Intense 2

by Hebert, Cambria

  Then he tossed me the keys to his Jeep. “Take Lucy and get outside. Get into the Jeep and start it up.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll be right behind you,” he said, a determined look on his face.

  He was going to face Lex. He wanted me to go outside while he went and risked his life.

  Not gonna happen.

  “Nathan,” I said, trying to reason with him. The sound of crunching glass broke off my words, and I knew Lex was in the house. I could hear him knocking things over downstairs in my office as he ripped apart my home.

  “Now,” Nathan ordered and grabbed me.

  Lucy pawed at my ankle, and I picked her up, cradling her close. I rushed toward the stairs with Nathan leading the way and hobbled down the steps, feeling the sticky ooze of blood all the way down to my ankle.

  Just as we reached the landing, a shadow appeared on the wall at the bottom of the lower level of the stairs and Nathan reacted instantly, catapulting over the railing and launching himself down the stairwell at our attacker.

  “Go!” he roared as I heard the men grunt as their bodies tangled and slid down the stairs.

  I wrapped my hand around the handle of the front door. The sound of fists hitting flesh had me spinning around to watch Nathan go at it with Lex, who was dressed in dark clothing with a black cap on his head.

  They were so close together, banging into walls, rolling over the ground, that I could barely make out who was who.

  And then a gun went off.

  32

  Nathan

  I felt the bullet plow into my skin. I felt the first fiery pain cut into my flesh. And then I shut it down.

  No bullet was going to stop me handing this bastard his ass.

  I stumbled backward when he plowed into my middle, jamming his fingers in the bullet hole. I bit back a cry and knocked away his hands as I slammed into the wall. He took off through the office door and I pushed up and went after him.

  I heard Honor calling my name, but I kept running.

  I wanted this guy out of our lives.

  Seeing blood rush out of her leg like that almost sent me over the edge. Like a time machine, it transported me back… back to that night when men I loved died. When I was forced to shoot and kill to protect myself. I tried to protect Prior that night.

  I failed.

  I wasn’t going to fail again.

  I rushed over the glass, feeling it cut into the bare soles of my feet, but I kept running. It was dark out in the yard, but my eyes adjusted quickly and I saw Lex leaping over the fence, and I leveled my gun at him and shot off a couple rounds.

  Weapons were my job. I didn’t miss my target.

  He let out a stark cry and toppled off the fence and hit the ground with a hard thud. With my weapon still drawn, I made my way over to his side, where he was squirming around like a damned pansy.

  I kicked him.

  I never said I was a nice guy.

  He coughed and wheezed; blood spurted out of his mouth and spotted his chin.

  There was something about that chin that didn’t seem right…

  I kicked the gun out of his hands, and he reached for it, but I stepped on his fingers and bent down. He was still writhing. My bullet hit him in the chest, and I could tell from the sound of his breathing that his lungs were filling with blood.

  I should have felt some remorse.

  I didn’t.

  I would likely be haunted with more nightmares, more sleepless nights, but in that moment, I didn’t care. I didn’t feel a thing. The bullet in my side didn’t register. The glass in my feet didn’t hurt. I didn’t think about the cuts on my arms as I reached down and yanked away the hat pulled low over his face.

  It wasn’t Lex. It was someone I’d never seen before.

  I stared down at the man, who began to laugh.

  “Sucker,” he wheezed.

  I slammed the butt of the pistol into his temple and cut off his laugh. My heart hammered as I spun around, fear and worry for Honor filling my veins with ice.

  I listened through the darkness for the sound of the Jeep’s engine. For proof that she listened and made it to the car.

  There was no sound of a rumbling engine.

  There was no sound at all.

  The night was unnaturally quiet.

  “Honor!” I roared, increasing my speed and pressing a hand to the wound in my side. Fuck, bullet wounds hurt.

  From somewhere in the house, I heard the sound of Lucy’s bark.

  And then a gun went off.

  33

  Honor

  Nathan was shot.

  I saw the blood gushing out of his side and running down his bare skin to pool at the waistband of his jeans.

  Where the hell were the cops?

  “Nathan!” I shouted when he pushed off the wall and ran after Lex. He was an idiot! He was shot!

  If he died, I was going to make the paramedics revive him so I could kill him all over again. Forgetting all about my orders from Nathan, I rushed back up the stairs and shut Lucy in the bathroom. She whined as I moved back down the hall, but I didn’t know what else to do with her. At least in there she would be safe.

  I gripped the gun as I rush-limped down the stairs. I wasn’t about to let Nathan fight my battles for me. He already took some glass to his arm and back and a bullet. But this was my battle. That man out there was my kidnapper. I wasn’t going to let him control me. I wasn’t going to let him make me cower in fear.

  When my foot hit the very last step, a dark figure stepped around the corner. I gasped.

  It was Lex.

  I’d know that handsome yet sadistic face anywhere.

  I glanced behind him into my destroyed office and looked for Nathan. Where was he? Did he pass out? Was he dead?

  “He’s not too bright, is he?” Lex said. Just the sound of his voice made my insides curdle like spoiled milk.

  “What did you do to him!” I demanded.

