by Rita Herron
Even though he had no right to her. Especially if he wasn’t Tom Wells.
APRIL MET MEGAN AS SOON AS she made it back to the nurses’ station. Wanda and Brenda, two other nurses, left to dispense meds. “Meg, Connie called up and said a man from that security agency phoned. They’re going to be at your house in half an hour and want you to meet them there.”
“I thought they couldn’t come until tomorrow.”
April shrugged, barely lifting her head from the chart in her hand. “Guess they had a cancellation or something.”
“But my shift won’t be over for another hour—”
“Listen, I’ll cover for you.” April stuffed the pen behind her ear. “You have to get this security system installed.”
Megan hesitated. Had she jumped to conclusions earlier about April? Dozens of women in Savannah probably owned silver compacts. And she and Tom had both given April a ride at some time; the compact could have fallen from her purse in his car. Or April could have dropped files off at his office and accidentally dropped the compact. After all, she and April had been best friends since nursing school. April would never hurt her.
“Go on,” April said with a worried smile. “I won’t rest tonight unless I know you’re safe.”
“Thanks.” Megan gave her a hug. “I owe you one.”
The phone jangled and April answered it, waving goodbye. Remembering her promise, Megan hurried downstairs to tell Cole she was leaving.
“Is Dr. Hunter in, Connie?”
Connie’s fingers paused over the keyboard. “No, he’s in a patient consult with Dr. Parnell. He’s been trailing him all afternoon.”
Megan fidgeted with her purse. Surely she’d be fine. She was just driving to her house to meet the security company. She wouldn’t get out of the car until the man had arrived.
“When he comes back, tell him I left to meet that security consultant. He’ll know what I’m talking about.”
Connie nodded and resumed typing as Megan headed to the elevator. The hospital halls seemed empty, Megan thought, especially the corridors of the office wing. Tension knotted her neck, and she massaged the sore spot as she exited the elevator. Seconds later, she stepped into the dim parking garage, grateful daylight still trickled into the basement, although the low cement ceiling and boulder supports blocked most of it. A quick check of her watch told her she had to hurry to meet the guy on time. She pulled her keys from her purse while she jogged past the first two lanes of cars.
But just as she reached the rental car and inserted the key, a gunshot rang out behind her.
Chapter Eleven
Cole rushed down the stairs toward the garage anxious to catch Megan. Dammit, he told her not to leave without him. But Connie said she was on her way to meet the security consultant.
His nerves on edge, he bolted through the door to the parking garage when he heard a gunshot. The bullet pinged off one of the cement supports, must have ricocheted, and hit one of the car windows. Glass exploded, then shattered. He froze, scanning the dim interior, searching for the source.
Searching for Megan.
Another shot rang out, then a shrill cry.
Suddenly images of another shooting bombarded him. Bullets flying. A gun being raised. A bullet piercing his back. Him reaching for a gun, firing…
The images passed just as quickly as they came, leaving him momentarily disoriented. But another bullet pelted the top of a car, ricocheted off and bypassed his face by a fraction of an inch.
“Megan, stay down!” He spotted her white rental car and sprinted toward it, ducking low, weaving in and out between the other parked cars. Suddenly tires screeched and a dark sedan peeled out the exit. He took off at a dead run to catch it or at least get a license plate, but by the time he crossed the distance, the vehicle disappeared out of sight.
Heaving to get his breath, he jogged back toward the car. Megan was crouched on her knees by the driver’s side, trembling.
He knelt beside her and helped her stand. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, although the dazed look in her eyes told a different story. His own heart roaring with fear, he pulled her into his arms and held her, rubbing her back to calm her. She clung to him for several seconds, letting him absorb her shock.
“Who was it?” she finally murmured against his chest.
“I don’t know. All I saw was the tail end of a dark sedan but couldn’t get a license plate.”
“What’s going on here?” The elderly security guard trotted toward them, tucking his shirt in his pants and reaching with a wobbly hand for his gun. “I thought I heard gunshots.”
“Where were you?” Cole snapped.
“I had to go to the john,” the old man said, embarrassment heating his face. “Is he gone?”
“Yes.” Cole curved an arm around Megan. “Let’s go to the security booth. We need to call the police and file a report.”
“But what about the security company at my house?”
“I’ll phone and ask them to wait.”
She squeezed his arm as he guided her to the booth.
“Sit down on that stool, ma’am, I’ll get someone right away.” The old man phoned the local police station and Seaside Security’s head while Cole paced the outer rims of the booth, searching to see if someone else lurked in the parking deck. He phoned the home security company on his cell phone. “Yes, I called earlier to arrange a system to be installed at Megan Wells’s house.” He gave the address. “You phoned to say you were sending someone out to meet Megan Wells this afternoon instead of tomorrow. Can you—what—you didn’t call—” His worried gaze met Megan’s. “No one is scheduled to install the system until tomorrow morning. I see.”
He thanked the man, then hung up, his body tight. “Megan, who did you talk to?”
“I didn’t,” Megan said in a shaky voice. “April said Connie called up with the message.”
Cole pointed to the security guard. “Can you call inside and ask April Conway and Connie Blalock to meet us here.”
