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From what he could hear, they’d been closing in. Now they were out of range of the signal that connected their earpieces together.
Gage wanted to catch up and help, almost as much as he knew he needed to stay here. “Okay. You guys sit in the living room and I’ll go get the car.” To Selena he said, “Can you walk?”
She frowned. The young woman seemed to be slower to consider his question, so he wondered if she’d had a concussion.
“Come on.” He needed her to lift her leg and step out of the bath. Whether she could do that or not would tell him a lot of what he needed to know.
“He…” She shook her head, her eyes rolling back.
Gage reached for Selena, shifted the rifle to his back, then lifted her in his arms. “Okay. I got you.”
“Aaron…” Her voice trailed off, and she choked on a sob.
“I know. He’s not going to hurt you anymore.” Gage laid her on the couch and saw she looked a lot better than he’d thought at first. He did a quick assessment. Heart rate. Breathing. Pupils. He glanced at Clare. “What happened?”
“There was a phone in the church,” Clare said. “He told me no cops, but I wasn’t going to do that because I’m not someone who goes in with no backup.”
Gage nodded. “So you texted me.”
“I figured a couple minutes’ head start was enough to fool him into thinking I was alone.” She pressed her lips together.
Thankfully she didn’t mention how he’d lied to her about the diamonds. They were probably even since she’d done the same, ditching him and going off alone.
Gage keyed his radio. “Status report, Sergeant.”
Clare waited. Then she said, “Anything?”
“I have no idea if they’ve caught him yet or not.”
“Do you need to go?”
“I need info, but they can handle one guy.” Before, he’d have gone after them and made sure they were okay. Now he wasn’t sure if it said more about his need to be near to Clare and make sure she was all right than any kind of letting go of control with his men.
Something he could unpack later.
Though, considering he’d opted to give all the worry to God and let Him handle it, maybe this was that answer to prayer.
He looked at Clare. “I’m trusting that I’m where I need to be.”
Her expression softened in a way he liked a whole lot. “Thank you.”
“Let’s get Selena out of here.” He stood.
“Maybe we will come with you and hang out outside. I don’t like being in here when Aaron was so quick to leave.”
“You think he set a bomb?”
“If he did, I don’t want to risk it.” She tugged on Selena’s arms. “Come on, honey.”
He helped her stand and took her weight while Clare held the door open.
Two steps across the porch, and the cabin exploded.
The force shoved them off the porch. Selena slipped from his arms, and they hit the ground. Clare landed on the back of his legs and screamed. Everything in him reacted to her, wanting to reach for her. Talk to her. Hold onto her.
He reached for her, and the world swallowed up into black.
FORTY-THREE
