Noah heard something above the rushing in his ears. His entire body felt like he’d been hit by a truck. Or maybe an airplane.
A groan escaped his lips and he pushed off the dash as he sat back. Pain ripped through the outside of his arm. He shoved at the air bag and then shifted so he could get out.
As he grabbed the door handle, what he hadn’t comprehended at first occurred to him.
Amy wasn’t in the passenger seat.
She was gone.
He stumbled out of the car and had to bite back the groan as he braced his injured arm against the door. The price of staying upright was more pain in his arm. Enough to cloud his vision with moisture. He blinked it back.
He had to get to Amy.
The pickup truck had stopped about fifteen feet back. He trudged through snow, cold wet jeans touching the skin of his lower legs. The discomfort of it was enough to distract him from the pain in his arm.
Noah pulled his weapon. He blinked. Took another step. Should have drawn it before he got out of the car. But there was no time to berate himself for not thinking straight right now.
They were about to load Amy in that tiny sideways seat in the pickup, behind the passenger seat.
His legs started to numb. His arm hurt badly enough he thought about grabbing a handful of snow and holding it against the graze he’d gotten. Numbness in his arm would feel pretty good right about now.
Both men had their backs to him, struggling to get her to the pickup. Noah probably had two bullets.
He lifted the gun and then angled his steps to the left. Got a clear shot.
Took it.
The other guy spun around. He let go of Amy in the process. She started to fall, squished between the man and the vehicle. The gunman fumbled for his weapon.
Noah ran to him and slammed his gun down on the man’s temple. Might as well save the bullet. The man slumped to the ground. Noah relieved him of his gun.
He crouched by Amy. Her eyes were open, but glassy. “Hey.” He touched her cheek, swiping his thumb over the flushed soft skin.
She let out a moan that might have been, “Hi,” but didn’t really sound like anything. He checked the two men weren’t going to attack while his attention was on her, stowed his gun and hauled her to her feet. He deposited her on the passenger seat of the pickup.
Her head lolled to one side and she moaned, then drew her arm closer to her. Noah folded her legs in and then shut the door. He could buckle the seat belt when he got in.
He stowed his gun in its holster, and then tucked the gunman’s weapon in the back of his jeans.
Noah pressed the palm of his hand—of his good arm—against the door of the pickup and just took a minute. Pain from aches and bruises sparked as he inhaled, and then pushed out the breath. Thank You, God. He’d gotten her back because God had protected them.
The way He’d done a thousand times already today.
Noah was pretty sure this was going to shape up to be the longest day of his life. He rounded the truck to the driver’s door and saw that—thank You, God—they’d left the keys in the ignition.
This town was so isolated it would take them an hour to get to a gas station. Amy could be in a major medical crisis.
He had to turn back to the medical center.
Even as he thought through it, Noah tapped the wheel with his index finger. His phone still had no signal. He couldn’t call out.
Before he drove, he went to the unconscious man and searched his pockets for a cell phone. Or a radio. He had to have some way to get orders from Jeremiah, and the cartel boss that was here, as well as report in.
Why hadn’t he thought of that before he got in the car?
Noah didn’t have time to think about the implications of the fact he’d probably hit his head.
The man moaned. Noah stumbled back and fell in the snow, but the man didn’t wake up. Noah put a hand to his chest and exhaled. No one had seen that. No one knew that he’d been startled enough to fall backward.
He clambered to his feet and winced. Flipped the man over and found a radio in the back pocket. He checked it as he walked back to the driver’s side, watching for any more gunmen. Just the crackle of static.
He shut the door. Wondered again about going back to town, versus making a run for it. Stay, and hopefully catch Jeremiah. Go, and keep Amy safe. Could he do both?
Noah looked down at the dash while the engine chugged. Less than a quarter tank of gas. I guess that’s the answer, Lord. There wasn’t enough gas to get to the closest place to fill up, heading out of town. Was there enough to get back to the medical center? Maybe.
He pulled out onto the highway and flipped a U-turn. When they got there, he would use a landline or a computer to get the word out to the marshals.
Maybe they were already on their way.
Noah decided to think the best of it. Amy would be safe. She could get medical attention. He could contact his boss, and get backup here to help take down this army of gunmen.
One he was driving back into the heart of.
God, help us.
Amy blinked. Fluorescent lights overhead flashed behind her eyelids. She blinked again. Shifted. She was on a bed.
The warm tug of something in her arm. She focused on the sensation. Looked at the needle sticking out of the inside of her elbow. Huh. Then she lifted her other arm.
Bandaged. A splint.
Someone moved beside the bed. “What...?”
Noah shifted. He sat on the edge of the bed, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. His right arm was in a sling. “Hey. You’re awake.”
“How long was I out?”
“Maybe an hour, or so. You broke your arm.”
