by Hope White
What an idiot to expose myself like this.
Is this guy just going to keep me here while his partner pulls around in the SUV?
“Hands behind your head,” the bearded guy ordered.
Jack did as he was told, having calculated the kind of damage a rifle like that could do to a human being. Where were the police? Surely Zoe had called them.
Unless she’d been too traumatized to accurately describe their location.
“Now turn around,” the guy demanded.
Not good. The only reason to turn around was to make shooting Jack an easier task.
“What’s this about?” Jack said, trying to buy time.
“Where is the woman?”
“I don’t know.” If he charged the guy, Jack was dead. He needed to buy enough time for the sheriff’s deputies to arrive.
“Who are you?” Jack asked.
The guy motioned with the rifle. “On your knees, hotshot.”
If there was a God, Jack hoped—no, he prayed—that Zoe was still hidden beneath the evergreen and wasn’t watching this.
He slowly lowered himself to his knees, calculating an angle at which he could attack without being shot squarely in the chest.
The sound of muted sirens echoed in the distance. Zoe had made the call. Jack just needed a few seconds. Five, four...
“You sure you want to do this?” Jack said, his knees wet from the snow.
Calculations were done. He knew the correct angle that would cause the least amount of damage.
Three, two...
“You talk a lot.”
One.
Jack charged.
The gun went off.
Something smashed against Jack’s head.
A woman screamed. Zoe?
Jack went facedown in the snow, his last thought that the guy’s accomplice had Zoe.
NINE
“The street behind the Ashford Inn, I don’t know the name,” Zoe said to the 911 operator. She peered through the tree branches, needles scratching her cheek, to see what was going on out front.
Was that...?
“No,” she gasped.
“Ma’am, what is it?” the operator asked.
Jack was on his knees, his hands interlaced behind his head. Facing a man with a long rifle.
Zoe was about to scream, when Jack charged the gunman. They stumbled out of view and a gunshot rang out. Zoe shoved branches aside to get a better look.
Jack was down, motionless in the snow. And the shooter was standing over him.
“He’s going to kill Jack.”
“Ma’am—”
She bolted out of the cover.
Don’t be stupid. Don’t sacrifice yourself, because then Jack’s death won’t count for—
His death? No, she wouldn’t let that happen.
She was smart. As a kid, she’d outwitted a rare genetic disease. She could certainly figure out a way to save Jack.
“How close are deputies?” she said into the phone.
“Four, maybe five minutes away.”
“I’m going to distract him.”
“Ma’am, I have to advise you—”
She pocketed the phone and took off through a backyard, still out of view, screaming at the top of her lungs. She hoped to both lure the shooter away from Jack’s defenseless body and get some Neighborhood Watch action going. The more people who came out to see what was going on, the less likely the guy would commit murder on someone’s front lawn.
She heard a door open at a neighboring house. Good, people were paying attention. As she crossed through another backyard, she came face-to-face with the shooter. “Don’t shoot, please don’t shoot!” She put her hands together and prayed.
“I’m not going to shoot you,” the man said.
Of course not. He wanted to kidnap her.
She kept praying, prayed that the police would arrive, prayed that Jack would be okay, even if she was taken on his watch.
“Ma’am, are you okay?”
Her eyes popped open.
“Am I okay? What an odd question coming from the guy who’s trying to kidnap me and beat up an innocent man.”
“That man out front? I don’t know how you can call him innocent, considering he was chasing you through the neighborhood. That’s why I came out here in the first place. And I certainly have no interest in kidnapping you.”
“Oh, right,” Zoe said. From an innocent bystander’s perspective, Jack had been chasing her, even though he’d been trying to protect and defend her. To this bearded guy, it probably looked like Jack was the perpetrator.
“There’s been a misunderstanding,” she said, walking toward the front where Jack had been assaulted. “The man out front is actually with Search and Rescue. He protected me from an attacker.”
The bearded guy shook his head in frustration. “Why didn’t he say so?”
“Well, in his defense, he probably assumed you were the bad guy. But you are...?” she prompted.
“Billy Arndt. I live across the street.” He pointed to a brick bungalow where a dog was barking insistently from the window. “My dog, Tank, knew something was up. When I checked the window, I saw you running from that guy and figured I’d assist. I called 911.”
“So did I. How badly is my friend hurt?”
“He’ll probably have a headache for a few hours. He came at me and I had to defend myself. I’m sorry about that.”
“I understand.”
“He could have told me who he was.”
“Did you identify yourself as a concerned neighbor?”
“No.” He glanced at Zoe. “Point taken.”
When they reached the front of the house, the sound of sirens grew louder. She went to Jack, who lay on the ground, and she knelt in the snow beside him.
“Jack?” She willed his blue eyes to open. She placed her palm against his cheek in the hopes the connection would bring him back to consciousness. “It’s okay,” she said. “We’re safe.”
