CHAPTER 31
NOAH held his breath when he heard the sound of a vehicle nearby. Liam hadn’t stirred, which concerned Noah. But what scared the hell out of him the most was the fact that Lauren hadn’t gotten that big of a head start.
She was alone on the mountain with only Liam’s gun for protection, and Noah was trapped in the goddamn car, unable to move his legs.
Sitting duck was right. Lauren had certainly been accurate on that count. He and Liam were completely defenseless and as much as he hated to admit it, Lauren’s plan was a sound one for drawing attention away from him and Liam. But Noah couldn’t live with the results if her life were to be sacrificed for his.
The engine stopped, and then Noah heard voices as they drew closer. He leaned against the door and slid the hand holding the gun between the seat and the door so it was out of sight. He closed his eyes to narrow slits so it would appear he was unconscious. He tried to make his breathing as shallow as possible and to calm the fear and adrenaline churning like a tornado inside him.
“Here it is!”
The shout went up, and Noah heard at least two responses, which meant there were at least three men. His heart sank. Three men who’d shortly turn their attention on hunting Lauren down. He had no idea what their orders were. Shoot her on sight? Take her into custody? Who knew what Joel Knight wanted? He was a twisted son of a bitch who got off on having absolute control over a woman.
It took every ounce of discipline he had not to betray himself. He wanted a shot at the sons of bitches. If he could take them out here and now, they wouldn’t pose a threat to Lauren.
“What do you see?” one of the men asked.
They were still a short distance away and they were obviously being careful to avoid an ambush. Too bad they had to be smart.
“The woman’s not with them. Looks like they’re dead or nearly so. One of them’s pinned in the driver’s seat. Doesn’t look good. The other cracked his head open on the window in the backseat and he’s either dead or unconscious. The passenger window has been busted out. Looks like she took off.”
There was a round of swearing, and then the next words sent a chill snaking down Noah’s spine.
“Come on, you two. How hard can this be? We’re talking one defenseless woman running around the mountain like a chicken with her head cut off. This’ll be the easiest job we’ve ever had. Spread out and let’s go find her. The sooner we find her and dump her on Knight, the quicker we get paid.”
Noah heard Liam stir in the backseat. The fact that his friend was alive sent a surge of relief through him that weakened him momentarily. The problem was, the last thing he needed was Liam coming around right now and making a scene that would get them both killed.
“Liam, if you can hear me, stay completely still and keep your eyes closed,” Noah said in a low voice. “I’ll let you know when it’s okay to move.”
The sound immediately quieted and Noah knew Liam had heard and understood.
Another good sign.
The sound of the vehicle starting made Noah open his eyes to mere slits, and he surveyed the area around the crash site. In the distance, two men were disappearing into the trees in opposite directions, while the other had apparently taken the vehicle to move it.
“Liam, can you get to Lauren’s phone?” Noah asked.
“What the hell is going on?” Liam asked in a foggy voice laced with confusion and pain.
“I don’t have time to explain right this moment. If you can move and reach Lauren’s phone, I need you to hand it up to me. Lauren’s life—and ours—depends on it.”
Liam let out a low groan and then a moment later, Liam leaned forward to hand Noah the phone.
“Where the hell is Lauren?” Liam demanded.
“Give me a minute, okay?”
He pulled up the address book on the phone and his first call went to the older Colter men. They were closest, and he needed people out to help Lauren and for someone to get out to free him from this damn vehicle.
His second call would be to Seth to pull out all the stops and have every available man on this mountain to hunt these bastards down and make sure they didn’t get their hands on Lauren.
CHAPTER 32
LAUREN stopped and bent over, holding her side and gasping for breath. Each expulsion of breath was painful and she didn’t know if it was because of her desperate flight through the woods or if it was the result of the crash.
Her head hurt. Her side hurt. Every muscle in her body ached.
A sound to her right had her jerking around, pistol up. A squirrel scurried up a tree and the gun wobbled precariously in her grasp.
She was losing her mind and she was rapidly losing any strength she had remaining. The brief adrenaline burst she’d experienced directly after the crash had long since fled, and she was barely existing on fumes.
She had no idea if she was heading in the right direction or not. The crash had completely rattled her and she hadn’t logically thought about direction when she’d fled the crumpled SUV.
What bolstered her spirits was that she hadn’t heard any shots fired. She hoped that her supposition would be correct in that they would come after her and not bother with Liam and Noah. She just prayed that neither were seriously injured in the crash.
After catching her breath, she took off in a jog again, determined to keep on the move and her attackers at a distance. After one particularly steep climb up a rocky incline, she realized that she was back on the road.
Jubilation filled her and she set off in a dead sprint. When she heard an approaching vehicle, she turned, relief making her weak-kneed. Her relief turned to paralyzing fear when she recognized the Hummer that had forced them off the road. The Hummer skidded to a stop, kicking up a cloud of dust. The driver was out and rushing toward her before it had fully stopped.
It was time for payback. She raised the hand holding the pistol and took aim. It was a peculiar moment of disconnect for her. The person wasn’t real. The situation wasn’t real. The gun wasn’t real and neither were the bullets.
It took her back to some of the dreams she had when she was being pursued and she would point the gun and it either wouldn’t fire, or it would be out of bullets. She’d awakened, frightened and frustrated by her inability to shoot her attacker.
It would indeed be over her dead body if she wasn’t able to pull the trigger this time.
And evidently, the man charging her didn’t think she had the balls to do it either because he never let up. She waited until he was only six feet away, and then she calmly pulled the trigger.
The explosion was deafening. The gun jerked in her hand, the recoil so much that she feared she’d missed her target all together.
But then she saw the bloom of red on his chest. The faint shock that registered on his face. He staggered, barely keeping himself up right.
She shot him again, this time right through the forehead.
He went down like a rock.
Before she could register any relief or satisfaction, pain exploded in her head and she went sprawling to the ground. The gun flew from her hand and through the foggy haze of her semiconscious state, she heard the rapid
