Page 35 of Winter’s Heart (Three of Hearts #1)

“Thank you,” she said over her shoulder to the five brave men who’d rushed at an armed FBI agent.

“Thank you,” she repeated to the other people standing around on the steps as she descended.

“Thank you,” she reiterated to the press of human beings who watched her as she passed by, opening up to let her through and then closing in around her.

Protecting her. What else did you say to those who were prepared to come to a stranger’s aid?

“He’s okay,” Reshma said, waving at the tattooed guy on the deck.

“He got tasered, but he’s a big, strong man, no worries.

He’ll be fine.” Nikki grimaced and wondered if that was who she’d heard screaming when they’d originally rushed up the steps.

The agent would’ve fired his taser, hitting the first big man in line, but had no hope of stopping five strapping blokes intent on bringing him down. No wonder Tattoo Guy was dark on him.

Now that the crowd had stopped chanting and become almost silent, she could hear the other agent raging and shouting. He was getting closer, even though everyone tried to hold him back.

“We need to hurry,” Reshma said, grabbing Nikki’s hand and pulling her forward.

She led Nikki toward the side fence, away from the driveway and the advancing operative, talking quickly as she did so.

“Russell told me everything,” Reshma explained.

“He made sure all of us at the institute were well-informed. He didn’t want anyone to be here who wasn’t fully committed.

He knew how high the stakes were tonight, even if some of us failed to appreciate it at first. And let me tell you, that man is a very magnificent speaker when he wants to be.

He convinced every single employee to come to your aid. ”

They made it to the fence, and Nikki paused for a second. “I will thank him profusely as soon as I see him,” she agreed. “I just wish I could thank everyone else here personally as well.”

“The best thanks you can give him, and the rest of us, is to get out of here. Take that dreadful company down. We need some kind of recompense for Tammy and Antoine, and you are going to get that for us.” Reshma had tears in her eyes as she spoke, and Nikki also felt teary.

She couldn’t help herself; she drew Reshma into a fierce hug, and in an uncharacteristic show of affection, Reshma hugged her back.

“Now go.” Reshma stepped back and motioned for three of the people nearest to help her make a human step, so they could boost Nikki over the fence and into the neighbor’s yard.

Nikki gritted her teeth and pulled the backpack on a little tighter. Then she hopped into the waiting hands of her liberators and had cleared the fence before she even had time to say goodbye.

This was Henry Packham’s yard. Her elderly neighbor kept it neat as a pin, thank God.

Nikki had only been in the backyard a few times over the years, but it remained much as she remembered it, which helped her navigate through the dark as she felt her way to the far side of the house where she knew there was a gate that’d allow her access to the front.

And more importantly, out onto the road.

Nikki poked her head over Henry’s front gate—the old man was as deaf as a doorknob and was probably sleeping soundly through all this hullabaloo.

She hoped he stayed inside and didn’t get involved.

He was a sweet gentleman, and it’d just confuse him.

She checked out the rest of the street, sending her searching gaze first to her end, then to the other.

As Nikki had guessed, quite a few of her neighbors were now standing on their front porches with their lights on, or down by their front gates, watching with curiosity and some trepidation at the kerfuffle going on at her house.

The crowd wasn’t visible from her vantage point, but she could hear them.

There was a lot of incoherent shouting, and someone was even banging a drum.

A great diversion to keep the agent’s attention centered on them.

There was no sign of Jacob, and her heart squeezed tight. It seemed he hadn’t been able to slip past Miller and Bakshi. Yet, she reminded herself. But he would make it. Jacob was smart and well-trained. He would succeed, she had to trust in that.

She wasn’t sure she could take the next step if he wasn’t by her side.

She might have no choice, however. He’d made her promise she would go without him if he wasn’t at the rendezvous on time.

And she needed to go. While there was still a chance, while the agents were still overrun with Russell's cohort of the faithful. Henry’s fence was a low iron railing, not so much meant to keep people out as to delineate his property.

She pushed her way between two shrubs and stepped neatly over the railing.

Now she was standing on the pathway, out in the open, and she felt terribly exposed.

Hiking the backpack higher on her shoulders, she turned and jogged down the path toward the other end of the street, away from her house, ignoring her neighbors; they wouldn’t recognize her in the darkened street, anyway.

Russell should be waiting in his little blue Mazda at the end of the block.

