Pursuit of Justice Read Online Free PDF

right side of the road. The left rear wheel bumped metal to the pavement as the car slowed to a stop, and she turned off the engine.
    “Someone just shot out your tire.” Vic pulled his weapon from his pocket.
    Another bang leveled the front left tire. “A rifle.” She leaned toward the right side of the car and retrieved the Glock 26 from her ankle holster. She lowered the windows and strained her ears, listening for more rifle fire. Only the quiet sounds of birds and insects met her.
    Vic slowly lifted the handle on the passenger side, then kicked it open. He peered in all directions. All seemed quiet. “I don’t see a thing,” he whispered.
    Seconds passed with her pounding heart keeping her company. So they’d been followed. A crow soared above them and called out to another. Cat and mouse was not her favorite game.
    She gathered up her phone in her palm and hoped for a signal this close to town. Redialing Sheriff Adams, she realized a little good luck would fit the bill. He answered on the second ring.
    “Special Agent Jordan here. We’ve got a little problem.” Bella peered up slightly through the driver’s side window. A faint dry breeze met her. “Someone’s shot out my tires.”
    “Are you two okay?”
    Until I run into Brandt Richardson. “Yeah. Fine. Wondering where the shooter is hiding. The shots came from the property to the north of the road.”
    “Any more shots?”
    “No. He’s had time, unless he only meant to scare us.” Which did scare her a little. No way would she confess that to a twenty-year seasoned agent.
    “Where are you?”
    She slid her finger across the GPS portion of her phone. “About three miles out of Ballinger.”
    “Sit tight. We’ll be right there.”
    The longer Bella waited for Sheriff Adams, the more restless she became. This is ridiculous. “Know what, Vic? I’m not sitting here waiting for the county sheriff’s department to save my hide.”
    “And I don’t plan to read in the local newspaper about how the sheriff’s department saved two FBI agents.”
    She caught his attention. “Our egos are bad.”
    “But we’re honest. Are you calling your supervisor about the shooting?”
    Bella didn’t want to inform Swartzer about the shots, but she was supposed to report the damage done to a government vehicle.
    “I will later. I want to check out the tires first.”
    Vic eased out the passenger side, using the door and the car as a shield. Bella crawled over the console and followed suit. A few head of Black Angus cattle grazed on the High Butte, unaffected by the rifle fire. Across the road, a clump of trees stood about six hundred feet from the car. Thick enough to hide the shooter, especially if he had a high-powered rifle. If he’d wanted to pick them off, he’d have done so before now.
    “I sure would like to know if those bullets are still in my tires,” she said. “The rear is metal to the road, but the front tire should have the bullet.”
    “I can take a look.”
    “No thanks. I’ll do it.” She pulled a pocketknife from her purse and proceeded to the front driver’s side of her car with the knife in one hand and her Glock in the other. Vic covered her. Kneeling, she studied the terrain again to the left. Nothing, not even a breeze. She saw where the bullet had lodged in the tire, but it was too deep for her pocketknife.
    Hearing a siren, she and Vic stood to view the approaching flashing lights of the county sheriff’s car. The vehicle kicked up dirt and dust behind it like a posse on the move. Behind that one was another county sheriff’s car and then a red Ford F-250 King Ranch Crew Cab. One of the other agents had just purchased one, and he’d given every agent in the field office a tour.
    The deputies emerged from their cars with their guns drawn. For Bella, a heavy dose of frustration and embarrassment lingered in the dry air. What a way to begin an assignment.
    Bella and Vic stepped out from behind the open door and walked toward