Survive The Fall | Book 4 | Total Collapse

tighter. He poked his head around the rear bumper of the truck.
Shane and Luke had their backs to him. Clyde glanced at Russell through the narrow gap between the two men’s bodies. A line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth and down his chin. His right eye looked bruised–a purplish blue-black mixture. He remained calm and collected, not giving Russell away.
“Where the hell is Billy?” Luke said, sighing and looking to the woods. He pointed at Shane, then flicked his finger toward the trees. “Go track him down, will you? We’re taking too long here.”
Shane lowered his piece from Cathy’s side. “You got her?”
“I think I can handle this,” Luke said, irritated.
Cathy leaned against the truck, favoring her injured leg. She stared at Luke, eyeing the revolver he had trained at Clyde’s head.
“I’ll be right back.” Shane turned and walked toward the tailgate.
Max took off around the bed in a dead sprint.
Shane flinched, then stopped cold. His eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the growling German shepherd. “What the–”
Max snapped at the fearful man, baring his fangs and growling.
Shane backed away. His feet tangled, and he fell to the ground. He squeezed the trigger before hitting, trying to strike the aggressive dog.
The pistol barked a harsh report. Fire spat from the muzzle. The bullet went wide, missing Max by a good foot.
“Get this dog away from me.” Shane kicked his legs from the flat of his back to keep Max away.
Luke pointed the revolver with his finger inside the trigger guard, training it at Max.
Russell rounded the corner of the bed with the Ruger fixed on Luke. “Drop it before I put you down.”
Max snapped at Shane’s flailing legs. He skirted past his foot and grabbed the hand wielding the gun.
Shane yelled, then wrenched his arm, but Max refused to let his hand go.
Cathy stayed put, leaning against the cab of the Silverado.
Clyde grabbed the tire iron from the ground and launched to his feet. He smashed the steel piece against the back of Luke’s skull. Luke’s legs buckled and his body went limp. He fell to the pavement, lying across the yellow line in the road.
The revolver popped out of his hand and bounced further into the road.
“Is everybody okay?” Russell asked, flanking Max with the Ruger trained at Shane.
Clyde probed his busted lip with the tip of his finger, then shook his head. “Yeah. We’re fine.”
“Max. Let him go and come here.” Cathy snapped her fingers.
Max thrashed his head, then released the mangled meat of Shane’s hand. He bore his fangs at the whimpering man.
Russell swooped in fast and pried the gun from Shane’s unsteady grasp. He towered over him, shoved the sole of his boot into his chest, then glanced over at Luke. “You didn’t kill him, did you? I think you might have split his skull open.”
Clyde shrugged, then dropped the tire iron to the pavement. He rubbed his jaw and looked at Luke’s unconscious form. “Don’t know if I did or not. All things considered, he got what he deserved.”
A truck flew by on the far side of the two-lane road at full tilt, and kept going without slowing.
Max trotted over to Cathy, licked her hands, then stood between her and everyone else. She scratched the crown of his head, bent over, and gave him a kiss.
“You all right?” she asked in a tender, soft-spoken voice.
Max sat on his haunches, then tilted his head back, looking up at her. His tongue flicked at her face.
“How’d they get the drop on you?” Russell asked, training the Ruger at Shane’s head.
Clyde took a knee next to the missing wheel, grabbed the spare tire, and rolled it into place. “I was on the driver’s side of the truck, looking in the back seat for that tire iron when they rolled up. Cathy was helping me look for it. By the time we noticed them, it was too late.”
“What should we do with them?” Cathy asked, petting Max under his chin.
“Don’t kill me, please,” Shane whimpered through tear-filled eyes as he cradled his bloody hand. “I didn’t want to do this. It was Luke and Billy’s idea to chase you down. I told them to forget it, but they wouldn’t listen.”
“Easy to say that when you have a canon pointed at your face, and your life is on the line,” Clyde replied, setting the spare tire in place.
Russell leaned forward, applying a bit more pressure to Shane’s chest. “I’m not going to kill you or your buddies, even though you deserve as much.”
Shane struggled to breathe, gasping for air.
Clyde grabbed the lug nuts and screwed them onto the ends of the bolts sticking through the wheel of the tire. “In about 10 minutes, we’ll be ready to roll out.”
“I’ll take care of these two while you finish up,” Russell said, removing his boot from Shane’s chest.
“Where’s the other guy?” Cathy asked, turning and looking over the bed of the truck.
Russell pointed to the woods. “He’s back there. Knocked him out.”
Shane rolled to his side, holding his hand against his body.
“Come on. Get up.” Russell bent down and grabbed the blubbering man by the scruff of his coat, wrenching him off the pavement.
Max growled, eyeing the bandit. He inched forward, revealing his fangs once more.
Cathy held him close, then rubbed the side of his head. “It’s okay. Leave him be.”
Russell escorted Shane around the bed of the Silverado, then past the driver’s side of the Trailblazer. They stopped near the driver’s side door, straddling the grass and pavement.
“Listen. I am sorry for–”
Russell slammed the Ruger against the back of Shane’s head before he could finish speaking. “Save it.”
Shane crumpled. His knees hit first, then he fell forward onto