Read Online Hostage Midwife by Cassie Miles - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Cassie Miles
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nightfall.
Nick approached her and sat in the chairbeside her. “Bored?”
“I wish there was something I could do to help. With all this activity swirling around, I feel like a bump on a log that’s stuck in the middle of the river. All I can do is watch.”
“According to O’Shea’s sources, Trask is still the invisible man. Nobody knows of a white-haired guy who works for Radcliff or anybody else.”
“Is that more or less dangerous?”
“It’s always better to know what we’re dealing with,” he said. “I can arrange for you to stay with me tonight. Or you could go back to the house with Lauren. We have a security team there.”
“I’m not one to take risks,” she said, “especially not if it means Serena and her family could be in danger. But I can’t help thinking that Trask already has everything he needs from me.”
“How so?”
“Since we now believe that your uncle was murdered, it makes sense for Trask to contact me. He’d want to know if Samuel named his killer before he died.”
“Is this theory supposed to reassure me?” His eyebrows lifted. “If he was looking for the name, Trask has to be working for the murderer.”
“Okay, he’s a bad guy. But he knows I’m not a threat.”
He took her hand. This time,it was more than a friendly gesture. His fingers caressed hers. “I want you to be safe, Kelly. If anything happened to you, I couldn’t live with myself.”
Deep inside, she responded to his sincerity and concern. He cared for her. It had been a long time since anybody wanted to protect her, maybe never, and she liked the feeling of warmth and safety. Going home with him appealed to her on manydifferent levels, but she didn’t think it was necessary.
“I’ll stay with Serena tonight,” she said.
“Okay. Lauren showed up a little while ago. She can drive you.”
“Why is Lauren here? We don’t have Lamaze class until tomorrow night.”
“She’s upset about something.” Nick cringed. “I’m sure we’ll hear all about it.”
It took only a few minutes to locate Lauren on the ninthfloor outside Marian Whitman’s office, ticking off a list of complaints on her fingers. The thin blond accountant was utterly motionless. Kelly had never seen such a display of willpower. Marian’s face could have been a Kabuki mask that registered no emotion whatsoever.
When Lauren stopped talking, Marian said simply, “Are you done?”
Hands on hips, Lauren glared. “I just told you seventhings I need help with. You’re not going to do a damn thing about it, are you?”
“Arrangements for Samuel Spencer’s funeral and memorial are outside the purview of my job,” Marian said. “I am well aware that you are the wife of the CEO. But if Jared were here, he would tell me that the way I can help is to keep my focus on Spencer Enterprises business.”
Nick stepped between the two women.“Problem?”
“You bet,” Lauren said. “Ever since early this morning, I’ve been getting phone calls. Flower arrangements have been arriving. Relatives want me to arrange to pick them up at the airport, and they all want to stay at the house.”
“You’ve got two people on staff,” he said.
“A housekeeper and a part-time cook. If I was throwing a dinner party, I’d be all set. This is a hundredtimes more complicated. Don’t even get me started about the media.”
Lauren’s breathing became more rapid. She flung out an arm to brace herself against the wall. Kelly had spent enough time with pregnant women to know that stress was a problem. “This isn’t good for you,” she said.
“Tell me about it.”
“I have an idea.” It wasn’t Kelly’s place to make suggestions, but this seemedlike a perfect solution. “You should call Julia Starkey and ask her to help. Nobody knew Samuel better than Julia, and I’ve heard that she’s very efficient.”
Lauren stared at her for two seconds, then she burst into a huge smile. “That’s perfect.”
“I’ll make the
Nick approached her and sat in the chairbeside her. “Bored?”
“I wish there was something I could do to help. With all this activity swirling around, I feel like a bump on a log that’s stuck in the middle of the river. All I can do is watch.”
“According to O’Shea’s sources, Trask is still the invisible man. Nobody knows of a white-haired guy who works for Radcliff or anybody else.”
“Is that more or less dangerous?”
“It’s always better to know what we’re dealing with,” he said. “I can arrange for you to stay with me tonight. Or you could go back to the house with Lauren. We have a security team there.”
“I’m not one to take risks,” she said, “especially not if it means Serena and her family could be in danger. But I can’t help thinking that Trask already has everything he needs from me.”
“How so?”
“Since we now believe that your uncle was murdered, it makes sense for Trask to contact me. He’d want to know if Samuel named his killer before he died.”
“Is this theory supposed to reassure me?” His eyebrows lifted. “If he was looking for the name, Trask has to be working for the murderer.”
“Okay, he’s a bad guy. But he knows I’m not a threat.”
He took her hand. This time,it was more than a friendly gesture. His fingers caressed hers. “I want you to be safe, Kelly. If anything happened to you, I couldn’t live with myself.”
Deep inside, she responded to his sincerity and concern. He cared for her. It had been a long time since anybody wanted to protect her, maybe never, and she liked the feeling of warmth and safety. Going home with him appealed to her on manydifferent levels, but she didn’t think it was necessary.
“I’ll stay with Serena tonight,” she said.
“Okay. Lauren showed up a little while ago. She can drive you.”
“Why is Lauren here? We don’t have Lamaze class until tomorrow night.”
“She’s upset about something.” Nick cringed. “I’m sure we’ll hear all about it.”
It took only a few minutes to locate Lauren on the ninthfloor outside Marian Whitman’s office, ticking off a list of complaints on her fingers. The thin blond accountant was utterly motionless. Kelly had never seen such a display of willpower. Marian’s face could have been a Kabuki mask that registered no emotion whatsoever.
When Lauren stopped talking, Marian said simply, “Are you done?”
Hands on hips, Lauren glared. “I just told you seventhings I need help with. You’re not going to do a damn thing about it, are you?”
“Arrangements for Samuel Spencer’s funeral and memorial are outside the purview of my job,” Marian said. “I am well aware that you are the wife of the CEO. But if Jared were here, he would tell me that the way I can help is to keep my focus on Spencer Enterprises business.”
Nick stepped between the two women.“Problem?”
“You bet,” Lauren said. “Ever since early this morning, I’ve been getting phone calls. Flower arrangements have been arriving. Relatives want me to arrange to pick them up at the airport, and they all want to stay at the house.”
“You’ve got two people on staff,” he said.
“A housekeeper and a part-time cook. If I was throwing a dinner party, I’d be all set. This is a hundredtimes more complicated. Don’t even get me started about the media.”
Lauren’s breathing became more rapid. She flung out an arm to brace herself against the wall. Kelly had spent enough time with pregnant women to know that stress was a problem. “This isn’t good for you,” she said.
“Tell me about it.”
“I have an idea.” It wasn’t Kelly’s place to make suggestions, but this seemedlike a perfect solution. “You should call Julia Starkey and ask her to help. Nobody knew Samuel better than Julia, and I’ve heard that she’s very efficient.”
Lauren stared at her for two seconds, then she burst into a huge smile. “That’s perfect.”
“I’ll make the
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