The Hero's Son. Amanda Stevens

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СКАЧАТЬ as she opened her purse and pulled out a cell phone.

      Brant heard someone in the crowd say, “Man, did you see what happened? She just jumped in front of that bus! Must have a death wish or something.”

      The stunned rumblings went on and on, but Brant tuned them out. He turned his attention to the woman lying on the sidewalk, so still and silent. A sprinkling of freckles across her nose stood out starkly against her pale skin.

      She should have looked vulnerable, but didn’t. Somehow, even in repose, she managed to appear strong and intelligent. A woman perfectly capable of pissing off some pretty powerful people in this town.

      She stirred and moaned.

      “Take it easy,” Brant said. “The ambulance is on its way.”

      Her lids fluttered, and then her eyes opened. They were gray, the color of rain clouds.

      “What happened?” She tried to sit up, but Brant pushed her gently back to the street.

      “You were almost hit by a bus,” someone in the crowd told her.

      For the first time, she trained her gaze on Brant, and her eyes widened in shock. Or was it fear? Her lips moved frantically, but Brant couldn’t understand what she was saying. He leaned closer to her and got a whiff of an expensive perfume, something as deep and sultry as a hot Southern night.

      She tried to shrink away from him. “It’s okay,” Brant said gently. “I’m not going to hurt you. You fell in front of a bus, but someone pulled you out of the way in time. You’ll be fine.”

      She shook her head and mouthed, “No.” She trembled all over, and for a moment, Brant thought she must have gone into shock.

      “You’ll be fine,” he repeated, whipping off his sport coat to spread over her. “Just hang in there.”

      “I didn’t fall,” she whispered, shaking uncontrollably.

      “What?”

      Her gaze locked onto his. Fear deepened in her gray eyes. “I didn’t fall,” she said. “I was pushed.”

      VALERIE SAT ON THE BED in the emergency room at Mercy General Hospital and tried to corral her racing thoughts.

      No way could he have been the same man.

      No way could he have remained unchanged after thirty-one years.

      And yet she’d seen him with her own eyes!

      Her heart had almost stopped when she’d looked up into those black eyes. Eyes just as cold and dark as the ones she remembered.

      “Devil eyes,” she’d always called them.

      She shivered, just thinking about him. “I have to get out of here.”

      “What’s your hurry?” Dr. Allen asked her. He was a young, good-looking resident who wore faded jeans and scuffed Nikes and made Valerie feel about a hundred and two. “You just got here.”

      “I don’t like hospitals,” she muttered.

      He looked down at her with a wounded look. “I’m hurt. Truly hurt by that remark.”

      “Nothing personal.” She’d been trying to ignore his flirting ever since she’d been brought in, but it wasn’t easy. Dr. Allen was nothing if not charming.

      “So what’s the verdict?” she asked wearily.

      “A few cuts and bruises. You’re going to be pretty sore for a few days. I’m still waiting to have a look at your X rays, but I don’t expect to find any broken bones. You’re one lucky young lady, from everything I’ve heard.”

      Valerie supposed it wasn’t every day one got pushed in front of a city bus and survived. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel herself pitching forward into the street, could still feel that moment of terror when she’d looked up to see the bus racing toward her like some huge steel monster. She could actually feel the heat from its engine, like the hot breath of death.

      She put a quivering hand to her forehead. She had to get out of here. Find out what was going on.

      Find out who wanted to kill her.

      “Look, I’m perfectly fine,” she insisted. “Good as new. And I really do have to be going. There’s a press conference I have to get to.” She tried to hop down from the bed, but every bone in her body screamed in protest. She groaned and offered only a token struggle when the doctor eased her back down. “I can’t stay here,” she whispered, as a wave of dizziness swept over her.

      Dr. Allen said sternly, “I’m afraid the press conference will just have to wait. At least until I get those X rays.”

      “How long?”

      “We’re a little short-staffed this afternoon. Could take a while.”

      Valerie suppressed another groan. The antiseptic smell of the hospital made her nauseous, and for a moment, she thought she might actually pass out. Not just from the scent, but from the memories. She hadn’t been in a hospital since those long, lonely nights six weeks ago, when she’d kept vigil over her mother, waiting for her to die.

      Dr. Allen patted her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you sprung as soon as I can. In the meantime, try to enjoy our hospitality. I’ve given you a mild painkiller to make you a little more comfortable. Relax and let the medication take effect. Doctor’s orders. You look as if you could use a little downtime.”

      Downtime? Valerie wasn’t even sure she remembered what that was. She’d been operating on nervous energy and caffeine for so long, she was afraid to stop, afraid that if she did, she might never get going again.

      But in spite of her determination to get out of there as quickly as possible, the medication made her feel a bit woozy, and she knew there was no way she could get herself home, let alone to Austin Colter’s press conference.

      Maybe I should call Julian, she thought, but even that task seemed too great.

      Besides, she didn’t feel like dealing with her boss at the moment. He would be more interested in getting a good story than in her welfare, and Valerie wasn’t up to any questions. She first wanted to sort out what had happened for herself, but she couldn’t seem to stay focused. Her mind began to drift as the drug took effect, and suddenly she was back in the little house in a Chicago suburb where she’d grown up, going through her mother’s personal belongings the day after the funeral.

      Valerie had wanted to get the painful job over with as quickly as possible. But that afternoon, she’d found more than just possessions in her mother’s house. More than just memories. She’d found a truth so devastating, her life had been changed forever.

      For over thirty years, Valerie had believed her father guilty of the heinous crime for which he had been convicted. Why else had she and her mother been called such vile and vicious names after her father’s arrest? Why else had their home been targeted for terrorism? And more important, why else had she and her mother fled town in the middle of the night? Why had her mother changed their names, hidden their true identities, if not to escape the stigma of being СКАЧАТЬ