting fish in a barrel’?” he asked.

      “Yeah?”

      James turned to give her a quick look. He was smirking.

      And, boy, she couldn’t stop the thought that it made him look delicious from crossing her mind.

      “You’re the fish in this scenario,” he said. “So make sure you don’t let them get near the barrel!”