Fractured Memories (Badge of Honor #1)

Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

Felicity hit the carpet with a bone-jarring crash as bullets from a semiautomatic rifle slammed into the window. Noah covered her with his body in a protective embrace. Shattering glass and screams filled the bank. The noise was deafening and sent her heart into overdrive. Adrenaline shot through her system. Time slowed down. She was achingly aware of the roar of her pulse, the feel of Noah’s skin against her own, and the rapid beat of steady shots raining down on them. Silent prayers winged through her heart.

An explosion vibrated the earth. More screams followed. Smoke and dust hazed the air. Felicity grabbed hold of Noah’s hand covering her head and held on. His strong and capable fingers gripped hers. The world was falling apart around them, and Felicity would never wish harm on anyone, especially Noah, but she was eternally grateful for his presence. His protection.

Trust in God. Let your heart lead you .

Cassie’s advice earlier this morning at the breakfast table rippled through Felicity’s mind. She wasn’t very good at surrendering, especially in romance, but as chaos reigned, she understood the words of wisdom in a new way. She had to place her trust in Him in all ways. In this moment. In her relationship with Noah. In her doubts about herself.

Lord, I surrender. I’m so scared. Please help me get through this moment with Noah. Protect the innocent lives in danger. Guide my thoughts so I can remember what happened to Brooke.

The petition centered the whirlwind of her thoughts. Felicity realized the shots had stopped, and the screams had lessened to whimpers. She squeezed Noah’s hand before lifting her head.

Melanie’s office was torn apart. The window was demolished by the gunfire. Papers littered the carpet and smoke drifted through the sunshine like a strange fog. Felicity’s lungs burned with the faint hint of an indistinguishable chemical. She sucked in a shallow breath. “Noah, you okay?”

“I’m okay.” He shifted to his knees and pulled his weapon. “Stay down. I’ll check for the sniper.”

They’d been sheltered from most of the gunshots by Melanie’s huge desk. Felicity pulled her own weapon and belly-crawled to the opposite edge. Where was Melanie? Had she been hit? The smoke stung her eyes, and she blinked against the tears forming along her lashes. “Melanie!”

A moan reached Felicity’s ears. She peeked around the desk and her heart dropped to her stomach before launching back into her throat. Melanie rested against the bookcases in a small alcove of protection. She clutched her side. Blood was rapidly spreading like a stain across her silk blouse. Tears smeared mascara across her cheeks and her breathing was shallow.

“Hold on. I’m coming.” Felicity glanced behind her. Noah was stationed in a crouch behind the desk, checking the parking lot. “Noah, Melanie’s been hit. I need to cross the office to get to her.” Doing so exposed her to the sniper if he was still out there. “Cover me.”

He turned and caught her gaze. Held it. Just a moment, a heartbeat, but a thousand words neither of them could say passed between them. More than friendship. More than attraction. Love shimmered in the depths of his striking blue eyes. It punched her square in the gut and stole the little bit of air her lungs held onto.

Then he turned back to the parking lot. “On my mark.” Noah paused, his gaze sweeping the immediate area. Felicity readied to spring forward when he gave the signal. “Go!”

She bolted across the office, half expecting a spray of bullets to riddle her body. To her relief, that didn’t happen. Felicity slid to a halt next to Melanie. She yanked off her button-up shirt, revealing the white tank underneath, and tore the fabric to make bandages. Then she gently pried the other woman’s hand away from the wound. “Let me see.”

“I… don’t want… to die.” Melanie panted. Her colo ring was pale and her breathing rapid. Sweat beaded on her brow.

“No one is dying.” Felicity pressed the makeshift bandages against the gunshot wound. “You’ve been shot, but it’s just a graze. Some stitches and a bit of pain medication will fix you right up, but I need you to slow down your breathing. Can you do that for me?” Shock was deadly and from the rapid pace of Melanie’s pulse flickering at her neck, she was heading straight in that direction. Felicity pressed harder on the wound to slow the bleeding. “I know the smoke makes breathing difficult, but you have to try.”

Noah appeared at Felicity’s side. “Looks like the sniper is gone. I’ve called the incident in and backup is en route. I have to check for more injured. From the looks of things, the shooter planted a bomb in the lobby.”

“Go.” Felicity’s fears about more hurt civilians flared back to life. “I’ve got this.”

His fingers brushed over her hair, and then he turned, racing through the smoke toward the front of the building.

Felicity sent up a prayer for Noah’s safety and then turned her attention back to Melanie. Her coloring was getting better, but her breathing was still too fast. “You’re doing great. Everything is going to be okay.”

A roar punctuated her words. Felicity whirled in time to see a white van jump the curb and slam to a stop in front of the busted-out window. She reached for her weapon, but it was gone. She’d set it down to tend to Melanie. Her gaze dropped to the carpet, but the gun was nowhere in sight.

Two masked men jumped out of the vehicle. Felicity jumped to her feet, attacking the first one with a solid kick to his kneecap. He yelped a curse as the other one closed in. A black bag descended over Felicity’s head, casting her in darkness. She elbowed her attacker in the stomach and heard the air leave his body, but it didn’t cause him to release his hold on her. His hands gripped her like a vise. Fabric filled her mouth as she desperately tried to gulp in air. Melanie’s panicked screams vibrated her eardrums as the attacker attempted to drag Felicity toward the van.

She fought like a wildcat, training mingling with her need to survive. Once the men got her into that vehicle, she was dead. Felicity rammed her head against the face of the man holding her. Pain exploded along her skull as it collided with her attacker’s chin. He stumbled back and the bruising grip on her arms loosened. She didn’t waste a moment using that to her advantage. She shoved away from him.

“Police! Freeze!”

Noah’s authoritative voice reached her ears as, once again, Felicity face-planted onto the carpet. Doors slammed as shots rang out, followed by tires squealing. Felicity sat up and frantically yanked at the dark hood covering her face. Sunshine and fresh air caressed her skin. Strong arms embraced her. Noah.

“Are you hit? Are you hurt?” He shifted the sweaty hair away from her face with urgency, his gaze sweeping across her body, panic threaded in his voice. “Tell me.”

“I’m okay.” She sucked in a breath, holding on to his solid form. Her heart beat against her rib cage so violently, Felicity feared it might seize. She took a few precious seconds to suck in another breath and hold it before releasing the air slowly to ease her rapid pulse. “I’m okay.”

Noah pulled her against him in a tighter embrace. Her head ached from the impact with her attacker. She sagged against him, breathing in the soothing scent of his cologne. The blood on her hands transferred to his shirt, sending a shock wave through her system.

Melanie.

The injured woman must be frightened out of her mind. Possibly in shock. Felicity pushed away from Noah, turning toward the bookcase. “We have to help Melanie.”

The carpet was stained with blood, Felicity’s gun tucked up against the edge of a row of books where it must’ve slid somehow in the confusion. Brooke’s best friend, however, was gone.

Felicity’s gaze traveled around the room, panic rising as the sound of the other woman’s screams echoed like a bad dream in her mind. “Where’s Melanie?” Her boots crunched glass as she took several steps toward the last place she’d seen the woman. Trembles shook her body despite the warm sunshine pouring over her skin.

Noah gently grabbed her arms, drawing her attention to him. His hair was mussed and a scrape traveled the length of his powerful jaw. Approaching sirens wailed in the distance.

“They took her, Fee. Melanie’s been kidnapped.”