Murphy's Law (The Bounty Hunter Series - Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

when the shouts behind them died off completely and they’d raced through the thickening scrub bushes.
    “There,” she said, guiding him to a herd of cattle and at least five horses.
    The animals must have been spooked by them; they mooed and neighed, and then shifted around, kicking up more dirt.
    “Go around them,” he ordered. “Scare them toward Dumb and Dumber.”
    In a few seconds, they were behind the herd. “Wave your hands,” she said. “Jump around.”
    It worked. A couple of the horses reared up, and then galloped in the direction they’d just come from. The cows scattered, hustling away.
    “What the fuck!” Slick’s far-off yell drifted to them. “They’re gonna trample meeeeee...@ His voice grew smaller. Murphy hoped it meant he’d turned around.
    “Reprieve,” she gasped.
    “Short one.” Murphy knew the sheriff wouldn’t end it here.
     
    ***
     
    Breathing hard, Echo doubled over, pressing her hands against her knees. The white searing pain in her head nearly blinded her. The waves of nausea hit. She gulped.
    “You all right?” His breaths came in pants.
    “Sick,” she choked. It overtook her. The heaves came, one right after the other. Nothing came out. She couldn’t remember the last time she ate. Not since Storm and Timmy had been kidnapped at least. And she’d only had a couple sips of beer earlier.
    “Breathe,” he coached.
    The retching gripped her. The motion in her belly and up through her throat only made it worse. She gulped in breaths between heaves.
    “Can you move?”
    She shook her head. Her brain felt like a hot poker jabbed her.
    “I’ll carry you.”
    Before she could answer, he lifted her over his shoulder. “Sorry,” he said, settling her down and dragging her cuffed hand behind her so he could grip her legs to him. “Only way. They’ll find us.”
    He walked, hissing the first few steps. “Too heavy,” she choked out. Every slight move jarred her and sent splinters of agony shooting through her skull. “Buckle…hurt you…too… much… pain…”
     
    ***
     
    Murphy knew the minute she passed out. Her body went limp. And the heaves ended. He was torn between stopping to make sure she was all right and pressing on.
    Safety won.
    He forged on toward another feeding trough and a few animals gathered around it, making chomping noises nearly two hundred feet away. He shifted her slightly to move the damn turquoise belt buckle from grinding into his shoulder. “Storm,” he muttered, knowing Echo had borrowed her twin’s clothes to trick him.
    With each step he took, she bounced against him like a rag doll.
    If he wasn’t mistaken, these episodes came on more and more now. Stress played a big part, but time hadn’t healed her like some of the doctors predicted. Something inside Echo’s brain warred with her, fighting to be free. Could she be on the edge of her memories or losing it altogether?
    Tonight brought on the most severe reaction he’d witnessed since the accident, since she tried to kill the men who’d killed his brother and his brother’s wife that awful night.
    She was the only living witness to the horrible crime. Her mind shielded her from the ordeal. Until now. That he would bet good money on.
    The truth would finally come out. And what would she do once she realized his part in it all?
     
    ***
     
    Fragments snapped through her head. Echo was dreaming. Images blasted as if someone were switching channels on a TV set. She couldn’t stop or control them, yet she stood there witnessing it all, pain jabbing at her again.
    Murphy. Her. Storm. Strange men. Gunfire.
    The loud moo of a cow blared in her ear. She felt hot breath on her cheek. Echo came slowly awake, aware of two things at once. She was on the hard ground, half-covered with hay. And Murphy was nowhere to be found.
    A long line of spittle landed on her chin. She grimaced and swiped it away.
    A big snout came into view. Echo stilled, trying to figure out how to move without