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The doctor motioned for Nancy to get them. Holly watched her unlock the medicine cabinet with shaky fingers and fill a bag with bottles of pills. They were being robbed? What kind of idiot robbed a busy ER room? Where were Gary and Katie?
Nancy handed the man the bag without getting too close to him. Holly expected to be let go, but instead, he walked backward with her out into the hallway. She was afraid he would fall and accidently cut her throat. Now she was really scared, and she could feel her body start to tremble. Surely someone had called the police by now.
“If I see you following me, I will kill your nurse!” the man yelled. Holly could smell his sweat and knew he was probably coming down from some kind of high. He was desperate and nervous. Not good.
He walked her further down the hallway, past the guard desk that led outside.
“Put the knife down now!” Holly heard Noah Blake, Red Hook’s sheriff, yell from somewhere behind her. She let out a sigh of relief. He would know what to do. He would not let this drug addict kill her. She heard the sliding glass door open and felt the humid Texas air bearing down on her.
“Not until I am out of here, man.” He pressed the knife a little deeper and she felt the blood dripping down her neck. He turned around until they were facing Noah. Noah looked grim and serious.
“Ouch,” she muttered and tried to struggle.
“Quit moving!” the man yelled into her ear, moving her out further in the parking lot. “You’re my safe passage out of here. Surely these nice men would not want me to kill such a pretty nurse.”
“You got the drugs you came for, Pete!” she heard Noah yell. “Don’t make this worse on yourself. You’re in a lot of trouble now. This is no petty crime.”
Holly did not recognize the name, but Noah obviously knew him. Maybe he had a record. Holly looked at Noah and Drake Lopez, another deputy. Neither had their guns out, and she wanted to shout out loud to shoot the bastard before he stabbed her. She was not ready to die. She thought of her sister and niece, her friends, and even Matt. He was probably at home, sound asleep, and he would never know if she died.
Great, they were in the middle of the parking lot, and so far none of them had done diddly-squat to save her. She could stomp on his foot or elbow him in the stomach, but what good would that do if Noah and Drake’s guns were not even out? There was no way she was getting in a car with some druggie.
He was gripping the bag of pills tightly in one hand, and the knife in the other hand was pressing against her throat. The point was digging into her skin, and it hurt. She was afraid to even swallow. She could feel drops of blood trickling down her neck.
Noah was giving her a look that said “stay calm.” At least that’s what she thought he was saying. Drake was backing up slowly, as if giving the man some room. Why was everyone so damn calm? Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might have a heart attack. She was sweating right along with her assailant.
“I’m giving you one more chance, Pete. Let the girl go now,” Noah said angrily through clenched teeth.
“I’m the one in charge here!” Pete yelled. He nicked her skin again and she winced.
“Son of a bitch, stop doing that!” Holly yelled. This was turning out to be one hell of a Monday.
Pete laughed in her ear. Holly looked around the empty parking lot, seeing no backup. “Feisty little thing, aren’t you? Maybe I’ll take you with me and we can get high together.”
Holly rolled her eyes and looked at Noah. She was getting impatient. Did he have a plan? She spotted a beat-up car and assumed that’s where Pete was leading her. No way was she getting in with him.
She stomped on his foot with all of her might. He dropped the bag and let her go. “Oww.”
She fell to the ground as she heard a shot. She could have sworn a bullet whizzed by her hair. She looked at Pete who was on the ground holding his arm, which was bleeding. “Someone shot me.”
Noah came closer while Drake picked up Holly off the ground. “You okay, Holly?”
She nodded and got a good look at her would-be kidnapper. He looked to be nineteen or twenty. His eyes were red. His shaggy blond hair was messy. His clothes were dirty.
“Great spot for it, although I am not sure these people will want to patch you up. Not after what you did to these nice people.” Noah grinned at him.
“They have to. I am going to bleed to death.” Pete groaned with pain. He reached for the bag of pills, but Noah kicked it away.
Noah picked him up and handcuffed him, ignoring Pete’s grunts and groans. He motioned for one of the orderlies to come and get him. Holly put a hand to her neck and saw her fingers came back with blood.
“Who shot him?” Holly asked, feeling shaky and a little dizzy. Drake was holding her up. Her legs felt like wet noodles now that all the excitement was over.
“Me.” She whirled around and saw Matt Smith with a rifle in his hand. He looked so good that she was tempted to fall into his arms. He was wearing army pants and a black T-shirt tucked into his pants. He had a pair of dark glasses over his eyes. His face was covered in a furious expression. “Damn it, Holly. Why did you take a chance? He could have seriously hurt you.”
She felt the anger rise. She was the victim here. She hadn’t asked to be held hostage! “Because I was not going anywhere with Pete. Noah and Drake didn’t even have a gun in their hands. I was tired of waiting for someone to do something.”
She glared at Drake and he chuckled. “We had Matt waiting for a clear shot. If we had guns in our hands, it would have made our friend more jumpy.”
“He may be your friend, but he is not mine,” she stated grumpily. Her eyes kept going back to Matt. He was looking at her, and he looked mad. She glared right back at him and crossed her arms, hoping she looked like she meant business.
