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“Mom!” He wiggles free from me, and I set him down so he can get to his mom. The two run into each other's arms, Shawna lifting him to hold him close. They stand in the rain, holding onto one another, still crying from the trauma they’ve endured.
The paramedics take Jarred to the hospital, but the other man—who turns out to be Jarred’s father—is pronounced dead. Nelson shot Jarred, and Smith shot his father after they both took shots at them. Finally, this asshole will be behind bars where he belongs.
The paramedics also evaluate Shawna and Noah, and they both check out fine. Whatever drug Jarred injected them with was short-lived and no longer affected either one. Once they finish with the medics, the police want to speak with them. Smith and Nelson eventually leave the scene, but Rob and I stick around for Shawna and Noah.
As they finish talking with the police, Shawna looks in my direction, and we make eye contact. She picks Noah up, then walks over to where I’m standing in the yard. It finally stopped raining, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. “Thank you,” she says, her voice hoarse from screaming at the top of her lungs earlier. “Thank you for saving Noah and me.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” I reply. “Come on, Rob and I will drive you home.”
We walk around front to our SUV, where Rob is waiting. I open the back
passenger side door for her, and she sets Noah on the seat, then buckles his seat belt for him. She kisses him on the forehead, then shuts the door and turns to me.
She doesn’t say anything. We look at one another, her eyes searching mine for something. Her eyes are red from crying, and she’s disheveled from all the events she endured today, yet she’s beautiful as ever. I want to comfort her, take away all the pain she’s feeling, as well as Noah’s. I can’t believe Jarred and his father kidnapped them. Who knows what they were planning to do.
Without saying a word, Shawna steps closer and wraps her arms around me. I hold her close and kiss the top of her head. “Everything’s okay now,” I whisper, and she starts to sob in my arms.
