by Laura Scott
When Michael slid in behind the wheel, she placed a hand on his arm. “Try not to let them get to you. I was blunt about how you and Miles saved my life and Abby’s, too. And I can’t remember if I thanked you properly for that.”
“Not necessary, but I appreciate you sticking up for me.” He pulled into traffic, then glanced at her. “Do you want to stop at the hospital first to see Miles, before I take you to pick up Abby?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Sure, that works.”
“I’m going to drop you off, then run over to see if my buddy has finished up with the SIM card. I’ll be twenty to thirty minutes, tops.”
“Sounds good.” She twisted her fingers together, suddenly nervous about seeing Miles alone. During their intense time together, she’d always had Abby with her as a buffer.
Granted, being in the hospital wasn’t exactly alone. There would be nurses and other hospital staff around.
She took several deep breaths, reminding herself that she and Miles were friends, nothing more. Okay, maybe she cared about him, maybe she’d even fallen in love with him, but so what? She doubted he felt the same way.
Paige hadn’t imagined his reaction when she mentioned what a great father he’d be. He might like her, but not enough to take on a ready-made family.
Miles was the kind of guy who took his responsibility seriously. He’d promised to keep her safe, and he had. She could see him continuing to befriend her and Abby, but nothing more.
She licked her dry lips. Maybe she should do both of them a favor and say goodbye.
“You okay?” Michael asked, his expression mirroring his concern.
She pasted a smile on her face. “Yes, I’m fine.” She belatedly realized he’d pulled up in front of the hospital’s main entrance. “Okay, I’ll see you in roughly thirty minutes?”
“Yep.”
She pushed open the car door and stepped out, enjoying the mild temperature. Michael waved at her as he drove away, and she resolutely turned and walked inside the building.
Trinity Medical Center was an impressive facility, housing the only level one trauma center in the city of Milwaukee. She retraced her steps from last night, finding the proper set of elevators that would take her to the third floor.
The hallways were busy with hospital personnel, although Miles’s room was down at the end of the corridor, near a stairwell. She walked over to the doorway, listening for a moment to make sure she wasn’t interrupting any personal care.
The room was silent, so she knocked lightly on the door, hoping he wasn’t sleeping. “Miles? It’s me, Paige.”
“Come in.”
His voice sounded strained, and she thought he must be in a lot of pain. She pushed open the door and walked into the room. “Hey, are you okay? Do you want me to find your nurse?”
“Well, well, if it isn’t Mrs. Paige Olson.”
She froze when she saw the man standing on the opposite side of Miles’s bed, her eyes widening in horror as she realized he was holding a gun.
“Leave her alone, Eastham,” Miles rasped. “She’s not a part of this.”
Eastham? As in the owner of ACE Intel? The guy the police were supposedly bringing in for questioning?
“Oh, but I believe she is.” His smile was feral and she instinctively took a step backward.
“Don’t move,” Eastham said in a harsh tone, as he rounded the bed, keeping the gun trained on her. “You have something that belongs to me. And I want it back.”
Paige shot a helpless look at Miles. She didn’t have the SIM card, Michael did.
Only Michael wasn’t there because he’d dropped her off. Unfortunately, she and Miles were on their own.
SEVENTEEN
Miles debated pushing the call button to get help, but he was fairly certain that if a nurse came into the room, Eastham would only take her hostage, too. He’d prefer the cops, but he couldn’t summon the authorities from his hospital bed without Eastham noticing.
Right now, they had the upper hand. Eastham wanted the SIM card and likely wouldn’t hurt anyone until he had it.
A wave of fury hit hard when Eastham grabbed Paige’s arm and shoved his gun into her side. Never in his life had he felt this powerless. Not even when Dawn was dying. “Let her go,” he bit out.
“Where is it?” Eastham hissed. “Sasha told me that Whitfield solved the technology glitch and documented his findings. Where is the information now?”
“In a safe place,” Paige said. Her voice was steady, but her wide eyes behind her glasses betrayed the depth of her fear.
“Fine. That means we’re going for a little ride.” Eastham nudged her with the gun, making her wince.
“No. I’ll go.” Miles swung his legs over the edge of the bed, ignoring the shaft of pain that shot through his chest and down his arm. He grabbed on to the side rail of the bed with his uninjured arm to steady himself. “Whitfield sent the information to me. She’s just an innocent bystander.”
“You just had surgery. You can’t leave the hospital,” Paige protested.
“I can and I will.” He was grateful to be wearing pajama pants beneath his hospital gown. The room spun for a moment, then righted itself.
“Miles, please stay,” Paige begged, then glanced at Eastham. “I need to call Michael Callahan. He’s the one who actually has the information, but I’m sure he’ll meet us wherever you want him to.”
“She’s right,” Miles agreed. “My brother has what you need. Here, I’ll call him right now.”
“No!” Eastham barked when Miles reached for the phone sitting on his bedside table. “No one calls but me.”
Nodding in agreement, he dropped his hand. “I’ll give you the number.”
Keeping the gun up against Paige’s side, Eastham lifted the handset, placed it on the table and punched in the numbers Miles recited.
