Vanished In The Night. Lynette Eason

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СКАЧАТЬ I had a horrible sinus infection. I walked in and Doc Anderson was there. I couldn’t believe he was still working. When I asked him about retiring, he said he hadn’t found the person he could entrust his practice to yet.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I asked him if he needed a nurse and he hired me on the spot even though I was practically ready to give birth.”

      “He’s a good man.”

      “And a fabulous doctor. He might be old, but he stays up-to-date on all the latest in the medical field.”

      The elevator arrived and she stepped inside. Joshua followed her and set the baby carrier on the floor. The doors closed and the car moved, taking them down.

      Joshua rubbed a hand through his hair. “Mom said something about a doctor shortage in Wrangler’s Corner.”

      “A human doctor shortage. There’s no lack of veterinarians, that’s for sure.”

      “That’s because there are more animals than people in town.”

      “True.”

      “What made you try to make it to the hospital instead of letting Doc Anderson deliver Duncan?”

      She grimaced. “He was about an hour away helping one of the Amish men in Ethridge. He’d fallen from the roof of his barn. Trust me, that man needed the doc more than I did—at least I thought so.” She shot him a warm glance. “Fortunately, you came along when you did.”

      Her look seared him, made him want to wrap her and Duncan in Bubble Wrap and keep them locked safely behind closed doors.

      He gave a silent snort. Now he sounded like a crazy stalker. Only, his intentions were good.

      When the elevator opened, they stepped into the lobby. A large welcome area dominated the space with a desk and security guard leaned against it talking to two women.

      “Wait here inside and I’ll bring the truck around.”

      She nodded and he set the baby next to her. He hated to leave her alone, but the security guard was right there. She should be fine for the few minutes it would take him to pull the SUV around to the circle—and it was better than having her walk out in the open to the parking garage.

      He jogged to the garage and took the elevator to the third floor. When he stepped off, he caught sight of the back of a man who came from the stairs. A woman to his right was pulling a child from the back seat of her minivan. Other than that, the place was quiet. Empty.

      Chills skittered up his arms, raising the hair there. You’ll regret interfering. I’ll be back. Kalyee’s attacker’s words rang in his ears. Was that man her stalker? No, not possible. Patrick Talbot was in jail.

      So, who was the guy who’d tried to snatch her in the middle of the road? Joshua shook his head and picked up the pace. He’d said he’d be back. Would he be watching the hospital? Surely, he knew this was where they would be. If he wanted to find her, it wouldn’t be hard—as the box of black roses testified.

      Joshua’s SUV was parked on the end in the second row. He glanced around and noted the security cameras. Nah. No one would try anything that could be caught on video, right?

      Then again, some people didn’t care. The attacker who’d tried to nab a pregnant woman in broad daylight hadn’t worried about being seen or stopped. And he’d been ready to kill if it suited him. Joshua wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling the guy hadn’t pulled the trigger because of the man who’d stopped to ask if they’d needed help. Whatever had made him decide to run instead of shoot, Joshua didn’t know and didn’t really care. He was just glad it had ended the way it had. Then again, he had a feeling it wasn’t over, either. And the guy had said he’d be back.

      Joshua climbed into the SUV and cranked the engine. The low purr never failed to bring him satisfaction. His phone buzzed and he pulled it from the clip on his belt. Clay. “Yeah?”

      “Patrick Talbot is out.”

      “Out? How?”

      “He had a fancy lawyer who managed to find a loophole in the arrest. He was released a week ago.”

      “And no one called to tell Kaylee?”

      “The detective said he tried, but apparently she changed her number and never gave him the new one. He said he’d just gotten her messages and was getting ready to call her when I rang.”

      “Great. That’s just great,” Joshua muttered.

      “I know.”

      “All right. I’m getting ready to take her and the baby to her father’s house. Want to meet us there?”

      “I’d feel better if you had an escort. Stay there and let me see if I can get someone to follow you to Wrangler’s Corner.”

      “I’ll let her know.”

      He disconnected and drove around to the front entrance to the hospital. Pulling up to the door, he could see Kaylee standing at the glass window waiting for him. His heart did that funny little dance it seemed to want to do whenever he was in her presence.

      Telling himself to get over it—that she was as off-limits to him as his mother was to her father—he parked and climbed out of the SUV. He had to ignore the little voice reminding him that his mother was engaged to that off-limits man. He grunted. Being attracted to Kaylee was one thing, acting on it was another. Right now she needed a protector, not a Romeo.

      Kaylee opened the hospital door, her bag slung over her shoulder and the baby carrier gripped in her other hand. She walked toward the SUV.

      Joshua hurried to her. “I’ve got him.” He took the carrier from her. For a little bitty thing, lugging him around in his seat required some muscles. Joshua rounded the front of the vehicle and opened the back door where he’d placed the base of the baby’s safety seat.

      Sunlight glinted off something in the parking garage across the street. A sharp flicker of light that made him squint. He took a closer look and saw the protruding piece of metal. The sight produced a distinctly bad feeling in his gut.

       I’ll be back.

      “Kaylee, go back inside.”

      “What? Why?”

      A crack sounded and the concrete spit shards up around the bottom of his calves.

      Joshua simply moved, keeping Duncan’s carrier in front of him and out of sight of the shooter. He rounded the front of the vehicle and had almost reached Kaylee when the glass door behind her shattered.

      Silence reigned for a split second before screams echoed around him. With a tight grip on the handle of the carrier, Joshua grabbed Kaylee and shoved her through the door that no longer existed.

      They made it inside just as the second bullet took out the glass of the other door.

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