Free Oregon Outback by Elizabeth Goddard

falling or crunching underfoot.
    She left the shadows where Jonas had tucked her, no longer caring about her own safety. She had to know. Using the stone hedge as a guide, she crept forward.
    In the moonlight, she spotted Jonas’s silhouette. He leaned against the wall several yards away. Heart rate spiking, she made her way to his side.
    Was he injured? Where was Gambini? Fear and sorrow erupted in her heart—her most precious possession. She’d wanted to protect it. But now all she wanted was to give it away. Give it to Jonas.
    “Jonas,” she whispered. “What happened?”
    He pressed his hand against his chest, near his shoulder, and in the light of the moon she could see blood oozing between his fingers.
    “You’re hurt.” A sob caught in her throat.
    He slid to the ground. Darcy dropped beside him and there, she cradled his head. “I love you. Don’t leave me.”

    Bright, white pain seared his shoulder and chest. The edges of his vision grew dark, even in the shadows.
    Jonas wanted to tell her he loved her. There had never been anyone else.
    Would he get the chance?
    He didn’t have the breath to speak. Why had he wasted his chance when he had it? Loud thrumming vibrated inside the fissure. A chopper. Help had finally come.
    Jonas mustered his strength, tugging Darcy close. “It’s over. You’re safe now.”
    The beam of a light shone on her face, revealing her tearstained cheeks. Darcy kept her eyes on him.
    “Jonas, I love you. Do you hear me? Stay with me.”
    Someone shouted. Sounded like the local sheriff—what was her name again? Jonas replayed Darcy’s words in his mind, in his heart, until her face, the rock walls, the flashlight, and voices, all faded away.

Chapter 9
    S he had to see Jonas.
    Authorities questioned her about the abduction, keeping her away for too long. She hurried through the hallway of the local county hospital, grateful they hadn’t sent him to someplace like Portland.
    That meant his injury wasn’t serious enough to warrant travel to a better hospital. Room 235, where he recovered, loomed three doors away. He’d taken two bullets but was in stable condition, they’d said.
    Two bullets!
    The fact that he was an FBI agent had taken time to sink in. Gambini, gunfire, and bullets had done the trick. She drew near the room and heard voices inside. Not wanting to interrupt, she paused and lifted her hand to knock, listening to the voices to see if she recognized them. Were his brothers inside?
    A gruff voice, “Patrick Honor was involved with Adrian Gephardt and his Internet fraud scheme. Money swayed him, Jonas. He took it to keep you off Gephardt’s trail, but he didn’t follow through with his agreement.”
    “And that, in turn, infuriated Gambini,” Jonas said. “Because I linked the Internet fraud to his mob operations.”
    “Right,” the gruff voice again. “Honor was now a target. On the next raid, though he tried to assist the target’s escape with vital information before you arrived, he was killed. We searched Honor’s belongings, and then the boxes you put into storage. That’s where we found the half-million dollars.”
    Darcy pressed herself against the wall, not wanting to hear more. Dreading what would come next.
    “Honor’s fingerprints were all over the bills. In his panic, he became careless. When he couldn’t keep you off Gambini’s trail, then he knew he was in trouble and hid the money in what he thought would be the most unlikely place.”
    Darcy exhaled. A nurse sitting at her station frowned at her.
    “That’s what it meant then. When he was dying, he told me he was sorry. I thought he was sorry for getting hurt during the raid. For dying on me.”
    “All you need now is a psych evaluation, then you’re cleared to return. It’ll be good to have you back, Agent Love.”
    Jonas said something, but Darcy couldn’t make it out. Was he going back to work? Her heart sank right to her ankles.
    “We’re done here. Once you’re fully