To their right, three men gathered near one spot, their gazes trained on the shack.
“No, no, no,” Jake chanted. He couldn’t spy any movement from the office. There was no guarantee Nicole was there. Just a hope and a prayer she wasn’t already dead somewhere else. Or near it.
Two shots from inside the office made the trio of would-be chargers take cover.
The team’s hands were tied. If they exposed themselves, Jake had no doubt they’d die in a matter of seconds. If they stayed put, one of the stray bullets was going to hurt Nicole if she was in there.
It was a no-win situation.
Nicole’s hand shook uncontrollably and the gun wobbled in her grip. The man at the other end glared at her, but he was in no condition to fight off even her.
Diego spat curses in Spanish she didn’t understand and didn’t care to.
This was a nightmare. The stuff of her worst dreams.
Her head buzzed, maybe from a combination of the lack of air in her barrel prison and the gunshots blasting her poor eardrums to pieces. At least it was her hearing and not the rest of them, though she doubted how long their luck would hold.
Diego had shown up in a blaze of rapid-fire demands, dragged her out of the barrel. She’d staggered out of the darkness and into, well, wherever they were and that was when she stepped into hell. They were hunkered down now behind several overturned desks in a shed-like office.
This was what her husband did for a living—not her. She knew the basics of handling firearms, but that did not translate to this situation.
I’m going to die.
“Diego, do something,” she snapped. Her enemy had become her ally, but only for as long as it took her to get out of this.
“How about I kill you right here?” he roared back at her.
If he didn’t need the bullets so badly, she suspected he just might.
“You, come here.” Diego grabbed the bleeding man by the front of his button-up shirt. Unlike the other toughs out there, he was dressed nicely. “I bet you wish I’d rotted in hell, don’t you, Santiago? Huh?”
Diego hauled the man to his feet and put Santiago in front of him.
“Tell them not to shoot.” Diego put his gun between the man’s shoulder blades.
“No disparen,” Santiago yelled out several times.
There were answering voices in Spanish and absolutely no gunfire.
“I thought you said there were two gangs out there,” Nicole said in a hushed voice.
“Don’t talk,” Diego spat out. “Stay behind me, point that at the people on the loading bay.”
She did not want to go out there. That was suicide.
Diego sensed her hesitation and pointed his gun at her. “You go first.”
“What?” she yelped.
“Go now,” he snapped.
Was this really happening? Her heart raced and she still felt slightly dizzy. Barefoot, she picked her way over the busted-out glass, gritting her teeth against the slicing pain. Diego jerked the door open and she stepped through.
Which side of the damn bay was she supposed to point her gun at? She didn’t even know. She chose to direct her aim toward the men creeping down the loading ramp. Diego exited at her back and stayed between her and the man he’d called Santiago.
They edged straight across from the office, toward pallets of bags and big metal containers.
Diego yelled something at the men, but the roar of blood past her ears blocked it out. She could see men whispering at each other, a few edging closer.
“Diego, I don’t think this is working,” she said through clenched teeth.
He walked into her back and she stumbled forward.
A single shot rang out from behind her and her heart seemed to explode, fear wrapped so tight around her she could barely move.
A man darted out from between the pallets and four other figures rose up behind him, unleashing a rain of bullets on either side.
Jake.
She barely had the presence of mind to keep one hand on the gun as he scooped her up, one arm around her waist, hers over his neck, and he half dragged, half carried her to where the rest of his small team waited.
“Is she shot?” a woman’s voice that must be Becca asked.
“No, but we need to get out of here now.” Jake pulled her behind the pallets, his hands roving over her body. He gulped down air, his eyes large and fear-rimmed.
“I’m okay,” she said. If she wasn’t shot she was okay.
“Diego’s down. I think he’s dead,” Cole said as the four ducked down.
“Let’s go,” Jake said. To her, “Can you walk?”
“Her feet are bleeding,” Becca said.
“We need to move now.” Aaron flattened himself to the ground as their position started taking fire.
“Come on, baby.” Jake supported most of her weight as the group surrounded them, keeping low and moving through large metal cylinders of something.
“We need to run,” Aaron said behind them.
“I can run,” Nicole said. What was a little pain to her life possibly ending? There was a white light that didn’t end in pearly gates in her future.
Jake’s tortured face hurt her, but there would be time later to assure him she would live.
“Run,” Becca snapped, taking the lead.
Nicole followed, biting the inside of her cheek as every step shot agony up her legs.
Becca ran as if she knew where she was going. But she also had someone in her ear. Nicole wouldn’t rule out the other woman being guided.
Their little group thundered through the metal forest, more footsteps and yelling behind them now.
“Police, freeze!”
The cry was echoed from above, behind and on all sides.
“Keep going,” Jake urged her on. They reached a metal staircase and at least ten officers were at the foot of the stairs, their gazes trained beyond Nicole.
The cavalry had arrived.
She wasn’t dead.
