Page 29 of Defenseless
He bit back a grunt then continued to inch her forward, pressing her lower back with his hand. Biting his lip against the pain in his arm as he, too, shuffled forward, he pointed down. “You head down, I’ll get the bag. I want you at least ten yards down before I open the door of the Jeep.”
“Chad.”
“Don’t argue, Sabina. We don’t have time. Just go and wait. I’ll be down in a second.”
She hesitated then acquiesced. He pulled his gun from its holster as she started scuttling on her behind down the hill. Sabina was trying to stay quiet, but stealth wasn’t her strong suit. If the person hunting them had any sort of experience in the woods, he’d know exactly what direction they were heading.
He watched until she was far enough away to give him some comfort, then made his way to the passenger door. He should have confirmed with her where her bag was before sending her down the hill. If history was anything to go by, though, it would be on the floor in front of the passenger seat. At least he hoped so. It would be a cluster if she’d dumped it in the rear. Crawling into the back of the Jeep to retrieve it was not high on the list of things he wanted to do in the next few minutes.
Taking a deep breath, he decided there was no time like the present and without hesitation, he yanked the door open. A moment of relief filled his body when he saw her bag right where he’d hoped it would be. The moment was short-lived, though. A bullet tore through the driver’s side window and embedded itself in the passenger seat six inches from Chad’s head.
Ducking behind the safety of the car, blindly he reached in, his hand quickly moving across the floor mat. His palm brushed her bag as another shot went off. This one hitting the open door less than a foot away. Wrapping his fingers around the canvas, he yanked as he rolled away from the glow of the interior light.
The bag snagged on something, but with one more hard pull, it came free. Not wasting any time, he scrambled down the mountain to meet Sabina.
“Are you okay?” she asked the second he reached her. Her voice shook, and he glanced in her direction as he gestured her farther down the hill.
“What the hell?!” he asked, jerking her to a stop. He’d only caught a glimpse of her face, and it had taken a moment for him to process what he’d seen. She turned and faced him fully. “What happened?” he asked, raising his hand. He wanted to turn her head to better see what was starting to look like a pretty good black eye. But remembering their conversation at the diner, he dropped his hand and moved back a few feet.
She grimaced. “I think your elbow hit it when you pulled me down.”
His eyes searched hers, looking for any signs of accusation. She must have read his mind, because she gave him a soft smile. “I know it was an accident, and I’d rather take an elbow to the face than a bullet to the forehead any day.”
He thought she shouldn’t ever have to take either, but he bit back any comment. He was certain this ambush had something to do with her past and her secrets, and he’d promised he wouldn’t push the matter.
He grunted some unintelligible response and gestured for her to continue down the hill. He scrambled behind her, ignoring the burning wounds on his body and focusing on the feel of the ground beneath him.
A few minutes later, they hit the trail, and he pointed north. Without a word, she started walking. They proceeded in silence until they hit a fork, where he directed her to take the left branch.
They stayed quiet the entire walk. He was a little worried about her state of mind but didn’t know what to say or how to check in with her while still keeping his promise to back off. So instead of offering any sort of comfort, he, too, remained quiet.
When they reached the edge of the forest near his house, he asked her to wait. Without a word, she moved to the side of the trail and stopped. Stepping around her, he eyed the small clearing of land. His security system would have let him know if anyone had been on his property, but still, he wanted to confirm with his own eyes.
When he was confident they were alone, he led her toward the house, bypassing the back door and heading straight to his garage.
“Are we going in?” Sabina asked.
He shook his head and keyed in a code to his garage. The door started rolling up as he turned to answer. “We’ll go to HICC. You can wait in the car while I grab an ice pack for your eye.”
Light from the garage began to illuminate them and, feeling exposed and wanting to move quickly, he gestured for her to follow him inside. Reaching his car, he opened the passenger door, but she didn’t climb in.
“Your arm, Chad. You’ve been hit.” The pitch of her voice told him she was close to losing it. Not that he thought she would, but she was fighting hard not to. She reached up to touch him, but he jerked away, not wanting to feel her fingers on his skin. She frowned. “You’re hurt. You need to see to that. Or let me. Please,” she added.
He shook his head. “Go on and get in. I’ll get the ice pack, and then we’ll be on our way. I’ll get Ethan or Colton to look at it once we’re at HICC.”
She hesitated then climbed in. He let out an exhale of relief as she shut the door, putting a barrier between them. Of course, once he got in the car, that would go away, but for now, he’d take the respite distance gave him. It was hell not being able to comfort her. Or himself.
Entering his house through the mudroom, he turned the alarm off, holstered his gun, then pulled out his phone. As he dialed Ethan’s number, he made his way to the freezer.
“What have you got for me?” he asked when Ethan answered.
“Tire tracks and some shells,” Ethan answered. But no shooter. Chad wasn’t surprised, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed.
“We just got to the house,” he said as he pulled an ice pack out then started back to the garage. “I’ll bring Sabina in right away. We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Ryan’s going to stay out here for a bit, but Colton and I will meet you there. Are you okay?”
“I’d be better if Sabina hadn’t been shot at, but other than that, I’m fine.” He wasn’t. He was pretty far from fine. He had a flesh wound on his arm, one on his leg, and a woman he loved who didn’t like being around him. Not to mention the fact that it was probably all her damn secrets behind the events of the past hour.
