He was going to drown her.
Luke’s heart pounded with enough force that he thought it might rupture. Prayers whispered from his lips. Please, God, don’t let me be too late. Not this time.
SIXTEEN
Sophie yanked against his hold but found she just didn’t have the strength. “I don’t want to die!”
“Too bad! I’m not going back to prison and you’re the only one who can send me there!”
Water reached her ankles, then her calves.
Absently, she noted the helicopter above. The spotlight shone down, illuminating them. “Police! Let her go!”
Claude screamed and pulled her farther into the frigid water. Sophie swung her elbow and connected with his temple. He stumbled and fell with a splash.
Pulse-pounding desperation sent her stumbling away back toward shore. She allowed herself a brief flicker of hope that she might actually get away.
Only to have that hope snuffed when a hand grasped her hair and yanked her backward. She went down. Under. She flailed, kicked and caught him in the stomach. For a brief second, his grip loosened and she surfaced long enough to fill her lungs with air and note the approaching sirens before he managed to get a better grip and dunk her back under.
Help was so close, but would she be able to fight him off long enough to allow them the time to reach her?
Frantic, her mind scrambled for a way to get loose while her hands reached, grasping for anything. Her fingers pried at his, but she gave that up almost immediately. He was too strong, and she was tiring quickly.
Her lungs screamed, her limbs grew heavy, sluggish.
God! Help me!
Bright lights flashed, then everything went black.
“Sophie!” Luke threw himself out of the vehicle before Gavin brought it to a stop. Bruno loped after him. Passed him and bolted into the water. Luke caught up and flung himself into the water where he’d seen Sophie go under. The man who’d held her was scrambling out of the water along the shore. “Go after him!”
Gavin’s engine roared and he took off after the fleeing man. Bruno swam in circles. Indicating that was where Sophie was?
Other cruisers pulled in as Luke dove into the cold water. Frantic, he swam down, arms reaching, while he begged God to spare her. His fingers brushed something.
Hair?
Clothing?
Then nothing.
The seconds ticked past. A minute. A minute and a half.
He surfaced, gasped in another lungful of air, noticed Bruno had moved and was swimming in circles a yard away. Luke went back down and kicked over to Bruno. Visibility was at absolute zero in the dark murkiness.
Then something bumped his leg.
He spun and shot out his hands. His palms grazed cold, smooth skin. Luke grasped hair and pulled. It had to be Sophie. He maneuvered her until he had her in a lifeguard hold and kicked to the surface.
Thankfully, the water wasn’t deep and his feet hit bottom. He lifted her face and turned her toward him.
“Over here!” Zach called to him.
An ambulance was working its way toward them, but Luke wasn’t about to wait on them. Sophie needed to breathe.
He stumbled out of the water and dropped to his knees, placing her on the ground. He felt for a pulse and found it, but she wasn’t breathing.
Luke tilted her head and opened her mouth. He leaned down to give her the breath from his lungs. Once, twice, three times.
Nothing.
Vaguely aware of the paramedics dropping beside him, he continued to breathe for her.
Until she gasped, then choked.
Luke rolled her on her side as she gave up the water she’d inhaled. When her body calmed after one final shudder, he rolled her back, and she stared up at him. Her eyes filled with tears.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I knew you’d come.” Her eyes shut, and someone nudged him aside.
“Good job,” a voice said from behind him. “We’ve got her now.”
Luke fell back and let the paramedics take over. The shakes hit him—from the combination of crashing adrenaline and being soaking wet, no doubt—and he clasped his hands together, but he’d done it. He’d gotten to her on time. Barely. But she was alive. “Thank you, God,” he whispered. “Thank you.” Bruno nudged him and Luke wrapped an arm around the wet dog and slipped him his favorite toy in reward. “Good job, boy. You helped me save her.”
Once the paramedics made sure she was stable, one of them tossed Luke a blanket and he wrapped it around his shoulders. He used a second blanket to rub down Bruno.
“You okay?” the guy asked.
“Yes.” Luke shivered, and Bruno shook himself, spraying the remaining droplets. “Is she?”
“She will be once we get her warmed up and all of the water out of her lungs.” He turned back to help his partner move her onto the gurney, then they carried her up the slight hill and loaded her into the ambulance.
Luke followed, not wanting to leave her side. He turned to Zach. “Give Bruno and me a ride?”
“Of course.”
“I need to call Sophie’s dad. He’ll want to be there for her. I left my phone and weapon in Gavin’s vehicle.”
Zach handed his phone over.
It only took Luke a few seconds to get the man’s number and give him a condensed version of the events that led to Sophie being taken to the hospital.
“I’m on the way,” Sophie’s father said. “You’re sure she’s all right?”
“She will be.”
“Thank you.” Luke heard the slamming of a car door just as he hung up.
Luke climbed in the passenger seat of Zach’s Tahoe and ran a hand over his wet head and buckled up. He then used Zach’s phone to make arrangements for his roommate David to take care of Bruno, grab him some clothes and meet them at the hospital. Then he dialed Gavin.
