Page 56 of Crossroads of Innocence
“Not bare handed. My rifle’s in my truck.” Not wanting to hear Cruz’s arguments for staying put, he disconnected and raced toward the exit.
The automatic doors swooshed open. His heart pounded in his chest as he scanned the area. Jude said she was in the parking lot, but she wasn’t here. Which meant she had to be in the employee parking out in the rear of the building. Grabbing his keys from his pocket, he unlocked his truck while he ran. He flung open the driver’s side door and found the gun, yanking it free before rerouting to the back lot.
The gun was smooth and heavy in his hand. He turned off the safety, then trained it in front of him. An eerie silence stretched across the area. He rounded the side of the building, ears and eyes tuned to his surroundings. Should he call out? Stay under the radar?
A muffled voice turned his attention to the back of the lot. A man weaved between the vehicles. But where was Jude?
Keeping the man in his sightline and gun at the ready, he crouched as low as he could while still moving quickly toward the man.
A woman’s whimper was like a tire iron to his chest. No doubt it was Jude. He couldn’t think about her hurt and scared, facing down her enemy, or he’d lose his freaking mind. He needed a firm grip on his control. A firm grip on the gun. He inched closer until he was twenty feet from the man’s back.
Jude lay bleeding on the ground.
Absolute horror steeled his nerves. He planted his feet and aimed the gun at the man’s head.
Sirens blasted through the air.
The man cursed and pivoted in search of the intrusion. His gaze landed on Wade, and his eyes widened for a beat and a cruel smile took over his face.
“Drop your weapon. Now.” Wade demanded.
“You’re kidding right?” He kept his gun trained on Jude. “Make one move and I shoot your girlfriend. Again.”
With the gunman’s back to her, Jude kept her gaze fixed on Wade and inched away. She winced, but slowly moved through the grass toward the tree line.
Anger mixed with fear and sank low in his gut. The sirens grew closer. Tension simmered in the air. “No way you’ll get away with this. The police are close. You stay a second longer and you’ll have no way out of this mess. You shoot Jude, and I’ll kill you.”
Nervous eyes glanced toward the entrance to the parking lot.
A beat of hope pulsed through Wade’s terror. Maybe his words made sense, were penetrating the thick skull of the asshole threatening to kill the woman he loved.
Flashing lights and squealing tires turned into the lot.
“Just get the hell out of here,” Wade yelled.
The man tightened his jaw, his determination as clear as the blue sky. He trained his attention back to Jude.
Jude squeezed her eyes shut.
Wade steadied the gun and pulled the trigger.
The man collapsed on the ground. Blood bloomed on his side, coating his green scrubs.
Wade sprinted forward. “Jude!” He leapt around the man he’d just shot and fell to his knees beside her. Blood coated her pants and turned his stomach. She was injured and in pain because he’d left her side, but never again. He’d do everything in his power to make sure she never knew an ounce of pain ever again. “Are you all right?”
Reaching for him, she winced. Tears streamed down her face.
Agony etched on every line of her face was nearly his undoing. He struggled to hold himself together. The last thing she needed was to watch him fall apart. He cradled her jaw in his palm. “I got ya. Let’s get you inside, okay?”
Moving to his feet, he scooped her into his arms. Her body was so small and frail against him.
She threw her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest. Blood saturated her pant leg and dripped onto the green blades of grass.
Fear spiked his heart rate. He didn’t know a lot about bullet wounds, but the blood loss seemed substantial. And no matter what, that couldn’t be good.
A squad car peeled into the parking lot and screeched to a stop. Lincoln jumped out of the driver’s side.
Wade broke into a jog. “Jude needs a doctor. Now. I shot the bastard. He’s behind me.”
