LITMIR.BIZ

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outside rattle tree branches against the side of the house. “Nate’s really a sheriff’s deputy now?” her mom added. “Good for him.”

      “Yeah, I didn’t recognize him at first.” And if he hadn’t shown up when he did, there was no telling what might have happened.

      “His poor mom was one tortured soul. And it seemed as if she was determined to drag Nate down with her.” Kate shook her head. “It’s amazing to see what God can turn to good. I’m going to track that boy down and thank him for helping you.”

      He might still have been outside watching the house, but more likely he’d headed up to his aunt and uncle’s place, the well-known Blue Spruce Ranch. Bud and Ellen Wells had done a lot of good work in the community over the years, much of it with troubled teens. Nate was eventually one of the teens they helped.

      “You might get a chance to see Nate in the morning,” Lily said. “I left my car at the Starlight Mart and my purse and phone are at work. He’s going to take me to get them.”

      Kate turned to her daughter with a slight smile.

      “What?” Lily shook her head, feeling her cheeks warm. “It’s not like that, Mom. It’s his job to help people. That’s all it is.”

      And that was all it was ever going to be.

      Nate had been completely professional. He had no personal interest in her other than as the mutual acquaintance of a beloved old friend. And Lily had a life to rebuild after her engagement had come to an abrupt end and her carefully crafted plans crumbled like an imploded high-rise building. She worked lots of hours with no time for a personal life these days and that’s exactly how she wanted it.

      After the pain and humiliation she’d been through, mind-numbing work was exactly what she needed.

      Her mom hadn’t eaten dinner yet and Lily was hungry, too. “I’m going to heat up some soup.” Lily had made a pot of chicken noodle soup from scratch the night before. “Do you want me to bring you a bowl?”

      “After what you’ve been through, I should get it,” her mom said, her breath sounding wheezy.

      “I can get it.”

      “Thanks, honey.” Kate patted the cushion beside her on the couch. Abby and Beatrice jumped up to cuddle with her. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

      Downstairs, Lily got the pot of homemade soup out of the fridge and ladled some into a couple of bowls. A mental image of the men at the Starlight Mart, determined to grab her and most likely kill her, flashed through her mind. Her hands started to shake and she spilled some soup. Everything is okay. It’s over. I’m fine. She took a steadying breath.

      Doors and windows. Were they all locked? Probably not.

      She put a bowl in the microwave, set it to heat for three minutes and hit the start button. Then she went to check the front door. Yep, it was locked. She turned to face the living room. Through a thin curtain, she saw shadowy black branches wave outside the windows.

      Except for one branch that remained still. Something about it didn’t look right.

      Lily stared into the darkness for a moment. Slowly she realized she was looking at the outline of a man. Her breath caught in her throat. The man wasn’t outside the window. He was in the house. In the living room. Standing right there in the corner.

      Her first attempt to scream came out as a ragged exhalation. Terrified, she felt as if she was caught in a nightmare, unable to make a sound. The man took a step out of the shadows, toward her, and she could see he was one of the men from the Starlight Mart. The one in the hoodie.

      He was pointing a pistol at her. He glanced upstairs toward the blare of the TV, then turned back to her. “Don’t make a sound.”

      “What do you want?” she asked, finally finding her voice.

      “Let’s go.”

      “Where?”

      He motioned with his gun toward the back of the house, where the door in the utility room led outside. That was probably how he got in. Lily and her mom often left a window open in that room when they ran the dryer. And they were both bad about remembering to close it.

      “Move!” Hoodie shoved her.

      “I didn’t hear anything that could get you in trouble,” Lily said, taking a couple of stumbling steps while her heart hammered in her chest. “I just heard voices. Nothing specific.”

      “Get moving or we’ll take your mother along, too.”

      He wanted to get her outside and into a car. Lily couldn’t let that happen. It would be the end of everything.

      He shoved her again. Edging toward panic, she reached for a potted plant on a shelf. If she flung something heavy against the wall and made a loud noise, maybe the dogs would hear it and start barking. Her mom would hear the racket and call the police.

      Hoodie twisted her arm, hard, and she dropped the potted plant with a dull thud. So much for that plan.

      They reached the utility room and she saw the open window. She also saw a mop propped against the wall. Hoodie loosened his grip slightly as he reached for the handle on the door leading outside. Lily took her chance. She kicked his knee. While he was off balance she grabbed the mop, whirled around and smacked him on the side of the head with it.

      He dropped his gun. It clattered to the floor and they both reached for it. He jabbed an elbow toward her face, clipping her cheek, and she was knocked back. She dropped the mop. Then he got the gun.

      Lily quickly crawled to a bucket of dry laundry detergent and grabbed a handful. Hoodie turned to her and she flung it into his face.

      Cursing, he clawed at his eyes with one hand.

      Afraid he might squeeze the trigger if she tried to grab his gun, Lily reached for the mop and struck him again. This time Hoodie slumped to the ground. He was out cold.

      Footsteps pounded up the back porch steps. Nate must have been watching the house. Relief washing over her, Lily got to her feet and yanked open the door.

      It wasn’t Nate standing there. It was the man who’d held a gun on her at the Starlight Mart. Lily’s heart sank. He had her again.

      * * *

      Nate crouched down low and crept alongside the house.

      Lily’s mom had called 911. She’d reported strange noises in her house and that her dogs were growling. She was afraid someone had come after her daughter.

      Nate was afraid of that, too. Dispatch had let him know what was happening and that the responding deputies were a couple minutes out. Nate knew better than to rush in, but he couldn’t just wait in his truck.

      Peering around the corner of the house, he saw the gunman from the gas station on the back steps. He was holding Lily by the upper arm and dragging her out of the house. The terrified expression on her face struck Nate like a punch to his chest. Enough. Lily Doyle had been through enough. And that idiot holding her was not going to get away with what he’d done.

      Nate had the advantage and he intended to make the most of it. The gunman wasn’t looking around. He probably thought he was home free. He did, however, have that gun. Trying to take a shot at him was too risky. Nate could miss and hit Lily. Or the gunman could shoot her.

      Calm, cool, steady. That’s how Nate had to handle this.

      At ease working in the shadows, he pressed into the side of the house and took one quiet step and then another. He covered the final short distance in a burst of speed. The gunman turned in surprise just as Nate grabbed his gun hand and landed a cross punch to the side of his head. The gunman dropped like a sack of wet sand.

      Eyes wide and filled with fear, Lily swung her fists wildly. Nate had to duck a couple of times before she realized he wasn’t another attacker.

      “Are you all right?”

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