by Hope White
She clicked on his nightstand lamp. Shades covered his windows, probably so he could sleep after getting off a night shift at the hospital.
“Spence, wake up.” She gave his shoulder a gentle nudge.
More pounding echoed from the front door.
“Spence?” When that didn’t work, she decided to use his full name. “Dr. Kyle Spencer, wake up.”
The doctor moaned and blinked his eyes open. “What, where am I?”
Her breath caught in her throat. Did he really not know he was in his own bedroom? Or was he disoriented because she’d awakened him from a deep sleep?
“What is that racket?” He rolled onto his back and threw an arm across his eyes as if he intended to fall back asleep.
“You can’t go back to sleep. Someone’s trying to break in.”
“What?” He sat up abruptly and gripped his head with both hands. “Ah, man.” He looked at her with bloodshot eyes. “What are you still doing here?”
“Yell at me later. Do you keep any weapons in the cabin?”
“I’m a doctor,” he said, as if that was explanation enough.
“So no weapons then.”
“Is it the same guy?”
“Unless you have other enemies we don’t know about.”
He shot her a look, then said, “We can sneak out through the window.” He wavered as he crossed the room, looking like someone who’d been overserved at the local pub.
Maddie knew that running wasn’t an option. With Spence in his current state they’d be easy prey in the wilderness. At least inside the cabin they could hold their ground.
His started to open the window.
“Don’t,” she said. “I’ve got a better idea. I saw chili powder in your kitchen earlier.”
“Chili powder?”
“Come on.” She motioned to him.
Instead, he stared at her.
The pounding stopped. Which was not necessarily a good thing. The guy could be gearing up to bust his way through the door with an ax. She’d noticed one on the front porch, probably for chopping wood.
She dashed out of the bedroom and whipped open a kitchen cabinet. Spence came up behind her, opened a drawer and took out a butcher knife. He glanced at her, the knife clutched in his hand.
“He could just as easily use that on us.” She grabbed chili powder and flung open the cabinet beneath the sink. “Here, you take the fire extinguisher.” She handed it to him. “Spray him in the face and whack him over the head with the tank. Got it?”
“Spray and whack, sure.”
There wasn’t much confidence in his voice. He was probably still groggy from sleep, or the head injury, or a combination of both.
She’d have to rely on her own strength and determination to get them out of this dangerous situation.
Tapping echoed from the bedroom. The guy was trying to get in through the bedroom window. She encouraged the doctor to crouch behind the kitchen island, out of sight. “Stay down.”
She spotted a hiking stick propped against the wall by the front door. After temporarily blinding the attacker with the chili powder, she’d use the stick as a defensive weapon. Karate class would come in handy tonight.
She would position herself behind a large leather armchair, the perfect position from which to make her attack. On her way to the hiding spot, she opened the front door to confuse the intruder, making it look like she and the doc had fled—a risky move if there was a second assailant but good strategy if the guy was alone.
She’d be ready either way.
A crash echoed from the bedroom.
Heart hammering against her chest, she ducked behind the chair, gripping the stick in one hand and the chili powder in the other. No one entered through the front door, which was certainly a good sign. It meant they were dealing with only the one intruder who had breached the bedroom window, most likely the same guy who’d attacked the doctor in the mountains and shoved her against the wall in the hospital last night.
Maddie waited, calmed her breathing and prayed to God for help. She wasn’t a violent person by nature, but needed to do what was necessary to protect herself and the doc.
The wooden floorboards creaked as the guy made his way through the cabin.
“Doctor?” he said. “Where are you?”
Silence rang in her ears.
“Get out of my cabin!” Dr. Spencer ordered.
What? She’d told him to stay hidden, out of sight. Did his brain injury cause him to forget her instructions? Maddie peered around the chair she was using as cover. The intruder was stalking Dr. Spencer from the other side of the kitchen island.
“You need to come with me,” the guy said.
“Why, so you can kill me?” Spence was gripping the fire extinguisher to his chest, but not pointing it at the guy.
The guy was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a black jacket but no mask, which meant he wasn’t worried about being identified because he planned to kill the witness to this attack.
He planned to kill the doctor.
But Spence wasn’t the only witness.
The assailant drew a knife. “One way or another, Doc.”
Maddie jumped out of her hiding spot. “Hey!”
The guy turned to her, more irritated than anything else. He had a full beard of dark hair and piercing brown eyes.
He started toward her.
“The cops are on the way,” she said, clutching the hiking stick.
She had to make him drop the knife.
He took a step closer. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”
If only he’d get close enough. She fingered the container of chili powder in her other hand.
Spence suddenly grabbed him from behind.
“No!” she cried, fearing the bearded guy would slash him with the knife.
The guy elbowed Spence in the ribs and the doctor released his grip, dropping to his knees.
