Emergency Response (17 page)

NINETEEN

N
oah met Archer in the parking lot and Archer's face said it all. Darcie wasn't there. The other team members had phoned in the same report.

“Now what?” Archer asked, his voice filled with worry. “Where else can we look?”

Noah replayed everything that had occurred that night. He retraced their steps. Something about the first shop kept pricking at his mind. He ran the conversation with the gang member. Over and over again. Word by word.

Dawning exploded in his brain.

“He said us and we.” Noah grabbed Archer's arm. “Not I, but we.”

“Who?”

“The guy I rousted out at the first shop. He said, ‘we done nothing wrong' and ‘quit hassling us.' If he was alone he would have said I and me.”

“Maybe,” Archer said, less than enthusiastically. “He was likely just talking about what's been going on these last few days.”

“Maybe.”

“Did you see anyone with him?”

“No, but—”

“But you want to go back there and check.”

“Yeah.”

“Then I'm coming with you.”

Noah nodded and they raced for his car. He ran his lights and they made it to the building in fifteen minutes flat. At the door, Noah noticed someone had turned off the light in the back. “There was a light on in the back before.”

“Maybe the guy's gone home.”

“Let's circle around back and see what we find in the alley.” Noah didn't wait for Archer to agree, but jogged around the building, the area familiar from his last stop.

“Back door's cracked open,” Noah said.

He didn't need to say anything more. They both drew their weapons and switched from verbal communication to gestures. Noah led the way to the door. Pressed it open. Saw nothing. He signaled for Archer to cover him and he stepped in. He flipped on the light. Nothing had changed since his visit forty-five minutes ago, but using his flashlight, he took a closer look at the desk and shelves. Something glittered in the back. He reached for the object.

Haley's ring. The one Darcie would never remove.

Had the creeps taken it as a souvenir? Was she dead?

His heart refused to beat. He showed the ring to Archer. His jaw firmed, but he then mouthed
clue
.

Yes, right. She could've left it as a clue. Noah directed his attention to the shelf. Knocked along the wood. Hollow. His heart jumped, and he kept searching until he found a spot that gave way. The shelf swung out and they both had to jump to get out of the way.

Noah shoved the ring into his pocket, lifted his weapon, then stepped into a dark hallway. A light was visible in the distance. He followed it into what had to be the suite next door. He remembered the vacant sign out front.

He kept moving. Foot after foot. Step after step. Listening. Hoping to hear anything. But silence greeted him save for Archer's muted footsteps.

Noah finally reached a clearing and found a large room that looked like a studio apartment, minus the bed. Cans of beer sat on the table and ashtrays were filled with cigarette and marijuana butts. The place looked like a party had just ended.

He touched a can. “Still cold.”

He went to a door that led into the alley and opened it. He heard movements to his right. Gestured for Archer to follow him. They eased down the alley to a stairway, where he heard voices. They crept up the stairs. The voices grew louder. Finally, he recognized Darcie's cry of distress.

She's alive. Thank You, God.

His heart soared, but immediately plummeted when he realized they had to free her before these killers ended her life.

* * *

Darcie reached out and grasped for anything, like Chico's shirt or his arm, but she came up holding air as she dangled over the rooftop ledge. He'd decided he needed to hear her admit her role in the gang's demise so he'd dragged her up there. He claimed that a few minutes hanging over the edge three stories up from the pavement should get her to confess.

But she couldn't confess, as she'd done nothing wrong. She had to pretend so he would put her down, and she could try to escape again.

“Please,” she begged. “Let me up and I'll tell you everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yes, everything I know.”

He eyed her for a long moment.

“I promise,” she added.

He jerked her feet back onto the roof, but her legs were made of rubber, and she couldn't stand. She crumpled to the deck and gulped in air to still her racing heart.

“Speak,” he commanded.

“I need water.” She panted and pretended her throat was too parched to talk.

