He’d heard her scream. The sound clenched his heart, right before it tore at it. Threatened to break it right down the middle. Amy. He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut and fight off the tears for her. Noah couldn’t. Men like these didn’t understand emotion. And they for sure didn’t understand weakness like that.
They felt nothing.
It was kill or be killed in this world. And Jeremiah Sanders was not the king. That was clear enough when he turned from the barn door and walked to the suited cartel number two. Received his orders. Looked at Noah.
He stood his ground, unflinching under Jeremiah’s and his boss’s stares. Who cared what they thought? Or what they were going to do with him. Noah needed Amy to live until the marshals showed up. That was all.
How long would it be?
He couldn’t think about that. It would lead to a spiral that would suck him down into a depression. His feelings for her never realized. What could be would never come to fruition.
No. It was best to simply hope for the next five minutes. Thirty minutes. An hour.
Beyond that, it was up to God.
Please.
The cartel number two said something. Jeremiah’s eyes narrowed. A quick nod, then he walked to Noah and spoke to the man beside him. “Take him out back. Get rid of everything.”
“Copy that.” The man’s voice was like gravel crunched under tires. He jabbed the barrel of a gun into Noah’s kidney. “Move.”
Noah started walking.
He glanced over his shoulder in time to see the cartel number two call Jeremiah back over. They had some kind of business, probably involving Amy. Noah was just in the way—the fed they needed to get rid of quickly so they could get this done.
There were at least twelve foot soldiers that he could see. Hopefully the marshals would bring more men than that. Between an escaped federal prisoner and the possibility of apprehending one of the FBI’s most wanted—the number two cartel boss—he figured they would bring an army.
Don’t let her get caught in the cross fire, Lord. Protect her. Protect me.
Give us a future.
The barrel jabbed him again. “Left.”
Noah rounded the building. He walked out back to his death, his teeth gritted. The second he could make a move, he was going to. He couldn’t fight an army, but he could start with this guy.
Should’ve tied me up.
They thought they had the upper hand, because they had weapons and he didn’t. Noah took a couple more steps. Scanned the area.
No one was around.
He feinted right, shifted left. Dipped his head at the same time he turned. Probably looked like a great dance move, but there was no time to consider that now. He shoved the barrel of the rifle aside with the flat of his hand and tackled the guy.
He could pick the whole thing apart when he reenacted it for Amy’s amusement. Because they’d be laughing about this later, right?
Ouch.
Enough trying to distract himself. They landed on the ground, the gunman on his back. Noah used the momentum to shove the rifle up far enough to hit the guy in the face with it.
Out cold.
Noah grabbed the gun and stood. Checked it. Blew out a breath. Adrenaline spiked in his blood, making his head swim and dulling the pain in his arm. He would pay for it later, but right now all the pain was pushed aside in favor of going after Amy. His job was to protect her, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
Two short high notes of a whistle sounded from the trees. Noah turned. The sight of armed, uniformed men emerging made him lower the barrel of the rifle.
He tried to pick out men he recognized, or someone in charge. They just kept coming. And coming. Armed men. SWAT gear. State police guys in uniform, vests on. All of them were out of breath.
Finally he saw someone he knew. “Withers.”
His boss lifted his chin. “This is Lieutenant Barnes.”
Noah nodded. “How did you know where we were?”
“Confluence of so many heat signatures,” Barnes said. “Got your witness?”
That stung. No, he didn’t have her. Not yet, anyway. Noah had to point to the barn. “In there.”
The first man lifted two fingers and motioned them forward, each one staying out of sight of the gunmen.
Guess it’s go-time, then.
Noah needed to get Amy back. That was his priority. The rest of them could deal with the cartel’s army.
He let the SWAT guys—probably FBI armed response—go first. After all, they wore helmets and protective gear he didn’t have, and suspect takedown was their job.
Noah watched as they engaged the cartel guys, staying out of sight. He had his shoulder against the barn wall. The same building Amy was in. He looked for a window.
A back door? He needed a way inside that didn’t put him in the line of fire trying to get to her through the front. He didn’t care about getting injured, but he also couldn’t save her if he was dead.
Someone yelled. The sound was muffled. Coming from inside the barn? He fast walked to the front corner and looked out. A full-fledged battle was taking place. Could he get to the front door, where Jeremiah had shoved his sister inside, without being shot?
Noah gritted his teeth and ran for the door. It was open enough for him to slide through, but inside was empty.
Where was she?
Amy winced. “Let go.”
Jeremiah didn’t. He just kept dragging her. And why? There were gunmen everywhere. “Hurry up.”
