TRUE HERO: A Romantic Suspense Novel (True Hearts Series Book 1)

by Susan Owensby

“Oh! Oh! My goodness, I didn’t even think of that. You are a pure genius, Jonah. I could just kiss you right now!” I cringed inside at that thought.

  “Listen Bella, thanks for calling me and letting me know. I know where to look and I will go get her and take her to work. Can you call Frank and let him know please?” I asked as politely as my temper would let me.

  “Oh, I already talked to Frank. He said it was really slow today so he tried calling her to tell her to take the day off, but he couldn’t reach her either. So, he told me to call you as soon as possible and that’s exactly what I did, too,” she said to me as if she deserved a medal or something. Rolling my eyes to Shane, he just smiled and wiggled his eyebrows about what Bella said.

  “Thanks Bella, I will take care of her. Let Frank know for me please,” I said as I ended the call.

  “Well, well, well, looks like you have two women that want a piece of you, bro. I will do you a favor and give Bella the reward she so deserves for being so helpful,” he said as he stood to leave, giving me a shit-eating grin.

  I rolled my eyes at him again. Pushing passed him, I grabbed my worn leather jacket and stopped to say, “Go for it Shane, but when she turns you down don’t come crying to me.” I quickly walked out, remembering the shocked look on Shane’s face and laughed to myself.

  I had to get going. Somewhere out there, my girl was walking and it was about to rain. Hell, there had been thunderstorm and tornado warnings all morning. As I turned the ignition, the winds suddenly picked up and a bolt of lightning clashed in the sky. Damn! Time to fucking go!

  As I pulled onto Main Street, the gusts were starting to twist and throw trashcans and debris every which way. That was not a good sign. Trying to hurry, but also trying to keep an eye out for Ally, was getting harder. Then the skies opened and hail started falling. Boom! More lightning and thunder. The hail was getting bigger and coming down faster. Ally was out in this? I had to find her now. This was a killer storm. One of many that we had endured in the Mid-West since the beginning of time. She was smart enough to find shelter. But where would she go? If she made it to the highway there was nothing to protect her out there. Nothing.

  Instincts kicking into gear, I headed to the exit for the highway. Hell, I had driven in sandstorms worse than this I was good in a crisis and this certainly qualified as one. Flipping on the radio, I listened to the warnings. It was bad. A tornado was spotted on the ground about twenty-five miles out. Shit! Time was running out. I had to find her. People were quickly pulling off the exits left and right, looking for shelter. Gunning the engine and flipping the wipers on high, I sent a prayer to God above that the tornado would lose steam before getting here. Hold on Ally, I will find you my girl.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ally

  If I said it once, I had said it a hundred times. I needed to fucking start going to a gym. Having only walked about halfway to the diner, I had to stop and take a break. By that point, I was out on the highway with nothing and no one around. Peering around, I searched for somewhere to sit for a while. Seeing no real options, I decided to head for the next overpass. If I made it there, it would give me a break from the straight-line winds that were becoming a bitch to walk in.

  Being born and bred in the Mid-West, I knew when a bad storm was coming. It was cold last night, then it got too warm too fast for early afternoon. A bad combination if things were just right. I was sure things were just right, but oh-so wrong for me. I was walking on a highway without any homes or buildings between me and my destination. I was screwed. Finding shelter out here was an impossible challenge. The best I could hope for was a deep ditch where I would have to cover my head or get to an overpass and climb all the way up the slant on the concrete, where the top and side meet and then pray.

  I could see the overpass in the distance, I never made it. Things took a turn for the worse right before my eyes. The skies opened and poured a hail storm on me. Another one of those fucking signs. Eye to the sky was the saying, I thought. Great, I would fucking take a look at the sky, if there wasn’t a chance I would lose an eye to the vengeful ice. It pelted every inch of my body. When it first started, they were pea sized pieces that stung a bit when they hit my bare skin. It wasn’t too bad. But then they started coming faster and growing bigger.

