Christmas Amnesia

“This way,” he said, keeping his arm wedged beneath the heavy door. Maddy climbed over the console, sucking in a harsh breath when she cracked her elbow against the computer mounted on the dash. The space from the floor of the car to the ground was farther than she anticipated.

She lightly jumped down, but the uneven terrain caused her to stumble against Noah. He caught her up against him, holding her close and preventing her from hitting the ground. But she accidentally hit the radio draped over his arm, sending it down into a pile of slush. She knew water and electronics were a bad combination and Noah must have agreed because he didn’t bother attempting to retrieve it.

Headlights pierced the night, pointing directly at them. She averted her gaze from the blinding glare, searching for someplace to hide.

“Hold on to me,” Noah said, keeping his arm anchored around her. “See the rows and rows of boats stored up on blocks? That’s where we’re going.”

She didn’t answer, concentrating on following his lead as they quickly ran, slipping and sliding over to the closest row of boats.

The sound of a car door slamming shut caused her heart to leap into her throat and she imagined the driver of the car was already running after them. She clung to Noah, grateful for his support as she struggled to keep up. The boats were large and provided some cover from the bright headlights, but not enough that they wouldn’t be seen.

Fear tightened around her throat. Did Noah believe they could outrun the guy behind them? Maybe if he was alone, but she knew her being here was an added liability.

If only she was wearing her running shoes.

Did she have running shoes?

This wasn’t the time to worry about her lost memory. With the threat before them, the throbbing in her temple had lessened a bit, and she tried to ignore it. Pushing the ridiculous thoughts from her mind, she focused on following Noah as he moved from one boat to the next. He seemed to be checking them out, for what she had no idea. Plastic shrink-wrap covered most of the boats, protecting them from the harsh winter weather.

When they reached the middle of the sea of boats, Noah stopped. She leaned against a fiberglass frame, using the opportunity to catch her breath. Noah was doing something with the boat next to her, unlatching bungee cords holding a tarp in place, rather than the usual shrink-wrap. Peering through the darkness, she could see that two of the boats had tarps in lieu of plastic, and Noah worked on both of them.

She hoped he didn’t plan on using one of them as a hiding place. Considering most of the boats were covered, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that they’d take refuge in one of the two boats not shrink-wrapped in plastic.

Straining to listen, she attempted to pinpoint where the guy following them might be located. For a long moment she heard nothing but the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore. She was about to whisper to Noah that they should keep going when she heard the distinct sound of a muffled thump.

Noah froze, turning toward her. She stared at him, wondering if the noise was from the guy on their tail or from the squad car falling the rest of the way into the lake.

She reached for Noah’s hand, needing his reassuring strength. As if he knew what she was thinking, he pulled her close and lowered his head so that his mouth was next to her ear. “We’re going to be okay.”

The tightness around her chest eased, enabling her to take a deep breath. Noah gently tugged on her hand, indicating they needed to keep moving. When she passed the two boats he’d been fiddling with, she realized he’d unlatched several of the cords holding the tarp, leaving a slight gaping hole.

Why on earth? Then it occurred to her that Noah had done that to make it look as if they’d chosen to hide inside the empty boat. If the attacker believed they were inside, he might waste time searching for them inside the boats.

Good thing she was on the run with a smart cop. One she trusted to keep her safe, no matter how steeply adversity was stacked against them.

Dear Lord, thank You for bringing Noah Sinclair into my life when I needed him the most. Please continue guiding us and keeping us safe in Your care. Amen.

The whispered prayer formed in her mind without conscious thought and she immediately felt a sense of peace and hope wash over her.

Noah was right; they would be okay.

When they reached the edge of the boat storage area, she tightened her grip on Noah’s hand. Now what? This area of the marina was brightly lit, without offering many places to hide.

Surprisingly there was a boat still in the water, anchored to the pier. It looked as if the motor was running. The water around the engine was swirling. There was no sign of the boat’s owner, but that didn’t mean he—or she—wasn’t nearby.

But they didn’t have time to waste searching, either.

“See that boat?” Noah asked in a hushed tone. “That’s our target.”

She resisted when he tugged her forward. “We can’t,” she hissed. “That’s stealing!”

“Borrowing,” Noah corrected. He pulled his cell phone from his breast pocket, showing it to her. “I’ll call it in as soon as we’re safe.”

She didn’t like it, but then again, allowing the guy on their heels to capture them wasn’t a good option, either. “Okay, let’s go.”

Leaving the shadows to step into the light took a tremendous amount of courage. She hunched her shoulders, trying to make herself a smaller target as they approached the dock. Walking along the pier was just as treacherous, the moisture from the lake mixing with the snow to create a slick surface. She walked as fast as she dared, following Noah as he approached the boat.

She glanced around, expecting the owner to be somewhere close by. Why else would the motor be running? Then again, the guy could be on the boat, too.

The lapping waves caused the boat to rock against the buoy in a rhythmic pattern. Noah braced his palms on the edge of the boat, really more of a small yacht, and used the flashlight on his phone to peer inside.

“Hurry,” he urged, gesturing for her to come over. Maddy swallowed a wave of apprehension, putting her trust and her faith in Noah.

