“Also, I’ve managed to keep your mom at bay with frequent updates, but she wants to fly out to see you.”
Jude nodded, not surprised at all by that. This was his mom’s worst fear come to life. He just hoped she didn’t blame Angela for what had happened, since he’d been protecting her when the attack had occurred.
Had he been protecting her, though? Or had he been too distracted by her—trusting that being alone with her in nature would be protection enough?
“Everything is fine, Jude,” Duncan said, his voice firm but understanding. “You did what you were supposed to do.”
“I didn’t see him coming,” Jude confessed.
“We had no reason to think he was in the area.”
“I don’t like that he got the jump on us. If he managed to spot me, I should have spotted him.”
“We found his vehicle,” Duncan said. “He’d parked a little way from where you and Angela were. When they searched it, they found a package of GPS trackers with a couple missing. We searched our vehicles and found two had trackers on them. One of them was the vehicle you were driving.”
“How did he get trackers on the vehicles?”
“We think that he may have spotted Kiara or Annie in Serenity and put trackers on the vehicles they were using.”
Jude realized that was very possible. When Kiara and Lucy had gone into the library and bookstore in Serenity, Jim might have seen their vehicle and planted something.
It irked Jude that Jim had outsmarted him. At least to the point where he’d managed to shoot Jude twice right off the hop.
Jude wanted to take credit for having killed Jim. But the reality was that he’d struggled to free his gun and then to lift it to aim. Some might say it was a rush of adrenaline that had helped him.
Jude, however, believed his strength had come from God. In that moment, he’d sent up one simple prayer.Please, God, help me protect Angela.
And it seemed that God had answered that plea.
The door to the room swung open, and Jude turned his head on the pillow in time to see Angela step into the room, a cup in her hand. Even in the dim light, he could see her face light up.
“Jude!”
She hurried into the room, handing the cup off to Duncan before rushing to Jude’s side. “How are you feeling? Are you in pain?”
“A little, but I’m okay, all things considered.”
She leaned over and pressed her forehead to his. “I was so worried.”
Mindful of the IV, Jude lifted his hand and gripped the back of her neck, holding her close as he breathed in her familiar scent
"Thank God you're alive," she whispered, her breath warm against his cheek. "I don't know what I would have done if—"
"I'm okay," Jude assured her, though the pain radiating through his shoulder and side told a different story. "Thanks to you."
Angela pulled back slightly, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes, and her normally neat hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail.
Duncan cleared his throat. "I think I'll go make some calls, let everyone know you're awake. I’ll also try to keep the nurses out for a few more minutes.”
Jude was grateful when his boss stepped out of the room, leaving him alone with Angela.
The moment the door closed, Angela straightened, then carefully perched on the edge of the bed, taking his hand in hers.
“Thank you,” she said, giving him a smile that momentarily energized her tired features.
“For what?”
“You saved my life. If you hadn’t shot Jim, he would have dragged me off again.”
