Page 41 of Marie's Hidden Refuge

Marie snatched the phone from the air and nodded.

Bang!

Owen whipped toward the sound.

“Oh my God,” Marie whimpered. “Was that a gun shot?”

“Sounded like it came from the front. Call the police but stay with me.” If Bill or someone else was outside with a gun, he didn’t want to leave Marie and Nora alone to fend for themselves. But he needed to see if someone needed help.

Marie ran to him, one fist closing around the material of his T-shirt at his back while her other hand stayed glued to Nora. Her body heat warmed him, but he couldn’t think of what her nearness did to his hormones right now.

He grabbed the gun he’d harnessed at his side and crept toward the front door. The soft glow of his phone caught his peripheral visual. A beat passed, the sound of the ringing unusually loud in the quiet space, and Owen closed his hand around the doorknob.

Marie cleared her throat. “I need police assistance at…crap, where are we?”

Owen kicked himself for not making the call and grabbed the phone. “This is Deputy Wells. I’m at 502 Oak Street. Shots fired and possible sighting of fugitive. Backup needed now.” He clicked off the line and handed the phone back to Marie. “Keep it just in case. Ready?”

“Yes.” Her response came out in a hushed whisper that kissed the back of his neck.

He pushed the door open wide and tightened his grip on the gun, swinging around to face whatever lurked before him.

A large body lay sprawled on the stairs, as if gunned down while he sprang toward the house.

Marie gasped and buried her face against the back of his neck.

Owen scanned the streets, his nerve endings on high alert. He tiptoed toward the body, his muscles tight and tension coiled across his shoulders. Blood pooled beneath the face-down body. Owen crouched to place his fingers at the base of the man’s neck. A weak pulse beat against his fingers. “He’s alive, but this isn’t Bill or Eddy Jones. He’s much bigger than either of them. Let me see the phone.”

Marie handed him the device.

Standing, he made another call to the authorities. He didn’t just need backup; he needed an ambulance.

Crash!

Marie jumped and tightened her shaking arms around his midsection. “What was that?”

“Sounds like glass shattered inside.” Indecision tore him in two. Instinct and training screamed at him to investigate the sound and find who was responsible for the injured man at his feet. But he couldn’t leave Marie and Nora. “We can’t do anything for this guy until the ambulance comes. But if someone just broke in the house, I need to check it out.”

Wide, terror-filled eyes stared at him. “It’s dangerous.”

Owen cupped her cheek with his hand and skimmed the pad of his thumb against her smooth skin. “It could be Bill. I can catch him, and we can put this whole thing behind us. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

Marie’s chin trembled and uncertainty skittered across her face, but she nodded.

Owen led her back inside, keeping his gun trained in front of him. If someone crashed through a window, they had limited options. The lone window in the living room was visible as soon as they entered the apartment, the glass still intact. He made his way through the rest of the apartment, clearing each room as they went, until they reached the bedroom.

Marie’s tense body stayed glued to him, and he slowly entered the last room left to secure. Cool air rushed through the open door and greeted them.

Adrenaline surged in his blood. “Stay in the hall,” he whispered behind him. The intruder wasn’t in the rest of the apartment, which meant he could only be in one place.

Swinging around the doorframe, he trained his weapon from one corner of the room to the next. The window was smashed and glass scattered across the floor, bits of the broken window laying on the bed, but no one stood inside.

Owen took two long strides to the closet and searched inside. Nothing. He dropped to the ground and searched under the bed. Empty. He skirted around the bed and studied the broken window. Streaks of mud trailed down the wall from the bottom casing of the window, and blades of soggy grass lingered in the carpet.

Someone had definitely been inside, but why? He turned toward the other side of the bed, and his blood pressure spiked. No one was inside because they’d gotten what they came for.

Erica’s laptop was gone.

15

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