  I was in trouble. Running for all I was worth, I tried to shield my face yet still see where the hell I was going. I finally had to let my purse go so I pulled the strap in two and tied it round a mile marker sign with the strength that I had left. Maybe it would be a breadcrumb for later. I hoped so anyway. The bigger hail hurt, dammit. Not just a little bit either. Trying to run on top of the large ice crystals while battling with the winds, was damn near impossible.

  I should have known I wouldn’t make it. As I tried to run again, I stepped down on a large piece of hail and that was it. Landing face first, I rolled down the steep embankment. I hit something on the way down, to this day I couldn’t say what it was. The skin on my palm ripped open the instant it happened and then my face felt like it was being torn off. Was it just the wind picking up again? But when I hit that last anonymous item, it was lights out.

  I woke sometime later, with no idea of how much time had passed. The storm was still going but rain fell from the sky instead of hail. I lay still and tried to listen. All I heard was the storm. Rain ran down the embankment in streams like a river. The clashes of lightning sounded as if the gods of Olympus themselves were at war. And there was something else I couldn’t quite place. I tried to get up, but when I rolled over the pain hit me everywhere. My head throbbed on one side and my cheek stung for some reason. But when I put my hand down to try and get up again, that made me scream. Pulling my hand closer to my face, I saw blood running from a large cut straight across my palm. Shit. That was not good. Pressing my cut hand to my side to try and stanch the blood flowing, I tried to get up again using only my uninjured hand. Making it to my knees, I realized the rain has slowed just a bit. That was a good sign. Thank God.

  The embankment was steep. With the throbbing in my head, I didn’t know if I would be able to walk up it on my own. But I had to try. No one would ever find me down here. Using my good hand, I tried to stand and screamed so loudly it made my lungs hurt. I looked down at the foot that had caused me such grief and realized it had swollen to double its normal size. Shocked, I just lay back down on the gravel and dirt and tried to breathe. I needed to calm down and think. Panic tried to free itself from my chest as I contemplated my predicament. No. No. You will not have a panic attack Ally. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breath out.

  Trying to calm myself so I could think rationally again, I rolled over onto my side and lifted my cut hand to check on the bleeding. The blood was still flowing and I had to stop it. Yanking my shirttail from my pants, I tried to rip a piece off to tie around my hand. It didn’t work. They made it look so easy in the damn movies. All I accomplished was pulling up the front of my shirt so my boobs would get a good soaking. Rolling back over and sitting up, I decided to use both hands to rip it, no matter how much it would hurt. It still didn’t fucking work. Fucking lame ass movies.

  I decided to take off my heavy button up sweater that was so soaked it swished at my movements. Pulling both sides at the same time to pop the buttons off, worked just like in the movies. I peeled the wet shirt from my body and set it on my lap while I tried to put the wet sweater back on. The rain was now steady and almost peaceful, but the temperature had dropped quite a bit. I was starting to shake. Not good. Finally, I got the sweater back on but I couldn’t button it. Exhaustion overwhelmed me and I started to cry as I wrapped my shirt around my bleeding hand. Why was I crying? I was alive. Hurt yes, but I would be ok. I had to be. But still, I cried. I just let it out. Everything that was pent up just came rolling out of me right along with the rain.

  I tried to crawl up the embankment several times managing to move a few feet each time. It was better than nothing I thought at the time. Progress was progress. No givin
g up. This was life. When I fell down, I had to get back up. When someone knocked me down, I had to get back up. Keep fighting for what I wanted. Keep fighting for what was right. I crawled up another foot or so and collapsed. I was so tired. Why was I tired? There was that sound again. It was a little clearer than earlier. That first time, I could have sworn it was the ominous sound of a tornado. Thankfully, I was wrong. But this time was different. Maybe it was a car horn? Or maybe I was losing my mind. I laughed to myself for no reason whatsoever. I was sleepy and I knew that was bad, but for the life of me I couldn’t recall why it was. But I just needed to close my eyes for a minute. Just one minute.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jonah

  I had driven north and south on the highway for over thirty minutes, looking for any signs of Ally. Granted, the storm hadn’t made it easy to see anything at all but still I searched. I called Shane to let him know what was going on and he was joining in the search. Backup was coming. Glancing at the time, I realized that was about twenty minutes ago, so any moment now there would be more people on the lookout for her. Panic crept in a bit and I quickly reined myself in. I had been in worse situations than this. I could handle it.

