“Look, we’ll make a game of it. We can have the girls redecorate your room. There’s an extra mattress in the attic, we can bring that down. Set the room up with both mattresses, or, you and Quinn keep your room and put both mattresses on the floor, like a king size bed. That would more than likely be more comfortable than that full-sized bed.”
“I didn’t know you had an extra twin mattress.” Laura laughed, surprised.
“Well, we do. It will be a tight fit in that room, but we can take out the bedframe and headboard. Then put the box spring out in the barn. Least ways, Quinn doesn’t have to go sneaking back at the crack of dawn and waking me up every damned morning.” Milly sniggered. Once more, Laura could feel her face flame. Both women turned when they heard a gunshot. The girls raced over to the women.
“Let’s get to the house.” Milly said, swinging her Mossberg around. Laura withdrew her Glock and each woman took a child in tow. There was another shot and they picked up their pace.
“What’s happening mom?” Allain asked, fear in her voice.
“I’m not sure honey, let’s just get back to the house.” Laura said, pushing her daughter ahead of her. There was another volley of gunshots and then the women were at the house. Both entered the kitchen’s back door. Going to the basement door, Laura took the girls below, safe from any bullets that strayed into the house.
Ӝ
Milly shut the door behind Laura and the girls. Her heart was racing, and the song of battle was in her blood. She went to the living room and looked out one of the windows. She saw Bart, on the ground, not moving. Her heart did a triple hammer slam in her chest. She snarled. Looking around, it was now quiet, and she didn’t see Quinn. She wasn’t foolish enough to think it had all stopped. She was sure Quinn was waiting for the assholes to make their move.
She quietly slid the table away from the window. Luckily, all the windows in the house were open, to let the early afternoon breeze in. Her eyes might be old, but they were sharp, and she got down and began the systematic search for intruders. She could wait, she knew they would be antsy. Her eyes shifted to her husband, and she smiled, seeing his hand move. He was alive and she let her breath out. Now, down to business, killing business.
She took each section in front of her down to a grid. Low, medium and high. More than likely, whoever was shooting would be low to the ground. There were a few trees along the drive to hide behind, but not a lot. She was patient and waited. She’d been a crack shot in the Marines. She’d gotten the expert ribbon. She’d not lost her skill and had kept up with it. She and Bart competing against each other, kept her skillset up. Quinn was also a damned fine shot as well.
A movement drew her attention, and she waited, knowing she’d see it again. There, down at the base of a tree. Hair. Light in color, and a slow vicious smile crept across her face. She sighted the intruder and waited. She let out a slow breath as the head came further out, she also saw the rifle. It was a woman.
“Bye, bye, bitch.” She breathed and stroked the trigger. An explosion boomed in the house and echoed off the walls. Milly didn’t even notice the noise as she watched the head explode and crimson spray mist into the air.
“Gotcha.” She sniggered and laughed when Bart gave a thumbs up. There were shots that hit the dirt around her husband, and she looked to see where they were coming from. Over to the far left of the house. She moved into the dining room and crouched. She saw Quinn, pinned behind a wood pile. He raised up and she watched him, and a shot came at him, chipping the wood, by his head. He ducked down. Bingo.
There was a small gully, about a hundred feet from the woodpile. There were also her rose bushes, planted by the gully, to take advantage of the water that gathered there. She smiled again, then sniggered. They’d not started leafing out yet and there were only thick canes. Though very thick, they would not stop a bullet, and most certainly not a .308 Win. She settled herself in a comfortable position. The person on the back side of that hedge more than likely thought that Quinn had shot the woman.
Her eyes didn’t stare directly at the rose hedge, but gently scanned back and forth. Then she saw it, the movement behind. The person was well camouflaged, but their movement gave them away. Zeroing in, she waited. She needed to get an approximate location. They moved again and she could now see the barrel of a rifle sticking through her hedge. Good. She now knew where their body was. Taking aim, she relaxed. She’d wait for another movement. She wanted to make sure she hit the asshole in the chest or body region. She didn’t want to wing him, she wanted to kill him.
Another slow smile spread across her face. She saw the shifting again. The body was now centered on her weapon. Letting go a soft breath, she stroked the trigger lovingly and felt the welcome kick of the rifle in her arms. She laughed when she heard the scream and she went running out of the house. She’d seen Quinn stand up, so she figured that was the last of them. She stopped by Bart and turned him over.
“Good shootin’ gal.” He grinned up at her. He had a scalp wound. Patting his body,
