No Ordinary Day by Tate, Harley (best large ereader .txt) 📕

in the middle of what used to be women’s clothing and stopped behind a man buying three comforters and a pair of flip-flops. He smiled up at John, but one glance at the scowl creasing John’s face and the smile faded.

If he didn’t find a way to clear the air with Raymond, protecting Emma and Gloria would be a challenge. John stared past the line of people and tried to come up with a plan.

Chapter Five

Emma

The door swung open, and Emma stepped out, one hand wrapped around Tank’s collar, the other feebly attempting to conceal the handgun shoved into the waistband of her pants.

“Don’t come any closer.” Gloria kept her voice firm, but not abrasive. “This is private property. Didn’t you see the sign?”

The man held up his hands. “I’m sorry, I must have missed it.”

“What are you looking for?”

He smiled, but it didn’t sit right with Emma. Too cheery? Too wide? She failed to place it, but Tank growled at her side.

“Just trying to find the closest way back to the main road. Maybe a cup of coffee before I head out? I was hiking with a friend, but we got separated. I thought I saw a bear aaaand I might have freaked out a bit.” His smile turned sheepish. “Now I’m lost.”

“Don’t you remember the rules?” Emma offered. “Hug a tree and wait for someone to find you.”

His smile slipped. “Can’t say I ever heard that one.”

“Really?” Emma raised an eyebrow. “You look about my age. We had that drilled into us as kids.”

“Guess we didn’t go to the same school.”

“Apparently not.” Emma pegged the guy at around thirty, give or take a few years. Fit like John, not a muscle head, but not a slacker, either. No obvious weapon, but his cargo pants held a multitude of concealment options.

Tank grumbled again at her side. “My dog doesn’t like you much. Is there a reason for that?”

He glanced toward the woods. “Maybe I smell? It’s been a few days in the bush.”

“Or maybe you aren’t a backpacker at all.” Gloria motioned toward the man. “Where’s your gear?”

“I left it about a quarter mile back, this hill is pretty steep. Didn’t want to come all the way up here if I just had to turn back around.”

Gloria widened her stance. “It’s not obvious there’s a cabin from the base of the hill. No marker, nothing except the gate and there’s a sign posting no trespassers. How did you even know we were here?”

He scratched behind his ear. “Lucky guess?”

The more the guy talked, the less Emma trusted him. They needed to run him off. Fast. “I suggest you go back the way you came and retrace your steps. You’ll find your friend.”

He grabbed his belly. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday. The guy I’m with, he packed all the food.”

“Not real smart to go running off, then, was it?”

He winced. “No, but if you have anything to spare—”

Gloria barked out an offer. “If I give you some food, will you be on your way?”

“That depends on your hospitality, I guess.”

Emma’s skin crawled. Whatever he wanted, it wasn’t food.

“He’s a liar! He’s here to kill us, just like they killed my dad!” Holly emerged from the house, clutching Pringles to her chest.

Oh, no. She was the last thing they needed. “Get back inside,” Emma admonished the girl. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Tank broke away from Emma to hurry to the teenager’s side. She reached down and gave him a pat before raising her voice at the man. “You need to leave!”

“I don’t know who you think I am, but I don’t plan on killing anyone.” He held up his hands. “I’m just lost and hungry, like I said.”

No way. Not with the way he evaded their questions and refused to leave. Emma reached for the revolver, resting her hand on the hilt. “I don’t believe you.”

“Maybe someone inside will.” He nodded toward the cabin. “How many more people do you have hiding in there?”

Gloria bristled. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

He held up a hand. “Just making conversation. But it seems to me, if anyone else is inside, they’d want a say in things.”

“This is my cabin and I’m in charge. No one else’s opinion matters.”

“Not even your husband’s?”

Gloria lifted the shotgun so it pointed toward the trees and not the dirt. “Excuse me?”

“You’ve got a wedding ring on, so I assume—”

“You know what that makes us both, then.”

“Fair enough.” The man stepped back. “Now about that food.”

Gloria lifted the shotgun chest-level. “Not a chance.”

He stepped back again, one hand in the air, one hovering around his pocket. Emma tugged the revolver free as Tank let out a vicious bark.

The dog tore forward, blowing past Emma in a cloud of dust as Holly screamed from behind. “Tank, no!”

A bounding mass of fur and anger launched at the man on the drive. He backpedaled, one hand digging into a pocket of his cargo pants while he held the other out in defense.

Motion at the tree line caught Emma’s attention and she swiveled in time to glimpse another figure emerge from the shadows. She shouted to Gloria. “Over there!” Gloria swung the shotgun as the second man took aim at her chest.

Without thinking, Emma fired, relying on the handful of lessons John doled out that morning. The shot went wide, grazing the nearest tree, but the man ducked all the same.

Emma spun back to the drive. “Tank! Come!” She shouted at the dog, but he ignored her. “Holly, run to the woods!” She screamed the words, adrenaline spurring her into action, transporting her back into lead researcher mode where seconds mattered in critical experiments and everyone needed to listen.

She pointed the revolver at the man facing off with Tank. “Shoot the dog and you’re dead.”

“Not unless you’re dead first.”

Tank closed the distance and lunged as the man swung the handgun into position. The gun fired, missing the dog by a mile. The man landed hard on the ground with