Laura Scott - Christmas Amnesia

The sound of the engines revving to life seemed incredibly loud, giving away their location to anyone within a hundred yards. She stumbled inside the pilothouse mere seconds before she heard someone shouting at them to stop, followed by the sharp retort of gunfire ripping through the night.

* * *

Noah hit the throttle, sending the boat surging out from the marina into the large lake, praying for the first time in years that none of the bullets would hit the vessel.

“I can’t believe he’s shooting at us,” Maddy said, coming up to stand beside him. The enclosure of the pilothouse helped keep the stiff breeze away, but the cold December air still surrounded them.

“Don’t worry, he can’t follow us.” Noah divided his gaze between the buoys on the water and the boat’s navigation system. He hadn’t sailed on Lake Michigan in four years, but basic geography made it impossible to get lost. If he hugged the shoreline, he could head south all the way to Chicago or go due east to Michigan.

Heading north would take them toward Green Bay, but he didn’t want to go that far. He turned the boat south. His partner, Jackson Dellis, lived near the border between Milwaukee and Racine, and he was fairly certain there was a smaller marina in that area, too.

“Is there a radio on this boat?” Maddy, so cold that her teeth were chattering, asked. “We need to call for help.”

“There is, but I don’t want to alert the Coast Guard,” he said. “I’d rather find a way to contact my partner.”

“Wh-why not the C-Coast Guard?”

Noah glanced over at Maddy, knowing he should have done a better job of protecting her. Dr. Hawkins had ordered rest and relaxation, and the past few hours had been anything but. At this rate, her memory might never return.

“Because right now I don’t want the entire world to know that you’re suffering from amnesia,” he explained. “Alexander Pietro is going to be tried by a jury of his peers starting next week, but we know he still has a lot of guys working for him. We need to make sure nothing related to your situation leaks into the press.”

“Police reports are open to the public,” Maddy said, her expression thoughtful.

“Yeah. Of course, the Milwaukee Police Department can limit the information that gets out, but your name has been linked to Pietro’s case a lot already. Even the merest hint of an attack on you will have the media swarming all over it. I think it’s better for now that we keep this quiet.”

Until your memory returns, he added silently, refusing to consider the possibility that it might be lost long enough to derail the trial.

No way. He couldn’t bear the thought of Pietro getting away with his crimes.

“And your partner will stand by your decision?” Maddy asked with a frown.

“I hope so.” Jackson was his third partner in the last eighteen months, and so far he seemed okay. At least the younger guy hadn’t dropped any hints about needing a partner that would back him up, the way his previous partner had. Matt hadn’t held him responsible for the stabbing, but other cops hadn’t been shy about sharing their opinions, especially Lynda. When Jackson had replaced her as Noah’s new partner, Noah had been secretly relieved. Yet if he were honest, he didn’t know Jackson Dellis very well yet. He couldn’t say for sure if he’d agree with Noah’s decision to keep the series of incidents surrounding Maddy quiet.

He didn’t plan on giving him an option. Jackson was only in his second year of being a cop, so Noah would pull rank if he had to.

“I hope so, too,” Maddy agreed. She shivered and moved closer. He put his arm around her in an attempt to share his warmth. “How are we going to get in touch with him without a phone?”

Good question. It was already past two thirty in the morning; even those places that catered to the nighttime crowd would close down soon, if they hadn’t already. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “We’ll think of something.”

Maddy fell silent and he wondered if she was second-guessing her decision to go along with him. It hadn’t been an easy last few hours for her. Although he hated to think about what might have happened if she’d gone off on her own. From the near miss outside the hospital, to being rammed off the road toward the icy lake, to being shot at as they sped away on a borrowed boat, the bad guys, no doubt hired by Pietro, had remained one step behind them.

Too close for comfort.

Noah cranked the wheel of the boat into a sharp right, toward the much smaller and not as brightly lit Racine Marina. When they were a nautical mile away, he pulled back the throttle so that they drifted quietly toward the pier. Sweeping his gaze over the area, he didn’t see anyone lurking around, but he refused to relax his guard.

“I need you to hold the wheel steady,” he instructed Maddy. “Then when I give the signal, put the engine in Reverse, see here? Just enough to prevent us from ramming into the dock, okay?”

“No problem.” She placed her small hands near his, taking over the wheel the way he’d showed her. Fighting the instinct to hold her close, Noah moved away and headed out to the deck. He grasped the edge of the pier and quickly looped one of the boat’s mooring lines over it.

“Now,” he said and she instantly pulled the lever down, sending the engine into Reverse. “Off,” he said, as he quickly secured the second rope. She turned off the key, and he waited for her to come over to join him.

“Ready?” He helped her step off the boat onto the pier first, then came up behind her.

“What’s next?” Maddy’s voice sounded weak, betraying her exhaustion.

The area was far more deserted; only a few boats were stored here for the winter. He spied an old building off to the left. “This way.” He headed in that direction, relieved to see that the place was a snack bar used during the sailing season. It was boarded up for the winter.

Banking on the fact that there would be a phone inside, he examined the door. It was locked up tight and the windows were covered, as well. Refusing to give up, he checked every bit of plywood, finding one that wasn’t secured as tightly as the others.

“Are you breaking in?” Maddy asked, sounding horrified.

“We need access to a phone.”

“Even if there is a phone inside, that doesn’t mean it will work,” Maddy argued, sounding so much like her old self that it made him smile. “If they were smart, they’d shut down the phone line over winter.”

“Yeah, but there’s a chance they didn’t bother. The sailing season extends beyond just the summer months.”

“I—I guess it’s worth a sh-shot.” Her teeth were chattering again and Noah hoped that his instincts were right. Prying the plywood away, he managed to reveal a broken window.

Using his leather jacket–clad elbow, he knocked the rest of the glass out of the way and then poked his head inside. There were boxes stored beneath a counter, and thankfully a phone hung on the wall near the door.

“I’ll be right back.” He didn’t like leaving Maddy alone, but this wouldn’t take long. He handed her the computer case for the time being, then levered himself up through the window. It wasn’t easy—his shoulders were stuck momentarily—but then he was inside. Lifting the phone receiver, he closed his eyes with gratitude when he heard a dial tone.

He punched in Jackson’s number. The ringing seemed to go on forever and just when he was afraid he wouldn’t answer, he picked up.

“H’lo?” His partner’s voice was slurred with sleep.

“Jackson? It’s Noah. I need your help.”

“Noah?” Now he sounded more awake. “Do you realize it’s almost three o’clock in the morning?”