Chapter 20

CHAPTERTWENTY

Lara’s mouth was dry. So damn dry. She licked her lips, but it didn’t do much good. She turned her head, wondering why she felt so horrible, and blinked her eyes tiredly before closing them again.

At first, she had no idea where she was and no memory of how’d she gotten there. But with each tick of the clock, scenes flashed through her brain.

Of the hotel room and late-night snacks. Of the chopper in the hangar. Of Stone being dragged away. Owl lying motionless on the floor. Ricky standing over her, telling her he was bringing her to Carter Grant.

That last thought made her gasp and her eyes flew open.

The first thing she saw was Owl. He was on the floor, staring right at her, while she seemed to be on a couch of some sort.

He quickly held his finger to his lips, then mouthed, Are you okay?

Lara swallowed and thought about his question for a beat before nodding.

Then, the reason he wanted her to be silent made itself clear.

“I told you I only wanted her!”

She’d recognize that voice anywhere.

It was him. Carter Grant.

Lara shivered and every muscle in her body tensed. She’d known this was where she’d end up eventually, but now she had so much more to lose.

“And I told you, if I’d left him in that hangar, someone would’ve found him by now and probably already be tracking this chopper. As it is, I have a small window to get out of the country before everyone and their brother is looking for it!”

Turning her head slowly, Lara looked behind her where the voices were coming from, but she couldn’t see Ricky or Carter. The back of the couch where she was lying prevented her from seeing them…and them from seeing her.

She jerked in fright when something touched her arm, whipping her head around, relieved to see it was just Owl, who’d crept closer. She didn’t remember the flight here—wherever here was—but she was more relieved than she could put into words that he was with her. She supposed that made her a shitty person, to be glad the man she loved was also in the hands of a sadistic serial killer, but Owl was the only person who made her feel safe.

“We need to get to the window,” Owl said tonelessly. His voice was so soft, Lara could barely hear him. But she nodded eagerly.

She had no idea what the plan was, if they even had a plan. She suddenly remembered what Ricky told her before she’d been rendered unconscious, that they were going to an island. It wasn’t as if they could run to a neighbor’s house and ask to use their phone. Ricky had also told her that Carter lived on the island alone.

But if going out a window put her farther from Carter Grant, she was all for it. She’d swim back to Seattle in frigid, shark-infested water if that’s what it took to be free of him.

“You’re taking him with you when you go!” Carter yelled at Ricky.

“Fine, but it’ll cost you.”

“What? No fucking way!”

The two men continued to argue, and Owl helped her roll off the sofa without landing on her face and without making a sound. When she was on the floor, Owl hugged her. Hard. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes. He held her face in his hands, and Lara felt as if she could see his soul in his gaze when he said, “I’m not going to let him hurt you.”

She nodded…even if she didn’t believe him one hundred percent. Oh, she believed that he would try, that he’d do anything within his power to keep her safe, but the reality was that Carter Grant had evil on his side—and he wouldn’t hesitate to kill Owl.

That thought had her wanting to move, now, while the two men were occupied with their bickering. It looked like she and Owl were in some sort of library or office. There were bookshelves covering one entire wall and dozens of boxes stacked everywhere she looked. The place was also dusty, as if it had been abandoned for years. She had no idea if Carter had bought the place or was squatting here, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting away.

Using the various boxes as cover, Lara and Owl moved toward a large window that was already cracked open—maybe to try to air out the musty room. She glanced back and finally saw Carter and Ricky, both standing about six feet behind the couch, arguing. They were so engrossed in each other, they hadn’t noticed their captives were on the move.

Thankful for the clutter, the large size of the room, and the escalating anger of the two men, Lara held her breath as she and Owl made their way across the large room toward freedom.

“You can literally just shoot him in the head and dump him in the ocean, but instead you want me to load him back on the chopper and take him with me. And do what? There’s no autopilot on the helicopter, genius, so I can’t shove him out while in the air, and if he wakes up while we’re flying, I’m fucked! You want me to take all the risks with the guy, fine—but I want another mil before one of those skids leaves this island,” Ricky argued, sounding oddly unsure and confident at the same time.

“A million?! Are you fucking high?”

“Too much? No skin off my back. I’ll just be leaving alone then…once you pay me the second half of my fee.”

“I’m not paying you another goddamn dime.”

“Fine. I’ll take the bitch and you can deal with him.”

“You’re not touching her!” Carter screamed, sounding unhinged. “She’s mine! Mine!” He whipped out a pistol and aimed it at Ricky, his hand shaking with anger.

