Harlequin Intrigue March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2
Page 54
Hunter moved around so he was cradling her head in his lap. “What did he do to her?” he breathed more to himself than to anyone else. Had she been drugged? “The bastard was going to throw her in with the pigs.”
“That’s why I shot him,” Nick replied. “I was afraid he was about to toss her right in, and those pigs look like they are starving to death. Sheriff Black is on his way, and needless to say we’ve got a crime scene here.”
“And where in the hell is Peter Waverly?” Hunter said as he stroked a strand of hair away from Colette’s forehead.
“Maybe we’ll find something inside that will lead us to him,” Greg said.
“We’ll ransack the damned place until we find the connection,” Nick replied.
“There’s got to be something that will lead us to Peter,” Barry added.
Hunter barely listened to the conversation. His sole concentration was on Colette. He stroked his fingers over her forehead, down her fevered face. Dear God, why wasn’t she awake? What all had she endured in the hands of this madman? It appeared she had been beaten around her face—what injuries couldn’t he see?
Thank God he heard the ambulance approaching, the siren screaming with urgency. He needed them to take her, to fix her. He needed to see her smile again. He needed, wanted to see the beautiful blue of her eyes again.
He didn’t care whether she had loved him or used him. None of that mattered right now. He just wanted her to be okay. He wanted her to survive this horrendous ordeal and live to thrive.
Within fifteen minutes the ambulance screamed away from the scene with Hunter in hot pursuit. She had regained consciousness as they’d loaded her into the ambulance, although Hunter hadn’t been able to speak to her.
It felt like déjà vu as he parked in the hospital lot and ran for the emergency waiting room. Once again Sandy Silver sat at the desk.
“I know why you’re here, and I’ve already told Dr. Lockwood you would be here,” she said sympathetically. “He’ll be out to speak to you when he can.”
Hunter gave a nod and then sat in one of the chairs. Once again he was alone in the waiting room. How badly had she been hurt by Hank? What had she endured in the couple of hours she’d been in captivity? What kind of horrible pain had she suffered?
Thank God Nick had shot Hank and not Hunter. It would make the investigation into Hank’s death clean. Hunter just wished they had captured or killed Peter. As long as that man was out there, Colette would always be at risk.
She would probably go on the run again. An aching hollowness blew through him as he thought of never seeing her again.
Emily lied to deceive. Colette lied to save her and her daughter’s lives. Nick’s words repeated in Hunter’s head. Everything she’d lied about had been for self-preservation from a man who wanted her dead. And Hunter now understood what kind of sick monster she’d been running from.
How could he be angry with her for her lies? All he wanted...all he needed to know was if she’d lied about caring for him. She’d told him she loved him. Had that been a lie?
He wasn’t confused about his feelings where she was concerned. He was just confused about hers for him. Not that it mattered. If she chose to run again, then she would just be a happy, yet hurting memory, like that of his son.
The main thing right now was how she was doing. He had no idea what kind of torture she might have suffered. Did she have internal injuries? He’d seen her wrists, bloody and raw, and he wanted to weep as he thought about her being tied up and struggling to get free.
As bad as the physical pain might have been, he couldn’t imagine the mental pain she must have suffered. She had to have believed that she was going to die, that her ex-husband would then have custody of Melinda. Those thoughts must have tortured her.
He jumped up from his chair as Dr. Lockwood came out. “We meet again,” Dr. Lockwood said.
“Unfortunately. How is she?”
“According to her, she was slapped a number of times and one of her cheeks is definitely bruised. She also told me that she took a hard blow to the head that rendered her unconscious. We did some X-rays and I don’t see any permanent damage. We’ve cleaned up and wrapped her wrists, and we’ve drawn blood because she told us initially she was drugged. Still, she’s alert and doing remarkably well given the circumstances. She’s a very strong woman.”
Hunter expelled a deep sigh of relief. “Can I see her?”
“Room 109.”
Hunter raced down the hallway, his heart beating a quickened pace. He turned into the room and breathed another sigh of relief as he saw her sitting up in the bed. She smiled. “I’m not sure how you all found me, but thank God you did,” she said.
Hunter sat in the chair next to her bed. “You can thank George. He was bringing me some plants and saw you being taken from the house. He let us know it was Hank Bridges that had kidnapped you. I’m just sorry that we didn’t get Peter.”
She looked at him in surprise. “I thought you all knew.”
“Knew what?” He hated that one of her cheeks was a fiery red. He wanted to place his hand on it and draw away the redness and pain.
“Hank was Peter.”
He looked at her in stunned surprise. “What?”
“Peter had a bunch of plastic surgery done to completely change his looks. That’s why nobody saw Peter in town.”