“I think I came to at one point.” Maybe that didn’t matter.
He nodded, though there was no reassurance in his gaze. They weren’t safe. “They think you hit your head, as well. You might have a concussion, but they want to see how you are and then they’ll run some tests.” He hesitated. “They said in a few days you can get a permanent cast until your arm heals.”
She stared at him. “What else?”
“I called my office. They’re sending backup.”
“Okay.” That wasn’t it. At least, she didn’t think so. Something was wrong, and Noah didn’t want to tell her what it was. “I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
He sighed, his lips curling into a small smile. “I know you can.” He paused. “The fact is, I don’t want you to have to handle it.” What did that mean? “I want you to have a peaceful life. A good life, where you’re not running for your life.” He rubbed at his forehead with the heel of his palm, then ran his hand back through his hair. Disheveled was a good look for him, even though the reason behind it wasn’t good.
His shoulders slumped.
Amy reached up with her free hand and touched his cheek. “Noah.”
His chocolate-brown eyes glinted, like flecks of gold. Warmth, despite the tension in him. He hadn’t relaxed. And it seemed like he wasn’t going to.
“What is it?”
“I’m just nervous. And I probably will be until the marshals roll in, along with the FBI and Colorado state police. I told them to bring everyone.” A small smile curled his lips. “I’m expecting an invasion anytime now, and hopefully it will be the good guys.”
She nodded. Pain thronged through her skull, like an orchestra at the climax of the piece they were playing. She blew out a breath. “I hope so, too.”
“I can tell the nurse if you need more pain medicine.”
Amy laid her hand on his. “In a minute.”
“Don’t be stubborn. If you need medicine, you should take some.”
She pressed her lips together. But she wasn’t mad. They twisted into a smile.
He grinned back. “You’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?”
“No way.”
It slipped out before she’d even thought it through, the realization that anything personal between them should be the easiest thing in the world. Maybe work would come later. But sharing their feelings for each other?
“I’m glad you’re here.”
He said, “It’s been mentioned. And for the record, I’m glad I’m here, too.”
“Really glad.”
“Will you still say if Jeremiah finds out you’re here, and shows up before the marshals do?” He even looked at his watch.
“Yes. Even if.”
“There you go, being stubborn again.”
She wasn’t going to apologize for that. “I only have a limited amount of time before you leave. I need to make the most of it.”
“Before I leave?”
“Or I do. Whatever.” Were they going to argue about that? “No more talking.”
“And what, pray tell, should we do instead?”
She grabbed a handful of the front of his shirt and tugged on it. “Maybe you should come here and find out.”
Noah’s lips spread in a smile. He planted his good hand beside the pillow and leaned down, less by her tugging and more by his own volition. He didn’t need her to twist his arm. Seemed like he was all in.
But he didn’t kiss her.
Noah paused, his face close to hers. “Are we going to do this?”
“I’m done thinking about all the reasons why it was a bad idea before. Because I’m ninety percent sure they’re still valid.” She searched his gaze with hers. “But what if we never get another chance?”
Things were going to turn out the way God had planned, and they didn’t know what that would be. She could only trust that they’d be alive. That the best would happen. But maybe that was an impossible dream, one she wasn’t going to receive.
Noah touched his lips to hers. Tentative at first, then it was like he made the decision. Or gave in to the pull of the feelings that seemed to arc between them like sparks of electricity.
Amy forgot everything, and just lived in the moment. Maybe she would regret it later, but the truth was that life really was too short. Who knew what would happen? She wanted to grab a moment of happiness in the middle of all the crazy.
Was that too much to ask?
The door opened.
Noah pulled back, twisting to see who it was. She looked past him and saw the nurse they’d left the deputy sheriff with standing there. The look on her face was shell-shocked. There was no other way to describe it.
“What is it?” Noah’s voice rang in the small room.
“They’re coming here.” Her lip quivered. “I’m sorry. They said they’d kill all of us if we didn’t tell them if you showed up again.”
And they’d waited this long? Now she was warning them, to give them time to...what? Escape?
Amy shoved at the covers. “Get this needle out of me.”
Pain tore through her arm.
“You can’t move when that’s in!” The nurse rushed over. “Wait...that’s actually a good idea. I’m going to tell them that. They can’t take you out of here.”
“He’ll just shoot me right here in this bed.”
The nurse gasped and turned to Noah. “You should go. I’ll hold them off.”
“Not happening.” He didn’t even move off the bed.
“She’s right,” Amy said. “You should get somewhere safe. Wait for reinforcements, and then take Jeremiah and his friends down.” She patted his arm, half trying to reassure him it was okay and half trying to get him to move away from her. As though that would keep him safe.
Noah turned to her, the look in his eyes like fire. “Not. Happening.”