Noah stood and spun around, looking at all the other nearby vehicles. He saw exactly what he was looking for about five rows away—a beat-up old pickup truck with primer spots and a bunch of fish decals in the back window. That’s what he needed—a truck that bellowed of a good ol’ boy.
He sprinted over to the truck and looked in the back, finding pretty much what one would expect to see in the back of a truck that spent a lot of time in the woods and frequently needed working on. There was a spare tire, a rusted tool box, some lumber, tow ropes, jumper cables, and a shovel.
Grabbing the shovel, he raced back to the rental car Peyton was trapped in. He shoved the tip under the lid of the trunk, right where the latch was located, and yanked up.
The first time didn’t work completely, but wedged the trunk open enough so he could jam it in a little further. Shoving hard, he popped the latch of the trunk open with a loud cracking sound. He tossed the tool aside, then quickly lifted up the lid.
Peyton blinked up at him from the small trunk space, breathing hard, tears in her eyes and her hair and clothes soaked in sweat. One look at her made Noah want to kill Moore all over again.
Slipping one arm around her shoulders and the other under her legs, he lifted her out of the trunk and gently set her on her feet. He quickly loosened the knot in the ugly tie Moore had used to gag her with, then went to work on the duct tape around her wrists. That took a little longer because he had to be careful not to hurt her, but as soon as she was free, Peyton threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, smoothing her wet hair with his hand and pressing a kiss to her head.
“You came for me,” she said against his chest.
“I’ll always come for you,” he murmured.
“But how did you find me?” she asked softly.
“The Find My Phone app.”
She pulled away enough to look up at him in confusion. “No, I meant how did you even know Scott and Daris had grabbed me?”
“Oh.” He ran a finger down her cheek, wiping away a tear. “I was with Dwayne when the men who tried to kidnap you last night told him some big city guy who liked to twirl his pen all the time had hired them. I immediately knew it was Moore, especially since I thought he was a jackass the moment I met him. When I went back to the apartment and found the door open, the coffee mugs on the floor in the living room, and you gone, I figured Moore and the other guy had taken you with him. I didn’t know his name was Daris. The U.S. government has been after him for a while, but they call him Magpie.”
She shuddered. “Scott said he was taking a flight to Mexico. If we hurry, we might be able to stop him.”
Noah gave her a wry smile. “The cops already took care of that. He’s dead. And Magpie—Daris—has been arrested.”
She looked shocked for a moment, then nodded. “I’m guessing they’ll find a copy of my book in their luggage, if not on them. Whenever they get around to looking for it.”
“We’ll tell them in a little bit, but it might take a while to get it out of police and TSA custody.”
She nodded. “It doesn’t matter. It was a copy. They left my hard drive at your place, so unless someone has messed with it, I’m fine. On the bright side, I did have a lot of time to think about a more dramatic way to end the story while I was lying in that oven of a trunk. I think the readers are really going to like it.”
Noah pulled her close and hugged her again. “Has anyone ever mentioned you writers are crazy?”
She laughed and melted into his arms—exactly where he wanted her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
PEYTON LAY BACK with a contented sigh, smiling as the sea breeze played with her hair. She’d finished her book and sent it off to Gwen that morning. To celebrate, she and Noah had invited some friends over for an impromptu party so they could all hang out on the beach and enjoy the ocean view.
Well, she supposed that everyone else was focused on the water. Peyton was more interested in how good Noah looked in those tight Navy-issue swim trunks as he walked out of the ocean to join her and the others in the chairs they’d sat up on the sand. It was damn near impossible not to stare at him. He could put a Roman statue to shame.
What? It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t stop looking at him.
“How did your medical exam go this morning?” Wes asked as Noah sat down in the chair closest to Peyton, groaning as the mid-day sun began to warm him up.
“Doc says my knee is responding well to physical therapy,” Noah said with a grin. “And the MRI shows the tear that was there is well on its way to healing. If I don’t do anything stupid for the rest of my medical leave, I should be back to a hundred percent in another three or four weeks.”
Peyton wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed by Noah’s announcement. While she obviously wanted his knee to get better, they’d talked enough to know once it was, he’d be going back to active status with his Team. That meant deployments and missions.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. She was ready for this. With Noah’s patience and understanding, trust in him and his Teammates, and the support of their friends, she’d be able to handle this. For a life with Noah, she could put up with anything.
“What about your career? Is that still intact,
