Free Nobody But You B&N by Barbara Freethy Page A

swelling around his right eye that was turning a dark shade of purple. His mother ran to him, giving him a long, tight hug.
    "I'm okay, Mom," he said.
    "You're hurt?"
    "It's not a big deal," he said, gently extricating himself from her embrace. He walked over to Emma. "I'm so sorry."
    "It's not your fault," she said, getting up to give him a hug. "And from what I hear, you were quite the hero."
    "When will we know anything?"
    "The doctor said it could be a few hours. Can you tell me what happened, Spencer?"
    "Sure," he said, waving her back into her chair. Then he sat down next to her. "What do you want to know?"
    "Everything. Your mom said Max went to the bank to change some money?"
    "For your honeymoon. It was supposed to be a quick, ten-minute stop." Spencer shook his head, his lips tightening. "And then it all went to hell."
    "How did Max get shot?"
    "One of the bank employees went to hit the silent alarm on her computer. The gunman saw her and just as he pulled the trigger, Max dived in front of her. He was acting the hero—as usual. I told him not to, but does he ever listen to me?" he said gruffly.
    She heard the pain in Spencer's voice. He was covering up his fear with anger. "What happened next?"
    "I tried to stop the bleeding, but I didn't know what I was doing. Fortunately, there was a nurse in the bank, Hallie Cooper. She told me what to do."
    "Thank God. Was Max in a lot of pain? Was he talking?"
    Spencer hesitated.
    "What did he say?" she pressed.
    "He wanted me to tell you that he loved you, Emma."
    She put a hand to her mouth, tears welling up again. "He didn't think he was going to make it, did he?"
    "You were on his mind. You're always on his mind. My brother is crazy about you." He paused. "After that, he passed out. It was better that way. His body was resting. But then, towards the end, he started to get restless. I had trouble keeping pressure on the wound. Hallie and I realized that we were running out of time. The gunmen didn't know what to do. They were afraid they were going to get shot walking out the door."
    "So what did you do?" she asked, a shiver running down her spine as his words took her right into the bank, into the terrifying ordeal.
    "One of the men had left his gun on the desk by the phone when he went to look out the window. It was our chance to make a move. Hallie started screaming, telling the other guy that Max was dying. When he came close, she knocked the gun out of his hand. I picked up his gun and shot the other guy. It all happened really fast. Looking back, I wish we'd acted sooner. But we kept thinking it was going to be over in a minute."
    "You took the only opportunity you had, Spencer. And Hallie sounds incredibly brave."
    "She was amazing," he said, admiration in his tone. "She's downstairs getting checked out. That guy might have broken her nose. I need to go check on her."
    "I'll go with you."
    "Really? You don't want to wait here?"
    "I could use a walk, and I want to meet her—thank her."
    "You can do that later."
    "The surgery is going to take hours, and I've never been good at waiting." She got to her feet and turned to her mother. "Spencer and I are going to check on the woman who helped saved Max. I'll just be a few minutes, but you'll come find me if there's any news?"
    "I will," Lynda promised.
    As they walked out of the waiting room, Emma said, "Did Max tell you where he was taking me on our honeymoon?"
    Spencer hesitated. "He did, but I can't tell you, Emma."
    "Why not?"
    "Because Max wants it to be a surprise."
    She met his gaze and appreciated what he wasn't saying. "You're right. I'll let him tell me himself. Or better yet—show me."

 
Chapter Nine
     
    Hallie winced as the E.R. doctor finished his examination of her bruised nose.
    "I don't think it's broken," he said. "The swelling should go down within twenty-four hours. You're going to have some nice shiners though."
    "Great. Raccoon eyes. I can't wait."
    "As for your head, the CT scan was normal, but