by Katie Knight
After his workout, he checked all the locks once more and then headed down the hallway. He opened the bedroom door slowly so it wouldn’t creak and saw Hanna sleeping peacefully in the bed. He closed the door softly behind him and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. He hoped she was already in a deep enough sleep that the sound of the water wouldn’t wake her.
When he got out of the shower, the house felt eerily quiet. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and chills ran down his arms, despite the warm steam filling the bathroom. Jake wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the door. Light from the bathroom flooded the dark bedroom. The covers were strewn about—and the bed was empty.
Jake scanned the room, and that’s when he noticed the open window. He rushed over and looked out but saw nothing but darkness punctuated by tall pine trees bathed in a silver glow.
He threw on the pants he had just taken off, shoved his feet into his shoes, grabbed the two pistols from the drawer in the nightstand, and ran out the front door, calling for Hanna. The car was still parked by the side of the cabin, undisturbed. He ran around to the back of the cabin and headed toward the lake.
“Hanna!” he yelled. “Hanna, where are you?”
The lake was as still as glass, and not a single sound returned his frantic calls. He started jogging back toward the cabin, and that’s when he heard a faint scream.
Jake froze, hand cupped to his ear so he could determine where the noise was coming from. Then he heard it again. He was certain it was Hanna, and it was coming from somewhere in the pine trees to his right. She couldn’t have been far.
He took off in the direction of the sound as quietly as he could. He was sure whoever had Hanna had heard him yelling, but they didn’t need to know was coming after them now.
Hanna had stopped screaming, but was certain he knew which direction the sounds had been coming from. Sure enough, he hadn’t been jogging through the woods for long at all when he heard a gruff voice muttering something. He knew it was her captor, and he stopped so he could pinpoint their precise location and figure out exactly what he was up against.
Seconds later, there was an unmistakable whimper. It was Hanna, and that was all he needed to hear to charge through the trees.
After kicking through some brush, he reached a small clearing. There, he found a large man holding a knife to Hanna’s neck. The man had a flashlight tucked under one arm, illuminating the scene in eerie, moving shadows. When he saw Jake, he dropped the flashlight, but he tightened his grip on Hanna.
“Don’t come any closer,” he said, pointing the knife toward Jake. Then he put it back to Hanna’s neck. “Or your girlfriend gets it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hanna froze as she felt the side of the cold metal blade press against the skin on her neck. She was relieved Jake had found them, but she had no idea how he was going to get her out of this.
“I don’t know what you want from her,” Jake said, holding up his arms as if in surrender. “But I know you’re not going to get it if you kill her.”
“How do you know I haven’t already gotten what I came for?” he asked in a gruff voice.
“Because you would have already killed her if you had.”
The man squeezed Hanna’s arm tighter and applied just a little more pressure to the flat side of the knife that he held against her neck.
“Is that so?” he growled. “Then watch this.”
Before Hanna knew what happening, Jake lunged at the man and grabbed his wrist, pulling the knife away from her neck. The man slashed through the air, trying to rid himself of Jake while he held tight to Hanna with his other hand. Even if he lost the knife, he was clearly determined not to lose her. And she had no doubt he could kill her with his bare hands.
Jake’s grip was firm, though, and he dodged the knife easily. Without letting go of the man’s wrist, he reached into his waistband and pulled out a pistol. The man froze for a second, then started laughing.
“You’re not going to shoot me,” he said. “Not as long as I’ve got your girlfriend. One little dodge, and she’d be in the line of fire instead.”
Hanna stared at Jake, eyes wide. He was careful not to aim the barrel in her direction, but considering the man was holding her tight against his chest, it was far too close for comfort. She desperately wanted the man to let her go, but she wasn’t so sure she wanted Jake to shoot him. The thought made her nauseous.
Jake let go of the man’s wrist and cocked the gun. The clickclack echoed eerily in the cold night air. Then he gripped the pistol with both hands and pointed it at Hanna.
Her heart stopped.
“Wh-what are you doing?” she croaked. She had never stared down the barrel of a gun before, and she realized it didn’t matter who might be at the other end. Even if she trusted the person who was holding it with her life—which she did—it would take little more than a flex of his finger for her to wind up dead.
She was so stunned that she didn’t notice the man had let her go. But one moment she could smell the stale tacos and beer on his breath, and the next he was standing several feet away from her.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Jake said, still pointing the gun at Hanna. “But she does have something you want.”
“So what will shooting her achieve?”
“Simple. She doesn’t have anything I want. But if I kill her before you get what you came for… what do you think your boss will do to you?”
The man took a step closer to Hanna. As if he actually wanted to protect her.
From Jake.
The whole situation was so surreal that Hanna found herself wondering if she was dreaming.
The man started taking another step toward her, but before he could get any closer, Jake lunged. In one swift move, he grabbed the knife from the man, tossed it far out of reach, and then pinned him on the ground. In less than a second, the man was lying on his stomach with his hands crossed behind his back.