  Executing another U-turn, I was headed back toward the diner when my phone beeped.

  “Shane tell me you have her?” I demanded quickly.

  “No, I’m sorry, Jonah, but I am here. Where are you? What direction are you going? I will go the opposite and we will find her I know it. The rain is letting up a bit and the sky is starting to lighten. We got this man. Do you hear me brother?” I heard Shane’s words, just barely.

  “I am headed toward the diner, you head the opposite way and we will meet up,” I ordered quickly and hung up.

  As I hung up, I noticed it had eased up on the downpour. What fell from the sky was now more of softer, steadier rain. I slowed and put my windows down, not caring if the interior got wet. It was a clearer visual path to any sign of where she could be. She was smart. She would know what to do in a storm like this. I had already checked all the overpasses, knowing myself that those could be used as a place of refuge if you had no other choice. A person just needed to know where in the underpass to seek shelter. No luck. Up and down the highway, I went trying so damn hard to find her. But mother nature wouldn’t cooperate.

  What the hell was that? Something blue flapped in the wind, but what the hell was it? I sped up just a bit and scooted my truck onto the shoulder to get a better look. What the fu… I put the vehicle in park, jumped out and ripped the item off the mile marker sign. It was a woman’s purse. It had opened during the storm and not much was left inside. I got back inside so I could get a better look. Digging around, I found a zipped pocket on the inside and when I opened it I pulled out Ally’s driver’s license. Fuck baby, you did it! I turned the engine off and got back out of the Suburban. Dialing Shane, I told him what I found. I demanded him to get his ass to mile marker eighty-six because my girl left us a trail.

  Grabbing my survival kit that I kept in the back of the Suburban, I strapped it on. I headed to the edge of the embankment and cursed beneath my breath when I saw how steep it was. Fuck, if she had fallen from here, it wouldn’t be good. I surveyed every inch I could see and finally I saw her. Not moving. Laying on her back with something white on her hand.

  “Fuck baby,” I whispered. “Please be ok.”

  I was able to scale down the side fairly easily, though I did slide at times. There was no way she could get back up this embankment without help. Gravel helped a bit for traction, but now there was too much mud. As I had gotten closer, I could see that she was unconscious, arms spread out to her sides. the white that I saw from above, as I got closer I could see it had blood on it. The sight of the red marring the scrap of white, spurred me to hasten my descent. With my gloves on and my feet positioned at an angle, I shifted into a purposeful slide to get to her faster.

  I went a little too fast and almost overshot her. Skidding to a stop at her waist level, I was able to get a good look. My eyes quickly assessed her condition. Where the hell was her shirt? Ahh, that’s what was wrapped around her hand. Good thinking, baby. But her sweater was wide open, the only thing covering her from the waist up was a thin, wet, white bra. Blood streaks marked her stomach, maybe from her trying to hold her sweater closed. Squatting down, I felt for her pulse. It was steady, thank God, but a bit slow. Hypothermia. Taking off my jacket, I tucked it around her to help ward off some of the rain. I gently felt her arms, ribs, and legs, checking for injury. When I reached her foot, it was swollen immensely. Damn. I heard Shane’s truck in the distance, so I knew he would be able to help me get her up to the top.

  To protect her from the still falling rain, I opened my backpack and pulled out the folded poncho, tucking it all around her. I leaned in close to her face and spoke her name. “Ally? Ally, baby wake up. Come on, honey. You need to wake up now. Come on, follow my voice. You can do this.”

  I gently spoke to her, as I started to caress her face. Such a beautiful woman. My woman. I knew it with each breath I took. Leaning in, I placed a gentle kiss on those beautiful lips then said, “Hey there, Freckles. Come on, open those beautiful eyes of yours. Come on, baby.”

