Hard to Hold

by Karen Foley

  “Drop the backpack,” shouted the first man, and Maddie recognized his voice, from talking with him on the phone. His expression was so cold and impassive that her first instinct was to obey him. She felt certain he would kill both her and Jamie with little or no provocation. But before she did anything, she had to ensure her brother’s safety.

  “Let me go to my brother,” she replied. She strove to keep her voice even, but was aware that it sounded high and strained.

  The man stabbed the gun in her direction. “I said drop the backpack, bitch, or I will waste you here and take it from you. Do you understand me?”

  Maddie’s heartbeat pounded in her ears. Jamie watched her, his face twisted with fear. She looked at him, trying to tell him without words that everything would be okay. Slowly, she slid the backpack from her shoulder and lowered it to the ground, and then raised her hands.

  “Now open it and show me what’s inside,” the man ordered.

  Dropping slowly to one knee, Maddie opened the backpack and tilted it toward the men so that they could see the cash inside.

  “It’s all here,” she said. “Fifty thousand dollars. Now please, let me go to my brother.”

  He was still on his knees, weeping softly in a way that tore at Maddie’s heart. She could only imagine what he’d endured.

  “Take one step and I’ll kill you,” the man snarled. “Leave the bag where it is and back away.”

  Her heart nearly exploded in fear at what they might do to Jamie. Instead of obeying, she clutched the pack in one hand. “No. You’re not getting this money until I get my brother. Let me help him to the car, and then you can have the backpack.”

  Without warning, the man with the rifle strode over to Jamie and kicked him viciously in the ribs, knocking him onto his side. Jamie gasped for breath and tried to push himself upright, but the man kicked him again. He lay sprawled with his face in the dirt.

  “No!” Maddie lurched to her feet, intent only on protecting her brother, when the first man deliberately raised his pistol, aimed it at her and pulled back the hammer.

  As if time itself had slowed, she watched his face tighten with intent, even as his finger squeezed the trigger. A dark figure launched itself from the shadows beside the building, tackling the man and knocking him to the ground as a single shot rang out.

  Colton.

  Where had he come from? And how had he reached the building without being seen? As she stood, frozen, the second man whirled around, sweeping his weapon toward the two men as they grappled in the dirt. Almost immediately, new gunfire split the air, this time from the roof of the building, striking the man in the arm, and again in the leg. With a cry, he fell to the ground, clutching his knee, his rifle forgotten.

  Maddie ran to Jamie, instinctively covering his body with her own. Peering through the haze of dust, she could just make out several shadowy figures on the roof, and more figures emerging from behind the building. Anxiety tore through her as she shifted her attention to the two men who were locked in a death struggle just feet from where she crouched over her brother.

  Colton was on his back with the other man straddling him, and Maddie caught a glimpse of the revolver that they were wrestling for control of. She watched, riveted, as they rolled over, and over again. There was a sudden, deafening gunshot, and both men went still.

  13

  MADDIE WAITED, BREATHLESS, for Colton to push the other man away and sit up, but there was no movement from either of them.

  “Colton...” Hardly aware of her actions, she released Jamie, and would have rushed to Colton’s side, except someone held her back. Instinctively, she struggled, lashing out at the hands that restrained her.

  “Easy, Madeleine.” The voice was familiar, and Maddie turned her head to see Aiden Cross, his blue eyes uncharacteristically sober.

  “Aiden—”

  “Stay with your brother until we make sure the area is clear.”

  “But Colton—”

  “We’ll take care of him. You stay here.”

  His voice brooked no argument, and slowly, Maddie became aware of the activity around her. At least a dozen other men swarmed over the area. Two were putting handcuffs on the man with the rifle, disregarding his injuries and his pleas for medical aid. Two more men were being roughly shoved out of the building in handcuffs, struggling against the men who restrained them. She recognized Siyota and several others from the reservation. At least six additional men wore distinctive black windbreakers with Police and U.S. Marshal emblazoned in yellow across the back.

