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Thank You, God! She scrambled to her feet and followed the thin flashlight beam from Doc’s phone. It wasn’t until that moment that she wondered where her phone was. She must have had one, everyone did. Had she dropped it in the woods? More likely it was lost forever along the bottom of the river.

“We’re going to walk for a while before I make some calls.” Doc caught her hand, tugging her toward the back door. “I want to be far away from here in case they decide to come back.”

The thought of facing the gunman again made her shudder. “I understand. Thank you.”

He frowned, then his expression vanished as he plunged them into darkness by turning off his phone. “You don’t have to thank me. You were right about the danger. And we aren’t in the clear yet.”

“Why do you think they left?” She stepped outside, waiting as he locked and closed the door behind them. Somehow, the gunman had gotten in without breaking the door down too. Did everyone but her know how to breach a locked door? “It sounded like someone called them away.”

“I heard as much as you did.” He reached for her hand again. “Stay close.”

“Maybe it was divine intervention.” She clung to his warm hand, keeping pace alongside him as best she could. “I thought for sure—” She abruptly stopped.

“I know. I thought I’d have to kill them too.” He shrugged as if that was of little consequence. “I saw his weapon, so it would have been a clear case of self-defense.”

She pressed her free hand to her belly. He might act as if that was no big deal, but she knew it was. Even for him. The gentle way Doc had cared for her wound indicated he was a kind person under normal circumstances.

And tonight was anything but normal.

Who were those men? She wished she’d gotten a glimpse at their faces, maybe seeing them would have helped restore her fractured mind. Her head throbbed as she walked down the street beside Doc, leaving their church sanctuary behind.

Although it hadn’t felt like much of a haven once the gunman showed up.

They walked in silence, broken only by the buzz of insects and the belching of bullfrogs. Soon she spied a single two-story house in the distance. She couldn’t see any lights on inside, indicating someone was home. It looked in good enough repair that she didn’t think it was abandoned.

She expected Doc to do his magic again with the credit card, but he tugged her past. The brief rest had helped, but now that she was moving again, her achy muscles were making themselves known.

Whatever she did for a living, it clearly wasn’t anything that required her to run or walk for long periods of time. She felt like a useless wimp next to Doc. She worked hard to keep up, refusing the idea of his carrying her.

It was bad enough that she’d dragged him into this. If she’d have shown up on anyone else’s doorstep, she’d already be dead. God had brought her to the doorstep of a warrior. And for that, she was grateful.

After they passed the house, she noticed a barn in the distance. She imagined she could hear horses moving around inside, the sweet scent of freshly cut hay mingling with the pleasant smell of horses. She veered off, taking several steps toward the barn, but Doc held her back.

“What are you doing?” He looked at her as if she’d gone crazy.

“Nothing.” She couldn’t remember her name or why she was in danger, but she knew horses. Remembering the photo Doc had shown her, she realized that she must spend a lot of time with the equestrians. Oddly, she would have preferred to shelter in the barn, but Doc kept going.

After a full twenty minutes of walking and passing a handful of houses along the way, they stopped along the side of the road several yards from any other homes or buildings. Doc drew her toward the trees, then pulled out his phone again.

“Have a seat. I’m calling for backup.” He turned away, lifting the phone to his ear. After a moment, she heard him say, “Captain? I need help.”

Realizing he was calling someone from his days in the army, she relaxed against the base of the tree. Clearly, she wasn’t used to walking this much. The image of sailing over a low fence on horseback flashed in her mind.

She abruptly straightened. A memory? Or had seeing the barn conjured the image from her imagination?

Since she didn’t know, she decided not to mention it to Doc. No sense in getting his hopes up that her memory was starting to return.

“Thanks. I’ll be in touch.” Doc ended his call and turned to face her. “Our ride will be here within the hour.”

An hour seemed long, but she managed a smile. “Sounds good. A rideshare?”

“No, a private driver as arranged by my former army captain, Rex Grayson.” He sighed, glancing around. “Rex would have come himself, but he’s in Chicago, and it would take him too long to get here. He agreed it was better not to have a car arrive with a rideshare sticker on the windshield.”

“I see.” She didn’t really understand, but if that was a precaution he felt necessary to take, who was she to argue? “You and Rex are close?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t elaborate, eyeing his watch. “We’ll stay here for a while, then walk back to the house we passed. That’s the address I gave him.”

She slid down to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. Her legs were still cold. Burying her face in the warmth of Doc’s sweatshirt, she breathed in his musky scent.