There was ringing, but then the call went to Mike’s voice mail. Regret roiled through him when he noticed Paige’s shoulders slump. He hated the fact that she was in danger, yet again.
Eastham disconnected from the call. “Enough stalling. You’re going to take me to where the information is. There’s a stairwell right outside this room.” He prodded Paige in the side. “Start walking.”
The flash of helplessness in Paige’s eyes sliced Miles’s heart. He couldn’t bear the thought of her leaving with Eastham at gunpoint. If only he’d told Michael to bring the SIM card here.
“I’m coming with you.” Miles ripped the IV out of his arm and stuffed his feet into a pair of hospital slippers. “Trust me, my brother will bring what you want to save me.”
Eastham hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. One wrong move and you’re both dead.”
It wasn’t likely he’d kill them yet, but Miles wasn’t about to argue with him, either. A wave of dizziness washed over him, forcing him to put his hand against the wall to steady himself. For a moment he closed his eyes and prayed for God to keep them safe. Especially Paige.
“You first, Callahan,” Eastham said, keeping Paige close to his side. The owner of ACE Intel was smart; he knew Miles wouldn’t do anything crazy with Paige’s life at stake.
Miles drew the door open and stepped out in the hall. When he saw his brother standing there, he gaped and gestured with his hand toward the stairwell, silently telling him to hide.
Mike must have been listening at the door, because he instantly ducked into the stairwell. Miles felt calmer now, knowing they weren’t completely alone, and took a few steps forward, glancing around to make sure no one was paying any attention.
There was a bit of commotion in a room near the nurse’s station, some sort of medical emergency by the way people were scurrying around, so Miles glanced at Eastham and Paige. “We’re clear.”
“Into the stairwell,” Eastham ordered.
Miles walked toward the door, trying to formulate a plan. He had to assume Eastham would push Paige through the doorway first, holding the gun on her from behind. Having the element of surprise would work to their advantage, and he could only hope and pray that Eastham wouldn’t shoot Paige outright knowing that the sound of gunfire would bring people running.
Taking a steadying breath, he pushed open the door leading into the stairwell. From the corner of his eye he could see that Mike was flattened against the wall to the right of the doorway, but he made sure not to move his head or glance in that direction.
The landing wasn’t large, so Miles had little choice but to take a step down onto the first stair. Then he turned and glanced back as Paige came through the doorway.
Mike waited until Eastham’s gun was visible before making his move. Miles anticipated the moment of his brother’s attack, grabbing Paige’s arm and tugging her down and out of the way, while stepping back up on the landing so that he stood between her and Eastham.
Mike twisted the gun away from Eastham, and then turned the weapon on the other man. “Don’t move.”
The guy didn’t listen. He abruptly turned and ran down the hall of the hospital, dodging between the hospital staff who were still working in the room near the nurse’s station. Miles heard someone shout at Eastham to watch where he was going but the guy continued to run.
“Come on, we need to notify security,” Miles urged. He glanced at Paige. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, you’re the one who ripped out your IV.” She looked annoyed, but he was just grateful they’d managed to get away from Eastham.
“I notified the police before I came up here,” Mike told him. “They should arrive any minute.”
“How did you know to do that?” Paige asked. “I was afraid we’d have to stall for thirty minutes until you returned.”
“I noticed the red Jeep parked in the parking lot,” Mike said. “It looked like the one that followed me, so I had a friend run the license plate. It was registered to Krantz, aka Sasha Jorgensen. Since she’s still locked up in jail, I knew that Eastham must be the one driving it.”
“Look, here come the police and security now,” Miles said with relief.
“I hope they have someone covering the Jeep,” Mike muttered. “Or he’s going to get away.”
“Everyone all right?” The first sheriff’s deputy to reach them asked.
“Yes, but Aaron Eastham took off.”
“Don’t worry, we have him in custody,” the deputy assured them. “We caught up with him when he ran into a patient in a wheelchair. Glad to know there aren’t any other nasty surprises up here.”
“This is his weapon.” Mike handed the gun to the deputy. “I was able to get it away from him just before he took off.”
“You’ve arrested Eastham?” Paige echoed, hanging on to Miles’s arm. “He can’t hurt us anymore?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the deputy assured her. “I’m assuming you’ll be pressing charges for attempted kidnapping?”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “If it means keeping him in jail, I’ll absolutely press charges.”
“I will, too,” Miles added. “Eastham admitted that he wanted the information from Sci-Tech. I’m betting you’ll be able to link him through some sort of money trail to Krantz, aka Jorgensen. I know he’s the one who hired her and the other gunmen who were chasing us.”
The deputy took notes, and it was several minutes before they’d finished giving their statements.
“So, it’s finally over,” Paige said in low voice.
“Yeah. It’s finally over.” Miles hobbled back toward his room. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms, but there was blood dripping down his arm from where the IV had been, and to be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure she’d appreciate the gesture, considering she’d been placed in harm’s way once again.
Because of him.
Then he frowned, realizing she was here, alone. “Wait a minute, where’s Abby?”