  “You were here the entire time,” she breathed in sudden understanding. “On the roof, and hidden in those outbuildings.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Aiden confirmed. “Since last night, actually.”

  A soft groan had Maddie turning swiftly toward her brother, who had struggled to his knees beside her. One of the deputies had freed his hands, and Jamie was absently rubbing his wrists, which were chafed raw by the bindings.

  “Oh, Jamie,” she said, and knelt beside him, hugging him hard. “What were you thinking?”

  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled against her shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Shh. It’s okay. Thank God you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

  He pulled away enough to look at her through his good eye. “How did you manage this? Where did all these guys come from?”

  Maddie gently touched his face. “I’ll explain everything later. Are you okay?”

  He nodded, and Maddie gave him another careful hug. “I’ve never been so worried in my entire life.” Pulling back, she inspected the damage to his face, her heart constricting at the evidence of what he had endured. “What did they do to you?”

  “Nothing I didn’t deserve,” he muttered. “They beat me up pretty good, but I’ll survive. Thank God you came. I think they would have killed me if you hadn’t brought the money.”

  “We’ll get you to a hospital.” She glanced beyond him. “Sit here for a minute, okay? Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

  Standing up, she turned to where Colton still lay on the ground beneath the other man. Her heart was gripped in a cold fist. He should have been moving by now, should have pushed the body of the other man aside and sat up. Aiden and a U.S. marshal were crouched over the two men, and as Maddie took a tentative step toward them, they rolled the body of the top man off Colton. The kidnapper flopped lifelessly onto his back. His eyes were open, but sightless, and Maddie could see that he was dead.

  Aiden bent over Colton, pressing two fingers against his throat as he checked for a pulse. Maddie felt her own throat close in fear as she dropped to her knees by his side. Colton’s face was ashen, and his normally burnished skin looked waxy and pale. One of the U.S. marshals who crouched beside Aiden tore Colton’s shirt open, and for the first time, Maddie saw the blood that soaked his black T-shirt and pooled in the dust beneath him.

  He wore no protective vest beneath his shirt, and blood seeped in a steady stream from a small hole just above his hip bone. A wave of dizziness washed over Maddie and she turned away, feeling weak and nauseous.

  “Somebody get her out of here,” the marshal growled as he applied pressure to the wound.

  She turned back, shaking her head in denial. “No, please. I want to stay with him.” Her voice broke as she put a hand on Colton’s chest. “I need to stay with him.”

  The marshal looked sharply at her. “Are you Madeleine Howe?”

  She nodded. The man was good-looking in a serious, law-enforcement kind of way, with his short hair and square jaw. His eyes were the color of tempered glass, and he had an air of authority that was impossible to ignore.

  His lips tightened. “I’m Marshal Jason Cooper. Deputy Black works for me. If it had been up to me, I’d have had you arrested that first day. In fact, I ordered Deputy
Black to bring you in, but he insisted you needed his help.”

  Marshal Cooper didn’t actually say that it was her fault Colton had been shot, but Maddie heard the unspoken message all the same. Guilt jackknifed through her. It was her fault that he’d been injured. He hadn’t planned on bringing her to the silver mine, and therefore hadn’t planned on needing two protective vests. When he’d made the decision to bring her, he’d given her the only vest he had, leaving himself vulnerable and unprotected.

  He’d taken the bullet that had been meant for her. She hadn’t listened to him, and had thought she could somehow manipulate the kidnappers into releasing her brother, when she should have stuck to the plan and returned to the car. Now he lay injured, possibly even dying, because of her foolish behavior. The thought of losing him was so incredibly painful that she almost doubled over with the force of it.

  “Is he going to live?” Her voice trembled, and she was helpless to prevent her tears. Reaching down, she gripped Colton’s hand in hers, willing him to feel her presence. In the distance, she could hear the wail of approaching sirens.