Jake kept one knee on the man’s back as he held the gun to his head.
“Next time our paths cross,” he said, “You won’t be so lucky.” Then he reached down with his free hand, gripped the base of the man’s neck, and squeezed.
Hanna watched in horror as the man passed out. Or died. She honestly wasn’t sure. The one thing she did know was she had to get out of there. But she was too scared to move.
Jake stood up and slipped the gun back in his waistband, then wiped his palms on his pants as if he had just been planting begonias. Not knocking someone out cold.
Or killing someone. Hanna still wasn’t sure.
“I know that must have scared you,” he said, his voice soft. “And I’m sorry. It just seemed the best way to disarm him given the circumstances.”
Hanna didn’t know how to process what Jake was saying. All she knew was she was now alone in the woods with someone who had almost stabbed her and someone who had almost shot her. Not that she really believed Jake would have shot her—certainly not while she was carrying his child. But the cold look in his eyes as he pointed the gun in her direction still chilled her. Was it all an act, or was he really capable of turning his emotions off so completely? Could he shut her out as easily as he’d shut down any hint of caring toward her just moments ago?
Jake pulled the gun from his waistband, and she instinctively took a step back.
“It’s okay,” he said, holding it out so the barrel was facing him and the pistol grip was within reach for her. She appreciated the sign of submission, but it wasn’t enough to soothe her haywire nerves. “It’s loaded with blanks.”
“Blanks?”
Jake nodded, still holding it out. “Take it and see for yourself.”
Hanna reached for the pistol tentatively. She had never held a gun in her life, and she wasn’t thrilled about doing so now.
“Put one hand under there,” he said, pointing to the bottom of the pistol grip, “and push that button with the other.” Hanna pressed the little black button as instructed, a
nd the magazine dropped out of the gun and into her palm. It was full of bright red bullets.
“Dummy rounds.” Jake said. “For training scenarios.”
Hanna was now thoroughly confused.
“Why would you carry around a gun with blanks?” she asked
Jake nodded toward the man who was still passed out on the ground. “For situations just like this.” Then he looked at his watch. “We should get out of here, though. He’s only gonna be out for a few more minutes.”
Hanna handed Jake the pistol and magazine before following him out of the woods.
“I still don’t understand,” she said as they walked back toward the safe house. “How did you know what was going to happen? How did you know to use blanks?” Still shaken, she added softly, “And why didn’t you kill him?”
Jake stopped and grabbed her elbow so she turned to face him.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” he said, lifting up his shirt. “That’s why I had this, too.” He pointed to a second pistol stashed in his waistband. “This one has the live rounds.” He put his shirt down then put both hands on her shoulders so she couldn’t look away. Not that she wanted to. She was starting to warm up to him again. The coldness in his eyes that had unsettled her was gone now. She wanted to believe it had been nothing more than an act—that she could trust him. He had saved her life, after all. Several times, she reminded herself.
“I need you to know something,” he said, his hands still on her shoulders. “I would never, ever point a loaded firearm at you if it wasn’t absolutely necessary to protect you. And I want to apologize. Just because the pistol I used was filled with blanks doesn’t make what just happened okay.”
“It doesn’t?” Her skin felt hot where his palms were touching her shoulders. She didn’t know if it was the adrenaline from the night’s events or the fact that he had just saved her life, but she wanted to wrap herself around him. To breathe him in and get tangled under the sheets together.
Jake shook his head. “No. That wasn’t okay. Because a responsible gun owner assumes every gun is loaded.”
“But you knew it was loaded with blanks.”
Sighing, he let go of her shoulders and started walking back toward the cabin. Hanna followed.
“Blanks are still dangerous,” he said after a moment. “Shooting someone at close range with a blank can still cause an injury. Plus, there’s always the chance that you forgot you loaded live ammo in the mag.”
Hanna was confused. Was he trying to apologize or make her think less of him?
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked.
“I just want you to know that I don’t take what happened back there lightly. I’m sure that was traumatic for you, and I can only imagine what you think of me now. But I need you to know that I only did it to save your life. And I only would ever do something like that if it was a life-or-death situation.”
“I understand,” Hanna said. “And I can appreciate that.”
Jake lifted up his shirt and pointed to the gun containing the blanks. “I only ever use this pistol for training scenarios. It’s never been filled with live ammo, and it never will be. And that’s the only reason why I justified doing what I did tonight. Okay?”
“Okay.” Though he had reassured her for the most part, something was still bothering her. “Why didn’t you kill that man back there?”
“It would have been murder. I had him down—I could disable him without killing him. And despite my experience and all my training, in this situation I’m just a civilian. I don’t have the legal authority to take a life in anything other than self-defense. And I’m not going to spend life in prison for killing some lackey.”
They had reached the cabin. Jake looked around warily. There were no other vehicles in sight, but he pulled the other pistol from his waistband.