“Get her a bottle of water,” he yelled at Gonzalo, who'd accompanied them up to the roof. Felipe had gone to take care of business, which made better odds for her. Now if Gonzalo left, it would be her against Chico. Even better odds.

Gonzalo trudged to the other side of the roof and disappeared in the stairwell.

She had to disable Chico, but how? Her mind raced over possibilities. Dismissed them as ludicrous just as fast. Time ticked by. She had to hurry before Gonzalo came back.

“What's taking that fool so long?” Chico turned to look at the stairwell.

She had to act fast. She came to her feet. Rubbery legs seemed like they'd collapse, but a burst of adrenaline kicked in. She lunged at him, hitting him below his midsection and knocking him to the deck. She bolted for the stairway.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” she told herself and prayed she didn't meet Gonzalo on the way down.

“Stop or I'll shoot.” Chico's voice came from behind as she heard him race across the deck.

She was almost there. Just a few more feet. She couldn't stop. Not when he was going to kill her anyway.

She heard him chamber a bullet in the weapon. She turned, saw him lift it into position. Suddenly strong arms came around her legs and jerked down into the stairwell. A bullet flew overhead and lodged in the wall.

She smelled his scent, the wonderful musky aftershave and fragrance belonging only to Noah, before she confirmed he was the one who'd taken her down. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Her heartbeat refused to return to normal, but she knew she was safe.

Another shot zinged over the wall. She sensed another person moving and heard the other person fire at Chico.

“He's down,” Archer said and Darcie's heart swelled with gratitude over his help. He stood and looked down on them. “Since you two are so busy, I'll check on him and call for backup.”

Darcie looked up at her friend and smiled. “Thank you, Archer.”

He nodded and climbed over them. That's when she heard a mumbled noise below and saw Gonzalo gagged and cuffed. Served him right to endure the same fate she'd suffered.

“Thank You, God, for keeping her safe,” Noah murmured. He pushed her back, his gaze feasting on her face. A crease of worry remained on his forehead. “Don't ever scare me like that again.”

She smoothed the wrinkle with her finger. “I'll try my best never to be abducted.”

He shook his head and squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. “I thought I'd lost you. And there is so much I want to tell you. To do with you. To be with you. I love you, Darcie.”

“Me, too. I love you, too,” she managed to get out before his lips crashed down on hers. Warm, soft, they crushed hers. The purest joy flooded her heart. A joy she'd never thought she'd experience again. But God saw fit to bring the two of them together.

She thought to tell Noah about how she'd managed to say goodbye to Haley and officially move on, but decided the feel of his lips was too good to pass up. There'd be plenty of time to talk later.

* * *

Hours later, Darcie held Noah's free hand and reveled in her newfound joy as he drove her to the firehouse. They didn't speak. Didn't need to speak, just enjoyed the peace and freedom that arresting her attacker had brought.

He pulled up next to Skyler's car and gestured at the other vehicles in the lot. “Looks like the whole team is here.”

“They'll want to rehash everything and it's been so wonderful riding over here with nothing to worry about.” She squeezed his hand and smiled. “Maybe we shouldn't go in.”

“Ha, like I'm going to take their guff if I don't bring you inside so they can all personally see that you're okay.”

“You're the one who found me, so I think they'll be appreciative of that and cut you a little slack.”

“Still, a little slack from these guys might not be enough to keep me safe.” He went to put his keys in his pocket and stopped to dig inside. “I almost forgot. I have Haley's ring. I thought you'd like to have it back.” He held it out in his palm.

She stared at the ring for a moment and knew she didn't want to go back to the cage of her emotions, where she was only half-alive. But she'd love to put the ring in her jewelry box and occasionally take it out to look at it. She took it from him and put it in her pocket.

His mouth dropped open. “You're not going to wear it?”

She shook her head. “This may not make sense to you, but when I took it off, it felt like I was saving my life in more ways than one. I left it as a clue for you, but I also think God was trying to tell me it's time for a change. To move beyond my loss and embrace the living.”