As the stranger turned his attention to Maddie, she lunged...
Hurling chili powder into his eyes.
The guy cried out and made a wide arc with the knife. Gripping the walking stick with both hands, she nailed him in the gut. He pitched forward, faltering as he tried to get away from her.
She smacked him again, and again.
Flailing his arms, he couldn’t see her well enough to hit his mark. She had no problem hitting hers.
“Out of here!” she shouted, delivering firm strikes to his ribs, arms and shoulders, forcing him backward. He stumbled out the open front door. She slammed it shut and flipped the dead bolt.
She rushed to Spence’s side. “Are you—?”
“Fine,” he said.
“Come on.” She grabbed his arm and led him into the bedroom. “We need to block the window!”
She didn’t think the intruder would try another attack, not with blurred vision from the chili powder and bruised ribs, but she couldn’t be sure. Spence helped her shoulder an armoire in front of the now glassless window.
Shutting the bedroom door, she scanned the room, grabbed a chair and wedged it against the handle. Even if the intruder got in through a living room window, he wasn’t getting into the bedroom.
Backing up against the empty wall where the armoire had been, she took a deep breath and reminded herself it wasn’t over until the police arrived.
She had to be ready for whatever happened next.
Spence shifted onto the edge of the bed. Silence stretched between them, the sound of her heart pounding against her eardrums.
“You’re a ninja,” Dr. Spencer said.
She glanced at him. “What?”
“The way you used my hiking stick as a weapon. You’re a ninja.”
“And you’re an idiot,” she l
et slip.
He looked up at her with a confused expression.
“I told you to stay hidden, but you jumped up like a jack-in-the-box and announced yourself. What was that about?”
“I was trying to distract him, so he wouldn’t hurt you.”
Maddie was speechless. Even in his injured state, Dr. Spencer was trying to protect her?
“I had a hard time figuring out how to activate the extinguisher, sorry,” he said.
“We should keep quiet and listen.”
“I doubt he’ll come back. You gave him at least three broken ribs by my count.”
She didn’t respond, trying to stay in the present, and not relive what had just happened. With full concentration on the now, she could effectively catalog every sound that tweaked her eardrums.
“Thanks for saving my life,” he said, “again.”
She didn’t want his thanks. She wanted him to get better so he could defend himself. She wanted him to use his common sense. He was in no condition to protect Maddie from harm. It was pretty obvious she didn’t need his help, or anyone else’s for that matter.
“Where’d you learn that stuff with the stick?” Spence asked.
“Martial arts class.”
“Guess I should sign up.”
“How can you be so aloof?” she said.
“Not sure how the alternative would help.”
He was right, although Maddie still couldn’t calm her racing pulse. Her phone vibrated and she answered with one hand, while gripping the stick with her other. “Hello?”
“It’s Nate.”
“The guy broke in. We forced him out, but he might still be on the premises.”
“Officer Carrington called in suspicious activity and went silent.”
“I heard a gunshot. I haven’t seen him since then.”
“I’m en route, along with another cruiser. Two minutes tops.”
“Thanks.”
The fact that help was close eased the tension in her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, she said a prayer of thanks for giving her the strength to snap into action so quickly.
“What’s wrong?” Spence said.
“Why do you think something’s wrong?”
“You’re humming.”
“I am?”
“Yes.”
“Sometimes I hum when I pray.”
“You’re praying?”
“Yep. A prayer of thanks that we outmaneuvered that jerk.”
“A prayer of thanks,” he said in a soft, puzzled voice.
“Don’t you pray?”
“Never given it much thought.”
“That’s the beauty of it. You don’t have to think about prayer. You just do it.”
“Does it help?”
“Absolutely.”
She sensed he was processing her explanation. It didn’t surprise her that Dr. Spencer wasn’t one for prayer. He was a physician, a profession prone to big egos. Some docs didn’t feel the need to look outside themselves for guidance, comfort or emotional peace.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“For not listening to me? I get it, you’re used to giving orders, not following them.”
“Not that. I’m sorry I dragged you into all this.”
“Hey, I chose to respond to the call in the mountains.”
“But not to do hand-to-hand combat with a psycho in my living room.”
“It’s good to know I still have my skills. Now shush, we need to listen.”
This whole apology and conversation moment in his bedroom felt unusually raw and authentic. She sensed his guard was down, probably because of the head injury, or because of the threatening encounter with the bearded guy. At any rate, a connection was developing between herself and Dr. Spencer, a connection that made her uncomfortable on so many levels.
Maddie had no interest in romance, especially not with a charming city doc she knew would grow tired of country life and flee town soon enough. And Maddie didn’t plan on leaving her hometown of Echo Mountain. This was where she belonged.
A crash echoed from the living room. She straightened.