“You get him?” Luke asked when the man answered.
“No. I didn’t, but a car did. He ran into the highway and got hit by a passing motorist. He’s dead and the guy who hit him is a basket case.” The weariness in his team member’s voice said he wasn’t happy. “He’s the one who tried to get to Sophie the day of the funeral.”
“Yes—and kidnapped her from the auditorium.”
“Did he kill Jordan?”
“I don’t know,” Luke said. “Hopefully, Sophie can fill us in when she wakes up. The lab report came back on the content of the syringe. Let’s just say if Jenks had managed to inject her, she would be dead.”
“I’m glad she’s okay.”
“Same here.”
“I’m on the way to the hospital,” Gavin said.
“I think everyone is. See you there.”
Zach dropped Luke at the door and Luke hurried to find Sophie. She was still in the emergency department. He flashed his badge and made his way to her side.
A man he’d never seen before sat in the chair next to her bed holding her hand. Sophie’s father was his first guess. The man looked up when Luke stepped into the room. “Hi. I’m Luke Hathaway.”
The man stood. “Damien Walters.”
They shook hands and Luke stepped over to Sophie’s side. “Has she woken up yet?”
“I think they have her on a painkiller. The guy knocked her around pretty good.” Rage flashed on his features for a moment before he focused back on his daughter. “She briefly opened her eyes about a minute after I got here. Long enough to tell me not to worry,” Mr. Walters said, his voice rough with emotion.
“That sounds like Sophie,” Luke said. He gripped her other hand and squeezed.
Her eyes fluttered and finally opened and looked straight into his. “Luke?”
“Yeah.”
“You saved me,” she whispered.
His throat tightened. “Couldn’t have done it
without some help, but yeah.”
“You weren’t too late.”
He gave a strangled laugh. “No, not this time.” But it had definitely been close. Way too close. If he’d been only seconds later...
He shuddered as the nightmare of his mother’s murder swept over him.
“Did you get him?” she whispered. “His name is Claude Jenks. He knows who killed Jordan.”
Luke stilled. “It wasn’t him?”
“Jenks said he didn’t kill anyone. He insisted he was simply hired by someone. I got the feeling he was telling the truth.”
“Who hired him?”
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me. He said he was just supposed to put the envelope in Jordan’s folder before the graduation ceremony and leave.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry. I tried to get him to tell me once I realized he didn’t actually kill Jordan himself.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” Luke said. “You just rest and focus on getting better.”
“Okay.” Her eyes closed and he started to leave when her grip tightened. “Don’t leave me,” she whispered without opening her eyes.
Luke’s heart trembled, then fell over the edge right into love. He sighed as he tried to stop the acknowledgment. “I’m not going anywhere.” For now. Again, memories from his childhood swept over him. His mother’s bleeding body on the asphalt. Her funeral. His father’s withdrawal and his brothers’ accusing eyes. You should have been on time! Why weren’t you on time?
His father’s words echoed, and he kept his head down while he grappled with the memories.
When Sophie’s breathing evened out, Luke looked up and his gaze connected with Mr. Walters.
The man’s lips curved into a slow smile. “I think I’ll go get something to eat. You’ll let me know if she needs anything?”
“Of course.”
“You’re in love with her.”
“We’re...friends,” Luke said with a quick glance at the, thankfully, still-sleeping Sophie.
Her father frowned, then nodded and headed for the door, stopping to clap Luke on the shoulder. “Thank you for saving my little girl.” And then he was gone.
But his words lingered. You love her. Yes, he did. He hadn’t intended to, but she’d sneaked her way into his heart and Luke clung to the fact that this incredible woman loved him. He knew she did but was afraid to admit it. He didn’t blame her.
Luke pressed fingers to his weary eyes but couldn’t help the small laugh of relief that broke through. Sophie was alive and her would-be killer dead.
The smile faded as reality set in. And he was going to have to figure out how to walk away from the woman he’d just admitted he loved.
SEVENTEEN
The next day when Sophie woke, she took a physical inventory and she decided her lungs were much clearer and, while she was sore, she would recover without any permanent side effects.
“Hi,” Katie said.
Sophie turned to see her friend sitting in the chair. “Hi.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Much better.” She maneuvered herself into a sitting position. “How about you?”
“Sick, but the doctor said the baby’s fine.”
“I’m glad. Have you told the others?”
“No.” Katie sighed. “But it’s time. I’ve decided this baby is a huge blessing. Everyone will be excited that a little piece of Jordan will live on and...” She shook her head as tears filled her eyes.
“Sad that he won’t be here to watch him grow up?”
Katie nodded and swiped her cheeks. “But,” she said, “this baby will have lots of father figures in his or her life and will grow up knowing how much Jordan would have loved him. Or her.”
“You’re so right. And you know Ellie’s going to want to be a little mama to her cousin.”
Katie laughed. “Oh yes, for sure.”
Sophie squeezed her friend’s hand. “It’s going to be okay, eventually, right?”
“Yes. Jordy would want us to be okay. So, we have to be. For him—and us, too. It’s going to be a process, but I have to believe it.”