“Easy, man,” Ricky said, holding up his hands as if in surrender.

Owl had reached the window, and still neither man had noticed. But it was only a matter of time. Lara hated hearing the possession in Carter’s voice as he claimed she was his, but since he was completely absorbed in his argument with Ricky, she was grateful for that small mercy.

As Owl tried to open the window wide enough so they could slip through, Lara couldn’t take her gaze from Carter Grant. He looked more menacing than she remembered. Probably because of the eye patch. For a second, satisfaction swam through her. Cora had done that, trying to protect Pipe from being overpowered. She couldn’t imagine hurting someone up close and personal like that…

But then she looked back at Owl. He was frowning and his brows were furrowed as he strained to hoist the damn window higher—and she realized she’d do whatever was necessary to make sure he didn’t sacrifice himself for her.

It was looking more and more likely that they were both completely screwed here. The window wasn’t budging, and if it didn’t, she had no idea how in the world they were going to get away.

“I’m not giving you another dime. In fact—”

At that moment, Owl managed to finally shove the window up a few inches.

Unfortunately, the high-pitched squeak the frame made as it rose was loud enough to get both men to stop arguing—and turn in their direction.

Lara froze, and for a moment, no one moved.

Carter looked so furious, Lara thought he was going to have a heart attack right then and there. But of course, she and Owl weren’t so lucky.

He shifted so the pistol was now pointed at her. “Get over here,” he ordered.

But Lara wasn’t going anywhere. Especially not anywhere he wanted her.

Owl stood and pulled Lara to her feet. The window wasn’t open far enough for either of them to get out, and if they made a run for the door, they’d have to pass both Ricky and Carter.

“I said, come here. Now!” Carter yelled at Lara in a vicious tone.

Again, she didn’t move. She huddled behind Owl, scared out of her mind.

Ricky chuckled.

“Shut up!” Carter screamed at the man.

“This is classic. It seems you’re at an impasse.”

Carter was clearly tired of the other man’s taunting. He pointed the pistol back at Ricky as he growled, “You think this is funny?”

Between one blink and the next, Ricky had pulled a weapon of his own from the small of his back, pointing it at Carter. “Hilarious,” he said.

The two men stood just a few feet apart, pointing pistols at each other’s heads…and they each slowly inched back even as they circled each other, gazes locked. They were completely focused on their standoff.

As they moved, they had to step around boxes in their way, which moved them farther apart…and away from the path to the door.

Lara’s heartrate increased. Her adrenaline spiked. Maybe, just maybe, they’d be able to reach the door after all.

Owl awkwardly wrapped an arm around her from his position in front of her and began to shuffle them away from the window, along the wall, closer to the door. “When I tell you, run. Get out. Hide,” he whispered.

“I’m not leaving you,” Lara blurted.

“The hell you aren’t,” Owl muttered.

“I’m not!”

This probably wasn’t the time to assert herself, but Lara couldn’t continue to live if Owl was killed trying to protect her. Once upon a time, Owl standing between her and the man who’d made her life a living hell was the only thing that kept her breathing from one day to the next, but now? She was a different person. Not necessarily strong enough to take on a serial killer on her own, but she’d be damned if she sacrificed Owl.

Every muscle in his body was taut as he slowly inched them toward the door, Ricky and Carter’s attention still on each other and the guns in their hands.

Ricky’s gaze flicked to them, then immediately back to Carter. “What now, Grant? Your plaything’s getting ready to flee the coop. But if you take your weapon off me, you know I’ll fucking kill you the second you do.”

Carter’s face was so red now, Lara began to think that maybe he would drop dead of a heart attack. It would be the miracle she and Owl needed.

“Fuck you,” Carter seethed.

And he pulled the trigger.

Ricky obviously anticipated his move, because he was throwing himself behind the couch before the bullet left the barrel.

Carter fired at Ricky again—then shocked Lara by turning his weapon toward her and Owl. Before she had time to squeak in fright or for her ears to stop ringing from the first shot, another rang out.

Instead of feeling pain blossom anywhere on her body, Lara grunted when Owl shoved her hard toward the door.

Carter had ducked behind a stack of boxes, and Ricky was still behind the couch, leaving the path to the door wide open. Lara barely avoided slamming into the door frame as she ran. She instinctively fumbled for the knob. She had to get out of this room!

Immediately, another shot rang out, this time from Ricky’s general direction. Expecting to be killed at any second, Lara almost sobbed in relief when she finally got the knob turned and the door opened into a hallway.

