Derrick hunkered behind his sedan’s open door as the shooter fired at him. He quickly released a round, ejected the magazine from his weapon and reloaded. The man’s face appeared, and he realized it was the same man who’d had Daisy.
Either MWC had figured out he and Ellie were cops or they’d meant to double-cross them from the beginning. Maybe that was part of their game. Sell the children, get the money, then kill the buyers to cover for themselves and sell the girls all over again.
Another bullet whizzed by his head, and he ducked, then inched to the edge of his vehicle. Creeping behind a group of boulders, he snuck up on the man. His foot hit ice though, crunching it, and the shooter pivoted, firing a bullet. It grazed Derrick’s arm, and Derrick released another round, shattering the shooter’s car window. When the man darted toward the pine trees, Derrick gave chase, stooping behind another rock then firing again.
The man vaulted up and shot again, but Derrick was fast and fired a bullet into the man’s gut. His eyes widened beneath his ski cap, his body bouncing backward. Blood gushed from his belly, and he bellowed, dropping his gun as he collapsed into the slushy ground. A crimson stream pooled beneath him as his body convulsed.
Derrick kept his gun trained on the man, then rushed forward and kicked his weapon out of reach. Then he pointed his own at the bastard’s head.
“Do you have Ava Truman?”
The man’s eyes glazed over, his body shook and blood seeped from his mouth as it went slack. Derrick cursed as the perpetrator drew his last breath.