Free Heroes of Falledge Book One: Black Hellebore by Nicole Zoltack

than just his mind.

Chapter Eleven
    He mumbled something to Julianna about not wanting anyone to know about his role in the would-be robbery and walked out of the station a minute later with Ginny beside him.
    A reporter waited outside to talk to them. Nicholas whispered in Ginny's ear, "Don't tell her about me being your hero."
    "But--"
    "Please. I just want to be left out of it."
    The woman approached, her heels clacking on the sidewalk. "Please, Ginny, may I have a moment of your time?" She glanced over at Nicholas and smiled.
    He stepped to the right and waited for them to stop talking, grateful Ginny kept his identity a secret.
    Once they were on their way again, she made no more comments about Julianna either.
    Which wasn't like her. She was always sticking her nose where it didn't belong.
    Nicholas glanced over at her. She was taking short, fast steps, her head low. Normally she always walked tall, her chin held high. Her hands trembled as she clasped her broken purse to her chest.
    The poor woman really looked shaken up.
    He faked a yawn. "I'm not sure I'll stay awake long enough to eat," he said.
    Ginny glanced over at him, and a small glint of her old self emerged in her eyes. "I didn't slave away to make you a meal and you not eat it."
    "If you insist, I'll eat. I promise."
    "Good."
    Thirty minutes later, Nicholas's belly was stuffed, and he sprawled out on Ginny's sofa again. He claimed her food made him too tired to leave, but truthfully, he felt as refreshed as if he had slept for a solid nine hours. He could hear her bedsprings squeak every few minutes. She was obviously restless and unable to sleep. Who could blame her? Ginny would have to be completely closed off for today's events not to affect her.
    An hour passed, then two, before the springs silenced. She must have finally fallen asleep.
    Nicholas abandoned the couch. Ginny had been too tired to do dishes, so Nicholas did them for her. After he started up the dishwasher, he noticed a crooked shelf on the wall. He found a hammer and nails in the basement. He must be careful not to wake her up.
    After he leveled the shelf, he held his breath and gently tapped the nail. The nail shattered through the wood, and the shelf cracked deeply.
    What the heck? He barely touched it!
    Tires squealing drew his attention, and he ran to the front of the house. A loud crash sounded.
    He threw the door open, the door coming off the hinges. Nothing to the left. Nothing to the right. There, off the road.
    A car.
    Slowly sinking into the lake.
    His heartbeat accelerating, Nicholas burst down the porch steps and stood beside the lake fifteen seconds later. By now, the car was completely submerged but still sinking.
    He dove into the water and reached the car. Two passengers, a female driver and a young boy in the back seat.
    Knowing time was running out, he cocked back his arm and punched the back window open. Water rushed into the car. He ripped at the car seat harness and freed the boy from the restraints. Two powerful kicks of his legs and they reached the surface of the water. Using one arm to hold the boy and the other to swim, he reached the shore as quickly as he could and dumped off the boy before returning to the car.
    Time to save the mom.
    The car was sinking faster now, already much deeper than it had been when he rescued the boy. He swam to the front of the car. It was completely smashed in. The crash must have been through the steel fence surrounding the lake.
    Turning around, he realized the driver's side door was mangled, the woman's body trapped against it. It was too dark for him to see if she was bleeding or not, but he couldn't risk trying to open the door to save her. She could bleed out or become punctured on the sharp edges of the door, if she wasn't already.
    But he had to do something or she'd die.

Chapter Twelve
    Weighing his options, Nicholas hesitated for a brief second. He wasn't a doctor. He had no idea what to do, although he was fairly certain