“Stay behind me,” he said. “We need to check the perimeter before going inside.”
Hanna followed closely behind him as they made their way around the entire cabin. The window to the bedroom was still opened, but nothing else appeared to have been disturbed.
When Jake was satisfied, he led Hanna back around to the front and opened the door for her.
“You know the drill,” he said.
She nodded and trailed him as he cleared every room in the cabin. Watching him work was fascinating. When he was satisfied that the house was safe, too, he led her back to the bedroom and motioned for her to sit on the bed. Then he grabbed his go-bag and started packing his things.
“We need to pack up and get out of here as soon as possible,” he said. “But I have to tell you something first.”
“I get why you did what you did back there,” Hanna assured him. “Really. I know I can trust you.”
Jake shook his head. “Not about that. We need to talk about what happens now.”
“I know we have to move. Believe me, I get it. I don’t need convincing.”
“It’s not just that.” Sighing, Jake ran a hand through his hair.
“What is it?”
“I can’t be the one tasked to look after you anymore.”
Hanna’s heart stopped for the second time that night. “What?”
“I have to step down as your protector.”
“Why?” After everything that had happened in the past few days… hell, after everything that happened in the past hour… how could he just step aside like that? How could he just walk away from her? “I don’t understand.”
“I’m not equipped for the job,” Jake said, shaking his head. “I can’t handle it. I’m lucky that little stunt worked back there, but who knows what will happen next time.”
“So what then? You’re going to hand me off to someone else? Just like that?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just can’t do my job effectively as long as you’re around.”
Hanna could feel fury building up inside her chest. “How can you say that?” she asked. “You’ve saved my life several times in the past few days alone! You’re obviously doing your job just fine.”
“No,” Jake said, standing up. “I’m not.” He reached for the phone that had been charging on the mantle. “If I was doing my job, you wouldn’t have ended up in any of those scenarios in the first place.”
Hanna couldn’t believe it. How could he think anyone else could take better care of her than he could? And how could he just walk away like that?
Maybe that coldness was real after all. It didn’t mean that Jake didn’t care—but it meant that he could turn it all off on a dime and then walk away from her without a backward glance. She’d been so sure they’d been building something real, something lasting…but maybe she’d been fooling herself all along.
As she watched Jake dial, she knew it wasn’t worth putting up a fight. She had lost this one. He had made up his mind, and that was that.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jake had hoped starting a fire would help ease some of the tension—it certainly made for a cozier cabin—but they just sat in silence in the living room as they waited for Hanna’s new protective detail to arrive.
Finally, there was a loud knock at the door. Hanna jumped. Jake instinctively placed his hand over his pistol before answering the door.
He opened it to find a man he didn’t recognize standing on the other side.
“Who are you?” Jake asked.
“Darren,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m here to ensure Hanna gets to safety.”
Sighing, Hanna stood and wheeled her bag to the door. “Let’s get this over with,” she said. Clearly, she was not in the mood to spend one more minute than she had to with Jake.
That was for the best, he thought bitterly. He didn’t want her to go, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. And judging by her reaction, staying together would only further strain the already fragile relationship they had established over the past month.
That didn’t mean he was going to hand her off to just anyone, though.
&
nbsp; “Hang on,” he said to Hanna, holding up his hand and stopping her before she reached the doorway. He turned to Darren. “Who sent you?”
“Jefferson called me about an hour ago. I was the closest to the cabin, so I got the gig.”
“Can we just do this already?” Hanna said, brushing past Jake with her suitcase in tow.
Jake stopped her at the threshold and pulled out his phone to confirm the man’s identity. He scanned the last text he’d received from his contact, and when he saw the name “Darren,” he relented.
“Fine,” he said, stepping aside so Hanna could leave. Something felt off, but he had a feeling it was his subconscious, looking for a reason not to let her go. This shouldn’t be so hard. It was for her protection, after all. Making the smartest, safest choice for her should have been the easiest thing in the world. But he didn’t want to see her walk out that door without knowing how this whole situation was going to be resolved.
Jake realized this was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do.
At the same time, he realized that probably meant his feelings for Hanna were a lot stronger than he wanted to admit.
He wasn’t about to tell her that, though. And Darren didn’t give him the chance. The new security detail grabbed her suitcase then turned and headed toward the vehicle. Hanna tried to follow him, but Jake put his hand on her arm. It was now or never.
“Wait,” he said. “I need to know that you know this is for the best. That I’m not doing this because I want to, but because I have to.”
Hanna shook her head, biting her lip, but said nothing. Pulling away from his grip, she turned and followed her new guardian to his SUV. She didn’t look back.
Jake tried to tell him it was self-preservation. That she was only being so cold and aloof because she was mad at him. And at the situation.
But it hurt like hell.
For some reason, he had an overwhelming urge to let her know just how much he cared. Just how much he wanted her to be okay. Just how much he wanted to protect her.
