Chapter 16All strength left Melissa’s arm. As it melted to her side, the club slid from her fingers. “Y-y-you’re already here!”
She’d never been hugged with a rifle before. But even the cold metal and hard wood could not infringe on the wonderful warmth of Lawton’s embrace. He was safe! Here! Holding her! He cursed, kissed her, and crushed her in his arms while she laughed, cried, and clung to him.
“Oh Lord, Missy. Baby, are you all right? Thank God you’re all right. How did you get away?”
She mumbled into his shoulder, incoherent with relief. “One of the guys went out, and I bashed the other. I knew I had to get out, try to find a way to warn you. They meant to use me to get you. I didn’t know where the other guy went, but then I heard the shots—”
Lawton interrupted her narrative, his
