Fury and fear churned within Noelle. Did your victims beg, too?
“Is the woman in there?” Aaron wanted to know.
They hadn’t gotten a glimpse of the shooter, not yet.
But Noelle didn’t need a glimpse. “She is.”
Aaron grunted. “So, we’re looking at two people in—”
“Only one,” Noelle interrupted. “Just one.”
As comprehension sank in, Aaron whistled. “Paula Quill got free and found a gun in the place, huh? Payback is a—”
The cabin’s door opened then. A small, hunched figure appeared.
Paula.
She had a gun in her hand. She lifted the gun and aimed it at the begging Patrick.
Paula walked forward. Her grip on the gun was steady and her steps were slow.
She’s going to kill him.
“Stop!” Thomas shouted.
Paula’s head jerked up. So did her gun. She pointed it at Thomas.
“No, Thomas,” Noelle said as Thomas stepped forward, “that woman isn’t a victim.” Noelle was seeing her for exactly what she was.
Patrick’s partner.
Paula fired. So did Thomas. His bullet hit its target, and Paula fell back, slamming into the side of the cabin.
But her bullet had hit, too. Thomas’s blood sprayed in the air, and Noelle gave a frantic cry as she grabbed for him.
No, not Thomas. Not—
Aaron sprang forward, running toward Paula.
Thomas grabbed Noelle’s hand. Blood streamed from a wound near his upper arm. “Just a flesh wound, baby. I swear, I’m fine.”
And she realized she’d been pleading, so desperate for him to be all right.
His hold tightened on her. “It would take a lot more than this to slow me down.”
Yes, yes, it would. Relief had her feeling light-headed, but they didn’t have time to waste. She and Thomas rushed after Aaron.
The other agent had already kicked the gun away from Paula. Paula’s wound was almost an exact mirror image of Thomas’s.
But Paula was screaming, and Thomas was eerily silent.
Aaron locked his hand around Paula’s uninjured shoulder. “Wrong move, ma’am, wrong.”
“Help...me...” Patrick pleaded when Noelle drew closer to him.
She stared down at his bloody chest. His breath was wheezing in and out. If he didn’t get medical attention, he’d be dead in moments.
Noelle dropped to her knees beside him.