Free Savior in the Saddle by Delores Fossen

Shore wouldn’t have time to make it to the front of the garage entrance so he could shoot at them head-on.
    As soon as Brandon had clearance to get out of the garage, he jammed his foot on the accelerator, and the car bolted out into the darkness.
    The shot came almost immediately and shattered the back windshield.
    “Stay down!” he reminded Willa, though he knew that might not be enough. Bullets could go through seats as easily as they could through glass.
    The sound of the second shot drowned out his repeated warning for her to stay down. The bullet tore through what was left of the safety glass, and the shooter quickly followed it up with a third and fourth shot. But that wasn’t all. Behind them, there was an explosion, and both the house and the garage burst into fireballs.
    Brandon didn’t dare risk looking at Willa to make sure she was okay because he had to focus on getting them away from the shooter.
    He headed for the road and glanced in the side mirror to see if the gunman was in pursuit. It was impossible to tell, but it was obvious the guy was still in shooting range because yet another bullet tore through the side of the car. Thank God the shots missed the tires or their chances of escape would drop significantly.
    The shots stopped, and Brandon continued to tear his way down the country road. He had to slow down to take a sharp curve, but as soon as he could, he sped up again.
    He saw the headlights then.
    They flared on behind them, and even though Brandon couldn’t see their attacker, he figured the guy had hidden his vehicle nearby. He’d probably killed the car lights so that they wouldn’t be alerted. The plan might have worked, too, if Brandon hadn’t suspected there might be an attack and set up those security cameras.
    Beside him, he could hear Willa’s heavy breathing, and from the corner of his eye, he could see that she had her hands splayed protectively over her belly.
    “He’s following us, isn’t he?” she asked. Her voice was raspy and thick.
    Brandon glanced in the side mirror and saw the headlights. The guy was definitely in pursuit. “Yeah,” he confirmed. “Hang on.”
    He took the next turn faster than he should have, and Brandon fought with the steering wheel to keep his vehicle on the road. He hated putting Willa through this, but there was no other choice. With Willa in the car, he couldn’t risk stopping to have a showdown with this SOB. Later though, he hoped he got the chance to beat this guy to dust.
    The anger roared through Brandon, and he could feel the dangerous energy course in his blood. With it, came the flashbacks. Like the nightmares, they were always there, ready to rear their ugly heads. He pinned his attention to the road, to the curves, and forced the old demons to remain at bay.
    “Where are we going?” she asked. She levered herself up just a fraction to check her side mirror, but Brandon caught onto her shoulder and shoved her back down.
    “Once we get to the highway, I’ll drive toward San Antonio. Maybe I can lose him on the interstate and if not, maybe the traffic will get him to back off.”
    Both possibilities were long shots, but they were the only shots that Brandon had.
    “Should I call 9-1-1?” Willa asked. But she hadn’t said it eagerly, more as a last resort.
    It was a last resort they couldn’t risk.
    “No,” he answered. He could have sworn he heard her sigh with relief.
    He took another curve, then another, but the vehicle stayed behind them. Too close. And worse, it was gaining. The only good thing about their situation was that the driver wouldn’t be able to fire at them while trying to maintain the speed. Still, that didn’t mean they were safe.
    Brandon reached a straight stretch of the road and was able to go faster. So did the other car, and it closed in. The driver had on his high beams, making it hard for Brandon to see, but he could tell the vehicle was an SUV. It was much larger and faster than the car he was