  “He’s lost a lot of blood. I suspect the bullet may have nicked an artery,” Marshal Cooper replied, keeping his hands pressed over the wound. “An ambulance is on the way.”

  Maddie’s chest tightened with emotion, and she didn’t trust herself to speak, so she simply nodded, her vision blurring.

  “How’s your brother?” the marshal asked.

  Maddie glanced at Jamie, realizing she’d completely forgotten about him in her concern for Colton. She was relieved to see Siyota and another man tending to his injuries. “He’s pretty busted up, but he’s alive,” she replied. “Thanks to you and your men.”

  Even as she spoke, three ambulances and two police cruisers passed through the gates, creating a cloud of dust as they drew to a stop by the entrance of the building. Two EMTs immediately began to assess Colton’s condition and worked to staunch his bleeding. Stepping back to where her brother still sat on the dusty ground, Maddie knelt beside him and put her arm around him, watching as the first responders worked to save Colton’s life. She had never felt so helpless.

  They put an oxygen mask over his face and inserted an IV drip into one arm before they carefully transferred him to a stretcher and carried him over to a waiting ambulance. She’d never seen him look so vulnerable.

  “Do you want to ride with him?” her brother asked.

  Dragging her attention back to Jamie, she forced a brief smile. “No. I want to ride with you.”

  She helped him to his feet as two more EMTs approached to assess his injuries, and walked with him to a second waiting ambulance. But her eyes were on Colton as he lay motionless on a gurney several feet away.

  Marshal Cooper drew her aside, and she had to drag her attention away from Colton in order to focus on what his colleague was saying. He carried the backpack of money, and Maddie could see it had been sealed with a zip tie, and now bore a bright yellow tag with the U.S. Marshal emblem on it.

  “Your brother needs you, Ms. Howe.” He spoke quietly. “He’s been through a traumatic ordeal. We’ll get him checked out at the hospital, but then I’ll need to get some information from him about the men who took him. Aiden will ride with Colton.”

  “Will they take my brother to the same hospital as Colton?”

  Marshal Cooper nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I also want to thank you for your actions today. Because of your help, we’ve apprehended three members of the notorious Canterino crime family, and eliminated a fourth. We finally have the evidence we need to indict them and begin dismantling their rackets ring.”

  “I had nothing to do with it,” she said soberly. “You should thank Colton, Aiden and the others.”

  She watched as the ambulance carrying Colton pulled away, lights flashing, and her heart went with him.

  She loved him.

  The realization was so sudden, and so overwhelming, that for a moment her legs went wobbly.

  “Ma’am, are you okay?”

  Marshal Cooper watched her with an expression of concern.

  “I’m fine,” she assured him, but she knew she wasn’t. Colton Black had worked his way into her heart. If he died, a part of her would die, too.

  “Then let’s get your brother to the hospital,” the marshal said briskly. He handed her up into the back of the ambulance. “We’ll talk later.”

  Maddie climbed in beside Jamie, noting that the EMTs had bandaged the worst of his injuries. Marshal Cooper closed the doors, and Maddie watched through the windows as he grew smaller in the distance until finally, the ambulance turned a corner and he disappeared from sight.

  The ride to the hospital seemed to last forever, although in reality it took less than twenty minutes. Once they arrived, Jamie was swept off to the emergency room for further assessment and treatment. While he was being cared for, Maddie went in search of Colton.

  She found Aiden pacing a waiting area on the second floor, his expression grim as he spoke in low tones on his cell phone. When he saw her, he ended the call and came over to take her in his arms and give her a reassuring hug.

  “Hey,” he said, “are you okay?”

  Maddie nodded and pushed him away. “Where is he? Can I see him?”

  “He’s in surgery.”

  “How bad is he?” Maddie strove to keep her voice steady, but was unable to prevent the wobble that crept into it. “Is he going to make it?”