At that moment Nick walked into the room. He nodded at Hunter and then smiled at Colette. “How are you feeling?” he asked as he sat in the other chair next to the bed.
“Pretty banged up,” she replied. “But I’m happy to be alive.”
“Are you up to answering some questions?” Nick asked.
“Absolutely,” she replied.
Nick was just as shocked as Hunter had been to learn that Hank was Peter. As Hunter listened to her tell about how Hank had gotten into the house, drugged her and then she’d awakened tied to a kitchen chair, he wanted to kill Hank all over again.
She told them about Peter slapping and hitting her. Hunter wanted to cry for the pain she had suffered and still suffered.
“He planned on feeding me to the pigs,” she said. Her eyes darkened. “He fed Ted and Sheila to the pigs.” She shuddered, obviously thinking of what could have happened to her.
“It’s over now, Colette. Peter is dead, and he’ll never bother you again,” Nick said.
“Thank God he’ll never kill another person,” she replied. “He can spend his eternity in hell.”
“That’s for sure,” Nick replied. He got to his feet. “I’m sure we’ll have more questions for you as the investigation unfolds. You’ll be around?”
“I’ll be around,” she replied.
“It’s finally over,” Hunter said to her once Nick had left the room.
“It is. I’m sad that Melinda will never have her father in her life, but she’s better off not having Peter in her life,” she replied.
“So what are you going to tell her about all this?”
“I’ll tell her that Hank Bridges was a bad man who tried to hurt me. I really believe she’s too young to burden with the truth about Peter. I’ll tell her about her father someday when I feel like the time is right. In the meantime all she needs to know is her father stopped talking to her at night.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” He gazed at her for a long moment. “You’re really free now, Colette. You’re free to live your life on your terms. You can go anywhere you want, live whatever life you want.”
“Nothing has changed for me. I still want to make Dusty Gulch my forever home.” She gazed at him somberly. “I know you probably can’t forgive me, Hunter.” Her eyes filled with a sheen of tears. “I lied to you about so many things. But I swear I didn’t lie to you about my feelings for you.”
He searched her face...her beautiful but beat-up face. “You don’t need me anymore, Colette. Th
ere’s no more threat to you.”
Her eyes widened and then narrowed. “Is that what you think? That I was only with you for some sort of protection? Oh Hunter, I was with you because I wanted to be. I was with you because I fell hopelessly in love with you. I want my future to be with you. I want to marry you and have your babies. I want you to be the father figure in Melinda’s life. I desperately want to spend the rest of my life with you. None of that had anything to do with my fear of Peter.” Tears began to race down her cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Colette.” He reached out and took one of her hands in his. The words she had just spoken caused happiness to flutter in his heart and shot a huge ray of sunshine into his soul.
“There’s nothing for me to forgive. You lied to save your life. Colette, don’t cry. I fell hopelessly in love with Ainsley, and I’m hopelessly, desperately in love with Colette. I want the same things you do. Will you marry me? Colette, will you be my wife?”
“Deputy Churchill, there you go seducing me again,” she said.
“And I intend to seduce you every day for the rest of your life if you’ll let me.” His love for her nearly took his breath away.
“Nothing would make me happier.” She began to cry once again. “But...but I have one more secret,” she said through her tears.
Hunter steeled himself, wondering if everything was about to be exploded apart. “What’s the secret?” he asked hesitantly.
“I’m really a blonde,” she confessed.
Relief whooshed through him. “You know what’s amazing? I love blondes. I especially love a blonde named Colette who is the strongest, most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
Her tears turned to laughter. “I love you, Hunter.”
“I’d like to kiss you, but I’m afraid I might hurt you,” he said.
She smiled. “My lips are the only thing on my face that doesn’t hurt.”
“Well, in that case...” He stood and bent over her and gently took her lips in a kiss that fed his very soul. “I can’t wait for you to become Mrs. Hunter Churchill,” he said when the kiss ended.
“The very worst day of my life has now turned into the very best day of my life,” she said. “Kiss me again, Hunter.”
“Gladly.” The kiss he gave her held all the passion, all the love he had for her, and he knew theirs would be a love, a marriage that would last a lifetime.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488072703
Stalker in the Shadows
Copyright © 2021 by Carla Bracale
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Dive into action-packed stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Solve the crime and deliver justice at all costs.
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ISBN-13: 9781488072727
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
The Prosecutor
Copyright © 2021 by Nichole Severn
Rescue Mission: Secret Child
Copyright © 2021 by Danica Winters
Stalker in the Shadows
Copyright © 2021 by Carla Cassidy
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