“Go!” Owl said, pushing her through with a hand on her back.

“Which way?” she yelled, sure she was speaking way too loud, but with her ears still ringing from the gunfire, she couldn’t regulate her tone.

“Right!” Owl yelled back.

Ricky and Carter were still shooting in the room, but Lara had no idea if they were shooting at her and Owl, or each other. She supposed it didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting the hell out of the house.

“They’re getting away!” Ricky taunted, his tone gleeful.

“It’s a fucking island. There’s nowhere to go!” Carter yelled back. “I’ll get what’s mine when you’re dead!”

She supposed it was a good thing the two assholes were trying to take each other out, but Lara couldn’t help but panic. Carter was right. If they were on an island, and she had no reason to doubt that they were, there wasn’t anywhere for them to go. She supposed there had to be a boat somewhere. Carter had gotten here somehow, after all.

“There! This way, Lara. Hurry!” Owl said as he urged her toward a large room at the end of the hallway. She could still hear Ricky and Carter yelling at each other and the occasional gunshot, so she prayed they had a bit of time to find a place to hide.

Lara glanced back at Owl. He looked fierce and determined—and she’d never loved him more.

Then she noticed he was limping.

She almost tripped when she saw the blood trail he was leaving in his wake.

“You’re bleeding!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Owl said grimly. “We need to get the hell out of here.”

Lara was still trying to wrap her mind around what she was seeing. Owl had one hand on her back and the other was clasped against his thigh, obviously trying to staunch the blood coming from a gunshot wound. But it wasn’t working. His pants were soaked and he was pretty much dragging his leg as he hobbled behind her. Even if they did find a place to hide, he could die from blood loss—and the trail Owl was leaving would lead Carter straight to them.

Panic made Lara’s breathing speed up. She felt dizzy and hopeless. Owl had been shot. He’d stood in front of her like a human shield and taken a bullet for her. Even now, he was doing everything in his power to get her away, to make sure she was safe, when he should be worrying about bleeding to death!

“Owl,” she said on a pant, but he shook his head.

“No, keep going, sweetheart.”

“But your leg!” she protested.

“I know. But you’re okay, that’s all that matters.”

It wasn’t. Owl was here because of her. Because Carter wanted her. He shouldn’t be hurt. Helplessness threatened to overwhelm her.

“Bingo! There! Left, Lara. The door. We need to get out before one of them kills the other and comes after us.”

He was right. Lara did her best to pull herself together. If Owl could be this calm after being freaking shot in the leg and with blood pouring out of his body, she could keep her wits.

She got to the door Owl indicated, tore it open—and blinked in surprise when she saw what was on the other side.

A large circle of land, cleared of trees and bushes.

And the Bell 505 that she, Stone, and Owl had test-flown yesterday.

God. Was it just yesterday? Suddenly it seemed like weeks ago. So much had happened in such a short time.

“Go, Lara! Go!”

Instinctively, she ran toward the chopper. Owl reached past her once they got to the bird and wrenched the door open. He practically threw her up into the front seat and slammed the door. Lara watched with her heart in her throat as he limped around to the other side. He opened the door and tried to climb inside.

His face was ghost white, and every time he tried to lift his good leg to get up into the seat, he stumbled backward.

“Fuck,” he breathed, as he lifted his gaze to hers.

Lara moved quickly, leaning over the seat and reaching down for his arm. She was terrified by how little strength Owl had. Between the two of them, they barely got him into the chopper.

He immediately began to flick switches and push buttons…and in seconds, the rotors slowly began to spin.

“Fuck!” Owl swore again, closing his eyes as he slumped in his seat.

“Owl?” Lara cried frantically.

“I can’t,” he murmured. “I’ll kill us both.”

“Can’t what?” Lara asked. “Owl? Can’t what?!”

“Fly,” he said, his expression one of devastation. “I’m sorry! So sorry, Lara…I failed you.”

“What? No you didn’t! You can fly! You were born to fly.”

“Gonna…pass out,” he told her. “If I do while we’re in the air…we’ll crash.”

Lara stared at him. They couldn’t have gotten this close to escaping only to fail now. “We need to stop the bleeding,” she said, determination making her voice shake. “Lean forward.”

She reached for Owl’s belt and worked it out of the loops.

“Now’s not the time to…get me naked,” Owl panted.

Lara couldn’t even smile right now. She lifted Owl’s right leg and winced as her hand came back covered with blood. She wrapped his belt above the wound and pulled it tight.

