Holiday Secrets. Susan Sleeman

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ head swam. Her leg muscles turned to mush. She grabbed the wall to keep from dropping to the ground.

      Breathe deep. Keep it together.

      The biker laughed again then shifted his bike into high speed, passing right in front of her. She held her breath so even the tiniest movement didn’t give her away. The whoosh of wind from the cycle blasted her face and heavy fumes irritated her nose. He glanced her way. The gun lifting.

      Had he seen her? She couldn’t be sure and remained frozen in place.

      When he moved out of sight, she ran for her dad. Knelt beside him. Spotted gaping chest and stomach wounds.

      For a moment, all of her medical training and experience as a trauma nurse fled and panic won out. Her pulse skyrocketed. She felt woozy. Like she might collapse. She wanted to give in. To forget her father lay in front of her with wounds only a skilled surgeon could treat.

      “Dad... I...” She didn’t know how to continue as blood oozed from his body. If she’d listened to the many times he’d nagged her about becoming a doctor, she could help, but with his extensive injuries, only a doctor could save him now.

      He moaned.

      She let her gaze flick over the area. Searching for what, she didn’t know. Maybe she was just avoiding the obvious.

      Cut it out. He needs you to be strong. To think. Get it together.

      She ripped off her favorite Christmas scarf, wadded it into a ball and pressed it against the most critical wound. Blood saturated the cashmere in moments and she suspected an equal amount of blood spurted from his back, too.

      Please, she begged. Don’t let him die.

      “Lexie,” he muttered, his voice not more than a whisper.

      “Shh.” She bent forward. “Don’t try to talk.”

      He struggled to breathe, his chest barely moving. “Be careful...dangerous. He took it. Your insurance. I should have...couldn’t...my reputation. Legacy. He’ll come after you, Lexie. He’ll kill you...”

      * * *

      Gunshots. Lexie.

      Gavin McKade cleared the tree line to see a fireball rising into the sky over an airplane torn in pieces and a dirt bike racing away from the maintenance shed.

      Had Lexie given up on him because he was late and boarded the plane to go somewhere? Or were the gunshots directed at her and she’d been shot?

      Dear God, don’t let me be too late. Don’t let Lexie be on that plane.

      He jerked his unruly stallion’s reins to keep him from bolting and searched for any sign of Lexie. He would call out, but with shots fired, he wasn’t about to draw more attention to himself than Lightning’s pummeling hooves might have already done.

      Was she by the shed or in the plane?

      He’d check the plane first. He kicked Lightning into motion. They tore across the open field, the biting wind hitting him full-on and carrying heavy black smoke in his direction. The heat soon forced him to pull up.

      Dancing flames illuminated fragments of the plane lying scattered around. No one could have survived the fiery explosion. If she was in there—No, he wouldn’t go there. Not until he checked by the shed.

      He whipped Lightning around and took off. Nearing the shed, he spotted someone on the ground. Someone moving. Small. Slight. A woman. Leaning over another person. Performing CPR.

      He threw caution to the wind and shouted, “Lexie!”

      “Gavin!” she screamed. “Hurry.”

      Thank You, God, he prayed, though he had no idea if God heard him. After shooting Emily, Gavin had been hard-pressed to trust in his faith.

      Gavin pushed Lightning into a gallop, the stallion’s breath coming in hard puffs as he quickly closed the distance between them. To be safe, he drew his weapon as he dismounted.

      “Lexie,” he said, afraid he was wrong, that she’d turn, it wouldn’t be her, and he’d learn she’d perished in the explosion.

      She looked up from doing CPR on a man.

      It was Lexie. His Lexie. No...not his. Not anymore. He let out a slow breath of relief. “Are you okay?”

      She stopped her compressions, held up blood-covered hands and peered down at the man lying in front of her.

      “It’s Dad. He...he’s gone.” A sob tore from her throat. “Gunshot wounds. I saw it all. He tried to give me an envelope and the guy shot him twice. Then took off. I tried to help Dad and failed.”

      “Oh, sugar, I’m so sorry.” Gavin didn’t think of the years that had passed...of the turmoil when they’d broken up. Instead, acting on pure instinct, he dropped down beside her and drew her into his arms. She snuggled tight against him, and he cradled her head against his chest as her body heaved with pain-filled sobs.

      She needed his comfort, and he was only too happy to hold her, but with the shooting, he had to keep his gaze roving the area, just in case the killer hadn’t really taken off.

      He gently pushed back and gazed at her. “You said the shooter was gone.”

      “He took off on a dirt bike.”

      That explained the bike he’d seen.

      “This can’t be happening. Not really. Can it?” She suddenly grabbed Gavin’s arm. “The killer can’t get away with this. We have to go after him.”

      “He’s long gone by now and we won’t catch him on horseback.” Gavin dug out his phone. “But I’ll call Dad to get an alert out on the bike. Can you describe it?”

      “Black, I think, but I’m not positive. Dark colored, anyway.”

      “Did it have a license plate?”

      “I don’t know. I was too afraid. I’m sorry.” She wiped away her tears. “But the rider wore a leather jacket and pants. He was over six feet. Thin.”

      Without a better description of the bike, the odds were bad that they’d find the guy. Especially when a dirt bike could travel off-road.

      “And the plane exploding?” Gavin asked. “Did the shooter have something to do with that, too?”

      She nodded. “He used his phone to detonate it. Thank goodness Dad was flying his own plane and was alone.”

      “I’ll want more details, but first I’ll get that alert issued.” Gavin dialed his father, Lake County sheriff Walt McKade, but stepped away from Lexie so he could speak freely about her father. He also didn’t want her to learn that conversations with his dad were still tension-filled. No sense in adding to her stress.

      As his phone rang, he kept her in view while also watching for any signs the shooter might have returned.

      “Sheriff McKade,” СКАЧАТЬ