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She was at his side a few steps later. Today she held one of Shane’s backup guns. It fit her hand and she’d practiced with it a few times, but she missed her own. The idea of it showing up somewhere connected to a crime scene sent a chill through her.
She still remembered racing into the house after Shane’s dire warning that it would be gone. The safe in her nightstand had been broken into. The gun gone.
But that was days ago. Now she ignored the fear and the frustration and focused on the adrenaline. It pumped through her, sending her heart racing in a wild beat.
The closer they got to the door, the more the dread settled in. She instinctively knew something had happened. If they walked into another crime scene, complete with blood, she might just lose it for the first time in her life.
Holt turned before getting to the front door. He took them around the right side of the building. He looked up and around the walls, his gaze never stopping as they closed in.
She wanted to ask about the plan, but she wasn’t sure there was one. But he had a destination in mind. Maybe he hoped to peek in a window, but that was not going to happen. The windows consisted of long slits, smaller than the size of a person and set up high. The Noonans had thought about everything when they converted this place.
As they slid along the side, Lindsey heard something. Faint and almost undecipherable. A noise, possibly the whistle of the breeze through the trees surrounding the building. Whatever it was. Holt must have picked it up, too, because he stopped. Froze and signaled for her to hold up.
Then she heard it again. An animal’s cry maybe? So soft. So odd.
Holt watched each step as he started moving again. The pebbles crunched under their feet, but he somehow limited the noise.
By the time they got to the back corner of the building, her nerves buzzed. The quiet had her jumping and glancing around. She couldn’t shake the sensation she was being watched. Stalked.
With his back to the wall, Holt looked around the corner. He shifted and then shifted back without making a sound. He stared at her and widened his eyes. She knew it was some sort of signal, but she didn’t know for what. That was enough to keep her quiet and standing there at the ready.
Holt looked again. This time longer. He must have seen something, and curiosity had her turning to try to look over his shoulder. No sooner had her front touched his back than she heard the noise. This one clear.
The crunch of stones had her turning back to where they just came from. The man appeared out of thin air. One second she heard the footsteps and the next a guy was almost on top of her. Not Kurt or Kelly or anyone else she knew. A stranger with a feral grin and a shiny gun.
He slammed into her side, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Her gun bounced out of her hand as she made a grab for Holt. She felt only air as her body flew. She landed with a hard thud on the ground. She expected the attacker to fall on top of her, pin her down, but nothing happened.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Holt grab the guy. The men grunted and thuds rang out as they each landed punches. In form and fighting style they appeared evenly matched.
The attacker smashed Holt’s body into the wall, and the wood cracked beneath him. Then Holt landed a knee to the stomach.
They fell and rolled. The world whipped around her as a blur of men and dark clothes passed in slow motion in front of her. She patted the ground and scanned the grass for her gun. If she could grab the weapon and separate one man from the other, at least in her mind, she might be able to get off a shot.
As she watched, the attacker gained the advantage. After a series of punches to Holt’s side, the attacker threw him on the ground and straddled him. Slipped a knife out of a holder by his ankle and held it up over Holt.
Lindsey scrambled to find the weapon—any weapon. She needed to punch and kick. She’d made it to her knees, ready to jump on the guy and at least buy Holt time, when she saw a flash. Holt, looking defeated a second ago, lifted an arm. Got the gun between him and the attacker and fired.
The shot rang out. The attacker froze. The knife dropped as his hand went to his stomach. Red slipped through his fingers, and his eyes rolled back. Holt didn’t wait for him to fall. He shoved the man to the side and rolled away.
Lindsey unfroze from her spot and took off on her knees. She crawled over to Holt’s sprawled body. He had to be in pain and possibly on the verge of unconsciousness.
“Holt?” He said something in response, but she didn’t hear it. She leaned in closer. “What are you saying?”
His eyes popped open, clear and filled with anger. “We need to find the Noonans.”
He jackknifed into a sitting position. The move, so quick and sudden, scared her. She waited for him to fall over. Instead, he jumped to his feet.