“You first,” he whispered. After slipping his phone back into his shirt pocket, he held the boat steady while assisting her aboard.

The rocking motion caused her to stumble, and she accidentally yanked on Noah’s hand, tugging him forward. She widened her stance, trying to find her balance. The fact that her head still ached didn’t help, although pain was the least of her worries.

Noah leaped into the boat, then leaned over to unleash the ties. The boat immediately drifted away from the pier, so she hurried over to assist. Her arms weren’t long enough, so she could only watch helplessly as he stretched out to unhook the second tether.

Leaning over the way he was, she shouldn’t have been surprised when his phone slipped from his pocket and landed in the lake with a soft ker-plop.

She closed her eyes against a stabbing frustration but there wasn’t time to worry about the submerged device now. The boat was loose in the water, so Noah quickly disappeared inside the pilothouse to take control.

The sound of the engines revving to life seemed incredibly loud, giving away their location to anyone within a hundred yards. She stumbled inside the pilothouse mere seconds before she heard someone shouting at them to stop, followed by the sharp retort of gunfire ripping through the night.

* * *

Noah hit the throttle, sending the boat surging out from the marina into the large lake, praying for the first time in years that none of the bullets would hit the vessel.

“I can’t believe he’s shooting at us,” Maddy said, coming up to stand beside him. The enclosure of the pilothouse helped keep the stiff breeze away, but the cold December air still surrounded them.

“Don’t worry, he can’t follow us.” Noah divided his gaze between the buoys on the water and the boat’s navigation system. He hadn’t sailed on Lake Michigan in four years, but basic geography made it impossible to get lost. If he hugged the shoreline, he could head south all the way to Chicago or go due east to Michigan.

Heading north would take them toward Green Bay, but he didn’t want to go that far. He turned the boat south. His partner, Jackson Dellis, lived near the border between Milwaukee and Racine, and he was fairly certain there was a smaller marina in that area, too.

“Is there a radio on this boat?” Maddy, so cold that her teeth were chattering, asked. “We need to call for help.”

“There is, but I don’t want to alert the Coast Guard,” he said. “I’d rather find a way to contact my partner.”

“Wh-why not the C-Coast Guard?”

Noah glanced over at Maddy, knowing he should have done a better job of protecting her. Dr. Hawkins had ordered rest and relaxation, and the past few hours had been anything but. At this rate, her memory might never return.

“Because right now I don’t want the entire world to know that you’re suffering from amnesia,” he explained. “Alexander Pietro is going to be tried by a jury of his peers starting next week, but we know he still has a lot of guys working for him. We need to make sure nothing related to your situation leaks into the press.”

“Police reports are open to the public,” Maddy said, her expression thoughtful.

“Yeah. Of course, the Milwaukee Police Department can limit the information that gets out, but your name has been linked to Pietro’s case a lot already. Even the merest hint of an attack on you will have the media swarming all over it. I think it’s better for now that we keep this quiet.”

Until your memory returns, he added silently, refusing to consider the possibility that it might be lost long enough to derail the trial.

No way. He couldn’t bear the thought of Pietro getting away with his crimes.

“And your partner will stand by your decision?” Maddy asked with a frown.

“I hope so.” Jackson was his third partner in the last eighteen months, and so far he seemed okay. At least the younger guy hadn’t dropped any hints about needing a partner that would back him up, the way his previous partner had. Matt hadn’t held him responsible for the stabbing, but other cops hadn’t been shy about sharing their opinions, especially Lynda. When Jackson had replaced her as Noah’s new partner, Noah had been secretly relieved. Yet if he were honest, he didn’t know Jackson Dellis very well yet. He couldn’t say for sure if he’d agree with Noah’s decision to keep the series of incidents surrounding Maddy quiet.

He didn’t plan on giving him an option. Jackson was only in his second year of being a cop, so Noah would pull rank if he had to.

“I hope so, too,” Maddy agreed. She shivered and moved closer. He put his arm around her in an attempt to share his warmth. “How are we going to get in touch with him without a phone?”

Good question. It was already past two thirty in the morning; even those places that catered to the nighttime crowd would close down soon, if they hadn’t already. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “We’ll think of something.”

Maddy fell silent and he wondered if she was second-guessing her decision to go along with him. It hadn’t been an easy last few hours for her. Although he hated to think about what might have happened if she’d gone off on her own. From the near miss outside the hospital, to being rammed off the road toward the icy lake, to being shot at as they sped away on a borrowed boat, the bad guys, no doubt hired by Pietro, had remained one step behind them.

Too close for comfort.

Noah cranked the wheel of the boat into a sharp right, toward the much smaller and not as brightly lit Racine Marina. When they were a nautical mile away, he pulled back the throttle so that they drifted quietly toward the pier. Sweeping his gaze over the area, he didn’t see anyone lurking around, but he refused to relax his guard.

“I need you to hold the wheel steady,” he instructed Maddy. “Then when I give the signal, put the engine in Reverse, see here? Just enough to prevent us from ramming into the dock, okay?”