The old man nodded and did as he was instructed.
Five minutes later, April raced into the parking garage, Connie on her heels. “What’s going on?” April asked.
Terror streaked Connie’s face. “What happened, Megan?”
“Someone shot at her,” Cole said. “Megan said you gave her a message that someone from Steven’s Security was meeting her at her place this afternoon.”
“Yes, at four.” Connie fidgeted with her hands.
“I called the company,” Cole said. “They never phoned with a message.”
Connie gasped. April clutched Megan’s hands, looking stricken.
“Who did you talk to, Connie?” Megan asked.
Connie stroked her neck in a nervous gesture. “I…I didn’t get his name. The phones were going crazy, he sounded like he was in a hurry.”
“You didn’t ask—”
“No.” Connie burst into tears. April tried to soothe her, glaring at Cole as if she’d picked up on the accusations in Cole’s eyes. “He said to tell Ms. Wells they’d have a consultant meet her at her house at four.” Connie’s voice broke. “God, Meg. I was worried about you. You said someone had broken in, so I just thought you’d want to go home as soon as possible and get that security system installed, but if I did something wrong, something that put you in danger, I’m sorry…”
“I’m sorry, too,” April said, tears lacing her voice.
Megan stood and hugged both women in turn. “Shh, I’m okay. You guys didn’t know.”
Cole frowned and waved toward the cop who was exiting his car. Megan might trust her friends, but he didn’t.
Right now he didn’t trust anyone.
MEGAN HATED THE FACT that this whole ordeal was making her distrust her own friends. Because for a minute, she’d wondered again about April. And even Connie.
“I’m so sorry,” Connie said.
“You know I’d never do anything to hurt you,” April said.
“I know. L
isten, you guys, don’t worry. I’m fine now.”
The cop that walked toward them took in the scene with a scrutinizing eye. He stood slightly taller than Cole, Megan noted, with jet black hair and blue eyes. Another officer, shorter and stout, with a receding hairline followed.
“Detective Adam Black, Savannah P.D. Someone called about a shooting?”
His voice was deep and rough, Megan noticed, thinking no one would mess with this cop.
Cole stared at the man, his face paling, almost as if he’d seen a ghost. “I had security call.” Cole filled him in on the gunshots, then quickly described the car fire and break-in at Megan’s house.
“The chief filled me in on the others,” Detective Black said. “I’ve been out of town.” He leveled a gaze at Megan. “I’m sorry about your husband, Ms. Wells. From now on, I’m going to be in charge of your case.”
“All right.” Relief spilled through Megan.
“I’ll start checking for bullets,” the other officer said.
“Tell me everything you can about each incident, Ms. Wells.” Detective Black removed a pocket notebook. “No matter how small the detail, even if you don’t think it’s important.”
“All right.”
April stepped back into the shadows. “I’m still on duty. I should go back inside, that is, unless you need me.”
“Tell him about the call first,” Cole said.
Connie spoke up and relayed the phone call message.
April fiddled with the pocket of her nurse’s jacket and reiterated her part.
“Thanks, ladies,” Detective Black said. “I appreciate your help.”
“Call me if you want me to come over later,” April said to Megan.
“Sure.”
Connie and April walked back into the building, huddled together. A twinge of regret pulled at Megan for even questioning her friends’ behavior. She and April had always been close. April had been a bridesmaid at her wedding, and Connie wouldn’t hurt a fly.
“When did these strange things start happening?” the detective asked.
“A few weeks ago. After my husband’s death.”
“Right after the trouble here, when the CEO died?”
“About six weeks afterward,” Megan said. “How did you know about Sol Santenelli?”
“I was one of the arresting officers. Unfortunately Arnold Hughes escaped.” Detective Black twisted his mouth into a frown. “Your husband was supposed to meet my partner, Clay Fox, the night he died. But they never met. At least not that we know of.”
“Tom was meeting the police?”
“Yes.”
“But my partner was killed that night.” Detective Black removed dog tags from his pocket, spreading them across his palm. “We found these, but not his body. We think it was washed out to sea.”
Megan’s and Cole’s gazes locked.
“Tom’s body washed up on the shore a few weeks ago,” Megan said.
“Which means Clay’s could still be out there.” Black shifted, a pained look on his face, and Megan realized he and this man Clay must have been close. “Do you have any idea why your husband might have agreed to meet my partner, Ms. Wells?”
Megan shook her head. “No. I was told Tom died in a boating accident. At first, I couldn’t believe it. Tom was an excellent swimmer.”
The detective’s eyebrows rose. “Sounds familiar. About four years ago, a microbiologist named Jerome Sims died here, supposedly in a boating accident. Later we learned the company was selling Sims’s research out from under him, so Hughes had him killed.”
Megan’s throat went dry. “Tom received a big bonus from CIRP and paid off some debts right before he died. I thought he might have been working on a questionable project.”
“Do you know why Wells was meeting your partner?” Cole asked.
“Not exactly. Fox was investigating whether or not Arnold Hughes had survived.” Black’s mouth twisted into another scowl. “His body might have drifted out to sea also. But if he had someone else helping him, he could have escaped.”