Relief washed over her and the adrenaline in her veins burned off so fast the dizziness redoubled. She swayed on her feet and the world faded to black.
* * * * *
Jake stared through the glass window at Nicole. In sleep she appeared serene, except she hadn’t woken up since she’d passed out on scene.
“Mr. Vant, I’m Dr. Hunsaker.” A woman with a kind smile and a halo of curls offered Jake her hand. “Let me tell you first, she’s fine.”
“Then why hasn’t she woken up?” Jake asked.
“Because we gave her a sedative.”
“Why?”
“Well, let me break it all down for you. It appears she was given a tranquilizer—”
“Yeah, she was drugged with wine.”
The doctor nodded. “Well, she’s had a bad allergic reaction to the tranquilizer. Combined with severe dehydration, exhaustion, she’s been kept in a pretty harsh environment from what I can tell of her physical injuries, but with a little sleep and an IV she’ll wake up on her own any time now.”
“She’s fine?” he asked, rolling the words around in his head.
“Yes, she can go home when she wakes up. She should make a full recovery physically in less than a week. Just lots of rest. As far as what she’s been through, that’s going to be another matter.”
Jake pushed his hand through his hair. How much more could Nicole take before she broke?
“She had a miscarriage, late second trimester, about a year ago. It’s been rough.” He scrubbed his hand over his jaw.
“Miscarriage can have some real effects on a woman’s body and her mental state. The best thing for her is that you’re there with her.”
Jake laughed. He’d been told that when Willow died and he’d still turned his back on Nicole, too selfish to give her the support she’d begged him for. This time, she wouldn’t be able to pry herself away from him. Things weren’t perfect, but he was not giving up.
“Here’s my number. I’m going to ha
ve a list of specialists that handle trauma and post-miscarriage therapy, including some couple’s counseling recommendations, sent over to you. This has happened to both of you, not just her, and you need to heal together.”
Jake nodded and accepted the card. “Can I go back in now?”
“Sure.”
Jake slipped into the room, shutting the door behind him and drawing the blinds to keep it dark. If she needed rest, he’d be there for her. He settled into the chair, listening to the beep of the machines and watching her shift in sleep.
What was she dreaming? Were they nightmares? Was she reliving the horrors of the last few days?
The scent of flowers perfumed the room. They hadn’t even been at the hospital more than a few hours when the first dozen were delivered by O’Neil himself, then Tanya and Cole. More had followed but he didn’t pay them any mind. Only Nicole mattered.
Nicole gasped and sat up straight in bed. She grasped the railings and twisted, looking one way then the other.
“Nicole?” Jake pushed to his feet and grasped her arm.
She yelped and tried to pull away.
“Nicole, baby, it’s me, Jake.” He gentled his hold as his voice registered.
She sagged toward him and he gathered her against his chest, hugging her close, stroking her hair and muttering comforting words. The invisible hand gripping his chest tightened just a bit. Things almost hadn’t ended well.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“We’re at the hospital.”
“I want to go home.” Her voice was small.
“I know, we’ll go soon. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.” He clutched her to his chest and blew out a breath. “If it weren’t for me none of this would have happened.”
“If it weren’t for you I’d be dead,” she mumbled.
He snorted. “You wouldn’t have been there without me.”
“I don’t care. I just want to go home. Please?” He kissed her brow and forced himself to let her go.
He’d take her to Cole’s house. Tanya had offered. They could stay there for a few days and decide what to do next. She’d probably never want to go to their old house ever again.
Chapter Twelve
Nicole stared at the front of Tanya’s house, the setting sun bathing it in warm tones.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
“I thought it might be best if we stayed with them tonight—”
“No.” She shook her head. “I want to go home, have a bath in my own tub and go to sleep.” All was pretend this was another normal day, not a roller coaster of her worst nightmares.
“Okay.” He turned toward her, face lined with worry. “Which house?”
“Our old one. It’s the only one that’s ever really felt like home.” She hugged herself and stared out the window.
He didn’t speak for a moment. “Think about this, babe. You were taken from our old house. Are you sure you’re ready to go back there?”
“I want to go home, Jake. Either you take me there yourself or I’ll walk home.”
He reversed out of the drive and they made the short trip in silence.
She knew it didn’t make sense. That her house had been violated and she shouldn’t feel the least bit safe. But the entire time she’d been trapped, all she’d wanted was to go back to her little house with all its little quirks, because that was home.
Jake pulled into their driveway and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ll come around—”
She opened the door and stepped out.
“Guess not.”
Her feet stung as she hobbled up to the door. Jake easily caught up to her and opened the door for her.
“You’re being stubborn,” he mumbled.
“Yes, yes I am.” She stepped over the threshold and sighed. It was still as empty as when she’d last been here, but it wasn’t things that she was after. There was something about this house, the way being in it made her feel that was just home.
Jake hugged her from behind. She gripped his arm, soaking up the good in the day.
She was alive.
He was alive.
They were home.
