Foul Play. Elisabeth Rees

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ take the news.”

      Only one word formed in her mind. “Coward.”

      He nodded his head. “I deserved that. You’re right. I handled it badly. I just didn’t want to hurt you any more than I have already.”

      “Why did you come back anyway?” Her question sounded like an accusation.

      Cole pushed his hands deep into his jeans pockets. “It’s a long story.”

      “Did your wife move here with you?” she asked.

      He closed his eyes. “No, she divorced me a couple of years back.”

      Deborah stood in silence for a few moments. Despite her hostility toward Cole, she didn’t revel in the breakdown of his marriage. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said.

      “What about you?” he asked. “I see you don’t wear a ring, either.”

      “I’m not married,” she said. “I was engaged to somebody for a while, but it didn’t work out.”

      A strange look swept over his face. It was one of both surprise and disappointment, as if a million regrets rushed through him at once. “Please, Deborah,” Cole said. “Let me drive you home. It’s cold and rainy out there.”

      He picked up her bag from the bed, his muscles flexing beneath his T-shirt, and she remembered how safe his physical strength always used to make her feel. Now she felt nothing but anger and regret that she had ever allowed him into her life.

      She reached for the bag and wrested it from him. “I’ll take my chances alone. The bus is always busy, and nobody would try to attack me in public.”

      “You don’t drive?” he asked, obviously remembering the fact he had given her a few lessons in his car before they broke up.

      “No, I don’t drive,” she said. “I manage perfectly well without a car. I make this bus journey every day, so you really don’t need to worry.”

      Cole looked skyward as if trying to keep his cool. “You’re letting your emotions override your common sense. You need protection. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”

      She knew he was right. A ball of fear was curled up in her belly, telling her to be cautious, to be on her guard, but she ignored it. Yes, Cole could provide protection, but at what cost to her sanity?

      “Thanks for all you’ve done to help me,” she said. “But I’ll take it from here.” With that she stalked out the door and headed for the exit. He didn’t try to follow her, but she knew he was watching her leave, no doubt shaking his head at her stubbornness. She put aside the voice in her head telling her to stop, to turn around and take him up on his offer. Instead, she called the elevator and pressed the button to take her to the basement floor, where a bus stop was situated in the underground parking lot for the hospital staff. As the elevator glided below ground, Deborah clenched her teeth together, gripping her bag with tight fingers, trying with all her might to contain her rising level of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, Cole’s presence gave her a sense of reassurance that he could shield her from another attack, but every fiber of her body cried out to run away from him.

      She carried her head high as the doors opened and she strode purposefully out into the parking lot, keeping her wits about her, checking her surroundings. The lot was full of cars and empty of people, as it usually was at this time, and the bus stop was near to the exit ramp just around the corner. It would take her only two or three minutes to walk there.

      She heard the squeal of rubber tires turning quickly on asphalt and she darted between two cars, crouching low to see where the vehicle was located. A beat-up red compact came into view, radio blaring, a young man at the wheel chewing gum. He raced past her driving way too fast and was soon out of sight. She stood up, exhaling in annoyance as she heard his car scrape its underside on the exit ramp. He was a young hospital orderly, immature and reckless.

      But the sound and sight of normal everyday activity reassured her, and she weaved between the vehicles, resuming her walk to the bus stop, where she reckoned several other people already would be waiting. That was when she heard footsteps behind her keeping pace with hers. They were heavy, those of a man, and she suspected that Cole had followed her to try to persuade her not to travel home alone.

      She spun around. “Cole...” She stopped. The sound of footsteps melted away, and a hush descended over the lot. Nobody was there.

      “Cole?” she repeated. “Is that you?”

      No reply.

      “Who’s there?” she called.

      A menacing voice rumbled in the windowless lot lit by dim overhead bulbs. “Your worst nightmare.”

      Panic hit her full force in the gut, and she dropped her bag and started to run. The heavy footsteps resumed behind her, and she cried out, trying to alert the people who would be waiting at the bus stop just around the corner.

      “Help!” Her voice was weak with fear and she filled her lungs to shout louder.

      Before she could make another sound she became aware of a person close behind, seeming to appear from thin air. A hand curled over her mouth, another around her throat. They were large hands, rough and calloused, exactly like the ones on the attacker in the morgue. Her screams were stifled, and her legs gave way.

      Cole had been right. She had been foolish to refuse his offer of protection. And now she would pay a heavy price.

      * * *

      Cole turned the wheel of his cargo van sharply in the hospital’s underground parking lot, sending unsecured equipment in the back crashing to the floor. He saw Deborah, fighting hard with a heavyset man who had grabbed her by the throat. Despite being petite in size, she was holding her own, using her elbow to repeatedly strike the man in the ribs.

      Cole screeched his vehicle to a halt alongside the pair, and the man released his grip in surprise. The scarf that the attacker had tied around his face left only his eyes visible, and Cole saw them widen in shock. The guy turned on his heel and ran. Cole jumped from the driver’s seat and darted toward the assailant. The man pulled a handgun from his pocket as he glanced back, and Cole decided pursuit wasn’t worth it. A hospital was no place to begin a gun battle. Plus, there was someone who needed him to stay right there. He watched the man run to the exit door and push it roughly open. He was headed for the street, not the hospital. At least that put his mind at rest.

      He rushed to Deborah’s side. She had sunk to her knees and was gasping for air. He gathered her into his arms and pulled her to her feet, waiting for her to catch her breath. Then he lifted her onto the passenger seat of his van and reached for a bottle of water in the cup holder.

      “Here,” he said. “Drink this.”

      She sipped the cool liquid slowly, coughing occasionally and rubbing her neck where pressure had been applied.

      “The guy’s gone,” he said gently. “We should go back inside and report this.”

      She shook her mane of blond curls. “I just want to go home,” she replied. “I’ll make the calls from there.” She continued to rub her neck. “I don’t want to stay here one second longer.”

      Cole СКАЧАТЬ