“Tighter,” Owl said between clenched teeth.

Lara pulled with all her strength and managed to clasp the belt closed. Thankfully it wasn’t one with holes. It had some sort of latch that kind of clamped down on the leather. When she’d first seen it, she’d made fun of Owl, saying that it was neat that he owned a belt that could grow with his waistline. But now she was more thankful than she could say for the ingenious design.

“Now what?” she asked. “Owl? What do I do now?”

He lifted his head—and for a moment his gaze was as clear as it always was. “Hold on…I’ll get us out of here.”

Lara’s heart clenched. She loved Owl, thought he was incredible, but the more his complexion paled, the more she honestly feared he was right—he couldn’t fly them anywhere.

“I’ll get us in the air…then you’ll have to fly. You’ve done it enough…times…in the sim. You know what to do. The anti-torque foot…pedals…control the tail rotor. The stick between your legs controls forward and…backward…right and left. And the lever next to the seat…is up and down. You can do this, sweetheart. I believe in you. You’re…the strongest woman I’ve ever known.”

She couldn’t! There was no way she could fly this helicopter. “I can’t, Owl. I can’t!” she cried, tears springing to her eyes.

Owl met her gaze again, then nodded. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay.”

It wasn’t okay. Not even close.

A sound to her right made Lara turn and look at the door they’d exited, and she saw Carter burst into the yard. But instead of coming toward the chopper, he turned back toward the house and aimed, shooting his pistol.

She looked back at Owl, who hadn’t taken his eyes from her, then back at Carter—and made her decision. The only decision she could.

“Right. Let’s do this.”

Lara was sweating profusely and felt as if she was going to throw up all over the controls. But Owl looked as calm as he had yesterday, when he was in the air. He looked down at the controls and nodded to himself. He’d told her what every ding sound, and what every word on the screens had meant the day before, but right now, all Lara could hear was her heart beating in her chest.

Looking back at the house, she saw Ricky now had one arm extended around the door frame, using the house as cover as he shot back at Carter. Both men were desperately trying to kill the other. What had started out as a vicious argument had turned into a life-or-death shootout. And Lara knew whoever won, they’d soon turn their sights on them. She kind of wanted Ricky to win. But he’d definitely kill them so he could take the helicopter.

And if Carter won…

Lara shivered. She couldn’t think about that right now.

The rotors spun faster and faster, and Lara still couldn’t believe she was even considering trying to fly this thing. She had hopes that maybe Owl wasn’t as bad off as he thought; that once they were in the air, he’d be able to get them back to Seattle.

But when she glanced at him again, those hopes faded.

He looked bad. His eyes were at half mast, his jaw clenched, as if it was taking all his strength to stay conscious. He was as white as a sheet and sweating profusely.

If they made it off the ground without being shot, she really was going to have to fly them out of there. It was likely she’d end up killing both her and Owl…but if she didn’t at least try, they were definitely dead.

“You can…do this,” Owl said. “I believe in you. Put…the headphones on…tell whoever, you can get to answer…what’s happening…that you’re a novice…they’ll…help…”

Lara nodded and reached for the headphones. She placed them over her ears and immediately the sound of everything but Owl’s harsh breaths faded.

She looked back at the house.

To her horror, one of Carter’s bullets finally found its mark, and Ricky fell in the doorway.

Carter turned to the helicopter and pointed his gun.

“Here…we…go!”

Lara put her hands on the controls and felt them move as Owl began to take off. He lifted the collective lever next to his seat, which she also felt with her own hand. He applied slight pressure to one of the pedals to counter the torque of the engine, just as he’d taught her to do with the simulator back in his cabin at The Refuge.

Even with Owl’s expertise, it wasn’t a smooth takeoff. He was fighting unconsciousness and the loss of blood had definitely had an effect on his hand-eye coordination. The chopper lurched, and for a second, Lara thought they were going to crash before they’d gotten two feet off the ground.

It wasn’t pretty, and if any pilot witnessed the helicopter’s ascent, they’d probably be wondering if the person at the controls was drunk or high—but Owl had done it. They were airborne.

Lara had no idea what made her look down once more. She would never forget the absolute fury on Carter’s face as she escaped him once again.

But it was Ricky, slowly rising to an elbow on the ground, that had her blinking in surprise.

She couldn’t hear the shots, but she saw Carter jerk and stumble before he fell face first onto the grass.

Ricky collapsed back to the ground, and then they were both still.

