Galen paused to talk to an officer and then he motioned for her to join him as they walked into the parking lot, completely secure.
The moment they made it to Galen’s car the officers left them and returned to checking the hospital’s front entrance, though if Maria was caught already, the extra security seemed unnecessary.
Galen unlocked his car with a click and walked her toward the passenger seat. As he reached for the handle, a car sped from nowhere and blocked his SUV. Galen yelled at her, “Keep your head down.”
A crack sounded in the air. “What was that?” Too loud to be a firecracker.
He threw open the passenger side door and shouted, “Get in Natalie!”
She jumped in mostly out of instinct. However Galen never made it to the driver’s side. She saw him by the front window and watched in horror as someone shot at him. Her heart raced and her entire body felt cold when he jumped over the cement block, out of her view.
He could be lying in a pool of his own blood, dying and she was trapped in the car.
She needed to act. Now. She looked around—where was the shooter? The police were running toward them. She screamed, “Galen!”
But she couldn’t see him.
Then her door rattled and the butt of a gun shattered the glass of her window. A hand snaked in and opened her door. She stared into the cold steely eyes of Rocco. “Natalie, if you want your parents to live, you’ll get in my car. Now.”
Her parents were in the hospital—safe. Her mind raced. She had no idea where Galen was or what had just happened. The police were thirty seconds away. She needed to stay alive and had only her instincts to help her.
Rocco grabbed for her arm and pulled her ankle. “Now, Natalie.”
“Do I look stupid?” She kicked him with all her might to get him off and hugged the car seat so she couldn’t be budged, not without ripping her in half.
Rocco rubbed his chin where her foot had landed. “You asked for it.”
“Stop!” A policeman shouted, coming closer.
Instead of reaching for her again, Rocco turned and ran. Where? She knew quickly that it wasn’t over.
Natalie searched the cement block and exhaled in relief when Galen popped his head over the cement. She tapped the front windshield of the SUV and cried out for him. “Galen!”
The police arrived and chased Rocco toward his car, but she heard a squeal of tires.
Everything was a blur except Galen’s brown eyes. A color movie passed her, and she barely noticed officers in blue race by.
Galen’s face was pale and he motioned for her to stay put. Once the officers passed, he hopped over the cement block and she saw blood on his shoulder. Oh goodness, he must have been hurt from that bullet or loud bang that might have been a bomb and all because of her.
No! She stepped out of the door but heard sirens and police screaming orders for her not to move. Her heart dropped to her stomach. Galen had to be okay.
Galen’s shoulder had gone numb. He waited for the police to give them the okay, though every cell in his body demanded he go to Natalie in the passenger side of his SUV.
Seeing her kick for her life churned his stomach, but she’d gotten Rocco with her foot.
The police finished and gave him the all-clear and Galen rushed toward her, stepping on shattered glass. He wrapped his arms around her and she jumped out of the car. Her skin was warm and her hair was silky across his cheek. “Natalie!”
She kissed his face. “Galen, thank God you’re okay.”
“I saw you fight him off.” He held her tight, ignoring the pain on his right side.
She let him go, but kissed his cheek as she tugged on his shirt. “I don’t want to think about that. The police were coming. I was worried about you. Let’s get you inside.”
Right. He’d been shot. He had a hard time remembering but there was blood on his new shirt in the front and back. Natalie didn’t need to worry though. They needed to have a conversation about love and how that was an illusion, but he kept his lips sealed on that topic, for now. He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“You were shot.” She guided him toward the hospital.
As he could think and move, the wound probably wasn’t that bad.