“Come here.” Jake picked her up, the frown still firmly in place. If he’d had his way, she wouldn’t have stepped foot on the ground.
Nicole smiled and laid her cheek against his shoulder, happy to let him carry the burden for now. He carried her into the bathroom and set her on the vanity while he sank to the floor. Gently, as if she were made of china, he unwrapped the bandages on her feet and inspected them with a frown.
“You can’t soak your feet,” he said.
“I know, I’m going to wash them off then prop them up out of the tub while the rest of me soaks. I promise we won’t have to chop my feet off.”
Jake held his tongue but he didn’t seem to care for her solution. Instead he turned to the tub and turned on the water, testing it after each small twist of the knobs until he deemed it the right temperature. There was something normal about this act, as if the last year was gone and they were back in happier times. Except they weren’t, and pretending wouldn’t make that happen.
He returned to her and removed her clothing, one piece at a time. If she moved to do it herself he pushed her hands away. When he’d stripped her bare, he picked her up and put her in the tub, fussing about her feet. After she’d given them a gentle wash, he produced a towel to pad the edge of the tub for her.
Nicole held her breath as she settled back in the water, waiting to see what he would do next.
Jake got up and exited the bathroom without a backward glance. She stared at his back in the mirror until she couldn’t see him at all. As if he’d never once heard her say this last week how she needed him there with her.
She sucked in a shuddering breath and gathered her hair over her shoulder, twisting it up so it wouldn’t get into the tub. Her eyes stung with unshed tears. What about everything he’d said?
“Babe, what’s wrong?” Jake stood in the doorway to the bathroom, her hair clip in hand.
“Nothing.” She swiped at her eyes.
“Hey. I’m here.” He sat next to the tub and reached for her.
She took his hand and held it against her cheek.
Jake turned his hand in her hold and cupped her face with both hands, pulling her toward him. He brushed his lips across hers with tenderness.
“I’m here,” he murmured.
“I thought you were leaving.” She hiccupped and hated it.
“I’m not going anywhere. Here.”
He handed her the clip and she secured her hair out of the water, but took his hand as soon as it was free.
“I know I failed you this year, but things are going to be different. Dr. Hunsaker is giving me a list of people, therapists and counselors and stuff, and we can pick who we want to go to. Together, or if you want to go on your own, that’s okay.”
“I should have gone last year, but the last thing I wanted to do was talk about Willow to someone who never knew her,” Nicole said. She had some blame in all of this as well. She’d known she was out of control, but didn’t know how to get off the crazy train.
“There’s a lot we should have done differently. I just want to be with you, to do it better now.” He rubbed his thumb over her hand, a pained, vulnerable expression on his face.
“I want to be with you. I was going to tell you the other night, but then you got all weird and, well…” She’d gotten herself kidnapped.
“I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me it wouldn’t have happened.”
“It did. Was I scared? Yes. Did I think I might die? It occurred to me. But I didn’t. We lived this last year stuck and I refuse to lose another one. Diego is dead. He can’t hurt us.”
“Over my dead body.”
“Not funny.”
“Too soon?”
“Yes.”
Yet she cracked a smile and he grinned back at her.
“I love you,” he said.
>
“I know.” She gazed into his eyes and knew, this really was a forever kind of love. “I love you too.”
Jake broke the moment to turn the faucet off.
“How’s Cole?” She had vague memories of him being injured.
“A dozen stitches and some antibiotics. He’ll be fine.”
“Tanya is not going to appreciate me earning him another scar.”
“I think she’ll understand. You two have gotten close.”
“We have. I used to think she was annoying but I was just being a bitch.”
“You? Never.”
“Shut up.” She splashed him and Jake chuckled, brushing stray droplets off his face.
They lapsed into silence for a few moments.
“You really want to stay with me?” Jake asked, slanting his gaze toward her.
“I do. ’Til death do us part and all that.”
“Good.”
“I don’t want to go back to the brick house. I want to move back here. And I want to find a new job. I want this next year to be happy.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“And I still want you to go to the Championships.”
“I don’t think Cole would let me back out now, no matter what.”
“Good. I need to get out of here before I go all pruney. Help me out?”
Jake pulled the stopper out of the tub and grabbed the towel she hadn’t yet been able to wash before helping her get out of the tub without submerging her feet again. With a little bit of laughter and his muscle, she made it upright. Jake produced another towel, which he dried her with. Since she didn’t have any other clean clothes, he wrapped her up once she wasn’t dripping and carried her into the bedroom.
“Lie with me?” She patted the bed and he stretched out next to her, face-to-face.
Deep lines creased his forehead and around his mouth. She traced them with her fingers, wishing she could wipe them away and that they could both forget.
“Are you sure you want to come back here after what happened?” Jake asked.
“I’m even more certain I want to be here, but we don’t have to decide now.”
His expression eased, turning into a smile, and he kissed her brow. “Okay. I really do love you. You mean the world to me.”
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