by Dawn Brower
“Everyone is on the lookout for him.” He sighed. “A hotline has been set up for people to call with any information on his whereabouts. Other than that, there isn’t much else we can do. The leads dried up, and he’s still at large.”
“So, what about Claire and Reese?” Matt said. “Surely, he’ll come after one of them, maybe even both.”
Claire started to shake and sat in a nearby chair. “I can’t do this again.” Her voice wobbled as she spoke. “I barely survived the last time. How did this happen?”
Carter wanted to take it all back and tell her it was a sick joke. That Nolan hadn’t escaped prison and remained locked inside a cell. He’d give anything to make it all go away. He hated that he hurt his sister in any way. He’d always done his very best to protect her, and he failed. “I promise I won’t rest until he’s found. I won’t let him touch you ever again.”
“You can’t make that promise,” Claire said. “No one can. Maybe I should go away until he’s captured.”
“You can’t live your life like that.” Olivia chewed on her bottom lip. “What if they never catch him? Are you going to run forever? What about your wedding?”
“What about it?” Claire took a deep breath. “I don’t want a big ceremony anyway. We can take a vacation—maybe go to Vegas. While we’re there, we can elope and have a honeymoon. If we’re lucky, Nolan will be in a cage by the time we return.”
“I hate to say this...” Carter blew out a breath. “But that’s not a bad idea. Why don’t you call Mother and have her set up a family dinner? We need to discuss everything first, and then, yes, go out of town for a few days.”
If Claire stayed, he wouldn’t be able to protect her and Reese. Dane would help, but they would all have to stay in one place together. There wasn’t a safe house big enough to make that happen. Logistically, it would be easier if they separated, and removed one of the targets from the general vicinity.
“I’m not sure I like the idea of eloping,” Matt replied. “But I do like the idea of having you as my wife sooner rather than later. I wish we were doing this under better circumstances.”
“That’s true,” Claire agreed. “We can decide later if we want to do the wedding thing. Vacation is on the table either way.” She turned to Olivia and met her gaze. “I’m going to leave it up to you to inform Dani of the situation and have Amy reschedule all of our appointments indefinitely. If something needs to be handled, you will be left in charge—Dani can handle anything else.”
Daniella Sousa was Matt’s partner at the law firm. She didn’t do much since she started her foundation, but still handled some of the case load from time to time. Carter didn’t know much about her other than she was the long lost daughter of the Brady family. Something they didn’t discover until they crossed paths several months ago. She’d married the love of her life recently and seemed happy.
“I’ll see to it all,” Olivia agreed. “Go take care of everything you need to go away. I’ll see Carter out.”
He rolled his eyes and turned to Claire. “Call me after you speak to Mother. I am going to check on Reese and tell her about your plans.”
“Oh God, I didn’t even think of her...” Claire swallowed hard. “What if he goes to her instead of me?”
“She’ll be fine,” Carter reassured her. “Dane is with her, and we will protect her. She’s stubborn and won’t want to leave her patients. You know how she is.”
“I do,” Claire said. “All right. Promise you’ll call me every day while we are gone or I’ll return. I need to know everyone is safe.”
He nodded. “You have my word. Now I must go.” Carter pulled her into a hug and then turned to leave. Olivia hot on his heels to make sure he left. He really wanted to know what her deal was. He stopped at the door and picked up all her papers and put them into a neat pile, then handed them to her. “There. Never say I didn’t do anything for you.” He was somewhat amused she’d left them on the floor to follow him around the office. Maybe she liked him more than she let on.
Her mouth fell open, but no words came out. Maybe there was something good about the day after all. For the first time ever, he’d left Olivia West speechless. Carter smiled as he headed to his car. Perhaps he might be lucky enough to achieve that miracle again. For now though, he had a felon to catch and not a lot of time to do it. Olivia would have to wait, but sometime soon he’d figure her out.
Once he didn’t have to worry about his sisters and a maniacal killer... The job of a police officer was never done, and some days it felt like his job could be too much to bear. He hoped he had the strength to see this through, and at the end, they all survived it.
CHAPTER THREE
After Reese finished examining Halie, she went to the nurses’ station to order tests. Lana was pecking on the keyboard of one of the computers when she stopped. Her red hair was pulled back into a firm ponytail. She frowned as she stared at the monitor. If Reese had a closer relationship with the nurse, she’d ask Lana what bothered her, but as they were barely acquaintances, she held back.
“I’d like these tests done on Halie Morris as soon as possible.” She handed her chart to Lana. “I wrote them down. Can you let me know when the results are in?”
Lana took the folder from her and stared at the notations. “What do you think is wrong with her?”
“I’d rather not say until I understand more.” She had her suspicions... The problem was she didn’t know if she wanted to be correct about them or hope someone had abused her. If that little girl had what Reese thought... She could still survive the illness—maybe. As sad as abuse was, at least she’d have a better chance at living. The authorities could step in and take her someplace safe. A disease was much harder to fight.
