The Bodyguard’s Baby

by Debra Webb

  Nick pulled Laura closer, the look he shot James Ed stopped him cold. “This doesn’t feel right.”

  “It’s perfectly safe, Mr. Foster,” the doctor assured Nick. “She needs rest right now. Her present condition isn’t conducive to her own welfare.”

  Nick felt confused. His head ached from the blow Laura had dealt him. The image of her scarred wrists kept flitting through his mind. He wasn’t sure how to proceed. His heart said one thing, but his brain another. He stared down at the trembling woman in his arms. What was the best thing for her? The dark circles beneath her wide blue eyes and the even paler cast to her complexion gave him his answer. She needed to rest. She needed the kind of help Nick couldn’t give her. But this just didn’t feel right.

  Sandra reached for Laura this time. “No,” Nick said harshly. “I don’t think—”

  “Your job is over now, Nick,” Sandra interrupted calmly, patiently. “You should let us do ours.”

  “It’s for the best, Nick,” James Ed said with defeat.

  “Mr. Foster, I’ll have to ask you to leave now.”

  Nick’s gaze shot over his shoulder toward the man who had just spoken. A suit from James Ed’s private security staff stood directly behind Nick. His jaw hardened at the realization that he had been so caught up in Laura’s plight that he hadn’t heard him approach.

  “Get lost,” Nick warned.

  “Let’s not make this anymore unpleasant than necessary, sir,” the man in black suggested pointedly.

  Nick held his challenging stare for several tense seconds, then reluctantly released Laura. He wouldn’t do anything to make bad matters worse…at least not right now.

  When Sandra and Dr. Beckman closed in on Laura, the look of betrayal in her eyes ripped the heart right out of Nick’s chest. “Please don’t let them hurt my baby,” she murmured, then winced when the needle penetrated the soft skin of her delicate shoulder.

  Nick turned to James Ed, a white-hot rage suddenly detonating inside him. “If you’re holding anything back—”

  The Governor shook his head in solemn defeat. “Trust me, Nick.”

  Chapter Four

  “She isn’t well,” Sandra said softly.

  “I know.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know,” James Ed answered hesitantly. His pause before continuing seemed an eternity. “But I have to do something. I can’t allow her to continue this way.”

  “What do you mean?” Caution and the barest hint of uncertainty tinged Sandra’s words. “Laura is your sister,” she reminded softly. “Now that she’s back, there are changes…”

  James Ed breathed a heavy sigh. “Do you think I could forget that significant detail?”

  “I’m sorry. Of course not.”

  Laura struggled to maintain her focus on the quiet conversation going on above her. Blackness hovered very near, threatening to drag her back into the abyss of unconsciousness. Her entire body felt leaden, lifeless. She wasn’t sure she could move if she tried. She could open her eyes. Laura had managed to lift her heavy lids once or twice before Sandra and James Ed entered the room.

  How long had she been here? she wondered. Long enough that the sedative the doctor had administered had begun to wear off. Though still groggy, Laura’s mind was slowly clearing. But she couldn’t have been here too long. Twenty-four hours, maybe? Though Laura had no way of knowing the precise drug she had been given, she recognized the aftereffects. Whatever it was, it was strong and long lasting. She’d had it before….

  Before she had escaped her brother’s clutches. Before she fell in love with Nick and had Robby.

  A soul-deep ache wrenched through her. Laura moaned in spite of herself. Where was Robby? Was he safe? Oh God, she had to find her baby. But if she opened her eyes now they would know she was listening. Why hadn’t Nick helped her? Because he was one of them, Laura reminded herself. He had always been on their side. No one believed her. No one would help her.

  “She’s waking up,” James Ed warned, something that sounded vaguely like fear in his tone. “Where is the medication Dr. Beckman left?”

  “You go ahead and get ready for bed,” Sandra suggested. “You didn’t get much sleep last night with Laura’s arrival. I’ll see to her, and then I’ll join you.”

  James Ed released a long breath. “All right.”

