Desperate Rescue by Barbara Phinney Page B

older woman, Kaylee wrapped her hands around the mug of hot tea. Yes, Eli had said he was sticking around. She knew enough to guess his plan.
    But she still didn’t know what to make of his decision to stay. He’d been driven all these years to find Phoebe and free her. Why stop now?
    Because of her? No. They’d only just met.
    Because of Noah? Did he suspect he was here?
    A cold shiver rippled through her and she lifted the steaming mug to swallow another sip. Eli was wrong.
    “It was on the news last night, along with that tropical storm coming. I heard you could see the smoke from the explosion on the highway.” Lois still chattered on. If she’d asked Kaylee here to glean some information on what had happened yesterday, she’d forgotten to ask the questions.
    Kaylee looked up at the older woman. “I didn’t watch the news.”
    Lois gave her a sympathetic smile. “I don’t imagine.”
    “I wish it hadn’t been reported.”
    “It’ll be in the news for a while. They even have some kind of forensic bomb squad there trying to figure out what explosives were used, but it could take months, the reporter said. Bombs and explosions and such are a fact of life now, I’m afraid.”
    And with Noah having dropped out of sight, they’ll never find him, Kaylee thought as Lois topped up her tea.
    “They had the water bombers on standby, I heard,” Lois added. “And when I found out it concerned the very compound where you were held, I paid attention. Did any reporters call you?”
    Kaylee nodded. “A couple, but I said I didn’t want to talk.” It wasn’t their calls that lingered in her mind. It was the other one.
    “I should go,” she said before gulping down her tea and pushing back her chair. “I have a few things to do at work while the men finish up their game.” Her head was beginning to pound. The fresh, crisp air on the walk down to the rec center would do her good.
    She paused. Should she be walking, alone, if Noah was out there? But Noah wasn’t out there; he wouldn’t leave his followers. They were too important to him and his need for control. She’d learned that the hard way.
    Lois reached out and touched her hand and she started. “Oh, dear thing! This is my fault, isn’t it?” The older woman bit her lip, looking as if she was ready to cry. “Honey, if I hadn’t told you that story about my husband leaving for Korea, and that man helping us, you’d have never decided to go back to Maine with that Eli Nash and none of this would have happened!”
    Kaylee looked over at her friend and saw the etched concern on her face that must have been a mirror of her own. Tears stung her eyes. Now Lois was feeling guilty, too? Were they all going to be prisoners of Noah Nash?
    She leaned forward, her jaw tightening. “Lois, you did the right thing. Look, if we hadn’t gone to that compound, those explosives may not have been found until some kids went there. Noah would have hurt or killed innocent teens backroading with four wheelers. You did the right thing, though you didn’t realize it at the time. Noah’s plans were thwarted.”
    And she wasn’t going to be a prisoner to him, she added to herself. Forget it. She was free. And while that might get Noah Nash’s goat, as her grandmother would say, she wasn’t going to turn her life back into the fearful, captive one she’d had while in the compound.
    Fear is the lack of trust. Noah had said that more than once.
    As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Fear is the lack of trust. But a trust in what, a part of her asked. Certainly not Noah.
    With gritted teeth at the way he still ruled her, she rose and shoved her mug under the kitchen tap. Noah was wrong. Phoebe was wrong to believe him. Kaylee twisted off the faucet. And she was wrong to dwell on those people. They had destroyed her life and allowed Trisha to die.
    She rinsed her mug out in the sink and set it on the rack to dry. Then, with as strong a smile as she could imagine, she