Private Eye Protector

by Shirlee McCoy

  “I didn’t think there was any doubt about that.”

  “Kai likes to be thorough. While we were out there the coroner’s report came in. Leon’s death has been ruled suspicious rather than suicide.”

  “The coroner thinks he was murdered?”

  “He’s waiting for toxicology reports to come in, but he found broken capillaries in Leon’s cheeks and nose that are consistent with pressure wounds.”

  “He was smothered?”

  “It looks like that might be the case. Listen, I just pulled into the hospital parking lot. I’ll be up in a minute. We’ll talk more then, okay?”

  “All right.” She shoved the phone into her back pocket and paced to Emma’s crib.

  Someone had murdered Darren Leon.

  Most likely, the same someone who’d paid Leon to kill Rayne.

  She shivered, wishing she could lift Emma from the crib, grab the diaper bag and run to some little town in the middle of nowhere, start a new life far away from the danger that seemed to be stalking her.

  You ran before. How well did that work out for you?

  Not well.

  Trouble had just followed her.

  Someone stepped into the room behind her and she turned, expecting to see Chance. Instead, a short, stocky man walked toward her. Dressed in a lab coat, a stethoscope hanging from his pocket, he could have been a doctor or a nurse, but there was something about him that put Rayne on edge.

  She glanced out the open door.

  Where was steel-face-man?

  “How’s the baby?” the man asked. Nothing alarming about the question. Nothing alarming about the man, but his lifeless eyes made Rayne shiver, and she moved closer to the crib, blocking his view of Emma.

  “Better.”

  “Good. I’m going to take her down for an x-ray. If you’ll just wait here, we should be back shortly.”

  “It’s early for an x-ray, isn’t it?” she asked, and he shrugged.

  “We have a lot of patients scheduled for x-rays today. We’re getting an early start.”

  “I’d rather not wake her, so maybe you can start with someone else.”

  “Sorry. That’s not the way it works.” He smiled, but his eyes were ice-cold. A memory tried to surface.

  Cold blue eyes.

  Fear.

  Had she seen him before?

  Did she know him?

  “It is when we’re talking about my daughter.”

  “Your daughter is ill. If you want her to recover, you need to follow the doctor’s orders.”

  “I’ll follow his orders when he tells me about them.” She reached to press the call button, planning to talk to the night shift nurse, but he grabbed her hand, twisted her arm up behind her back, slamming her into the wall before she could think or scream or react.

  Dear God, help me!

  She twisted, shoving her hand up under his chin, forcing his head back just as her brother had taught her.

  He screamed, backhanding her so hard she saw stars.

  Then he stepped toward the crib.

  No!

  She dove blindly, slamming into his back as he reached for the baby. Screamed for help as he knocked her back, turned toward the crib again.

  He didn’t want Rayne. He wanted Emma.

  She wouldn’t let him take her.

  Rayne slammed her foot into the back of his knee and he whirled around.

  “You should have just let me have her, lady.” He panted, pulling something from his lab coat. A knife!

  She screamed, dodging the blade as it sliced through the air. He lunged again, his arm arching, the blade ripping through fabric and flesh.

  Rayne fell, her breath gone, her thoughts fading.

  Please, God!

  He raised the knife again, then grunted and crumbled into a heap on the floor.

  Silence.

  Stillness.

  Chaos to calm, and Rayne didn’t know how it had happened.

  Emma!

  She struggled up.

  “You’re hurt. Don’t move.” Hands pressed her back, and she fought against them, her vision blurry, her heart pounding frantically.

  “I said, ‘Don’t move,’ Goldilocks. You’re bleeding like a stuck pig.”

  Goldilocks?

  She blinked, tried to clear her vision.

  “Chance?”

  “Were you expecting someone else?”

  “Yeah. The grim-faced guy who’s been sitting outside my room all night.”

  “He’s MIA.” Chance scowled, helping her to her feet as a hospital security guard raced into the room.