  Lex smiled. “Not a thing. I’m saving all my punishment for you.”

  I looked at my kidnapper again. He wasn’t wearing all black like the man Nathan was fighting. Lex was dressed in jeans, running shoes, and a black NorthFace jacket. He wasn’t wearing a hat at all.

  He looked like he came from the grocery store or something.

  My eyes widened when I realized what happened. He tricked us.

  “How did you find someone sick enough to help you?” I asked, glancing behind him once more. Where was Nathan?

  “I’m offended you think I’m sick,” he mocked.

  “Even if you kill me, you won’t get away with this. The police have Mary’s locket. They already know what you did to me.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Yes. I saw the news. Not to worry,” he said, taking a step forward as I took one back. “By the time the cops get here, you’ll be dead and I’ll be long gone.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re doing this,” I said, remembering the gun clutched in my hand.

  “Who says I need a reason? Maybe I just do it because I like it.”

  For some reason, I glanced down. His crotch was hard. Talk about a guy with sick fantasies. I swung up the gun and aimed it at his head. He lashed out, smacking the glass in my leg and making me cry out and stumble.

  Lex took advantage of my momentary rush of pain and slapped my wrist and yanked the gun out of my hand. I kicked him and then scrambled up the steps away from him.

  (Yes, I am aware I now joined the ranks of stupid idiots who run UP the stairs when a killer is after them.)

  He grabbed my ankle and my chin slammed into the step. I felt my lip split open, and the pungent taste of blood flooded my mouth. I groaned, rolling onto my back and kicking with my free leg. My foot connected with his face. He let go, and I scrambled across the landing and up the second set of stairs.

  Lex was hot on my heels as I raced into the living room, desperately looking for something I could use to defend myself.

  The contents of
my purse were still spilled everywhere, and the cell phone was still lit up and open on the table. “Help me!” I screamed in the direction of the phone. “He has a gun!”

  Lex jumped me from behind, and I fell under him, onto my stomach and crying out as the glass in my thigh was shoved even deeper into my leg. Pain screamed through my body and tears filled my eyes.

  I couldn’t seem to think past the pain.

  Lex flipped me over and straddled me. I forgot about the pain as my hand closed over something lying on the floor and I brought it up and jammed it down into the top of his thigh.

  Lex shouted as the pen buried itself into his leg. Then I picked up a pack of Tic Tacs and threw it at his head. (What? I had to use what was available.)

  He knocked the mints away and then reached for the pen sticking out of his leg. I twisted beneath him and he fell sideways. We went rolling across the floor as I reached up and gouged my thumb into his eye socket.

  He jerked away and I followed him, ripping my gun out of his hand.

  “Please stop!” I cried. I knew he wouldn’t, but I admit, I yelled it for the benefit of the operator on the other end of the phone line.

  I wanted absolutely no doubt that what I was about to do was self-defense.

  Lex grabbed onto my ankle and grinned up at me. I kicked him in the face and blood bloomed around his teeth. He looked like some funhouse clown that had gone mad.

  With a single jerk, he sent me falling backward, landing on my back.

  Inside the bathroom, Lucy barked and I could hear her clawing at the door, trying to get out.

  “After you’re dead,” Lex said, crawling up my body. “I’m gonna screw your body before it turns cold.”

  I shot him.

  The bullet slammed into his shoulder and he recoiled. I scrambled out from under him and stood.

  “Honor!” Nathan screamed from downstairs, and my knees went weak with relief.

  “I’m up here!” I yelled, my voice sounding more like a squeak.

  Feet pounded on the stairs, and I moved to rush toward him. I wanted his arms around me. I wanted to see that he was okay.

  A hand closed around my ankle and jerked me back.

  I screamed.

  Lex laughed.

  Twisting quickly, without hesitation, I shot him in the head.

  Nathan skidded to a stop at the top of the stairs, his wide eyes going between Lex and me. I could only imagine what he saw. Me covered in blood with a busted lip and a heaving chest, holding a gun, while standing over a man with a bullet in his head.

  Reality crashed over me.

  The gun fell from my hand and bounced off the carpet.

  I shot someone.

  I killed him.

  My kidnapper was dead.

  “Honor,” Nathan said breathlessly and rushed across the room to wrap me in his arms. My body shook violently, so hard that my teeth chattered and my skin felt icy.

  “I killed him,” I said, shoving my face into his bare, blood-smeared chest.

  “You protected yourself, baby,” he murmured. “You did real good.”

  Police sirens drew closer and soon, the flashing blue-and-red lights filled the windows and the driveway.

  I felt lightheaded and I knew I lost a lot of blood. I pulled back from Nathan and looked at his side where the bullet entered his body.

  “It’s not so bad,” he murmured, tipping my chin up so I couldn’t look.

  “He was crazy,” I said, my voice hollow.

  “Hell yes, he was.” Nathan agreed, swiping the pad of his thumb across my chin. My lower lip was swollen again.

  The cops burst in the front door with weapons drawn. I weaved a little on my feet. Standing up was growing harder and harder.

  Nathan scooped me up in his arms and turned toward the cops. “I need a medic!” he roared.