“He broke another window. Determined, isn’t he?” she said, positioning herself between the door and Dr. Spencer. She gripped the hiking stick with white-knuckled fingers. If the guy made it into the bedroom, she wouldn’t hold back. She’d deliver a full-on assault, the goal being to knock him out.
Could she really do it?
She heard Spence rifling through drawers behind her.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Looking for a weapon.”
“I got this.”
“I can’t sit here and do nothing,” Spence said.
Someone jiggled the nickel-plated door handle.
She adjusted her grip on the stick. “Got anything heavy, like a paperweight or rock or something?”
“I’ve got a salt lamp.”
“Get it and stand on the other side of the door. If he breaks in, I’ll lure him into the room and you whack him in the head with that thing.”
He glanced at the salt lamp in his hand with a distasteful expression. Maiming, killing, was not in his makeup.
Nor was it in hers. But before he’d abandoned her, Dad had taught her the importance of survival, a good thing since that kind of determination could very well save her life tonight.
She and the doctor waited for the assailant’s next move. Although Spence seemed fragile, he gripped the eight-inch oblong lamp with resolute focus. She sensed that he, too, would do what was necessary to survive.
“Dear Lord, give us courage,” she whispered.
The door handle rattled again, followed by a smacking sound, as if someone was kicking the door.
“And the strength to do what is necessary,” she continued.
Whack, whack.
Sirens wailed in the distance, sending a rush of relief through Maddie’s chest.
The intruder pounded one last time on the door, probably in frustration, and she heard footsteps echo across the living room.
“He’s leaving,” Spence said with surprise in his voice. He put down the salt lamp and went to open the door.
“No.” She blocked him. “Not yet. Let’s wait until we know it’s safe.”
“Right, okay.” He leaned against the wall, blinked a few times and lowered his head.
“Are you light-headed? Dizzy?” She propped the stick against the wall and gripped his arm.
He shook his head and wandered back to the bed. “I’m—”
“Don’t say it.” She sat beside him on the bed. “We both know you’re not fine. Neither am I.”
Her phone vibrated. “Hello?”
“We’re pulling up now,” Chief Walsh said. “Is he in the house?”
“I heard him flee the cabin, but we’re staying in the bedroom to be safe.”
“I’ll let you know when it’s clear.”
“Thanks.” She redirected her attention to Spence.
“This is happening because of me, because I did something that’s made me a target, and now you’re a target.” He caught her gaze for a brief second and then began pacing the room.
“Come on, this isn’t your fault,” she said.
He paced, rubbing his hands together, growing more agitated. Another symptom of the brain injury?
“What if Officer Carrington is hurt and Gwen doesn’t recover?” he said. “What if she dies?”
Maddie had to stop this frantic spin. “Hey, her injury wasn’t serious. She’s breathing on her own, remember?” She blocked him from pacing to the other side of the room. “Spence?”
“What do you think happened to Red?” he said.
“He’s a savvy and strong officer. He’ll be okay.”
“What if he’s wounded? I need to get out there and offer medical assistance.”
“Stop.” She placed her open palm against his soft cotton T-shirt. “Remember what they taught you in SAR? Don’t become another victim the team has to rescue. Let’s wait until we get the clear signal from Nate, then we’ll see if Red needs medical assistance.”
He turned and paced away from her. She sensed if the armoire wasn’t blocking the window he’d climb out and search the property for Red. He wasn’t unstable exactly, but he was definitely a tangle of emotions, especially guilt. That seemed irrational, making her question his condition. At times he seemed confused and agitated, and other times he could be totally calm, like when he’d asked her about karate and prayer.
She considered his decision to jump out of hiding to defend Maddie. Was that irrational or sensible? She could make an argument for both sides. It was irrational to expose his location, yet his motivation was pure, born of his protective instinct.
His actions exposed his good heart in wanting to protect Maddie.
Don’t go there, Madeline.
“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?” he said in a soft voice.
“Why would you say that?”
“The look on your face.”
“I was thinking about something else.”
The thought of falling in love and being devastated again, because that’s what would happen. There hadn’t been enough excitement to keep Waylan in town, and there certainly wouldn’t be enough to keep a man like Kyle Spencer in Echo Mountain.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. Shocked by his touch, she looked up into his blue eyes.
“I am truly sorry. About everything,” he said.
“Stop apologizing. None of this is your fault.”
He studied her like he didn’t quite believe her words, but wanted to desperately. She also sensed he wanted something else. A hug?
Don’t do it, Maddie. The intensity of their situation was causing a visceral, emotional connection, nothing more. It wasn’t real.
“I can’t help it,” he said. “I hardly know you and yet you’ve saved my life what, three times now, and in doing so you’ve risked your own. You didn’t sign up for all this. You’re just a paramedic.”