  “Everything okay in here, folks?” he asked, his eyes widening as he caught sight of Rayne, her bleeding arm and her unconscious attacker.

  “It is now,” Chance said, filling the guard in on what he knew while Rayne walked to the crib, lifted Emma.

  Okay.

  She was okay.

  Thank You, Lord.

  Her hand shook as she touched the baby’s cheek, her head fuzzy with shock and pain.

  “Let me take her.” Chance eased Emma from her arms, his eyes blazing with fury. He pulled a blanket from the crib, pressed it against Rayne’s shoulder, his movements tight and stiff, his hand gentle.

  “You saved my life.”

  “Barely,” he growled, and Rayne touched his cheek, looked into his eyes, saw the fear beneath the fury.

  “Not barely. Completely. He was trying to take Emma. He would’ve had to kill me to get out the door with her. If it wasn’t for you, he would have.”

  “He wanted Emma?”

  “He said he was going to take her down to x-ray. When I wouldn’t let him, he attacked me.”

  “Do you know him?”

  “No. At least, I don’t think I do.” But something nagged at the back of her mind.

  Cold, blue eyes.

  Anger.

  She swayed, the memory slipping from her grasp.

  “You need to sit down.” Chance urged her to the chair, and she sat, her legs weak, blood pulsing through her shoulder and arm in wild, rushing waves of agony.

  She dropped her head to her knees, took a couple of deep breaths.

  No way was she going to pass out.

  “Are you okay?” He crouched beside her and Rayne wanted to lean her head on his shoulder, forget all about her stupid rules and let him take care of everything.

  “I think so.”

  “I’ve already called for a doctor and the police. We’re searching for the missing bodyguard,” the guard said. “Hopefully, we can figure out what’s going on around here. In the meantime, I’m going to make sure this guy doesn’t do any more damage.” He pulled Rayne’s semiconscious attacker to his feet, snapped handcuffs onto his wrists and dragged him from the room.

  “As soon as the doctor gets in here, I’m going to see what that guy has to say.”

  “I don’t think they’re going to let you question him, Chance.”

  “Who said anything about asking permission?”

  “You’ve already had one run-in with a hospital security guard. You probably shouldn’t try for two.” She put a hand on his arm when he started to move away. “Don’t go.”

  “I wasn’t planning to.” He pulled a chair up next to hers, patted Emma’s back rhythmically as he settled into it, everything about him easy and confident and strong.

  Rayne wanted to soak in his confidence and strength, cling to him as she’d never clung to anyone before.

  Stupid rules.

  They hadn’t done her any good. One look in Chance’s eyes, and they’d flown out the window of her fickle, foolish heart and left plenty of room for him to find his way in.

  Oh, yeah.

  She’d fallen for the guy.

  Fallen hard.

  And she didn’t think there was a thing she could do to right herself.

  “You’re frowning.” His finger traced the downward curve of her lips and she shivered.

  “You’re the most exasperating man I’
ve ever met, Chance Richardson. You know that? Always running to my rescue and making sure I’m okay. Always saying the right thing and doing the right thing. You make it very difficult for me to walk away from you.”

  “Who says you’re supposed to?” He pressed the blanket closer to her arm as several people walked into the room, and Rayne’s head buzzed, her ears rang, her thoughts scattered like dry leaves in a windstorm.

  “Rule number three is never, ever, ever fall for anyone ever again.”

  “So that’s the mysterious rule number three, huh?”

  “Three rules, and you’ve made me break them all. I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive you for it.”

  “Good to know,” he said, amusement and something else in his tone.

  Fear?

  Concern?

  Rayne tried to read his expression, but she couldn’t see past the swirling stars that danced in front of her eyes.

  “You’re not going to pass out on me, are you, Goldilocks?” Chance’s sharp question pulled her from the edge of the precipice.

  “I never pass out.”