  Laura heard the door close as James Ed left the room. Her heart thudded against her ribcage. She had to do something. Maybe Sandra would believe her. She opened her eyes and struggled to focus on her sister-in-law’s image. A golden glow from the lamp on the bedside table defined Sandra’s dark, slender features. Smiling, she sat down on the edge of the mattress at Laura’s side. Laura’s lethargic fingers fisted in the cool sheet and dragged it up around her neck, as if the thin linen would somehow protect her. She had to get away from here. Somehow.

  “Help me,” Laura whispered.

  “Oh, now, don’t you worry, everything is going to be fine.” Sandra smoothed a soothing hand over Laura’s hair. “You shouldn’t be frightened. James Ed and I only want the best for you, dear. Don’t you see that?”

  Her lids drooping with the overwhelming need to surrender, Laura mentally fought the sedative. She would not go back to sleep. She concentrated on staying awake. Don’t go to sleep, she told herself. You have to do this for Robby. Robby…oh God, would she ever see her baby again? And Nick? Nick was lost to her, too.

  Sandra retrieved something from the night table. Laura’s drowsy gaze followed her movements. A prescription bottle. Sandra slipped off the top and tapped two small pills into her palm. Laura frowned, trying to focus…to see more clearly. More medicine! She didn’t want more.

  “Here.” Sandra placed the medication against Laura’s lips. “Take these and rest, Laura. We want you to get well as soon as possible. Dr. Beckman said these would help.”

  Laura pressed her lips together and turned her head. She would not take anything else. She had to wake up. Tears burned her eyes and her body trembled with the effort required to resist.

  Sandra shook her head sympathetically. “Honey, if you don’t take the medication, James Ed will only make me call Dr. Beckman again. You don’t want that, do you?”

  A sob constricted Laura’s throat. Slowly, her lips trembling with the effort, she opened her mouth. Tears blurred her vision as Sandra pushed the pills past Laura’s lips. Laura took a small sip of the water Sandra offered next.

  “That’s a good girl,” Sandra said softly. She fussed with the covers around Laura and then stood. “You rest, honey, I’ll be right down the hall.”

  Laura watched as Sandra closed the door behind her. Laura quickly spat the two pills into her hand. She shuddered at the bitter aftertaste they left in her mouth. Her fingers curled into a fist around the dissolving medication. She cursed her brother, cursed God for allowing this to happen, then cursed herself for being a fool. Gritting her teeth with the effort, Laura forced her sluggish body to a sitting position. With the back of her hand she wiped at the bitter taste on her tongue. She shuddered again, barely restraining the urge to gag.

  Laura took a deep breath and surveyed the dimly lit room. She had to get out of here. But how would she get out? She would most likely be caught the moment she stepped into the hallway. Security was probably lurking out there somewhere. French doors and several windows lined one wall. The balcony, she remembered. The balcony at the back of the house. Maybe she could get out that way. A single door, probably to a bathroom or a closet, Laura surmised, stood partially open on the other side of the room. Still wearing the clothes she had arrived in, Laura pushed to her feet, then staggered across the room to what she hoped was a bathroom. Her legs were rubbery, and her head felt as if it might just roll off her shoulders like a runaway bowling ball.

  Cool tile suddenly took the place of the plush carpeting beneath her feet. Laura breathed a sigh of relief that the door did, in fact, lead to a bathroom. She lurched to the vanity and lowered he
r head to the faucet. Water. She moaned her relief at the feel of the refreshing liquid against her lips, on her tongue, and then as it slid down her parched throat. Laura rinsed the bitter taste from her mouth, then washed the gritty pill residue from her hand. She shivered as her foggy brain reacted to the sound of the running water, making her keenly aware of the need to relieve herself in another way.

  After taking care of that necessity, Laura caught sight of her reflection as she paused to wash her hands. The dim glow from the other room offered little illumination, but Laura could see that her eyes were swollen and red, and her face looked pale and puffy. She splashed cold water onto her face several times to help her wake up, then finger-combed her tousled hair. All she had to do was pull herself together enough to find a way to climb down from the balcony. Laura frowned when the coldness of the tile floor again invaded her senses. She needed her shoes. Where were her shoes?