He blinked his eyes open. She offered an encouraging nod. Then he glanced over her shoulder, and his jaw clenched.
“He’s not one of them,” she said. “He’s a neighbor, Billy Arndt. He was trying to help.”
Jack glanced back at Zoe, as if trying to reconcile her words with what had happened to him. “He threatened to kill me.”
“I was trying to hold you for police,” Billy said. “I didn’t know you were friends with the young lady. I’m sorry.”
She took off Jack’s jacket.
“No,” Jack said. “You need it.”
“I’m not soaked in snow.” She started to lay it across him. Jack sat up, gripping his head.
Two squad cars and a dark sedan pulled up to the curb. Billy laid his rifle on the ground. Detective Perry got out of the sedan and approached Zoe and Jack.
“Did the kidnapper assault him?” Perry asked.
“I assaulted him by accident,” Billy said. “I thought he was the bad guy.”
Two deputies joined them. A few front doors opened, and neighbors peeked out to get a look.
“What happened?” Detective Perry asked Zoe.
“The lights went out at the Ashford Inn and I feared they’d found me, so I took off.”
“I saw her running away and followed,” Jack said. “I saw another guy, over six feet tall, in pursuit so I strategized a way to assist without revealing my presence.”
“At least not to humans,” Billy interjected. Perry glanced at him. “My dog alerted me that something was going on outside and I saw the young woman tearing through the neighborhood like a cougar was on her heels. I got my weapon and went to investigate. That’s when I ran into this guy.” He nodded at Jack.
“They both mistook the other for the guy who was after me,” Zoe said.
“Everything okay, officer?” a woman called from her front porch across the street.
“Yes, ma’am, please go back into your house,” one of the deputies said.
“Did you get a look at him?” Detective Perry asked Zoe.
“The man in my room was the intruder from the other night.”
“He drove a newer model SUV, tan, with some kind of rack on top,” Jack offered.
“Plate number?” Perry asked.
“Too far away. It had a spotlight on the side, like you have on squad cars.”
Detective Perry glanced at the deputy on his right. “Question the neighbors. Maybe they saw something.” He nodded at the other deputy. “Head back to the Ashford Inn and locate the innkeepers. Radio me when it’s safe and we’ll take her back to get her things.”
“After I go to the urgent care with Jack,” Zoe said.
“I don’t need urgent care,” Jack said.
“To check out your head injury?”
“I’m fine.” He stood to prove it and winced only slightly. “Where are you going to move her?”
“Not sure yet,” Perry said. “But wherever it is, no one can know the location, not even you.”
* * *
Of course the detective was leaving Jack out of the loop, because Jack had utterly failed. He could have gotten the plate number, or some other detail about the car that would help authorities find the intruder and unravel this mess, but he hadn’t. Instead, Jack ended up in the snow, threatened by a well-meaning neighbor.
Maybe if his social acumen had been more sound, he would have asked the right questions to decipher that Billy wasn’t the perpetrator. Instead, he’d missed an opportunity to develop a lead in the case.
And Zoe was still in danger.
Jack and Zoe waited in the back of Deputy Perry’s sedan for the all clear to return to the inn and gather her things. Then she’d disappear. Jack would never see her again, at least not while this was an open investigation.
“I won’t agree to it, by the way,” Zoe said.
“Agree to what?”
“Shutting you out. I don’t care what police say, you know details of this case better than anyone and I have confidence you’re the one person who can keep me safe.” She hesitated. “Unless you need to get back to your business. I would totally understand if you—”
“I didn’t keep you safe today.”
“Uh, yeah, you did.”
“I ended up facedown in the snow.”
“You hid me from the guy chasing me.”
“The friendly neighbor could have been one of them.”
“But he wasn’t.”
“I shouldn’t have gone on the search mission.”
“Whoa, you forgot to signal again.”
“I can’t protect you if I’m not here.”
“I appreciate that, but you’re not the only one with the goal of protecting me. I have a whole police department on my side, remember?”
“I don’t like Detective Perry.”
“You don’t have to like him. As long as he does his job and solves this case. Anyway, I won’t agree to their plan of whisking me off to some secret location without you knowing where I am.”
“You may not have a choice.”
“We always have a choice. That’s the beauty of living.”
He studied Zoe, an adorable woman who had been threatened more times in the past two days than most people were in an entire lifetime.
“Is it your faith that makes you so strong?” he said.
“Partially. And life experience.”
He waited, hoping she’d share more.
“My little brother was very sick growing up. They told us he may not make it, but I wouldn’t accept that. I researched the condition, encouraged my parents to ask the right questions, and basically took over running the household. But there was no one to take care of me. Then Shannon’s family treated me like one of their own, including taking me to church with them. Life isn’t easy, but it’s exciting, that’s for sure.”
“You were so upset when we were under the tree.”