  “How are you feeling, Ms. Sampson?” A doctor stepped between Rayne and Chance, pulled the blanket from her wound and frowned. “This is going to need stitches. Can someone get me a cart?”

  Stitches, huh?

  Rayne looked at the ten-inch-long gash and the blood that trailed down her arm.

  Not as bad as she’d imagined it would be.

  She had about two seconds to enjoy the thought before she did exactly what she said she wasn’t going to do.

  She passed out.

  SIXTEEN

  She’d passed out.

  Something she’d said she never did.

  Chance frowned, holding a cold cloth to the back of Rayne’s neck as the doctor placed the last of thirty stitches in her upper arm.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to lie down, Rayne?” he asked, and she scowled, shooting him a look that would have sent better men than Chance running.

  He stayed put.

  “That’s it. We’re done.” The doctor bandaged Rayne’s arm, patted her shoulder. “Keep the wound clean and dry. The stitches will have to come out in ten days. Do you have someone to help with your daughter when you get home? You’re not going to want to lift anything heavy for at least a week.”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  “Good. I’m really sorry this happened to you at our facility. Hopefully, the rest of your daughter’s stay won’t be as eventful.”

  “I’m not sure how it could be.” Rayne smiled, her lips as pale as her paper-white face.

  “Now that you’ve said that, it’s bound to be. I’m going to have the nurse bring you in some orange juice. We need to get some color back in your face.” He opened the door, and Kai Parker stepped into view.

  “All done in here?” he asked, and the doctor nodded.

  “We’re finished and you can question the patient. But not for too long. She needs to rest.”

  “Right, doc. I’ll keep that in mind.” Kai closed the door, his steps short and tight as he walked across the room, pulled a chair over next to Rayne.

  “How are you feeling, Rayne?”

  “Numb. Which is better than the alternative.”

  “Did you recognize the guy who attacked you?”

  “He looked familiar but…” She shook her head. “I can’t place him.”

  “Did he say anything, give you any reason for the attack?”

  “He wanted Emma. I was in his way.” She stood, wobbling a little as she stared down at the baby. Five minutes.

  That’s all it would have taken for Rayne to be dead, Emma to be gone. If Chance hadn’t gotten to the room when he did, that’s exactly what would have happened.

  He clenched his fists, the weight of what could have been nearly stealing the joy of what was.

  Be thankful. They’re both alive. They’re both here.

  “Do you have an ID on the perpetrator?” he asked, and Kai shook his head.

  “The guy isn’t talking. We’re running his prints through the system, though. I have a feeling we won’t have any trouble finding him.”

  “Good. I want to know who he is, and I want to know why he tried to kidnap Emma.”

  “You and me and everyone else.”

  “Any idea how he got past the guard?”

  “He parked at the service entrance in the back of the building, snuck in with a cleaning crew and took a lab coat from the laundry. When the guard asked for ID, the perp pulled out a syringe full of dope and shot him up with it. We found the guard stuffed in the maintenance supply closet.”

  “Is he okay?” Rayne asked, and Kai nodded.

  “Embarrassed, but fine.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s going to be even more embarrassed when I ask Kane to find a new security company.”

  “You won’t have to ask,” Kane said as he walked into the room. “I’ve already done it. I’ve called in one of the best security firms in the country. Their first security officer will be here within the hour. I’m sorry this happened, Rayne. I’m not going to make excuses, but I promise you that your safety is my top priority.”

  “It wasn’t anyone’s fault, and my safety is my responsibility. Not yours,” she responded, shivering as she touched Emma’s cheek.

  “You’re sure you don’t have any enemies, Rayne? No one in Phoenix who might stand to gain from your death?” Something in Kai’s tone made the hair on Chance’s arms stand on end.

  “What are you getting at, Kai?” Chance asked.

  “Our perp had a backpack in his car. It had lots of good stuff in it. A fake ID. A plane ticket to Mexico. Twenty thousand dollars in cash.”