“Mom’s house,” Mike answered. “If you guys are okay here for a while, I’m going to pick up the information my buddy took off the SIM card.”
“Mom’s?” Miles echoed in surprise. His heart thumped in his chest, thinking about how welcoming his family had been toward Paige. He liked it, a lot.
“Miles? Miles Callahan?” A familiar female voice made him wince. He turned to see a blonde nurse he’d briefly dated.
“Hi, Sandra,” he said, with a definite lack of enthusiasm. “How are you?”
“Better than you. What happened?” She took a step toward him, as if to put her hand on his arm, and he instinctively backed away, sliding closer to Paige.
“Work-related injury, but I’m fine.” He didn’t like the way both Paige and his brother were looking curiously at Sandra.
Sandra’s gaze narrowed a bit when she saw Paige. “Well, glad to see you’re doing all right, since I never heard from you after our last date.”
Miles had no idea how to respond to that, so he remained silent. When Mike smirked, he sent his brother a dark scowl.
“Watch out for this one,” Sandra said to Paige. “He’s a heartbreaker.” Then she turned on her heel and walked away.
“Way to go, Miles,” Mike said dryly.
“Knock it off,” he said, wishing that Paige hadn’t witnessed Sandra’s snarky attitude. “I’m sorry, Paige. Trust me, that was a really long time ago.”
“It’s fine,” Paige said matter-of-factly, but she didn’t meet his gaze. “Listen, I think it’s best if Michael takes me back to pick up Abby. I don’t want to impose on your mom for longer than she’s anticipating.”
Miles swallowed hard, realizing how much he didn’t want her to go. Not until they had a chance to talk. Maybe he had earned his reputation as a flirt, but it was never his intent to hurt anyone. It was only about having fun, keeping things light. Social. Paige was the only one who knew the truth about how he’d suffered after Dawn’s death. His lighthearted approach to women had been a way to keep himself from getting hurt.
“Paige, will you please stay? Just for a little while? I’ll call my mom. I’m sure she won’t mind.”
Paige hesitated, then gave a jerky nod. “Okay, I’ll stay.” The words were encouraging, but the solemn expression on her face wasn’t.
Miles knew that he needed to figure out a way to convince her to give him a chance. To prove that he’d changed.
Because his future would be bleak and lonely without her.
* * *
Paige followed Miles into his room, then clasped her hands nervously in front of her. Last night Maddy had mentioned how Miles had been a bit of a flirt, so she shouldn’t be surprised to see one of his old girlfriends. Yet she also knew that Miles had buried his feelings after Dawn’s death, so she didn’t think he was being intentionally hurtful.
He was a decent guy. One she was sure would someday find the perfect woman for him. Unfortunately, that woman wasn’t her. She had her daughter to be concerned with, and Abby had to be her first priority.
Yet, now that it was time to say goodbye, she was finding it difficult to find a way to say the words.
“You should call the nurse so she can replace your IV,” she said, once he settled on the edge of his bed.
“Later.” He held out his hand and she stepped close enough to take it. He surprised her by pulling her close enough that he could rest his uninjured hand lightly on her waist. “I’m so sorry Eastham grabbed you like that. I hate knowing I placed you in danger.”
“It’s not your fault,” she assured him.
He stared at her for a long moment. “Paige, I know that we were thrown together by chance, but I want you to know how much I care about you and Abby.”
She blinked in confusion. “I ca
re about you, too, Miles. You’ve saved our lives over and over again.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You and Abby saved me, too, Paige. You showed me the way back to my faith.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She drew in a deep breath, telling herself that keeping Miles as a friend was more important than any romantic feelings she secretly harbored. “I hope once you’ve recovered from your injury you’ll come and visit. I’m sure Abby would love to see you.”
He tipped his head to the side, regarding her thoughtfully. “Just Abby?”
“No, of course not. I’ll be happy to see you, too. I hope we can always be friends.” She did her best to smile, even though she felt like crying.
“Friends,” Miles repeated with a frown. “I was hoping for more.”
What? She must not have heard him correctly. “I don’t understand.”
“After losing Dawn to cancer, I avoided serious relationships. I lost a part of my faith and I didn’t want to open myself up to that kind of pain, ever again. But that was before I met you.” He tightened his grasp on her hand. “You’ve changed my life, Paige. You and your daughter. You’re probably not going to believe me, but I’ve fallen in love with you. With both of you.”
He’s right, she thought. I don’t believe him.
“Miles.” She placed the palm of her hand against his cheek, the way her daughter had done last night. “There’s no need to rush into anything. You’ve just had surgery, and right now you need to focus on recovering.”
He mimicked her gesture, cupping her cheek with his much larger hand. “This isn’t about being injured. I know how I feel and that’s not going to change. My heart belongs to you and to Abby. I know it might be too soon for you, but I’m willing to wait. I’m just asking that you give me a chance. A chance to prove I’ve changed.”
His response was unexpected. Travis would have tried to convince her that he was the best thing for her and that she couldn’t live without him. Miles was putting her feelings first.
At that moment, she understood that walking away from Miles Callahan wasn’t an option. And maybe, just maybe, being here with him was part of God’s plan.