“You think Tom knew something about Arnold Hughes?” Megan asked.
Black shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. But I’m certain that meeting got both of them killed.”
COLE SENSED HE’D MET Adam Black before, but that was impossible.
Unless he had talked to him as Tom Wells.
Or Hughes.
He didn’t want to consider that possibility, but he couldn’t ignore it, either. If he wasn’t Wells or Cole Hunter, and Hughes had survived and been given a new face and identity, he might be Hughes. But if he was, why wouldn’t the doctors at CIRP who’d performed surgery on him have told him?
The detective’s partner was missing also. Maybe….
“How do you know your partner is dead for sure?”
Guilt tightened Black’s face as he stared at Cole. “If he was alive, he would have found some way to contact me. I checked all the hospitals for unidentified victims for the last few months and found none matching his description. Plus we found a substantial amount of his blood and skin samples on the rocks. His badge was on the shore, too.”
“I thought you guys always went out in pairs.”
“Normally we do.” Black rubbed the back of his neck, his voice husky. “If he’d waited till I returned from my honeymoon, he’d still be alive.”
Suddenly Davis Jones and Warner Parnell strode toward them, both with fierce expressions on their faces.
“What’s this about a shooting?” Jones rushed over to Megan. “Are you okay, Megan?”
Megan nodded, but Cole stiffened at the solicitous way Jones raked his eyes over Megan.
Parnell directed his attention to Detective Black. “What happened? Did you catch the shooter?”
“No,” Cole said.
“We’re checking for bullets now,” Detective Black added. He glanced at Megan. “Ma’am, I’d like to come by and talk to you tomorrow, after you’ve had a chance to relax.”
“That’s fine.” Megan pulled away from Jones, but the doctor hovered close by her side.
Black headed toward the other officer who had already located one bullet and was bagging it.
“How did you find out about the shooting?” Cole asked Jones.
“April Conway came running in to my office, near hysteria. She also told me someone had broken into your house.” Jones took Megan’s arm. “From now on, you’ll be escorted in and out of the building. And I’ll see that security is put on your house.”
“I’ve already ordered her a security system,” Cole said.
“Nonsense. She’s an employee of CIRP, and so was her husband. Seaside Security will install a system in her house.”
“That’s all right, Dr. Jones, I can use the other—”
“No argument. I’ll personally see to it that it’s done tonight. CIRP will foot the bill.”
Cole had to admit he was grateful for Jones’s prompt action in securing Megan’s safety, but he resented the personal nature of his attention.
How did Megan feel about the man?
MEGAN WAS SO SHAKEN by the shooting that she didn’t have the energy to argue with Dr. Jones. His take-charge attitude touched her, although she was surprised he felt so responsible for an employee.
“Come on, I’ll drive you home, Megan,” Jones offered.
“I’d like to take my car,” she said, confused at Cole’s silence.
“All right, then I’ll follow you.”
“Be careful,” Dr. Parnell said. “And don’t worry…we’ll beef up security around the hospital as well.”
Megan said goodbye to Dr. Parnell, then Cole, then climbed in her car, aware Cole watched her every movement. Her hands shook as she drove home, but she reminded herself that she was safe for the moment. That soon a new security system would be installed on her house. That Detective Black seemed to be taking her situation seriously and would investigate the strange things that had been happening.
Shortly after she an
d Jones arrived at her house, Seaside Security pulled up. Jones gave them directions and the three men who’d come to install the system went right to work.
Jones cradled her elbows in his hands. “It’ll take them a couple of hours.”
“I appreciate your doing this, Dr. Jones. But you don’t have to stay. I’m fine now.”
“I intend to stay until the system is installed and you know how to work it.” He gently lifted a hand and placed it on Megan’s cheek. “I’m worried about you, Megan. I’ll stay even longer if you want.”
Megan’s stomach quivered. She and April had joked that Jones would come on to anything in a skirt, but she’d never given him the time of day. She certainly didn’t feel comfortable with his interest now.
She lowered his hand, and slipped backward. “There’s no need. But I appreciate the offer.”
“How about some dinner while the guys work?”
As if to defy her, Megan’s stomach growled in protest. “My refrigerator’s pretty empty—”
“I’ll order some takeout Chinese. It won’t take but a minute.”
Megan swallowed, fighting nerves. “Fine, I guess.”
She didn’t intend to let her guard down though. Not that she was afraid of Davis Jones, at least not afraid that he would harm her. But fear of another kind fluttered through her. He had never shown much of an interest in her. Why was he so friendly now?
Was it true concern for her safety because she was an employee or could there be some other reason for his sudden attention?
COLE PARKED DOWN THE STREET from Megan’s and waited. What did Jones have up his sleeve? He had seen the man leave Megan’s place, then return less than ten minutes later with a paper bag and a bottle of wine. Damn, what was the man doing—trying to seduce her?
Fury rippled through him.
Sure, women probably thought the slick guy was good-looking, but he was a head-case. Then again, some women found a cocky attitude appealing.
Did Megan?
Was she succumbing to Jones and his charms?
Fisting his hands by his side, he fought the jealousy consuming him.
He had no right to be jealous. Megan was not his.