A round of shots hit the ground.
Owen was on top of Leah instantly. When Lambert started firing again, he moved, urging Leah forward. They scrambled upthe bank and behind the car where Lambert was still spraying bullets toward the other vehicle.
Owen’s stolen car suddenly barreled forward.
Lambert stopped firing.
Owen raised his head above the trunk and watched as his car faded into the distance. But it was the woman left in the middle of the road, clambering to her feet, that held his attention. She shouted at the fleeing vehicle.
Lambert stepped away from the vehicle, his weapon aimed at the woman. “Put your hands up!” he shouted.
“Stay down,” Owen warned Leah. “Do not move unless you see my car coming from the other direction.”
She nodded, her face pale.
Owen stood and followed Lambert.
“She kidnapped me!” Louise Douglas stood in the middle of the road, hands up in surrender. “She was going to kill us both.”
Leah was suddenly next to Owen, swaying precariously. “She’s lying. She was going to kill me. The two of them are working together.”
Before Owen could grab her, Leah stormed up to the other woman. He was right behind her but didn’t catch up fast enough to prevent what happened next.
Leah punched the other woman in the face. Louise hit the ground.
“That’s for having that guy try to kill me.” She rubbed her fist.
“You got this?” Lambert asked, backing toward the car.
“Got it,” Owen assured him.
“I’ll send a patrol car for the woman, and the rest of us are going to find the one who got away.”
Owen helped Douglas to her feet. “If you resist,” he warned, “the next punch will be from me.”
In the five minutes that followed, a patrol car arrived and took custody of Louise Douglas. Another uniform offered to givethem a ride; Owen declined and told the officer to help the others find his car and the fugitive driving it.
When the police were gone, he called the office and ordered a car to pick him and Leah up. Then he draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She looked ready to drop.
“You okay?”
“I guess so.” She leaned her head against him. “I guess I held out hope that Isla—Alyssa, whatever, was telling the truth. That the friendship we shared was real on some level.”
But it wasn’t. Owen understood how difficult that must be to accept.
“You up to walking for a few minutes?”
“Yeah. I just want to get out of here.”
“I can make that happen,” he promised. “In fact, I think we’re both due for a vacation.”
She peered up at him, the new bruise on her cheek making his gut clench. “A vacation sounds amazing.”
“Don’t you want to know where?” he asked, grinning at her eagerness.
“I don’t care where as long as I’m with you.”
“Same,” he murmured as he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead.
