pulled his keys out of his pocket but fumbled and dropped them. When he bent down to pick them up, he heard the same diesel-engine clicking noise from earlier.
He froze for several long seconds, his thoughts racing. The man who was after Claire? Maybe.
Staying low, Griff headed over toward his police-issued vehicle, using the frame for cover. When he peeked out, he could see there was a dark van, either blue, black or gray, rolling down the street without any headlights blazing.
Something wasn’t right with this picture, and he was relieved Jenna and Claire were safe inside. From what he could tell, there was only the driver, so he popped out from behind his car with his gun raised.
“Stop! Police! Get out of the vehicle.”
The car stopped. He waited as the driver’s window slowly rolled down. Before Griff could move, he saw the short barrel of a handgun. He dived to the ground mere seconds before bullets whizzed through the air, echoing through the night.
The assailant was shooting at him. At a cop!
He rolled closer to the edge of his vehicle and then eased up to a crouch. Every one of his senses was on red alert as he leveled his weapon at the sound of the diesel engine. But the driver had shot into Reverse, speeding backward away from him.
In a flash, the van executed a crazy, tire-squealing turn and disappeared out of sight.
Griff stood for a minute, his heart pounding with adrenaline. Had the man fired at him to scare him off?
Or had he recognized Griff as the cop who’d rescued Jenna earlier?
If that was the case, he had to believe the guy in the car fully intended to kill him.
* * *
Jenna heard the distinctive sound of gunfire and quickly grabbed her weapon, pulling Claire behind her. She reached for her phone, intending to call for backup.
She paused when she heard a loud pounding at her front door. “It’s Griff. Open up!”
“Stay here,” she whispered to Claire before she darted over to unlock and open the door. Griff barreled inside, his face pulled into a fierce mask of anger.
“What happened? Are you okay?” she asked in a rush, trying to look for any sign of injury.
“Where’s Claire?” He brushed past her to head into the kitchen, where Claire was standing up against the wall, a half-eaten slice of pizza left sitting on the table.
Jenna winced at the way Claire shrank away from him, clearly afraid.
“Where’s your phone?” he demanded.
“In my pocket, but it’s shut off, see?” The teen pulled it out and showed him the black screen. “I keep it off so no one can track it.”
“The phone can be tracked, even if it’s shut off,” Jenna said, peering over his shoulder.
He took the phone, turned it on and scrolled through the recent numbers. “There don’t seem to be any calls made in the last twenty-four hours,” he muttered.
Jenna lifted a brow, not sure why he thought there would be. Claire was hiding secrets, but the stark fear in the girl’s eyes was all too real.
“Jenna’s right. The guy who’s after you can track you by pinging this phone,” Griff said grimly. “We have to get rid of it, for your safety and ours.”
Claire winced but didn’t protest when he pulled the battery out and tossed the phone in the trash.
“Come on. We need to get out of here.”
“Tell me what happened,” Jenna demanded. “Who was shooting?”
“I suspect it was the same guy who attacked you.”
“Why?” Jenna asked.
“I saw a car rolling slowly down the street with its lights off. I heard a similar car engine earlier when we were sweeping your yard right after the attack. When I confronted him, he opened fire.”
“He actually tried to kill you?” Jenna felt sick, knowing that she’d inadvertently put Griff in danger.
Claire gasped and went even more pale than normal. “We have to get away! Please don’t take me to the shelter, either.”
Jenna wavered, second-guessing her earlier decision. It might be better to keep Claire with her. And right now they needed to get far away from her place. “Okay, pack up the food. I’ll grab some clothes and toiletries.”
“I’ll take care of the food. Just hurry,” Griff urged.
Jenna ran upstairs with Claire close on her heels. “I can help,” she said, although Jenna suspected the real reason Claire followed her was because she was still afraid of Griff.
“Here, wear this,” Jenna said, tossing a dark sweatshirt at her. “Then head into the bathroom to grab toiletries.” Jenna picked up a duffel bag and started stashing clothing inside. Claire was thin, but Jenna made sure to toss in enough clothes for her, too, including a belt so the jeans wouldn’t fall off her slim hips. Within minutes Jenna had everything they needed, and they returned to the kitchen to find Griff waiting impatiently.
He was holding a tinfoil-covered plate, and when she approached, he took the duffel from her fingers and slung it over his shoulder. “I’m going to drive around to the alley. I need you and Claire to wait near the back door until you see me. Keep your weapon handy.”
Jenna nodded. “Okay, but be careful.”
Griff gave a curt nod. “I honestly believe they’re gone. For the moment.”
Jenna silently agreed and shut off all the inside lights as she followed Griff to the front door. Once he slipped through the opening, she shut the door and slid the dead bolt home.
She returned to the kitchen, where Claire waited, looking dwarfish in the oversize sweatshirt.
“Come on. Stay close,” Jenna said. She tucked Claire behind her as she opened the back door. Gun in hand, she peered into the darkness, waiting for Griff to arrive.
Jenna took her time scanning the backyard for any sign of the assailant. She agreed with Griff that the guy probably wouldn’t return anytime soon, but that didn’t mean she was going to take any unnecessary risks. Especially if the guy was really after Claire.
The sound of a car engine grew louder, and she tensed, making sure the vehicle was Griff’s. She spotted the light rack running along the roof and let her breath out in a soundless sigh of relief.
He paused in the alley, waiting for them. Jenna knew it was time to move. “Keep close behind me,” she instructed Claire. “We’re going to stay in the shadows as much as possible.”
“Okay,” Claire whispered, curling her fingers into the back of Jenna’s denim jacket.
Jenna led the way outside and skirted the patio to make her way through the backyard. Claire hovered so