  As I waited for backup, I started planning how we would move her. It would be difficult to say the least. I put my body directly over hers, putting my weight on my forearms and knees to shield her from the rain as much as possible. Mesmerized by her beautiful face, I kept trying coax her to wake.

  “Ally! Time to rise and shine young lady! Wake up!” I demanded.

  She moaned low and deep. Yes!

  “Come on, baby. You can do this. You must wake up now,” I nearly begged this time.

  Moaning again, her eyes fluttered several times before they fully opened. Assessing her eyes as she stared at me I was certain she didn’t have a concussion, but would have a hell of a headache from the bump by her temple.

  “Hey there, Freckles. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see those beautiful green eyes.” I smiled warmly at her. “You did good, baby. Good. That was genius, tying your purse to the mile marker. I honestly don’t think I would have found you until the storm let up more,” I told her with genuine pride.

  “Jonah? Jonah! I don’t want to die! I don’t want Sam to die! Help us please!” she begged me as she tried to grab onto me and moaned in pain, as her hand closed around my arm.

  “Baby, I’ve got you. You’re safe. I promise. Sam is safe. Frannie picked him up from school when we couldn’t find you.”

  I tried to reassure her, though I was not exactly sure what she meant when she said she didn’t want to die. As I gazed into those beautiful eyes, I could see the confusion in them. Would she finally tell me what’s really going on with her and Sam? I waited patiently for her to continue.

  “He’s found us, hasn’t he? Oh, my god! Move, I have to go. Now!” She was getting hysterical and I realized she didn’t know where she was and what had happened.

  “Ally. You were caught in the storm and fell down an embankment. You have a few injuries, but you are going to be ok baby. I’ve got you now and I will never let you go again. I will not let you push me away. Got it?” I told her sternly but with heated passion. My mind raced with who “he” was and why she was deathly afraid of him.

  “Who are you so scared of, Ally? Who is “he?” Tell me please. Let me help you.”

  Nearly begging her, I leaned in closer and gave her a mere brush of my lips before leaning back to stare into her eyes. She stared back and then she started looking around at where she was. I saw the moment realization sunk in.

  “You found me? Because of my freaking purse? Jonah, I tried to get up the embankment. I tried so hard but I kept slipping. I wouldn’t give up, but I was so cold and tired. I laid down and closed my eyes for just a second. I know I shouldn’t have, but I thought it would be ok for just a minute,” she said all in one breath trying to explain as if she had made a mistake.

  That, I didn’t
understand. She was so hard on herself. I just smiled at her and shook my head. I heard engines above us and a couple of doors slammed closed. Help was finally here.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jonah

  “Jonah?” Shane yelled. Then I heard another voice and it took a minute to register the deep scratchy, baritone voice.

  “Ally? Bright Eyes?” It was Frank. For some reason, it didn’t surprise me and only served to cement in my mind how much he cared for Ally. Grudgingly, I admitted to myself that he was a good man, even if he was a former Army Ranger. I could let that go, maybe. Laughter filled my mind.

  “We are here! About fifteen feet down just to the left of the sign!” I covered Ally’s ears as I gave our whereabouts.

  “It’s muddy and slippery as hell. We are going to have to rig something up to pull her up. She’s banged up. Looks like she has a hell of a sprained ankle and is suffering from exposure, but she’s awake and alert for now. Time is of the essence, gentlemen. We need to get her warmed up ASAP!” I yelled orders as if I was back on a mission in the Middle East.

  Some old habits never died, I thought with a grin. I glanced down at Ally as I uncovered her ears. She had been staring at me intently. I smiled and leaned in to give her a good solid kiss on those luscious lips. She closed her eyes tentatively and relaxed her mouth ever so slightly in invitation. Taking the invitation, I deepened the kiss just a bit.

  When I let her lips go, I leaned back a bit to look into her eyes. Even with her matted stringy hair and mud on the side of her face, she was absolutely the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. She finally gave me a smile. That smile. The one that would always melt me from the inside out. Hell, I was a goner and I knew it. After pecking her lips once more, I told her, “I will be right back.”

  Alarm filled her eyes as she grabbed me with her uninjured hand to pull me closer.