She tried to keep up. Where were they going, anyway? He dragged her down a path. Her feet were soaked. The snow lay thick and heavy—like the clouds overhead. It was for sure going to dump a load of fresh powder tonight.
Which might have been nice if she’d been inside and able to appreciate it, instead of being dragged through the snow. She let out a heavy breath.
Her brother said, “Come on. Move.”
Who did he think he—
A single man stepped out onto the path in front of them. He lifted a gun and pointed it at her brother. “Think you can simply leave and I’ll forget?”
Jeremiah held his body so tight she thought he might snap. Amy huddled behind him. But if her brother was going to get shot, then that probably wasn’t the best place to hide. She moved out from behind him.
The cartel guy didn’t seem surprised.
Jeremiah shifted. “I was coming to find you.”
“No. You were running.” He paused. “Take your sister, take my money and disappear?”
“I’m gonna kill her!”
Amy took a step back. He didn’t want anyone else to do it. Her brother still hated her, and he was determined to kill her himself.
“And my money?” cartel guy asked.
Amy thought about making a run for it. Just dashing off into the snowdrifts and fleeing for her life. Would she get more than two steps before they shot her in the back?
“She has it.” Jeremiah motioned to her.
Amy gaped. “I...what?”
Then it registered that she’d heard a tone in his voice. Her brother was stalling for some reason. To stay alive? To kill her? To get away from the cops?
Jeremiah lifted his chin. “You’ll have to take both of us if you want to get it back.” He shifted his feet. Nervous. Cold. Playing a game that he wasn’t sure he would win.
Amy took a step back.
The gun moved to her. Cartel guy’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not entirely sure about that.” He shifted the weapon and pulled the trigger.
The flash of light blinded her for a second. And the sound. A boom that echoed, the noise causing snow to fall from nearby branches, dislodged by the sound.
Her brother’s body jerked and he fell.
Amy screamed. Cartel guy grabbed her wrist. “Move it. Or you get shot next.” He blew out a breath.
She stumbled trying to keep up. Then looked around. Had anybody heard that shot?
He jerked on her wrist. “I don’t have to kill you.” He pointed the gun at her shoulder as they walked, him halfway supporting her weight against his. “I could cause you a lot of pain. You’ll tell me what I want to know.”
She shifted away from his body, not wanting to be anywhere near him. She should tell him she didn’t know anything about the money. No. If he knew she had nothing to give him, he would simply kill her right here.
Money.
That was what this whole thing was about?
Where is the money?
That was what they’d asked when they’d abducted her before. The marshals had never been able to figure out what they were talking about.
Jeremiah had leveraged their desire to recoup what had been lost into a plot that would leave her dead. An army coming for her. Revenge. Then what would he have done? Killed her, and disappeared?
Her brother was insane.
Or he had been. Now he was dead. All those plans came to nothing now. He’d had no idea his son was still alive.
A tear rolled down her face, though she wasn’t entirely sure what she was crying for.
The cartel guy walked her down a snowed-over path until she saw a vehicle, maybe a quarter mile away.
She couldn’t let him get her in that car.
Amy started to pull against his grip on her. “Let me go.”
He let out a chuckle, a single exhale. Not wasting the energy to actually laugh.
What could she do...?
“Freeze!”
“US Marshals!”
“Put the gun down!”
Amy jerked to a stop. She was so surprised she lifted her hands. Someone grabbed her arm from the right and tugged her away from the cartel guy. Too fast for him to try and reach for her. To make her his hostage, held at gunpoint.
“Put it—”
Shots rang out.
She tried to turn to see, and then she was in Noah’s arms. Face pressed against the open collar of his jacket. “Don’t look.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. He was right, that wouldn’t have been good and she really didn’t want to see it.
Amy sucked in a full breath and then let it out. It broke a couple of times in the middle, and she whimpered.
His hand shifted, up and down her back. Strength holding her to him. Reassuring her. But Amy needed more than a hug. She shifted her arms and lifted them between her and Noah, to touch the sides of his face. Her bandaged, splinted arm was awkward. She ignored it and lifted her heels at the same time, going up on the balls of her feet.
She pressed her lips to his. Relieved, desperate to process the fact she was safe. They were both alive. She felt him smile, and he returned the kiss. Pulled her close in his arms.
Someone whistled.
Amy pulled back, letting out a small giggle. More relief than humor. They were okay. The cold rushed in, but there in his arms she was warm for the first time in a very long time.
“I love you.” The skin of his brows shifted. As though he wasn’t sure how she was going to react. There was nothing Amy wanted more than to reassure him.
To tell him that she felt exactly the same way. She probably had since the day they’d met. More and more each day, it had grown. In the last day she’d taken that final plunge and fallen the rest of the way for him.
She held his gaze. “I love you, too.”