  Aiden passed a hand over his eyes. “I don’t know. I didn’t really have a chance to talk to the doctors before they wheeled him into the O.R.”

  “Okay.” Maddie drew in a deep breath, willing herself to remain calm, when all she really wanted to do was collapse in an emotional puddle on the floor. “I’ll wait here with you, at least for a while.”

  “How is your brother?”

  “He’s dehydrated, and the doctors think he might have some cracked ribs, but he’s going to make a full recovery. They’ve taken him down for X-rays, and then they’re going to admit him overnight for observation. I told him I’d come to his room when I knew how Colton was doing.”

  “Do you want something to drink? Bottled water or maybe a cup of coffee?” Aiden asked.

  “No, thanks.” Maddie didn’t think she could eat or drink anything right now. Her insides were churning with anxiety. She walked over to one of the small seating areas, dropped into a chair and buried her face in her hands.

  She sensed rather than saw Aiden come sit beside her, and didn’t protest when he put an arm around her shoulders and drew her to his side. “Hey, he’s going to be okay. I’ve known Colton my whole life, and he’s pretty damned tough. He’ll pull through.”

  Maddie nodded, wanting desperately to believe him. But the next several hours seemed interminable as she alternately waited for Colton to come out of surgery, and spent time with Jamie, who had been sedated and moved to a private room. By the time she returned to the waiting area for the third time in as many hours, Aiden had been joined by Jason Cooper, Siyota Fast Horse and Colton’s mother and stepfather. They were waiting in somber silence when two men finally made their way down the corridor toward them.

  Maddie surged to her feet, aware that the others did the same. One man wore the medical scrubs of a surgeon. The second wore khakis and a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. There was something vaguely familiar about him that made Maddie think they had met before, but as they drew closer, she realized they hadn’t. He was an older man in his late fifties, and while he was distinguished-looking, Maddie realized she didn’t know him.

  “It was touch and go for a while,” said the surgeon. “A fragment of the bullet was lodged near his spine, but we were able to remove it. He’s going to pull through.”

  “Oh, thank God,” Maddie breathed, her knees going weak again. She was hardly aware of Aiden
holding her up.

  “I flew here as soon as Aiden called me,” said the man in khakis, speaking directly to Colton’s mother.

  Susan Waite stepped forward and embraced him. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me. I didn’t perform the surgery,” the man replied. “Dr. Carroll is the one who saved his life.”

  “Thank you for being here,” she said, stepping out of his embrace. “It means a lot to me.”

  “He’s our son. Where else would I be?”

  Maddie understood then why the man looked so familiar. He was Colton’s father. He and Colton shared a tall, muscular physique, but that’s where the similarity ended. Where Colton was all burnished skin and black hair and eyes, his father had light brown hair and gray eyes. But Colton had inherited the older man’s dimples, as well as his manner of speech. When Colton’s father spoke, you had a sense that everything would be okay.

  While the surgeon provided details of the surgery, and what they could expect over the next several days, Colton’s father stepped forward and extended a hand to Maddie.

  “You must be Madeleine.” His gray eyes were warmly assessing. “I’m Simon Black, his father.”

  She shook his hand. “How did you know who I was?”

  “I spoke to Colton yesterday, and he talked about you in great detail.” Simon grinned as Maddie’s face grew warm. “And his first words in the recovery room just now were about you. He wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “He’s awake?” Maddie knew she had no right to see him, not when his parents and best friend were waiting to visit him, but every cell in her body ached to be near him. She needed to see him, to assure herself that he really was okay.

  “He’s heavily sedated,” Simon was saying. “He probably won’t come around for several more hours, and even then he’ll be under the influence of some pretty strong drugs.” He smiled. “I’d suggest you come back tomorrow, but something tells me you wouldn’t listen.”

  Maddie felt a reluctant smile tug at her mouth. “My brother is in a room downstairs, so I’m planning on staying the night. But even if he wasn’t, I couldn’t leave Colton.”