  Laura lurched back into the bedroom. She searched the room, the closet, under the bed, everywhere she knew to look and to no avail. Her shoes were not to be found. Exhausted, Laura plopped onto the edge of the bed. She had to have shoes. It was too damned cold to make a run for it barefoot. She would have to head for some sort of cover—the woods, maybe. How could she run without her shoes?

  Think, Laura, she ordered her fuzzy brain. They must have removed her shoes when they took her jacket. She stared down at the stained T-shirt she wore. She had to remember. What room was she in when they took her jacket? The study or in this bedroom? Robby was depending on her. She had to get out of here. But somehow she needed to search the house first. Robby could be here. Her heart bumped into overdrive at the thought of how long it had been since she had seen her son. She let go a halting breath. He had been missing over twenty-four hours now, if her calculations were correct. She scanned the room for a clock, but didn’t see one. Laura squeezed her eyes shut then.

  Please God, keep my baby safe. I don’t care if I die tonight, she beseeched, just don’t let anything happen to my baby.

  Her body weak and trembling, Laura dropped to her hands and knees on the floor. For one long moment she wanted to curl into the fetal position and cry. Laura shook off the urge to close her eyes and allow the drug to drag her back into oblivion. She had to find those damned shoes. Slowly, carefully, she crawled around the large room and searched every square foot again. Still nothing. Too weary now to even crawl back to the bed. Laura leaned her head against the wall and allowed her eyes to close. She was so tired. She could rest for just one minute. She scrubbed a hand over her face…she could not go back to sleep…she had to find her shoes.

  To find Robby.

  All she needed was one more moment of rest….

  The blackness embraced Laura as she surrendered to the inevitable.

  LAURA WASN’T SURE how much time had passed when she awoke. Hours probably, her muscles cramped from the position in which she had fallen asleep. It was still night she knew since only the dimmest glow of light filtered through her closed, immensely heavy lids. Groaning, she sat up straighter and stretched her shoulders, first one side, then the other. She frowned, trying to remember what she was supposed to do. Her shoes. That’s right. She needed to find her shoes and get out of here. Laura shoved the hair back from her face and licked her dry lips.

  “Okay,” she mumbled. Shoes, she needed her shoes. She had to get up first. Laura forced her reluctant lids open and blinked to focus in the near darkness. Eerie pink eyes behind a black ski mask met her bleary gaze. Laura opened her mouth to scream, but a gloved hand clamped over her lips.

  “So, Sleeping Beauty is awake,” a male voice rasped.

  Laura drew back from the threat, the wall halted her retreat, his hand pressed down more brutally over her mouth. She shook her head and tried to beg for her life, but her words were stifled by black leather.

  “You,” he said disgustedly. “Have caused me a great deal of extra trouble.” Something sharp pricked her neck. Laura’s heart slammed mercilessly against her rib cage. He had a knife. A cry twisted in her throat.

  He jerked Laura to her feet. The remaining fog in her brain cleared instantly. This man had come to kill her. She was going to die.

  No! her mind screamed. She had to find Robby.

  Laura stiffened against him. He was strong, but not very large. If she struggled hard enough—

  “Don’t move,” he growled next to her ear. The tip of the knife pierced the skin at the base of her throat again.

  Laura suppressed the violent tremble that threatened to wrack her body. Blood trickled down and over her collarbone. Hysteria threatened her flimsy hold on calm. She had to think! Her frantic gaze latched on to the open French doors. He had probably entered her room from the balcony. If he could come in that way, she could escape by the same route. All she had to do was get away from him…from the knife.

  His arm tightened around her as if she had uttered her thoughts aloud. “Time to die, princess,” he murmured, then licked her cheek. The foul stench of his breath sent nausea rising into her throat.

  Laura swallowed convulsively. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused on a mental picture of her son to escape the reality of what was happening. Her sweet, sweet child. The tip of the knife trailed over one breast.

  “Too bad you didn’t stay gone.” He twisted her face up to his. Those icy eyes flashed with rage.

  The air vaporized in Laura’s lungs. He was going to kill her and there was no one to help her. No one. Nick didn’t believe her. And her own brother had probably hired this man.

