Page 45 of Cold Silence
The guy twisted his arm out of reach and then heaved his entire weight into Travis’s chest, unsettling his feet. He flailed out, but lost his balance and plummeted toward the floor. The intruder lifted his gun, and fearing a shot to the chest, Travis scrambled out of the way. Footfalls pounded behind him, but he got up anyway.
The intruder shoved again. Travis fell. Hit his head on the corner of her dresser, the sound deafening to his ears.
Pain sliced through his skull as darkness beckoned. Sweet, soft, peaceful darkness.
Resist. Claire needs you.
He blinked hard and willed it away. He attempted to get to his feet. Dizzy. The room spinning. The guy shoved past him and bolted through the door.
Travis tried to rise again, but when he heard the front door open, he assumed the attacker had fled. Travis returned his attention to Claire. She crossed the room, a large metal candlestick gripped in her hands, a fierce scowl on her face.
If the situation wasn’t so dire, he’d laugh at the comical sight she made holding the candlestick aloft as if it would protect her.
“You won’t need that, honey,” he forced the words out, the blackness now calling stronger. “He’s gone. You should call 911, though.” He tried to add a reassuring smile, but the pull of darkness grew, and he let it claim him.
Claire dropped to the floor and found Travis’s pulse. Good. He was alive. “Travis. Please. Are you all right?”
Silence.
She checked out his vitals. His breathing was fine. Medics. He needed a medic. She controlled her shaking hands enough to get out her phone and call 911. The operator promised to dispatch an ambulance and officer, and Claire let her phone fall to the floor to turn her attention back to Travis. She slipped her fingers behind his head to lift it to her lap.
Sticky blood coated her fingers. She jerked her hand away, her heart raising in her throat. “No. Oh, no. Oh, no. Please, God, help.”
Travis blinked rapidly. His eyes remained open. He started to sit up.
“Don’t move,” she said, her heart soaring. “Your head’s bleeding.”
“All the more reason to move so I don’t mess up your carpet.” A silly grin crossed his face.
If he could joke, he couldn’t be hurt too badly.
Gage stumbled into the room, running a hand through his messed up hair. “You two okay?”
“I am,” Claire said. “But Travis hit his head and blacked out. Ambulance and police are on the way.”
Travis eyed his friend. “You didn’t go after the guy?”
Gage huffed out a breath. “Guy got the drop on me. Chloroform, I think.”
“Yeah, looked like he planned to use it on Claire too.” Travis shifted his focus to her. “We should get you to the safe room while Gage waits for assistance to arrive.”
“On it.” Gage departed, his steps hesitant and his balance still off.
Travis rolled and staggered to his feet. Claire tried to help him. He shrugged her off. Right. He was a tough guy and wasn’t about to accept help. Though he was more wobbly than her shaking knees left her, she let him lead her to the laundry room. She understood his need to protect. It was innate and was the reason he was so good at his job. That coupled with his willingness to put others first were his most endearing qualities.
He reminded her of her father, of all the military men and women she worked with. They’d promised to give everything, including their lives, for service to their country, and her respect for them could not be measured.
His efforts on her behalf reminded her of why she’d fallen in love with him in the first place. If she put the positive traits he’d displayed today in one column and the negative in the other, the positive far outweighed his only negative checkmark for his dangerous job.
But it’s a huge negative, she reminded herself before she let his good traits sway her toward making a mistake.
He entered the laundry room after her and twisted the lock behind him. His body was so close in the tiny space she could almost feel his urgency to protect her flowing through him.
A wave of gratitude for Travis’s selfless dedication swept over her, and she wanted to throw her arms around him and give him a hug in thanks. Not a good idea.
Think of something else.
He started to run a hand over his head and winced when his fingers grazed the back.
