Read Online Finding Her Son by Robin Perini - Free Book Online Page B

pretty, and the human spirit needed comfort.
    He held her tight. “We’ll find out who’s doing this. I promise.”
    She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He couldn’t say no to her trembling frame. Each shudder evoked every protective instinct throbbing in his veins. He cradled her against him and stroked her head softly, brushing a few stray snowflakes out of her hair. “You’re okay. It’ll be okay.”
    He was lying. Again. This assassin wanted a kill. Mitch could only stop him so long—unless he discovered who was behind the attempts on her life.
    Emily lifted her hand to his face, and her look of trust made his heart do a crazy flip-flop. “I’m only here because you saved me. I would have gone over the edge, and Joshua—” Emily’s eyes widened. She gripped Mitch’s arms hard, her nails biting into his flesh. “Joshua. The blanket! The blood. I have to check the blanket and see if it’s Joshua’s.”
    She rose, swaying as the heat from the fire buffeted them. Emily tugged at his hand in desperation. Mitch shifted his weight to his good leg and pulled her back. “Emily. Listen to me. We are not going out in the open. We’re safe here.”
    “I have to see that blanket.”
    “No. The person who sabotaged your car could be waiting. You’re not stepping into someone’s crosshairs.”
    Mitch went to wrap his arms around her, but she shoved him back. Any vulnerability she’d let him see had vanished.
    “I’m already a target.” She pulled at her turtleneck and revealed the jagged scar on her throat. “The doctors said I held the glass. That I cut myself. Well, I didn’t. And no one believes me, because my prints were on the shards.” She met his gaze. “I put flowers on that cross just yesterday. I have to see that blanket. I have to know if there was…blood there. I need to know I’m not imagining things.”
    “I saw it, Emily. You’re not crazy. Stay with me.”
    “I can’t. I need to know.” She jerked out of his arms and took off up the mountain. Mitch cursed, drew his weapon and started after her, his mind whirling. Emily’s scar was vicious. She’d almost died. Had that been the perp’s first mistake? If Emily had died from the wound, the whole hit-and-run could very well have been classified murder-suicide gone wrong.
    The perfect crime. Her son would’ve been presumed dead.
    She ran up the hill. She was in good shape. Normally Mitch would’ve caught her in a few steps, but his strides were uneven these days. He was gaining on her, but not fast enough. Mitch’s eyes scanned the surrounding terrain. On one side of the road, the cliff was steep. Not impossible to hide there, but tough. The other side made them vulnerable.
    Finally, he caught up with her. She’d stopped, bent over, trying to catch her breath. Her swaying made him curse again. “You’re pushing too hard. You could be hurt and not know it.”
    “I’m not stopping until I get that blanket.” She sucked in a lungful of air. “You wanted evidence. That’s evidence.”
    “I should tie you up, but I can see it won’t do any good.” As frustrating as he found her determination, he admired it. “When we get there, don’t touch anything. And stay on my right. Between me and the steep side.”
    Together they rounded the last curve. The cross poked out of the ground—a wreath of plastic poinsettias draped around it, a light dusting of snow completing a hideously wrong yet serene picture.
    No blanket.
    “What?” Mitch had seen the blanket and the red splatter pattern.
    Emily collapsed on the side of the road. “They’re trying to drive me crazy.”
    “You’re not crazy.” Mitch pulled her to her feet and lifted her chin. “Whoever’s doing this is vicious. They used the blanket to make you hit your brakes. It was a setup. They tried to kill you and make it look like an accident, but they failed. You didn’t go over the side of the road. You’re here.”
    “But the