“No problem.” She placed her small hands near his, taking over the wheel the way he’d showed her. Fighting the instinct to hold her close, Noah moved away and headed out to the deck. He grasped the edge of the pier and quickly looped one of the boat’s mooring lines over it.

“Now,” he said and she instantly pulled the lever down, sending the engine into Reverse. “Off,” he said, as he quickly secured the second rope. She turned off the key, and he waited for her to come over to join him.

“Ready?” He helped her step off the boat onto the pier first, then came up behind her.

“What’s next?” Maddy’s voice sounded weak, betraying her exhaustion.

The area was far more deserted; only a few boats were stored here for the winter. He spied an old building off to the left. “This way.” He headed in that direction, relieved to see that the place was a snack bar used during the sailing season. It was boarded up for the winter.

Banking on the fact that there would be a phone inside, he examined the door. It was locked up tight and the windows were covered, as well. Refusing to give up, he checked every bit of plywood, finding one that wasn’t secured as tightly as the others.

“Are you breaking in?” Maddy asked, sounding horrified.

“We need access to a phone.”

“Even if there is a phone inside, that doesn’t mean it will work,” Maddy argued, sounding so much like her old self that it made him smile. “If they were smart, they’d shut down the phone line over winter.”

“Yeah, but there’s a chance they didn’t bother. The sailing season extends beyond just the summer months.”

“I—I guess it’s worth a sh-shot.” Her teeth were chattering again and Noah hoped that his instincts were right. Prying the plywood away, he managed to reveal a broken window.

Using his leather jacket–clad elbow, he knocked the rest of the glass out of the way and then poked his head inside. There were boxes stored beneath a counter, and thankfully a phone hung on the wall near the door.

“I’ll be right back.” He didn’t like leaving Maddy alone, but this wouldn’t take long. He handed her the computer case for the time being, then levered himself up through the window. It wasn’t easy—his shoulders were stuck momentarily—but then he was inside. Lifting the phone receiver, he closed his eyes with gratitude when he heard a dial tone.

He punched in Jackson’s number. The ringing seemed to go on forever and just when he was afraid he wouldn’t answer, he picked up.

“H’lo?” His partner’s voice was slurred with sleep.

“Jackson? It’s Noah. I need your help.”

“Noah?” Now he sounded more awake. “Do you realize it’s almost three o’clock in the morning?”

“I know, I’m sorry, but I’m in a jam. Can you meet me down at the Racine Marina?”

“Now? Seriously? Is it important?”

“Yes.”

Long silence, then, “Yeah, okay. Give me fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you.” He replaced the receiver then checked the door. A giant padlock hung through the latch, so he gave up and crawled back out the window. Maddy was huddled against the building, her arms crossed and her chin ducked into the collar of her coat.

After taking the computer case from her, he didn’t hesitate to gather her into his arms. “Jackson will be here soon. I need you to hang in there for a little while longer, okay?”

“I—I can’t get warm,” she whispered.

“I know.” He rubbed his hands up and down her back, hoping to ward off the possibility of hypothermia. She had a winter coat on, but no hat or gloves or decent boots. No wonder she was shivering. He tucked her head into his shoulder and tried not to be distracted by the cinnamon scent of her hair.

If Matt knew what a terrible job Noah was doing in protecting Maddy, he’d be furious. Which made him wonder why Matt hadn’t called him back. The only thing he could imagine that would keep Matt from returning his call was if he was out on a case. Of course now that his phone was in the bottom of the lake, it didn’t matter much.

He should have mentioned Maddy being in danger; then for sure nothing would have stopped Matt from returning his call. But back when he’d made that initial contact, he hadn’t realized just how serious Maddy’s situation was.

For a moment, Noah debated going back inside the building to make another call to Matt, but decided against it. He didn’t want to leave Maddy alone and Jackson would be here soon. He could easily borrow his partner’s phone to make the call. This time, Noah would be sure to give Matt the specifics on how many attempts had been made on Maddy’s life.

“Headlights,” Maddy whispered, her body going tense, her breath warm against his throat.

“I’m sure it’s Jackson,” he assured her. They stood in the shadow of the building, a spot that provided them a broad view of the parking lot while keeping them hidden. He knew his partner drove a large pickup, so he waited until the vehicle pulled into a parking space to make sure. Yep, the truck looked familiar, so he felt certain Jackson was the one behind the wheel.

Sure enough, the driver-side door sprung open, revealing a short redheaded guy. Jackson climbed out and stood for a moment, glancing around expectantly, his expression irritated that Noah wasn’t anywhere in sight.

He released Maddy and tried to step away, but she tightened her grip. “No, wait. I don’t like this.”

“That’s my partner,” he reminded her. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“Noah, please...” Her voice trailed off.

“We don’t have another option,” he told her. “We need to get someplace warm.”

She hesitated for a moment, then capitulated. “All right.”

Before they could step out from the shadows, there was a loud crack and Jackson Dellis crumpled to the ground in a heap.

Noah sucked in a harsh breath, horrified to see his partner shot before his eyes, thinking, Not again, not again! But then he focused on protecting Maddy, dragging her deeper into the shadows, trying to comprehend what had happened.

Their only escape route had been effectively cut off, leaving them stranded at the mercy of a hidden shooter.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.