She squinted her eyes. Was that a hint of blue underneath a streetlamp, right down at the intersection behind that large tree trunk?

It was still a few hundred yards away, but as she picked up her pace, the car crept forward, so that its nose peeked out onto her street.

It was Russell; it had to be. She surged forward, excitement and adrenaline driving her on. As she got closer, the passenger door swung open, and she could see Russell in the driver’s seat beckoning her onward.

She gave a quick glance over her shoulder, hoping to spot Jacob coming up behind. But the street remained empty. She slowed, wondering if she should turn around, go back for him.

“Nikki, come on,” Russell yelled. His car was now only fifty yards away.

She was almost safe.

But she didn’t want to go without Jacob.

There was a shout, and she turned to see a figure sprinting down the pathway.

It had to be Jacob, although it was hard to be sure as he flashed from dark to light and dark again, passing each streetlamp and on to the next.

He was still a long way behind her, but he was waving his hands at her, urging her to run, miming that he would catch up.

With a grin of relief, she jogged over to the car and leaned in the open door.

“Hi, boss.” She gave him what she hoped was a cheeky smile. But her relief faded when she caught his gaze and found it fixed on something behind her. Russell’s brow furrowed with concern, and she spun around to find out what had worried him.

Jacob had stopped and pivoted, his feet planted akimbo, arms braced by his side.

Turned to face someone running after him.

It took Nikki a few seconds to make out that the dim figure was Agent Miller, charging down the road at full tilt, her gun raised, yelling at the top of her lungs. But she wasn’t screaming at Jacob; she was looking past Jacob and shouting Nikki’s name, telling her to halt, or she’d shoot.

Nikki could only stand and stare, as frozen as a statue.

Jacob took off like a sprinter starting a race, straight for the agent barreling toward her.

“No!” Nikki screamed.

“Get in the car,” Russell demanded, but Nikki remained standing in the open door, watching Jacob run directly into danger, watching Miller point her gun at him.

A hand clamped around her elbow and pulled hard, dragging her forcefully into the car, so that she banged her head on the doorjamb as her butt landed in the seat.

“No,” she shouted again. “No, we can’t leave him.”

“I’m sorry, Nikki,” Russell said, his voice grim, but Nikki didn’t have time to turn and look at him; still captured by the scene unfolding down the street.

Miller tried to dodge out of Jacob’s way, aiming the gun over his shoulder and straight at Nikki. Jacob sidestepped, putting himself directly in the agent’s line of fire yet again. What was he doing? Now wasn’t the moment to play the hero. He could get hurt. Or killed.

In the background, Nikki noticed a group of people spill out of her driveway and jog down the street toward her.

Jacob had almost reached Miller now. She zigzagged to the other side of the road to avoid him, and he stumbled and half-fell as he changed direction to stop her.

Miller was past him now. But then he was on his feet and chasing after her.

Miller was fast. But Jacob was faster. He tackled her while they were both running full pelt, and they came to ground in a tumble of arms and legs.

More people were flowing out of her house, all of them now charging down the road toward the agent and Jacob, who were wrestling, rolling over and over on the street.

There was an unmistakable sound of a gunshot, so loud in the quiet street it made Nikki flinch and cover her ears.

But just as quickly, she lifted her head and stared down the street.

Who had been shot? She couldn’t take her eyes off the pair, both lying unmoving in the middle of the road, lit by a puddle of yellow light from a lamp above them.

She went to put one foot out of the car, but Russell leaned across her and slammed the door shut.

Then he put it into gear and gunned it down the street without a backward glance.

“No, Russell, you have to stop. We have to see if Jacob’s okay.”

“My job is to get you onto the video link in time for your testimony. This is what Jacob would’ve wanted.

He wouldn’t have wanted you to put all of this,” Russell waved his hand in the air, indicating the rear vision mirror, “in jeopardy because of him. You are the key, Nikki; you need to remember that.”

“No,” sobbed Nikki. “No, no.” Her heart shattered into a thousand pieces. She curled into the fetal position in the passenger seat and sobbed like a hysterical child.

Sobbed because Jacob might be lying there hurt and she couldn’t help him.

Sobbed because he might even die.

Sobbed because she should’ve told him how she felt about him. She was in love with him.

Sobbed because Russell was right.

But he didn’t know one vital detail.

She couldn’t do this without Jacob.