Page 18 of Two Hearts
Then Jack saw her.And her sister, and that lunatic Charlie, whom Jack secretly thought the world of, all standing in the open doorway chatting casually with whatever underworld kingpin stood on the other side.
“I don’t understand,” he heard Grace say as he edged closer.“This was the address.I’m sure of it.”
Jack bent low, and kept going, JW right behind him.Vaguely he thought Grace looked odd…different, and not her usual self.But he didn’t follow that thought.He was more concerned with getting her the hell out of harm’s way.
The form in the doorway—Jack couldn’t see him well, with the light behind him—stepped aside.“Come on in, ladies.It’s cold out there.Maybe we can figure this out.”
Hope walked in.The rest all happened at once.Jack lunged forward.His foot hit a rock that went skittering.JW grabbed Jack’s arm and jerked him downward.Charlie walked through the door behind Hope, and the jerk in the doorway snapped his head toward the sound Jack had inadvertently made.Looking.
“Wait,” JW growled in Jack’s ear.
“That’s my wife, dammit—”
But the criminal was speaking again, placing himself squarely in front of Grace, not to block her entry as it appeared—but to shield himself, should Jack decide to blow him away.“You said your husband’s name is…?”
“McCain,” she told him.“Jack McCain.”
“Well, let’s find him for you, shall we?”And in the blink of an eye, he’d spun Grace around, pulled her back flat to his chest and had a gun to her head.Jack heard a scream from inside—Hope, he thought, but she went silent fast.No doubt some other goon in there had his gun on her and Charlie, as well.
“Jack McCain!”the criminal called.“Your pretty wife is here.So, uh, if you’re out there, and I’m assuming you are, I suggest you step into the light.Otherwise…” He looked at the gun, adjusted the barrel against her temple.
Jack moved.
JW jerked him back so hard he almost fell on top of him.“What the hell is the matter with you, Jack?You step out there, he’s gonna blow your head off!”
“He’s got Grace,” Jack whispered.“My God, she’s so fragile.She must be terrified.She’s—”
“Mister,” Grace said, interrupting his harsh whisper.She said it loudly.“I’d like to say something to my two companions before you pull that trigger, if that’s okay.”
God, she looked so…well, scared wasn’t exactly the word.As a matter of fact, she looked worried, but more…calculating.And what the hell was she wearing?A warm-up suit?Where did she get that?
“You go ahead, darling.You’re very brave, you know.”
“Charlie, Hope?Can you hear me?”
She must have heard an answer.Jack didn’t, but she went on.“Don’t panic, okay?I’ll get you out of here in a minute or two.”
Jack’s brows pulled together.The man holding her looked down at her quickly.At that moment Jack’s timid, quiet, fragile wife, drove her elbow backward into the man’s rib cage, while at the same time knocking the gun away from her head with the other hand, gripping his arm as she did so and neatly flipping him right over her shoulders.
Jack ran forward, his gun in his hand.The jerk landed hard on his back, but he still had his gun, and he pointed it at Grace.Jack lifted his at the same time.But Grace scissor-kicked him, first one foot then the other, connecting with an impact that Jack couldn’t believe.The first foot sent the gun sailing, and the second smashed into his chin so hard it should have broken his neck.He was out cold before Jack heard the splash of his gun landing in the swamp water.
Grace spun and headed back for the house.A gun barrel poked out a broken window, and Jack barely caught up to her in time to holster his gun and tackle her from behind.They hit the ground as the shot went off.Jack’s wife flipped him off her like a dog flicking off a flea.He hit the ground beside her.She rolled onto her back and started to sit up, and Jack pounced on top of her again, grabbed her wrists and held her flat.“Stay down, dammit!”
Grace’s eyes went wide, and she stared at him.“Jack?My God, Jack, what are you doing here?”
“Whatam Idoing here?Jeez, Grace, don’t you think that’s kind of a screwed-up question?”
Another shot exploded from inside the house, and Jack reached for his gun, pulled it out and fired one off over top of the house.The gun in the window withdrew.
“Stop!”Grace said.“Hope and Charlie are in there!”
“What do you think, I’m an idiot?That was cover fire.”
“What the hell are you doing with a gun?”she demanded.
“Where the hell did you learn to beat the hell out of an armed felon?”Jack shot back.
They lay there, blinking at each other in the darkness.And Jack realized for the first time that she’d been keeping as much from him as he had from her.And it stung, dammit.It hurt.He wanted to be furious with her, but how the hell could he, when he’d done the same damned thing?