  Then he glanced down into my face. “Just hang on, Honor.” He got this pinched look in his eyes. “Don’t you die on me.”

  I smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of dying. I have way too much to live for.”

  As my house filled with emergency workers and medical personnel, Nathan and I held each other’s gaze.

  “Me too,” he murmured, pressing his lips to my forehead. “Me too.”

  EPILOGUE

  Honor

  One Year Later…

  Flashbulbs exploded everywhere around us, blinding me, and I tried not to recoil. This night had been everything that dreams are made of, but all the attention, the crowds, and the noise was starting to wear on me.

  Nathan wrapped a solid hand around mine and pulled me through the crowd toward the waiting limo. He held the door while I slid across the black leather seats, and he followed me in, shutting the door behind us.

  “Holy cow,” I gasped. “That was awesome and insane all at the same time!”

  “Better get used to it. You’re a celebrity now.”

  “I think you’re more popular than I am.” I smiled coyly from my side of the very long seat.

  Nathan grinned and pushed off the door, slipping right up alongside me so we were pressed together, hip to ankle. “It’s only because this author I know wrote this book about me that made me look like a real hero.”

  I climbed into his lap. The red gown I was wearing made it hard to move so I bunched it up around my thighs. “All I did was tell our story.”

  “You did more than that,” he said, pride filling his voice. “You gave a voice to every single victim out there.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that, but I did pray that I gave hope to some. Once the questioning, the media frenzy, and the funeral of Mary (her body was found weeks later, disposed in a crude shallow grave on the mountain) was over, Nathan and I settled into life together.

  Being with him was more than I could have ever asked for. He made me so incredibly happy that I couldn’t begin to regret being kidnapped.

  But it wasn’t something I was able to get over so quickly either. Nightmares, visions of Lex with a bullet wound in his head, and anxiety were all side effects of what happened.

  Through it all, Nathan was there. He understood better than most people could. He never pushed, but his quiet strength was always there. He never complained when my screaming woke him in the night, and he put all his guns out of sight until I could look at one without feeling panic claw at my lungs.

  I might have been the one to write a book about what happened to me, a book that debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and remained there to this day. I might have been the one whose name flashed in the credits on the big screen after the movie that was based on my book—based on us—premiered tonight. But Nathan was the one who encouraged me to write it.

  After watching me go through various stages of anger and guilt, he suggested I write it all down. That I sit and type out how I was kidnapped, what it was like to be in that hole. He told me that even if the book never saw the light of day, it could be a means of healing for me, a way to move on.

  And so I did.

  I wrote about everything. I wrote about Lex and the things he did to me. I wrote about the fear and loneliness that threatened to drag me down as I sat in that hole and stared up at the faraway sky. I told Mary’s story, and I gave a voice to the family that would forever mourn her. But the book wasn’t just about that. It was also a romance. It was the story of Nathan and me. It was the story of how love bloomed from a terrible thing and how it prevailed to this day.

  The war veteran and the writer, both survivors, both getting the happy ending they deserved.

  “I love you, Mrs. Reed,” Nathan murmured, kissing my lips.

  “I love you, too.”

  His palm slid up between us and covered my breast. I groaned and arched into his touch. We had made love about a thousand times in the past year, and I would never get tired of his touch, his feel, his scent.

  “Can we skip the premiere party and go back to the hotel?” he said against my lips as his fingers rubbed over my hardened nipple.

&
nbsp; I moaned. “I wish.”

  He pulled his lips away and leaned his head against the seat. “A bestselling book, a movie deal, a press tour…” he listed. “What’s next?”

  “Well,” I said, fingering the ornate buttons on the Dress Blues he wore. “I was thinking we could buy a little place on the beach.”

  “Near Jacksonville?” he asked, his eyes lighting with interest.

  “Your hometown.” I smiled. “Think Lucy will like the beach?”

  He chuckled. “What will your mother say?”

  “Oh, I’m sure she’ll call and bug us twenty times a day.”

  “Patton called me the other day. He’s getting out of the Corps. I told him my idea about opening up a security firm.”

  “What did he say?” I said, excitement for Nathan unfurling in my belly.

  “He said he wanted in.” Nathan grinned like the cat that ate the canary.

  “Of course he did,” I replied, sliding my hands up his shoulders. “New house, new place, new business.”

  “I kind of always thought I’d do my twenty in the Corps and then spend my life alone. Yeah, I have my family in Jacksonville, but I didn’t think I’d have a family of my own.”

  I folded his hand in mine. “Do you regret getting out of the Marines?”

  He turned thoughtful and then he smiled. “No. That wasn’t the kind of life I wanted. Not anymore. Not for me. Not for you.”

  “Life’s too short to not get what you want,” I told him, remembering when he said those words to me as he gave me Lucy.

  “Exactly,” he murmured, cupping my face in his palms. “It’s a good thing I have everything I could ever ask for sitting right here in my lap.”

  One text is what started it all.

  A single text led us to forever.

  One text can change everything.

  The End

  Nathan’s Apple Pie

  Ingredients

  You can use store-bought crust or you can make your own.

  To make a double pie crust:

  2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour