In the Shadow of Vengeance by Nancy C. Weeks Page A

later. You need to get her to open up to you.”
    “Elizabeth doesn’t trust me any further than she can shove me.”
    He glanced down at the sleeping woman. From what he had seen the last two weeks, he didn’t blame her. Something was really messed up in her life and she was in over her head. It was damn time Elizabeth got a break.
    “I’ll do what I can. In the meantime, get the kids somewhere safe. If you don’t want them at your place, let me know where to meet you. Elizabeth keeps falling asleep on me. I’m taking her to get checked out at Hopkins.”
    The window next to him shattered in pieces as a roar of gunfire echoed off the walls of the garage.
    “Damn it to hell.”
    Noah shoved Elizabeth down onto the seat, raised his Glock, and fired at the three men who zigzagged through the cars on the floor above him. He dropped below the window, slammed the passenger door closed and opened the back door. Head first, he crawled across the seat. He raised his head above the door but didn’t see the men. He twisted and exited the sedan feet first. After closing the door, he jumped into the driver’s seat.
    “Well, fuck the duck. Ain’t this dandy.”
    The key wasn’t in the ignition. Again he glared at the bastard still cuffed to the railing as he yanked the knife from the strap around his ankle. He hadn’t hotwired a car in years. Using the point of the knife, he removed the screws from the top and bottom of the steering column. He pried off the plastic panel and separated the wires. Slicing the thin coating off what he hoped were the starter wires, he touched them together, holding his breath.
    Elizabeth turned her head and stared at him. “Noah?”
    Her voice was hoarse, raspy. He pressed her head down. “I’m a little busy here. Just a second,” he said, and tried to start the car for the third time.
    The back window shattered just as the engine roared to life. He dropped the gear into drive and slammed down on the accelerator. One of the three men hopped the short cement wall and raced right toward him.
    “Noah! God, I’m going to be sick.” She rose to a partial sitting position. “What’s happening?”
    “Your friend in the hotel had friends.” He placed a hand behind her neck and dragged her head down onto his lap. “Fucking bullets flying everywhere. Keep down, and Elizabeth, please don’t puke all over me,” he bellowed as he placed his Glock outside the driver’s side window, firing off several shots.
    He took the exit, smashing through the gate, and spun onto the side street. The grating sound of screeching tires and blaring horns reached his ears. At the corner, he turned right onto a main road and slammed on the brakes. Traffic was at a snail’s crawl. He searched the rearview mirror. A SUV with one of the men Noah recognized from the garage pulled in several cars behind him. “Son of a bitch. Can’t I catch a break?”
    A weak hand punched him in the gut. “Stop yelling.” She pressed a hand to her eyes. “My head is splitting in two.” An instant later, she darted up and searched the back seat. “Erin … Danny?”
    He cupped the back of her neck. “Elizabeth. They are safe.”
    “Where are my kids?”
    “They are with my brother, Adam.”
    She swallowed, swiping her hands over her face. “A man grabbed Erin. Another one grabbed me. I fought him, but he—”
    “Look at me.”
    She turned and faced him.
    “Both kids are safe and unharmed. We, on the other hand are in a fu—big mess. I need you to take off that jacket and pull your hair down.”
    “Why?” She searched behind her. She must have caught sight of the man who grabbed her because her eyes grew wide and she gasped. “What are we going to do? We’re trapped.”
    Noah took off his leather jacket and pulled out his shirttail. He yanked his dress shirt over his head and tossed it into the back seat. He ran a hand from the back of his head, smoothing his hair down onto his forehead. “In the next block, we’re