“Yeah,” Sophie said, “I’m believing it, too.”
Fifteen minutes later, Noah, Luke, Zach and Carter gathered around her bed. After Sophie assured them she was fine and would be going home later that day, she turned the conversation to a question that burned in her mind. “You weren’t able to find anything that might tell you the relationship between Claude Jenks and Jordan, were you?”
“Not yet,” Zach said, “but we will.”
“Did he tell you who killed Jordan?”
The brothers and Luke exchanged a look. “What?” she asked.
“When Jenks was running to get away from you, he ran into the path of a car and was killed.”
Sophie gasped. “Then he couldn’t tell you,” she whispered.
“No, but the lab has everything that was on Jenks when he died,” Luke said. “Although it looks like there wasn’t anything salvageable, thanks to the water.”
Carter ran a hand down his cheek. “We searched his home but found nothing to indicate who hired him to leave the note.” The man shook his head. Weariness and grief were still deeply etched on his face and Sophie swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She had a feeling she’d be doing a lot of that over the next few months.
With a nod, she glanced at Luke, who shot her a stiff smile. Sophie’s heart ached. While he’d stayed right by her side, she could feel him pulling away emotionally.
“We’ll get him,” she said to the brothers. “We will.”
“There’s no other option,” Carter said. His brothers nodded, jaws like granite, eyes narrowed. They all looked so very much alike at the moment, their expressions very similar to one she’d seen on Jordan’s face more than once.
“We’re going to go,” Katie said. She rose. “You need to rest so you can get out of here.”
“Thank you.” Sophie’s gaze swept across them. “I would be dead without you. I want you to know how grateful I am.”
Each one patted her shoulder as they left the room, with Katie swooping in for another hug. “Rest.”
Sophie’s eyes landed on Luke, who was edging toward the door. “I will.”
Katie left, and Sophie caught Luke’s hand as he passed her. He stopped and raised a brow.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
His gaze slid away. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve never been evasive with me before. Don’t start now.”
Luke sucked in a deep breath and pulled his hand from hers to pace to the window. He looked out. “I’m dealing with some pretty raw emotions right now.”
“Care to share?”
He raked a hand over his hair, then spun to face her, the torment in his eyes stabbing her heart. “I failed you, and I’m sorry.”
Sophie huffed in disbelief. “Failed me? How can you even think that? You saved me.”
“But I almost didn’t. I let Bruno’s barking distract me when I should have been on high alert.”
“I’ll take almost, Luke. I’m alive and very happy to be so. It wasn’t your fault. Just like it wasn’t your fault that someone made the choice to carjack and kill your mother. We all have choices in life. Claude Jenks made his, whoever killed Jordan made his. Now you have to make yours.”
His jaw worked, and he drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but I just... I don’t deserve you, Sophie.” He pressed his fingers to his eyes and slipped out the door just as her father stepped inside. Luke nodded a greeting but didn’t stop.
Her dad raised a brow. “Am I interrupting something?”
A tear slid down her cheek, and she swiped it away. “No. Apparently not.” She drew in a deep breath. “But it’s probably better this way.”
/> “What way?”
She gave a light shrug. “I don’t need to make any commitments right now. Not...yet. Dating Luke would make things really hard.”
“Because you think you have to take care of Trey and me? That we can’t survive without you?”
Her eyes locked on his. “What do you mean? Of course I don’t think that.”
“I think you do.”
Yes, she probably did. “I love you and Trey, Dad. I do what I do because of that. And if I don’t do it, who will?”
“Sophie, I think it’s time I told you something.”
She blinked. “What’s that?”
“I can do laundry, honey. I can also cook.”
She paused. “You can?”
“I can.”
“Then why...?”
“Haven’t I?”
“Um...yes.”
“Because you seemed to need to do it. To heal. If you recall, I tried to get you to stop doing stuff after your mom left and it made things worse for you.”
She vaguely remembered that.
“It’s not that we don’t need you,” he said, “but we’ll be okay. Besides, Trey’s going to be gone in a few weeks anyway. I’m proud of him. He’s reaching out and grabbing life by the horns. It’s time for you to do the same.” Sophie figured her jaw was inches from the mattress. He patted her leg and laughed. “I sound like I don’t expect to ever see you again.” A sigh slipped from him. “I just want you to be happy. Luke’s a good man. I hope you two can work it out.”
Tears hovered on her lashes and she blinked and shook her head. “I don’t think he wants me anymore,” she whispered.
“Oh, honey, I think he does. Just give him a little time to process some things.”
Time. Well, she definitely had time.
* * *
Luke wasn’t sure how long he stood outside of Sophie’s hospital room with his eyes shut and his mind spinning. Had he just done that? He was an idiot letting his fear control him. But...he honestly believed what he said. He didn’t deserve Sophie. She deserved better.
But there was no doubt he’d just hurt her terribly. He turned and placed a hand back on the handle and debated about apologizing. Then let go with a heavy sigh. No. He’d done the right thing.
Justice Mission Page 18