She didn’t have time to process what she’d just seen—Ricky and Carter killing each other, a fitting end to such evil men—before she heard a low groan through the headset and turned back to Owl.

He was slumped to the side. He’d gotten them off the ground, but now he was completely unconscious.

Lara’s hands shook as she realized she was now flying. By herself! Without Owl there to give her tips on how not to crash.

“Oh crap, Owl! I can’t do this,” she whispered.

But he didn’t respond.

For a moment, panic nearly overwhelmed her, and she forgot everything Owl had ever taught her while they’d been sitting safely on his couch, as she laughed and crashed the simulated helicopter time and time again. He’d been so patient, explaining why she’d gone down and urging her to try again.

Carter Grant was dead. She had to believe that. He wouldn’t be hunting her anymore. She could be free. She and Owl could live happily ever after, just like the characters in all her favorite movies and books.

But only if she got her head out of her ass and got them safely off the island.

Determination welled up. She needed to get Owl to a hospital. He’d protected her, kept her safe for months. It was her turn to do the same for him.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke. “Hello? Is anyone out there? Mayday, Mayday! I’m in a helicopter and we just took off from an island, I don’t know where it is, and the pilot is unconscious and needs an ambulance. My name is Lara Osler, and I don’t know what I’m doing and I need help!”

Her fingers were curled around the controls so tightly, she was relieved she didn’t need to let go in order to communicate via the headsets. There was a switch that made conversation private to the occupants of the chopper, but Owl had flicked it to public before he’d passed out.

“Hello? Mayday! I’m having an emergency. Can anyone hear me?”

“I hear you.”

Lara almost sobbed at those three words.

“I see you’re in a Bell. What’s the emergency?”

“I’m not a pilot! I’ve never flown a real helicopter before. My boyfriend and I were kidnapped by Carter Grant. He’s a serial killer and wanted by the FBI. We were taken to an island and he and another bad guy killed each other. At least I think they did! But Owl was shot and he’s bleeding really badly and I’m flying, but I’m not good at it and I’m afraid I’m going to crash and kill us both and I don’t know where we are or how to read the screens to know where to go!”

She was overexplaining, speaking way too fast, but Lara couldn’t seem to stop. “I’ve only flown a helicopter in a simulator, and I’m so scared!”

“Take a deep breath. You’re doing fine. You’re keeping her level, which is good. On the screen in front of you, there’s a green radar-looking thing. There’s a line in the middle of it that’s probably moving back and forth. See it?”

The man’s voice in her ears was low and soothing, which went a long way toward calming Lara. “Y-Yeah, I think so.”

“Good. Your job is to keep that line as flat as possible. Understand?”

She nodded, her mouth suddenly too dry to speak.

“Right. Let up a little on the stick between your legs. That’s it. Good. You were going a little too fast. Can you lift up on the lever to your left just a bit?”

“I don’t want to go any higher!” Lara exclaimed, feeling panicky again. The higher she went, the more it would hurt if she crashed.

“Just a tiny bit. I want to make sure you’re way above the level of the waves. Good. Okay, Lara, here’s what we’re going to do. I need you to turn to the right. Right now, you’re coming straight for the city, and I’m thinking you don’t want to fly over any buildings.”

“No!” she practically yelled.

“Right, so I’m going to lead you to a small airport south of the city.”

Nausea churned in Lara’s belly once more.

“I’m not very good at landing,” she admitted.

“Piece of cake. I’ll help you.”

“What’s your name?” she asked, suddenly desperate to know.

“Lucas.”

“I’m naming my first son after you,” Lara blurted.

Lucas chuckled. “Awesome. Now, here’s what I need you to do.”

The next twenty minutes were some of the scariest of Lara’s life. She kept glancing between Owl, who was still unmoving next to her, and the screens in front of her, passing on the information Lucas requested.

Everything that had happened to her in the past was put into perspective during that flight. Being at Carter’s mercy? Piece of cake compared to this.

When she caught a glimpse of the mainland, she almost panicked again, thinking about what would happen to any people on the ground if she crashed. But Lucas talked her off the ledge and managed to calm her enough to turn the chopper more to the right and follow the coastline south.

When she neared the airport where Lucas wanted her to land, Lara’s hands were starting to cramp from clenching the controls. But the man’s voice never wavered. He’d cleared the air space, thankfully, so she didn’t have to dodge planes taking off or landing. Lara could see an ambulance and several police cars and firetrucks parked by the main building. They both freaked her out and were a huge relief at the same time.

