Read Online Defying Asher (Knight Security 1) by Carole Mortimer - Free Book Online

yesterday morning when Ethan took the call from Ian.
    A phone call to tell them Jack Forsythe had been shot.
    Lissa was at the hospital with her father now. Had been since Ash drove her there yesterday morning.
    Lissa had remained calm when he told her of the shooting. She hadn’t spoken a word before she turned on her heel and went back to her bedroom to dress so he could drive her to the hospital.
    It had been obvious as soon as they arrived who was in charge there.
    Claudia Reynolds.
    Despite the police presence, she was the one in charge and issuing orders to the police and hospital staff, as well as Malcolm Arnold. She refused to talk to the police inspector until she had made arrangements for Jack Forsythe to be taken to a private room as soon as he was out of the surgery to remove a bullet from his left shoulder. She’d sent Malcolm back to Felton Tower to deal with any business matters that needed her attention.
    Considering her ex-lover—lover?—had just been shot, Claudia hadn’t seemed to miss so much as a heartbeat.
    Ash had taken the opportunity while Lissa was questioning her mother about Jack’s condition to speak with Ian about the shooting.
    Apparently, Claudia and Jack had left Felton Tower midmorning. Ian had followed a discreet distance behind the couple as they walked across the park to spend an hour or so outside a French café eating croissants and drinking coffee together. Their stroll back was just as leisurely, the park full now with the usual Sunday morning joggers, skateboarders, horse riders, and people just out for a walk in the sunshine. Ian reported the couple had seemed…close, laughing and relaxed together.
    Until the sound of a shot being fired.
    Ian had told him all became pandemonium after that, a couple of horses bolting, the people either scattering like ants and pushing past Ian or falling to the ground so that they were a smaller target if or when any more shots were fired.
    The panic had preventing Ian from getting to the other couple for several seconds.
    Once he did, the shooter was long gone and he could see Jack Forsythe was down, Claudia sitting on the grass beside him, his head resting on her knee as she attempted to stanch the flow of blood pouring from his shoulder. By the time they got him to the hospital, he had lost a lot of blood, and the bullet still needed to be removed.
    “If Claudia refuses to play ball, I’ll be taking annual leave.” Ash now answered Gabriel. “I don’t trust Claudia, or anyone else, to keep Lissa safe.”
    “We’ll deal with that if the situation arises. I have no idea what’s going on between you and Miss Forsythe.” Gabriel frowned. “Nor do I want to know,” he assured him briskly. “For the moment, just make sure you do your job. One person is already dead, another has been seriously injured.”
    Coitus interruptus was all that was “going on” between Ash and Lissa at the moment.
    She had been understandably distraught at learning her father had been shot, controlled and silent during the drive to the hospital, also silent as she sat beside her mother as the two of them kept vigil waiting for Jack to come out of surgery. Which was when Lissa had announced she was staying at the hospital with her father overnight, despite the doctor’s assurances Jack was doing well and would probably sleep all night following the surgery.
    Ash had wanted to talk to her, but Lissa hadn’t so much as acknowledged his presence again before leaving with Claudia to see for herself her father was alive and, while not exactly well, at least expected to recover.
    Ash doubted Lissa was even aware he and Liam had stood guard outside Jack’s room all night along with two policemen. Ian and Caleb had accompanied Claudia Reynolds when she left to return to her apartment late last night. Ethan had taken over at the hospital this morning. Liam would be rejoining him once he’d had a few hours’ sleep.
    Ash was supposed to go home and get some sleep