Lana probably guessed what Reese thought by the tests she’d ordered. The nurse was too good at her job to say it outright though. She’d keep her thoughts to herself and protect the patient. Reese had always respected Lana for that. Maybe she should try to be friends with her. She could use a good friend... There was a time she could always count on her sister, but she’d damaged something fundamental in their relationship by dating Nolan. Something she wished she could take back every day. How could she have fallen for his false charm?
Claire would never be so uncouth as to push Reese out of her life forever; however, she wasn’t as forthcoming as she used to be. At least she’d found true love with Matthew Price. They were so sickeningly devoted to each other that it gave her a complex. Would she ever have something like that? Would she know it if she found it? Some days she didn’t think she deserved it, and others, she hoped for the possibility.
Before she could have any possibility of a romantic life, she needed to start working on herself and make friends. Which was why she still stood at the nurses’ station trying to figure out what to say. “Did you need something else?” Lana asked.
“No, I mean...” She chewed on her bottom lip. “This might sound forward, but...”
“You’re wondering about the baby.” Lana chuckled and ran her hand over her growing belly. She had to be at least six months along now...
“Um, well...” She had, but that hadn’t been what she was going to say. Truthfully, she had no clue what she wanted to say to her. “I am curious. You and Sullivan moved fast.”
When she spoke, the love she shared with her husband could be heard in her tone. “Sully was never one to slow down once he decided on something he wanted. Me, the baby, and all that entails—he went full-steam ahead, and there was no looking back.” Her lips tilted upward into a soft, almost-romantic smile. What the two of them shared... It was enough to make a person hope they found something equally amazing, but realizing at the same time it would prove to be infinitely impossible. No two relationships were the same, and trying to mimic Sullivan and Lana’s was futile. Yet, it made her want to find her one true love.
Reese fully couldn’t understand what they had. She’d never loved like that. What must it be like to be so in love tha
t you’d die for it? So many couples in Envill went through hell and back to come out of it with the love of their lives. Lana and Sullivan were no different. They’d had their own demons to fight and now they had a baby on the way.
“I see,” Reese mumbled, but she didn’t. “Do you know what it is?”
At least that seemed like a safe enough topic. Most people were curious about the sex of the baby. “Yeah,” Lana said and then laughed. “It’s a baby.”
“Ha ha.” Reese rolled her eyes. “I meant is it a boy or a girl?”
“I know. I’m giving you a hard time. Sullivan and I decided to be surprised. Hopefully we’re not disappointed, but we have a fifty-fifty chance either way.” Lana winked. “I think he’s hoping it’s a boy. I’m counting down the days until it’s no longer a parasite draining the energy out of me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic to become a mom, but I’m so tired all the time.”
“I wouldn’t know...” Well, in a way she did. She studied what happened to a pregnant woman in medical school. She didn’t have any firsthand experience to draw from. Lana did look tired though. “Maybe you should get some rest.”
Lana took a deep breath. “Don’t you start in on me too. I’m fine, and I’m starting to think it doesn’t matter how much sleep I get—I’m always tired.” Her hands flew across the keyboard as she imputed the test requests into the patient file. “But, if you’re really worried about me, how about you join Jessica and me for lunch. I could use a buffer.”
“For what?” Last she heard Lana and Jessica were the best of friends. “I thought you liked her.”
“Oh, I do,” Lana reassured her. “But she’s been super overprotective since she found out I was, you know...” She glanced around and then held her hand over the side of her mouth and said in a loud whisper, “Pregnant.”
“Um, I think the cat’s out of the bag there. It’s a bit obvious.”
Lana narrowed her gaze. “Has anyone ever told you that you have no sense of humor?”
“No.” Because normally she did—after Nolan, she hadn’t found much to laugh about. “I think I need a vacation.”
Movement from down the hallway caught her attention. She turned her head and frowned. Dane headed toward them with a purposeful gait. She didn’t really want to deal with him. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a lot of choices in the matter.
“That can be arranged,” Dane said as he walked up. “Would make my job a hell of a lot easier if you did.”
“I can’t take one now.” She’d mostly said it to make conversation any way. It seemed like the thing to say to explain her lack of humor without depressing Lana by disclosing the truth about her past. “There are too many people depending on me.”
“The words of a workaholic,” Lana offered. “I work with a lot of her breed. There’s no talking her into time off. They do it when they are forced to.”
“I see that.” Dane smiled at Lana. “What about you? You up there in their ranks?”
Lana wrinkled her nose. “I’ve already had one forced vacation and soon to have another one.” Lana had been in a car accident and had been on medical leave afterward before she married Sullivan. “I don’t need anyone to push me anywhere—at least not yet. If this belly gets any bigger, I might need to commandeer a wheelchair.”
“Did you need something?” Reese asked Dane. She wanted him to go away. Something about him unnerved her, and she didn’t want to decipher it yet. Her whole body hummed with an unnamable energy whenever he was around—almost as if she anticipated something thrilling to spark between them. She needed some space to figure it out, and he wasn’t giving her any.