“Me and adrenaline, not a good mix. I kind of fall apart, sorry.”
“I liked it, I mean, that I could make you feel safe.”
“Me, too.” She smiled.
Did his heart skip a beat? That’s what it felt like.
“That’s one reason I need you around,” she said. “The fact you make me feel safe.”
“There are other reasons?” He could feel his pulse quicken.
“Shannon is not a drug dealer and I need to prove it. You know how the community center has a video feed?”
“Yes.”
“Jeanie said she never got the drugs directly from Shannon, but they mysteriously appeared in her backpack. What if we accessed the center’s video feed, went back a few weeks and looked for whoever put the drugs in Jeanie’s backpack?”
His heart sank. Zoe wanted his tech skills more than anything else. He sighed.
“What, is accessing the video feed against the law or something?”
“I’m sure if we asked nicely, they’ll let us take a look.”
“But?”
But I was hoping you wanted me around because you liked me, that you were feeling this intense pull between us, too.
“It’s a long shot. They may not keep weeks of video,” he said, noting her hopeful expression. “But it’s worth a try.” He glanced out the opposite window, suddenly needing distance and fresh air to recalibrate his mind. “I’m going to check on the status of things.”
As he got out of the car, she touched his arm. “What did I say?”
He glanced back at her concerned face.
“I upset you,” she said.
Jack managed to hide his immediate reaction, which was to affirm that she had, in fact, hurt his feelings. What good would it do to admit the truth? She wanted his assistance to find her friend, that was all. There was nothing more going on here, at least on her end.
“I’m worried about your safety,” he said.
“Are you sure it’s not something else? I mean, besides that?”
Detective Perry stepped up to the car to address them both. “It’s safe to go back to the inn and get your things. We located the innkeeper, who was asleep in her suite downstairs. We’re considering the possibility someone drugged her tea.”
“You mean the tea that was out in the living room?” Zoe asked.
“Yes. Why, did you drink it?”
“I didn’t have time. A good thing, I guess.”
“How did they know where Zoe was staying?” Jack asked. “I called the inn and they wouldn’t confirm or deny her presence.”
“Don’t have an answer on that yet. Deputy Ortman will drive you to the inn, then we’ll move you to a secure location.”
“With Jack.”
“Excuse me?”
“He needs to be a part of this.”
“He is a search-and-rescue volunteer, not a police officer.”
“He is also a friend and I need his support.”
* * *
The next morning Zoe awoke with a gasp from a fitful night’s sleep. She sat up and scanned her surroundings, remembering where she was and why.
Someone had discovered her location at the inn. Police had whisked her away to a motor lodge outside of town and Perry had reserved a suite under a false name to protect her identity.
She was in a bedroom, under the covers, with her clothes on. Alone.
“Jack,” she whispered.
She didn’t like the fact that her first thought upon waking was of him. She should be focused on finding answers to Shannon’s crisis.
But Jack was on her mind. Had she thanked him appropriately for saving her last night? For pulling her under the tree for cover a
nd holding her until the threat had passed?
She shared her gratitude with the Lord that she’d been able to convince Detective Perry she needed Jack in her life. Hopefully he was in the next room.
She washed her face and brushed her teeth, thanks to supplies she’d picked up yesterday. She opened the door to the main living area, complete with kitchenette. It was empty.
She wandered to the front window and pushed aside the curtain, spotted a squad car out front, plus Jack’s SUV. The front door opened and Romeo raced inside.
“Hey, I missed you.” Zoe reached down to pet the dog’s fur.
“Got us some breakfast,” Jack said, carrying a brown take-out bag to the kitchen table.
Deputy Ortman poked his head into the suite. “Everything good?” he asked Zoe.
“Yes, thank you.”
He closed the door and Zoe joined Jack at the kitchen table. “Any news?”
“Yes, actually, some good news.”
She held her breath. Shannon.
“Sorry, not about your friend.”
She sighed.
“They found the suspect, the man they think was after you last night. His vehicle fits the description, including the floodlight. They have him in custody, but he’s not speaking until his lawyer arrives. They’re doing a background check. Detective Perry wants you to come to the station to identify him.”
“Oh, okay. I can go right now.” She stood.
“Not yet. Detective Perry will notify us when he needs us. In the meantime, we stay here.”
She sat back down. “You never told me about the mission yesterday.”
Jack pulled out a foam container and placed it in front of her. “Egg sandwiches.”
“Thanks. The search-and-rescue call?”
“A park ranger radioed in that he saw a woman in an orange jacket.”
“Shannon?” Zoe said, hope filling her chest. Then again, if anything good had come from the search, Jack would have told her already.
“Maybe Shannon,” he said. “We don’t know for sure who it was.”
“An orange jacket, it had to be her. What was she doing? Did she look okay? Was she hurt?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he meticulously opened his breakfast sandwich container. She sensed he didn’t want to answer.