CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"Drop your weapon!" The same voice yells, and I slowly realize it's not Pete. "Drop the weapon!"
I freeze. This is beyond a high-intense situation of delivering a baby or working in the ER. This time, my life is on the line, and I'm not sure which weapon I should drop in order to save it since I’m not carrying one.
"Damn it, Rodgers. Drop your fucking gun, or I will shoot you." An out-of-breath, no-longer-mysterious voice screams from behind.
"Spencer?"
I'm pushed forward, the palms of my hands receiving fresh scrapes from the rocky ground. Big, strong arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me up and twisting me around until we’re chest to chest. I do my best to beat on my attacker’s chest and kick at his shins, doing anything I can to get away.
"Shhh. It's okay, baby. I've got you." His arms tighten around my shoulders, stopping my onslaught.
I finally take the time to look up and find myself locked with Spencer’s deep brown eyes. "Spencer?" His name squeaks out, and I break out in tears. "Oh my God. I'm so glad it's you.”
My feet leave the ground as Spencer holds me against him, breathing heavily. With my eyes closed, I don’t notice until his lips find mine. He crashes his lips against my own. It's hard and urgent. Our teeth clink together, but I don’t care. I push back, worried I’ll never get enough.
"Thank God you're okay." He sets me back on the ground but doesn't step away, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around mine.
I don’t complain. I need all the reassurance I can get now that he's here and real and I'm actually safe.
There's a crash. Wood splinters to one side of us, close to the front porch. Two gun shots ring out, followed by another.
Not so safe after all.
Spencer’s hard body throws me to the ground. He covers my back without applying any weight.
"We need to get you out of here." He gently pulls my arm, only allowing me to squat in front of him.
"Don't forget Pete." I twist, trying to see behind me to make sure Pete is okay, but my line of sight is blocked by Spencer’s large chest.
Standing with me he tucks my head in front of his shoulder. "Don't worry, Rodgers has him.”
“How did you find me?” I ask to fill the quiet as we walk into the woods.
Spencer’s hand tightens around my shoulder. “Luck. A car bomb went off by the elementary school, blew out most of the windows. No one seriously hurt, but when we started sending people to the bakery, I learned you never made it. Scariest hour of my life, Joslin.” His voice is edged with worry, which makes my face tighten into a smile.
Working to fix my expression, I apologize. “I’m sorry.” I have no idea why I’m apologizing for being kidnapped. It’s not like I did it on purpose, but it feels like the thing to do. Guilt over being happy he worried about me, I suppose.
“This land belongs to one of Frankie Zanetti’s long-distance cousins. It was stupid of them to use it as a hide-out, but none of us suspected you to be stashed away in a hole under the house. Seeing Rodgers aiming a gun at you will haunt me.”
“I’m sorry.” I apologize again for lack of anything better to say.
We walk further out into the woods, making a large circle around the cabin. After five minutes of walking while Spencer does most of the work, holding me up, we come to a mess of SUVs. Big black beasts parked haphazardly over the long driveway reaching back to the cabin. There are vehicles in every direction, blocking each other in and the main roadway off.
Spencer leads us to the back and pops open the hatch of one of the waiting SUVs. "Hop up."
Snow crunches under my boots for a few steps. He taps twice on the carpeted back of the SUV and when I don’t immediately jump up because my legs are tired and won’t work anyway, Spencer gently lifts my heavy ass into the back.
“Are you hurt?” he asks, tugging on the zipper to my jacket and lifting my shirt.
I slap his hand away and pull my shirt back down. It's December in Maine. Is he crazy? "I'm fine."
He steps back, crossing his arms and giving me a look that says he is not fine with me saying I’m fine.
“I’m serious. Maybe a bruise or two but nothing major.”
To our side, the trees light up in red and blue lights. They grow brighter and circles the entire woods. It’s either an elf on LSD or the entire Pelican Bay police force. Behind them come the ambulances. The town only has two, and I’d rather deal with the doped-up elf than anyone behind the wheels of those.
“Ughhh.” I draw out the intelligible noise.
“What?” Spencer jumps to attention and tries to lift my shirt again. “Are you hurt?”
I smack his hand away again. “No, it’s nothing.”
And by nothing, I mean there’s nothing like watching your ex-boyfriend jump out of an ambulance just in time to meet your new boyfriend. This is not exactly how I’d hoped things would go down today. Even though Thatcher and I broke up mutually—I’m serious, we did. We’re the freak, weird couple that didn’t have hard feelings. That in itself is probably enough of a clue we weren’t meant to be together. But even though we parted on friendly terms, I haven’t exactly sought him out over the last year. A few quick passes here and there at the hospital tops our relationship chart over the last twelve months.
I’d been holding out hope that, even in the small population of Pelican Bay, my past and my future would never meet. I might have been delusional.
Thatcher, with his tall frame and blond hair, jumps out of the ambulance and runs through the snow to where I’m still perched on the back of the empty SUV. He’s moving as quickly as he would for any emergency call, but it still seems super fast to me. There isn’t even time to brace for impact.
At this point, I only hope Thatcher won’t say something to give our past away.
“What happened to you?” he asks, coming to a stop next to Spencer.
So far so good.
“Few scrapes and bruises. Nothing serious. I’m sure there is someone inside who needs you more.” I point toward the cabin to give him extra help to find his way there.
“She keeps saying she’s fine, but we found her digging her way out of a root cellar.” Spencer steps to the side but doesn’t leave me completely. Instead, he somehow stands closer.
Thatcher laughs. “Yeah, She always had a problem with admitting when she was hurt or sick.”
“Yeah?” Spencer asks.
Using all my brain waves, I will Thatcher to shut up, but just as when we were dating, he misses my silent plea.
“Remember the time you had walking pneumonia and tried to go to work because you were only on phone duty?”
“No,” I grind out the word.
He still doesn’t look up and get the message I’m insinuating. “Remember you tried to sneak out of my apartment, but I’d hid your car keys?”
“Your apartment?” Spencer leans in closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
Oh God.
“Thatcher, have you met Spencer? He works for Ridge’s security firm.”
Thatcher flicks a piece of his blond hair away from his forehead and takes a full thirty-million seconds to inspect Spencer’s arm over my shoulder. “I see.”
“Me, too.” Spencer moves closer, his tightening his grip.
Without warning, Thatcher pitches forward, his hands outstretched to catch his fall. Spencer dives in front of me to block his path. A large, dark brown blob barks while jumping on Thatcher’s leg. She growls, and Thatcher backs up, his hands in the air when he regains his footing.
Spencer laughs. “She likes people.”
“Yeah, I can tell.” Thatcher’s head perks up, and his gaze goes behind us.
“Thatcher! Need a stretcher over here,” comes from somewhere in the distance.
He picks up the quick med bag he’d dropped upon reaching us. “Duty calls. If you decide you want someone to look you over, let me know, Joslin.”
“I’ll make sure she’s good,” Spencer responds, but it’s to Thatcher’s back as he walks away.
My arms cross over one another, and I kick my legs back and forth. “So now you believe me?”
“No,” Spencer whistles, drawing Frankie’s attention—and half the people standing around the area. “I plan to inspect every part of you tonight to confirm personally.”
“Is that so?”
“Yup,” he steps back from the SUV and pulls me with him. “In fact, let’s get you home and get started now.”
As much as I’d like to leave the area, I hesitate. “I’m sure I’m supposed to talk to police. Make a statement.”
“I’ll let Ridge know where they can find you. This is more important.”