Free Shortage (Best Laid Plans Book 2) by Nathan Jones

crack , but he didn't get hit or see any sign of bullets coming near him, let alone hitting him. Did that mean they were going for Lewis?
    He ducked back behind the nearest tree and leaned out enough to check with his scope. From this position he was a bit higher up and had a better angle on the log, although he was also farther away. Just as he'd guessed he saw legs and the lower part of a torso sticking out from beneath the log, as if someone was beneath it shooting through a hole. He could see a bloody stain on his lower back and guessed this was the bandit with the scoped rifle.
    He aimed as high up the torso as he could, putting his crosshair's on the man's spine, and taking as much time as he dared he worked to line up the shot perfectly and remain motionless as he squeezed the trigger.
    A high-pitched scream tore the air and the man rolled out of cover, rifle tumbling from his hands as he writhed and tried to clutch at his back. He was kicking his legs so Trev must have missed the spine, but it still looked like a serious wound. He took aim and put another bullet in the man's upper torso, and as the man went still he had to content himself that three wounds were enough to take him out of the fight.
    As he was searching for another target he heard the differently pitched crack of the shotgun, and in the nightmarish seconds that followed he heard Lewis yell in pain.
    The sound was almost enough to make him freeze, but Trev grit his teeth in determination and kept searching, finding another bandit just in time for the man to point the rifle without a scope, some sort of bolt action, his way. Trev ducked behind the tree as the shot rang out. Then, praying that the man was slow with the bolt, he leaned back out and took aim. He saw that the man had dropped the rifle and was lifting that big .44, but he could only hope that at this distance through so many trees a pistol shot would take longer to line up than his scope.
    He took aim for the man's torso, watching the revolver's barrel shift over to point what seemed directly at him, and had to force himself not to yank the trigger and instead squeeze it calmly.
    His shot connected and the man dropped, thrashing in a way that suggested he wasn't going to get back up again as his revolver flew from his hand. Trev still lined up another shot just to be safe, after which the man went still. Then he ducked back behind cover, even though he didn't hear any more gunshots, and went so far as to bolt to another source of cover and lean out from it to check the log.
    There was no sign of the shotgun and Trev had no idea who'd been shooting it, but with some searching he was able to find five men down. Combined with the two who had fled that accounted for everyone. Trev took a moment to make sure they were all motionless, and as he did he worked to slow his frantic breathing and settle his nerves.
    The last few minutes had felt like a nightmare, half of it he barely remembered and half of it stuck in his mind with merciless clarity. He wasn't quite sure how he'd gotten from behind the uprooted tree to the second tree he'd taken cover behind, but he could still see the way that last rifleman had writhed on the ground after he'd shot him.
    Even after satisfying himself that none of the bandits were moving he still did his best to stay out of sight as he bolted for the stump Lewis had taken cover behind. As he went he called softly, ignoring the danger of giving enemies a way to find his location, and to his vast relief he heard his cousin call back equally softly.
    He rounded the stump, already dropping to his knees beside where Lewis slumped. But as he landed next to his cousin he froze, horrified by the sight of blood-smeared snow as Lewis clutched his upper left leg with both hands and blood oozed around his fingers.
    “Did you get them?” Lewis demanded, somehow focused on the important thing in spite of his condition. “Are they all down?”
    Trev shook his head. “Two bolted like