  “Forty thousand, and now twenty more? That’s a lot of money. Maybe I should ask the guy handing it out to give it to me. I’d be happy to make myself disappear for the right price,” Rayne joked, but there was no humor in her voice.

  “There’s a price on your head, Rayne. There has to be a reason for it,” Kai persisted.

  “I’m not denying there’s a reason. I’m just telling you, I don’t know what it is. Leon was after me because he thought that by helping his wife, I ruined his life. As far as I knew, that was his only motive. If someone else wants me dead, I don’t know who, and I don’t know why.” She crossed the room, pulled back the curtains and stared out into the darkness, her body trembling.

  “I think that’s enough questions for tonight,” Chance said, and Kai frowned.

  “We can’t get the answers we need if we don’t ask questions.”

  “You’ve asked. She doesn’t have the answers.”

  “She doesn’t think she does, but no one has a price on their head without some idea of who might have put it there.”

  “Look, Kai—”

  Kane interrupted the argument. “Chance is right. Beating a dead horse won’t make it move. How about we adjourn this meeting for the time being and come back again when we’re all a little fresher?”

  Kai nodded. “Good idea. I have a meeting with my boss this morning. I’ll check in with you after that, Rayne.”

  “That’s fine,” she responded, but she didn’t turn away from the window, didn’t say goodbye as Kane and Kai walked out of the room. Chance wasn’t even sure she realized they were gone.

  “Why don’t you come and sit down before you fall down?” He pressed a hand to her back, felt trembling muscles beneath soft cotton.

  “I don’t want to sit. I want to scoop Emma up and run.”

  “Do you think running will solve the problem?”

  “I don’t even know what the problem is. I just know that $60,000 seems like a lot of money until it becomes the value of a person’s life. Then it really doesn’t seem like that much at all.” A tear slipped down her cheek, and he wiped it away, his palm resting on cool, moist skin.

  He hadn’t wanted a relationship.

  Hadn’t expected one.

  But there it was.

  Dropped into his lap.
<
br />   Rayne. Emma. A little family that needed him nearly as much as he needed them.

  “You want to know the value of your life, Rayne? Then look at Emma, call your folks and your friends and all the people you love and who love you, go to church when it’s empty and listen to the love God has for you. That’s the value of your life, and it can’t be measured in dollars. It can only be measured in hearts.”

  “Hearts? Does that include yours?” She pressed her hand to his chest, her palm warm through his shirt. He covered it with his, held it there as he looked into her eyes.

  “I think you know it does.”

  “Maybe I do. I just don’t know how we ended up here. Two people who weren’t going to fall for anyone, falling for each other. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Does everything have to make sense to work?”

  “No, but how can something that doesn’t make sense last? And if this can’t last, do I want to risk my heart for a day or a week of happiness?” She stepped back, her eyes misty blue-green and glowing in her pale face.

  “Who says it will only be for a day or a week? Maybe it will be for a lifetime.”

  “I stopped believing in a lifetime of love the day I returned my engagement ring.”

  “Maybe I can make you start believing again.” He slid his hand to the back of her neck, his fingers burrowing in warm, silky curls.

  “This isn’t a good idea, Chance.”

  “Then tell me to leave.”

  “I should,” she murmured as his lips brushed her temple, her jaw, the tender skin behind her ear.

  “I want to.” Her hands smoothed up his arms, rested on his shoulders.

  “But I can’t.” She sighed as their lips touched.

  She tasted like sunlight and summer and a hundred un-spoken dreams, but he knew a kiss was only that. Not a bond. Not a commitment. Not a relationship. Just a gesture, and he wanted so much more than that from her.

  He broke away, looked into her face, his pulse racing with desire.

  But even that was not enough.

  “You’re right. This isn’t a good idea.”

  “What?”

  “A kiss in the moonlight isn’t what I want from you, Rayne. I want it all. Your dreams, your joys, your sorrows. I want every part of you. Nothing else will be enough.”