“Okay, this is it. You’re hovering, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Slowly—very slowly—lower the lever next to you and apply slight pressure backward to the stick between your legs at the same time.” The nose of the helicopter tilted ever-so-slightly up, and the tail dipped as she approached the landing zone. “That’s it. Easy…slower, you’re doing great, Lara.”

She wasn’t. The chopper was lurching slightly back and forth and she wasn’t bringing it down slow enough, but suddenly all Lara wanted was to be down. She understood now why people got off airplanes and kissed the ground.

As the chopper neared the tarmac, the rotor wash changed the way the controls felt. This was the part in the simulator when she usually messed up and crashed as she tried to land. Sweat dripped from her temple, but she didn’t dare take a hand off the controls to wipe it away. The truth was, she was utterly terrified. Not for herself, but for Owl. She didn’t want to kill him after all he’d done for her.

The rotor wash made the helicopter buck back and forth a bit, and as the skids touched the ground, Lucas said, “You’re almost there! Back off on the power and push the lever next to your seat to the floor.”

The chopper settled hard—and it took a moment for Lara to realize she’d done it. She’d actually landed! Lucas congratulated her through the headset.

“You did it, Lara! You’re down! There should be lots of people approaching you now. But you aren’t quite done yet. Back all the way off on the power. Did you do it?”

“Yeah,” Lara croaked.

“Good. There’s a red switch on the control panel, I need you to flick it; it will shut off the fuel to the engine. It’ll make it safer for the first responders to get to you.”

Lara did as Lucas instructed, vaguely remembering Stone doing the same when they’d landed after their test flight. The rotors of the helicopter began to slow, and Lara had a brief moment of disbelief that she’d actually flown a freaking helicopter and landed without crashing.

Turning, Lara saw that the cavalry of cars and trucks had almost reached her, their lights flashing and, she assumed, sirens blaring, but she couldn’t hear them while wearing the headphones.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“I didn’t do anything,” Lucas said, which made Lara want to cry and laugh at the same time.

As if he knew how she was feeling, he continued, “Seriously. This was all you. That sim program your boyfriend has must be amazing. I don’t know anyone else who could’ve done what you just did.”

“He’s a Nightslayer,” she whispered.

“A what?” Lucas asked.

“A Nightslayer. One of those fancy helicopter pilots in the military.”

“You mean Night Stalker?”

“Oh, yeah. That. Sorry.”

“Wow. They’re amazing. You obviously had a great teacher,” Lucas said. “Now take off the headset and talk to the first responders, Lara.”

“I want to meet you,” she blurted. “You saved my life. Our lives.”

“You did that all on your own,” Lucas said, refusing to accept her praise. “But I’ll do what I can to make a meeting happen. Now, go.”

Almost robotically, Lara unclenched her hands from around the controls and took off the headset. She turned to Owl just as their rescuers reached them.

After that, things moved very fast. She was whisked from the helicopter as Owl was removed and placed on a stretcher. She was escorted to an ambulance, where Owl was placed in the back. She had to sit up front, but she turned and watched through the small window as the paramedics worked on Owl.

There had been so much blood. His seat in the chopper was soaked, and the sheets on the gurney quickly turned red as it continued to flow.

There was no way anyone could live with that much blood loss…could they?

Once they arrived at the hospital, Owl was wheeled down a hall, while Lara was gently but firmly led to a small room. She spent at least two hours going over everything that happened with the police. Then when the FBI arrived, she had to start all over. She had no idea where the island was located, but she told the authorities the name of the airport where they’d been kidnapped, and said Lucas could probably tell them at least the area where he’d picked up her signal. She also begged them to find Stone. Gave them the little information she had, which wasn’t much, and tried not to take their unencouraging looks personally.

When the door opened for what seemed like the hundredth time, Lara didn’t even look up. She was exhausted, scared, and having one hell of an adrenaline dump. She didn’t want to talk to anyone else. She only wanted to see Owl. She was told he’d been brought into surgery to try to repair the hole in his artery, but that was all she knew.

When she heard her name being spoken in a gentle yet familiar voice, Lara looked up in surprise. Standing in the doorway was Alaska.

And everyone else from The Refuge.

Well…almost all of them. As her gaze flicked from face to face, she didn’t see Tiny, but the remaining men and their women were there.

Lara burst into tears, unable to hold them back anymore. Seeing her friends, knowing they’d have her back, she let her guard fall. She was finally safe…

But without Owl, she wasn’t sure she could ever be whole again.