The entire car seemed to vibrate from the impact. Metal creaked and groaned.
She opened her eyes.
Joseph put his hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
She wondered if she was as pale as Joseph. Her body felt like it was being shaken from the inside out.
She cleared her throat, trying to answer, but managed only a nod.
“Stay put.” He pushed open his door.
She stared through the windshield, which was 90 percent hay bale with only a sliver of blue sky visible. Her hands trembled, and her stomach felt like it had sustained a blow.
Joseph opened her door. He reached across her and unclicked her seat belt. Gently, he took her arm and lifted her up. She collapsed against his chest.
The run through the night, the worry over what was going on with Trevor and the accident had taken its toll on her. She thought of herself as a strong woman, but this was all too much. Joseph must have seen it in her expression. He held her for a long moment. She rested her head against his chest, squeezing her eyes tight to keep from crying. Her face brushed against the soft fabric of his cotton shirt. Finally, she stopped shaking and could take in a deep breath.
She stepped away from the warmth of his embrace, embarrassed that she had fallen apart. “Sorry, I’m just not used to all this.” She pulled a strand of hair off her face and touched her fingers to her lips.
“I’m impressed with how well you held it together.” He squeezed her arm just above the elbow and offered her a faint smile.
She appreciated his effort at calming her, but she was having a hard time accepting what had just happened. “You don’t think those brakes just stopped working because of wear and tear.”
He shook his head. “The car is too bent for me to check the brake line, even if it wasn’t stuck in a hay bale.” He looked back at the car. “We won’t know until we have it looked at, but my guess is we were set up.”
His conclusion sent a fresh wave of fear through her and made her wonder again about Trevor’s innocence.
Joseph opened his door and pulled out his phone. “Might as well get a tow truck out here.”
Neither of them spoke for several minutes. This was her new reality. Being hunted and sabotaged.
“These guys play for keeps.” Her voice held a note of terror. “What do I do now? Go to the police?”
“Not the local cops. We think one of them might be connected to the drug trade.”
Not sure how to respond, Sierra let that news sink in. She knew most of the city police. Some of them she had gone to high school with. “What makes you say that?”
“I’m not the first undercover guy to come to this area. In the past, anytime we involved the locals, the investigation fell apart. I know this kind of relentless violence must be hard for you.” Joseph stopped. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and then stared at his phone. “Let me make this call so we can get back to town.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and paced while Joseph made the call. As he talked, giving the tow truck driver their location, she could feel a sense of resolve growing inside her even as she battled with her own fear. She held an important piece to a puzzle and could give kids, the kids she worked with, a fighting chance at a decent life.
Joseph finished the call. “I want to help you as much as I can to put this guy away,” Sierra said.
He locked her in his gaze. “You would put yourself at risk like that?”
“Yes. Years ago someone did that for me.” She took in a breath. “A teacher who cared about me saved me from the druggie house I was staying at.” Sharing this information about her past was always scary. “I need to pay it forward. I’ve seen what drugs do to the soul. If I can help even one kid, I have to do it.”
A look of admiration spread across his face. “Well then, I guess you better hang close to me until we can figure out who that guy you saw in the forest was. If he has been arrested before, he’ll be in our database.”
There was no judgment in his demeanor, only acceptance. She felt closer to him in that moment, knowing that she had shared the most shameful thing about herself and he had not rejected her. “I know another dealer might take his place, but every one of those guys who gets put away means my kids are helped.”
She stared out at the landscape and then out on the road. They had gone miles out of town. The tow truck driver wouldn’t be here for at least twenty minutes. Though there were fields and cows, the farmhouse they belonged to could be miles from where they were. This area was pretty far from civilization.
Joseph glanced over his shoulder. His posture stiffened, sending a new wave of fear through her. He whirled around to face her, concern etched in his facial features.
Suddenly he tackled her. She fell to the ground just as the zing of a rifle shot filled the air.
Once he knew Sierra was out of the line of fire, he rolled free of her and crawled back toward the nearest hay bale. Hardly the best cover, but it was what they had to work with. A second shot shattered the silence around them. Still crouching low, he stumbled to his feet and darted toward the next hay bale with Sierra on his heels.
He grabbed Sierra’s hand and pulled her to the far side of the bale.
Sierra spoke between breaths. “Where did that come from?”
“Truck at the top of the hill.” The straw of the bale felt itchy against his back.
“They must have been behind us. When they saw we survived the car sabotage, they decided to finish the job.” She put her palm on her chest.
“We can’t wait for the tow truck driver. We’ll have to head cross-country. Stay off the road.” He looked directly at her. “Ready to make a run for the next hay bale?”
They darted from one hay bale to the next. Joseph looked over his shoulder. The truck had made its way down the hill and was headed toward the field. They couldn’t outrun a truck.
“You keep going. I’ll let him get close enough. See if I can take out his tires with my pistol.” He pulled his gun from the shoulder holster.
She nodded and took off running. He watched her dive behind a hay bale before turning his attention back to the oncoming truck. He could see only one person behind the wheel, no passenger.
He crouched low and pressed against the hay bale. A handgun had decent accuracy at short distances. His heart pounded against his rib cage. The truck loomed closer. The roar of the motor seemed to surround him. He jumped up and took aim, hitting the front tire closest to him and then rolling free of the trajectory of the truck.
The truck stuttered but continued to roll forward. The driver turned his wheel and aimed right for him. Joseph stood and took a second shot at the other front tire. The bullet zinged off metal. He’d missed. Then he aimed a third shot through the windshield, not to kill but to disorient.
The truck came to a stop as the driver picked up his rifle and pointed through the shattered windshield.
Joseph dropped to the ground and rolled toward a rusty metal trough. Once he had some cover, he lifted his head and lined up a shot to go through the other front tire. He pulled the trigger, then burst to his feet, not taking time to see if he’d hit his target.
His legs pumped as the fear of death energized him. He sprinted toward the next hay bale. A rifle shot zinged through the air, but it was aimed toward Sierra, who was running for the cover of a cluster of trees. He breathed in a quick wordless prayer for her safety.
Joseph dove behind a hay bale and pressed his back against it. He peered around to see the shooter stalking toward him. The man wore a different colored baseball