Earlier, she’d practically accused him of being Halie’s father. He’d denied it, but they did have a similar look. She couldn’t help wondering about it; however, she never fully believed he’d hurt a child. Reese might not have ever known him well, but she had an idea of his character. He’d always been reserved and kind. Being a potentially abusive father didn’t fit with the person she’d known since they were in high school. “You don’t need to stay here if you don’t want to.”
“In that, you would be wrong,” he replied. “It’s my job to keep you safe.”
“Oh?” Lana lifted a brow. “Did I miss something?”
Drat. She shouldn’t have brought it up. “Nolan Pratt may have escaped...” For the thousandth time, she wished she’d never met that man.
“Does Ren know? He’ll want to talk to Dani—and the law firm—they all might be in danger...” Lana picked up her phone and started dialing. “And Claire...”
Reese had forgotten that her sister was beloved by so many. She should resent her for that. Claire was a good person though, and she could never hate her sister for anything. Reese had always had problems making friends, and that hadn’t really been Claire’s fault in any way. Sisters were easy to blame though, and Reese had made Claire her target on more than one occasion.
Still she was grown up enough to realize that doing it was wrong. She’d made her own decisions, and no one was to blame except her. Reese had to live with her choices and for the most part she didn’t have too many regrets. She’d focused on her career, and her personal life had fallen apart in the process. Maybe if she’d done more in that area of her life she wouldn’t have started dating Nolan to begin with.
She should never have listened to her mother about him. He’d been awful in high school, and that should have been an easy sign for her to follow. Her mother had convinced her that people changed, and she shouldn’t judge him by his teenage antics. Nolan had done the rest with his easy charm and handsome face.
“Easy,” Dane said as he rested a hand on Lana’s arm. “Carter is taking care of Claire. He’ll report back soon.”
Her dear brother had run off to warn their sister, and left Dane behind to look after her. All right, maybe she was a little bitter. It was entirely her fault for the way things were in her life, but she couldn’t help feeling a little left out. Claire and Carter had a strong bond. Sure, Carter loved her too and wanted to protect her; however, he didn’t call her and check on her or invite her to things like he did Claire. It was past time Reese took a long hard look at her life and decided what she really wanted.
“Oh good,” Lana said as she placed her phone down. “Ren didn’t answer. I forgot he was in surgery.”
“It’ll be fine,” Reese said. “I’m sure they’ll catch him soon and all this worry will be for nothing.” God, she hoped so.
“He’s a menace. If he goes after one of you again...”
Except he hadn’t gone after her last time—he’d been obsessed with Claire. The bastard probably dated Reese to rub it in her sister’s face. Something she didn’t quite get... He’d broken up with Claire to date her. Why would he do that and then stalk her? Did he regret that decision, or was it because he happened to be cracked in the head? Reese was going to drive herself nuts trying to figure out the motivations of an insane person. She should forget about it and move on.
“Matt won’t let anything happen to Claire. I bet he’ll make her move in with him now.” Lana’s lips tilted upward. “I helped him after his accident and Claire gave him hell. Do you think she’ll ever say yes and marry him?”
The sound of footsteps echoed through the hall. They all turned to see who headed toward them. All the talk about Nolan must have made them all a little jumpy. Carter stomped over and nodded at them. “Did I hear you talking about Matt and Claire?”
“Yeah,” Reese said, relieved it wasn’t Nolan—though she doubted he’d waltz up in plain sight. He’d be sneaky about it and take them all by surprise if he decided to show his face. “Is she all right?”
“They’re all fine. We’re having dinner at Mom’s house tonight.”
“Do we have to?” Her mother had been relentless since the whole Nolan fiasco. Reese had no desire to see her for any reason, and in fact, avoided her mother as much as possible. “She’s going to be awful.”
“But she has to know
what’s going on. She might even be a potential target too.”
He was right. She hated it though and wished otherwise. “How did Claire take the news?”
She had to stop being selfish and think of the people in her life. If she wanted friends, and to one day fall in love, she had to get over herself. Everything wasn’t about her.
“Not well,” Carter said. “Matt’s arranging to take her out of town. They might even elope while they’re gone.”
“Did she say yes?” Lana clapped her hands excitedly. “I have to call her.”
Lana grabbed her phone and waddled away. So much for going with her and Jessica to lunch... It was probably for the best. With Nolan on the loose, she didn’t want to put other people in danger. There was always tomorrow to work on her people skills.
“They are going to be there tonight?”
“Yes,” Carter said, then turned to Dane. “I want you to come too. We need to plan how to keep Reese safe until Nolan is caught.”
“Count me in,” he replied and then grinned. “I know how much your mother loves me.”
Their mother hated him. She’d always thought him far beneath Nolan. Rachel Jackson couldn’t have been more wrong. They might share a similar gene pool, but Dane Hunter was a far better man. Reese might have been blinded by Nolan’s golden charm, but she saw things much clearer now. Sure, she’d had a momentary lapse in judgment with both men; however, she hoped she’d gotten better at seeing people for who they really were. Dane wouldn’t hurt a child, but she wouldn’t put anything past Nolan.
“I’m going to need to go home to change at some point.” She sighed. “I still have to go on rounds. What time is this blasted dinner?”