Chapter 19 · Luke Finally Talks

"Easy now." The voice stops me cold. Male. Low. Coming from the gap between two boxcars.

I smell Amy before I see her—fear-sweat, dust, and the sharp copper of scraped skin. Thirty yards in. Maybe less. My nails punch through my fingertips.

I round the corner and find Luke Hardee waiting with his gun pointed at the gravel. Behind him, Amy's pinned against the boxcar by a skinny, balding man. His hand covers her mouth. A knife rests against her throat.

"There she is," Luke says.

"Let her go."

"Can't do that. Not yet."

The knife shifts. Blood beads along Amy's collarbone.

I cross the gap before Luke can raise his gun. My hand closes around the man's wrist. Bone cracks. He screams as I tear him away from Amy and slam him into the boxcar.

Amy stumbles. I catch her against my chest.

"You're okay," I tell her. "Look at me. You're okay."

Her breath shakes against my shirt. Her fingers lock around my sleeve.

Luke's gun comes up. "Step back."

"Shoot me, then."

His jaw tightens. He lowers the barrel by an inch.

"I'm not here to kill you."

"You brought a knife man to Amy's throat.