Explosive Reunion. Karen Kirst
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Название: Explosive Reunion
Автор: Karen Kirst
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: Mills & Boon Love Inspired Suspense
isbn: 9781474090513
isbn:
He mounted the wooden stairs and rapped on the door. There were no signs of movement through the windows.
He tried her cell again. A muted ring came from somewhere inside the apartment. If she was able to, she would’ve picked up.
A heavy sense of dread invaded him. Why had the deputy abandoned his post? And where was Tori?
Pivoting, he crossed to the deck railing. Green lawn stretched to trees and knee-high grass. A brook dissected her property with that of her neighbor’s behind her. To the right was a vacant, thickly wooded lot. Barbara had said that vagrants sometimes used the lot as a spot to camp. They didn’t get away with it for long, since the residents on that street kept a sharp eye out.
He scanned the entire lot and didn’t at first notice anything out of place. Then a flash of color in the midst of the monotonous greens and browns. Holding back a shout, he leaned over the railing as far as he dared. It looked like a man with a woman tossed over his shoulder. The flash of color he’d glimpsed was pale blond hair.
Tori.
He flew down the stairs and raced across the lawn, toward the trees. Please, God. Please let her be okay. Please don’t let him take her.
The stranger must’ve heard his boots splashing in the brook, because he whipped around to track the sounds. Beneath the bill of his baseball hat, his eyes widened and then narrowed.
The sight of Tori’s limp body filled Cade with desperate rage.
“Let her go,” he growled, pushing his legs faster.
“Stop! Police!”
Coming from the direction of Kenneth’s, Deputy Clark joined the chase, his weapon drawn.
The man ignored the deputy’s order and continued his bid for escape. When he emerged onto the street, yards from what had to be the getaway car, fear seized Cade. The perp had a solid head start and didn’t seem to be letting the extra weight slow him down.
In the next heartbeat, he had the side door open.
They weren’t going to reach her in time.
Sliding to a stop, Cade removed his weapon and, releasing the safety, shot out the taillight. Far enough away from Tori that she wouldn’t be in danger of being hit by a ricochet bullet, but close enough to serve as a warning to the perp.
Clark was catching up. “Hold your fire, Staff Sergeant.”
The stranger hesitated for a fraction of a second. Then he dumped Tori in the grass and dashed around the front, hopped inside and peeled out.
Cade ran to her side and fell to his knees, gently turned her onto her back and smoothed the hair from her face. The paleness of her lips and skin frightened him, but she was warm and breathing.
She was alive.
Thank You, Jesus.
“Tori? Wake up, sweetheart. Talk to me.”
There was zero indication she’d heard him. Whatever that man had done to her had knocked her out cold.
“We need an ambulance,” he ground out. “Now.”
The deputy joined them. “On their way. In the meantime, I’ll need your weapon.”
“Yes, sir.”
He handed the small Jetfire over, not taking his eyes from Tori.
“I don’t condone what you did,” he said, “but your actions saved her life.”
“Where were you?” he demanded, giving voice to the question nagging him. Why hadn’t Clark stayed at his post?
“Someone called in a tip about an intruder a few doors down, drawing me away from my vehicle.”
He dragged his gaze away from Tori’s motionless form. “Did you find anything?”
“No. Either someone really did see the perp wandering the neighborhood—”
“Or it was the perp who called, deliberately leaving Tori alone and vulnerable to attack.”
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