Noah circled his hand around the back of her neck. “I hope I count as one of the living that you want to embrace.”

“Definitely.” She reached up and stroked his cheek, then kissed him for long, joyous moments.

He suddenly pulled back and frowned. “About Evan. I...” He shrugged. “Does it bother you that I gave him up? And the way I did it... Man. That has to make you think twice about me.”

She shook her head. “You were young. You weren't ready to be a parent and adoption was better for Evan. Look at Isabel, for example. Mayte wasn't ready for a child—still isn't ready, in a lot of ways—and Isabel has suffered as a result.”

“Isabel, right.” He slapped his forehead. “I should have seen that. How did I miss it when it was right in front of me?”

She slid her fingers into his hair and drew him closer. “Sometimes the things right in front of you are the hardest ones to see.”

Frowning, he sat back and she wondered what she'd said or done to elicit another frown. “What is it?”

“Evan. I can't simply choose to move on. I think he needs me and I want to get to know him.”

“We'll figure it out.” She took his hand again. “Together. I'll be by your side and help you find a way to become part of his life.”

“You'd do that for me?”

“Of course I will. I'd give anything to have another moment with Haley so I can fully understand your desire to have Evan in your life. We'll just keep trying until we find a way.”

“We. I like the sound of that.” He smiled softly and she finally gave in, pressing her finger into the dimple she'd resisted since forever.

The firehouse front door opened and the entire FRS team and their significant others stepped outside, all of them carrying work gloves and equipment to clean up from the shooting. Archer was the only one missing as he was still wrapping things up at the crime scene. Darcie suspected that despite it being dark, Jake had wanted to improve morale by cleaning up the house that night instead of waiting until morning.

When they spotted the car, they stood and stared.

“Guess they're trying to tell us something,” Darcie said.

“C'mon. The sooner we let them see you're okay, the sooner we can get back to being alone.” Noah winked, then stepped outside.

She followed, her body aching from the Nuevos' rough treatment. She walked up to the bright red doors where the team stood. She ran her fingers over the ragged scars from the Nuevos' violence, then looked at her teammates. “I'm so sorry this happened to our beautiful home.”

“No worries,” Jake said. “Gives us something to do.”

“Yeah, like we're not busy enough,” Cash mumbled, but his fiancée, Krista, socked him in the arm. They'd been engaged for nine months now and were still very much the picture of happiness, but that didn't mean Krista didn't call Cash on his grumpy attitude.

“What?” he asked.

“Don't make Darcie feel worse than she already does.”

“Sorry. It really is okay. As long as you're alive and well.”

Noah grinned and circled his arm around her waist. “She's very alive and very well.”

“And from the looks of things, very in love,” Skyler said.

Darcie blushed and Noah grinned. “I never kiss and tell.”

“It's about time the two of you got together.” Brady took Morgan's hand to wiggle her engagement ring that Brady had put in place two weeks ago on Valentine's Day. “I thought I was a big holdout on finding the right woman for me, but you two? Man, you guys have been avoiding what was right in front of you for so long maybe you should call the Guinness Book of Records people.”

Skyler laughed and stepped closer to Darcie. “I'm so happy for the two of you. I'm also glad everything worked out. FYI, you should know that the DA chose not to prosecute the Kerr brothers. He said it would be hard to prove money laundering. Still, I think Judson scared them straight.”

“Let's hope so for Winnie's sake,” Darcie replied, thinking that everything had worked out for good.

“You should also know, Pilar was worried sick about you and she feels responsible for putting you in this situation.”

“It's not her fault.”

“She and Isabel are inside if you want to go tell her that.”

“I do.” She looked up at Noah. “Do you want to join me?”

“Are you kidding? Of course I'm coming with you.” He took her hand. “I'm not letting you out of my sight for a very long time.”

Her teammates groaned in unison, but they also patted Noah on the back, signaling their approval.