Chapter One
(899 Words)

His words were in her head, taunting her even as she struggled for breath. She could stand in the path of a hurricane and face it down without showing a hint of how scared she really was…but she had never been good at inviting the current of his biting words to challenge her strength…

"I don't ever want to see you again."

Maybe he meant those words when he said them, and maybe he still did…but she was living on adrenaline now and he was her last chance at freeing the elephant now sitting on her chest as she ran. She had to stop somewhere.

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She could see the haunting shadow of his silhouette as he padded down the hall of what used to be their home…another concession she had given him when they parted. She just couldn't stand to sleep with his ghost.

She listened for the familiar sound of his footsteps in the dark…and she took a deep breath. She couldn't help but wonder how many other women had been there in his bed…the bed she used to share with him? It was a question that plagued her every single night, even when she tried to push the images away. It was never her business who he dated or slept with…but it still made her angry. It made her weep for the nights when he swore he would never love anyone but her. Had that been a lie too? Had every single part of their marriage been a lie? She used to know that answer…now she was angry for a different reason all together…and she wondered if she knew her ex-husband at all anymore.

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Her brand new leather boots were soaked from the storm and she was beginning to feel the water between her toes as she walked. She was weak and tired from the hours it had taken her to make it this far but she had been determined. She might be down and out but she wasn't dead…and she was damn well going to stay that way.

She hadn't even made it to the door frame when suddenly he was right in front of her. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and her breathing consisted of sharp, labored panting... And Then she saw the gun. It had always been his instinct when he didn't know who was out there puttering around in the dark. She knew that about him just as he had always known she would die before she would ever admit defeat. Neither of them had changed.

"Don't shoot," she gasped, her breath still struggling for air.

That was all she said…He was at her side quicker then she had ever seen him run before…catching her just before she hit the ground…her strength finally giving way to collapse. She had already been shot.

"Who did this to you," he demanded? "Nora, who shot you?"

It hurt to speak but she asked him for only one thing…no hospitals. They would kill her if she went to a hospital. Of that she was sure of.

He looked down at his ex-wife's quivering hands…they were clutching a newspaper article. It was one of Todd Manning's famous headlines.

From trusted attorney to faithless songbird.

"They think you did this," he questioned? "Nora, you are a lot of things but you aren't this. How could they even give this any validity…You would never betray a client.. Never."

They both knew he wasn't just speaking about Todd Manning's newspaper. He was speaking about the bar association. It didn't matter if she was innocent...If the panel believed she was guilty than she could lose her job. Who would she be if she wasn't a lawyer? It had been what had driven her ever since she could remember.

Tears slipped down her face as she reached for his hand…" Bo," she gulped, holding his hand in a death grip. "You've got to help me. You've got to take this bullet out. I'm going to bleed to death if you don't."

He looked at her face then…the strength she was struggling to hold on to quickly fading…and he made a decision. "I don't know the first thing about removing a bullet…but I'm not going to let you die. I've got to get you someplace safe. "

"We both know there's no such place," she said.

He had been afraid of saying it out loud but she was exactly right. The people that Nora had been accused of betraying were deadly…they had obviously already tried to kill her once…what was to stop them from doing it again?

"We'll worry about that later sweetheart," he said. "Right now, I've got to get that bullet out."

She swallowed the pain in her gut when he lifted her off the ground. He handed her his jacket to place on her wound until he got her down to the basement. The last thing he needed was for her to lose any more blood. He was already unsure enough of how he was going to save her life. He didn't need any more complications.