Baby On The Run. Hope White

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ

      Sarah.

      A gentle hand pressed a gauze pad against the side of his head. “Shh, hold still.”

      It was a firm voice, tinged with sweetness and concern. Who was it again? He’d distanced himself from relationships because of his work, his dedication to the job.

      He’d attempted commitment with Sarah. And she was dead.

      His fault.

      There wasn’t a day that went by when he didn’t pray for forgiveness.

      Shutting down the romantic part of his life was what had made him a good agent, an agent willing to devote all his energy into nailing criminals, men who pretended to be heroes, when they were actually...

      He was falling again, floating like a leaf dropping from a tree. Where would he land? Back at her funeral? His remorse strangling him as he pleaded with God for forgiveness?

      “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

      “Sarah?” he said.

      “Almost done.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      * * *

      An hour later, Jenna glanced at her passenger and wondered if she should take him to a hospital. His skin was pale and he groaned in his sleep every few minutes. Plus, he’d been having delusions back at the truck stop when she’d bandaged his head wound.

      He’d whispered the name Sarah. His girlfriend? Wife?

      “Stay focused,” she said softly. She couldn’t afford to be distracted by her passenger’s nightmares. She needed to strategize what to do next, other than to distance herself from Cedar River.

      “Stay back,” Matthew muttered in his sleep.

      Jenna suspected he had a concussion and knew the best treatment for that was sleep. She’d learned as much when she’d ended up in the hospital after one of her “falls.”

      She clenched her jaw. This was not the time, nor the place, to be thinking about the past. She had two people to protect—Little Eli and...an FBI agent. Which begged the question, why was he working undercover as a janitor at the community center?

      “Medic,” he said. He jerked awake, eyes wide, breathing heavily.

      “Hey, you’re okay,” she said.

      He glanced at her with a dazed expression.

      “Just a bad dream,” she said.

      He snapped his attention away, as if embarrassed, and directed his gaze to the road ahead.

      “Best thing for a concussion is sleep,” she offered.

      A moment later he closed his eyes. Wow, that surprised her. She thought she’d get more of an argument, or a lecture about how she should have left him back at the truck stop.

      Why didn’t you abandon him, Jenna?

      Because of the vulnerability in his dulled blue eyes. She couldn’t leave a semiconscious man lying on the cold, wet ground. After all, once the thugs figured out Jenna had diverted them from her true location, they would have returned to the truck stop and done even more damage to Matthew. He was in no position to defend himself.

      She’d been in survival mode back at the office, driven by the trauma of her past. The chief’s actions solidified her opinion of law enforcement, and her cautious nature had made her draw the conclusion that Matthew was a serial criminal, not a cop. Even if he was a cop, she knew they had their own code, and the normal rules of civility didn’t apply to them.

      Which left her in that same, familiar spot: alone and afraid.

      And she couldn’t afford to be afraid, not while Eli was in her care.

      If only she had a burner phone to call Marcus again, get Eli safely to his cousin. Deep down, Jenna feared she was the absolute worst choice to protect Eli. She’d failed miserably before. What made her think this time would be different?

      Her brain started clicking off options. What about... She glanced at her passenger. Could she risk getting help from the FBI? No, they’d force her to return Eli to his father, a man Chloe had called a monster. She shook off the thought.

      The word monster taunted her, reminding her that although she was legally free of him, there were days she still felt like she was under Anthony’s thumb, especially when she’d come home to her Cedar River apartment and find things out of place. She’d be yanked back into the past, experiencing Anthony’s wrath over her unacceptable housekeeping skills. She’d try to shake it off, reminding herself she’d been in a hurry to get to work in the morning and had forgotten to put things where they belonged.

      But the fear of punishment was quite real.

      Move on, she coached herself.

      She needed to think her way out of this current crisis, not be paralyzed by the past. Who could she go to for help? Jenna had been estranged from her family ever since she’d married Anthony, and had never reunited with them after she’d escaped his abuse. Distancing herself from everyone, past and present, had been the best way to put the horror behind her and live a safe life. She was willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve that goal, and starting a new life where no one knew her seemed like the only way.

      A new life where she could be a different person. A stronger person.

      She reconsidered calling Patrice. The middle-aged woman was devoted to helping victims flee dangerous situations. No, she had already put herself in enough danger for Jenna, although maybe Patrice could offer some advice.

      The flash of blue and red lights sparked through the truck’s rearview mirror. Jenna’s heart leaped into her throat.

      They’d found her.

       THREE

      “License and registration, please,” a deep male voice said.

      Matt forced his eyes open. He was in the passenger seat, and a uniformed officer stood at the driver’s window.

      “I’m sorry, Officer, was I speeding?” Jenna asked from behind the wheel of Matt’s truck.

      Jenna North was driving his truck?

      “No, ma’am, but your left taillight is out,” the cop said.

      “Oh, thank you for letting us know.”

      “You’re welcome. I’d still like to see your license and registration.”

      Jenna nodded at Matt, who read fear in her green eyes.

      “Honey, can you get the registration?” she said.

      Honey? Why was she calling him honey? And why did his head feel like someone had used it as a soccer ball?

      “Sir, СКАЧАТЬ