  “Now you have to die.” He eased his hand from her lips only to press his mouth over hers. The feel of wool from his ski mask chafed her cheeks. Laura struggled. The knife blade quickly came up to her throat again.

  Laura wilted when he forced his tongue into her mouth. Tears seeped past her tightly closed lids. Her entire body convulsed at the sickening invasion. Rage like she had never experienced before surged through her next. Laura’s eyes opened wide and she clamped down hard with her teeth on the bastard’s tongue. The sting of the knife blade slid down her chest when he snapped his head back. Laura jerked out of his momentarily slack hold. She flung herself toward the balcony. She had to escape.

  “Come back here, you bitch,” he growled, his words slightly slurred.

  Laura slammed the French doors shut behind her. He pushed hard against them. Laura fought with all her body weight to prevent the doors from opening. Her feet slipped on the slick painted surface of the balcony. One door opened slightly before she could regain her footing. He reached a hand between the doors and grabbed her by the hair. Laura screamed. The sound echoed in the darkness around her. She slammed against the door with every ounce of force she had. The man swore, released her and jerked his arm back inside.

  Too weak to stand any longer, Laura dropped to her knees. She held on to the door handles with all her might. The handles shook in her hold. She leaned harder against the doors. Surely someone would come into her room at any moment. James Ed had around-the-clock security, Laura was certain. If they would come, then she would have proof that she had been telling the truth all along. Seconds clicked by. Someone had to come, didn’t they? A sob twisted inside her chest. She was so tired. And no one was coming. No one cared.

  Laura screamed when the door shoved hard against her, hard enough to dislodge her weight. She scrambled away from the threat. Panic had obliterated all reason. She had to get away. To find her child.

  “Laura!”

  Laura stilled. Was that Nick’s voice? Hope welled in her chest. He was coming back for her.

  “Laura.” James Ed crouched next to her. “What happened?”

  Laura lifted her gaze to his, disappointment shuddered through her. It wasn’t Nick. She must have imagined his voice. “Please help me,” she pleaded with her brother.

  “Sweet Jesus!” James Ed stared at her chest. “Laura, are you hurt?”

  She stared down at herself. Blood. Her T-shirt was red with blood. Her
blood. The blackness threatened again. Laura struggled to remain conscious. She was bleeding. The knife. Her gaze flew to her brother’s. “He tried to kill me,” she murmured.

  James Ed shook his head, his face lined with worry. “Who tried to kill you, Laura? There’s no one here.”

  Laura looked past James Ed to the bedroom she had barely escaped with her life. The overhead lights were on now. A man in a black suit stood in the middle of the room. Security. Laura remembered him from when she had first arrived. She frowned. Security had to have seen the intruder. Surely he couldn’t have gotten past a professional security team. Could he be hiding somewhere in the house? Why weren’t they looking for him?

  Sandra was next to her now. “Let’s get you back inside and see exactly what you’ve done to yourself.”

  “No,” Laura denied. “There was a man. He tried to kill me. He had a knife.”

  “Come on, Laura.” James Ed helped Laura to her feet. “Don’t make this any worse than it already is.”

  “I found this, sir.”

  The man held a large kitchen knife gingerly between his thumb and forefinger. Light glistened from the wide blade. Blood—her blood, Laura realized—stained the otherwise shiny edge.

  Sandra scrutinized the knife. “It’s from our kitchen,” she said slowly, her gaze shifting quickly to James Ed.

  “Dear God,” he breathed.

  Despite the lingering effects of the sedative, Laura realized the implications. “No,” she protested. “There was someone here. He—”

  “That’s enough, Laura,” James Ed commanded harshly. She glared up at him. “We’ve had more than enough excitement for one night,” he added a bit more calmly. “Now, let’s get you back in bed and attend to your injuries.”

  Shaking her head, Laura jerked from his grasp. “You can’t keep me here.” Laura backed away from him. “I have to find my son.”

  James Ed only stared at her, something akin to sympathy glimmered in his blue eyes. For one fleeting instant Laura wondered if she could be wrong about her brother. Probably not.