Harlequin Romantic Suspense July 2021 Box Set Page 7

  As always, the students were quiet and attentive until around eight o’clock when she asked for questions. They were a lively bunch and for the next half an hour they not only asked questions of her, but also challenged each other with opinions and theories.

  At just after eight thirty she closed by telling them all goodbye for the summer. It took another fifteen minutes or so for the hall to empty and for her to pack away her notes and computer and then prepare to leave the building.

  “Good night, Eddie. I hope you have a great summer,” she said as she approached the door.

  “Back at you, Professor Colton,” the older man replied. “Try to stay dry.”

  “You do the same,” she replied.

  It was still raining when she stepped back outside with her keys and umbrella in one hand and her computer case in the other. She hurried toward her car parked in the staff parking area as the rain thrummed a tune on the umbrella material over her head.

  She was almost to her car when she heard a slapping of footsteps on the pavement behind her. Her heartbeat accelerated and she half turned but was suddenly struck hard in the back by somebody.

  She cried out and stumbled, but before she could regain her balance, she was pulled backward by a viscous yank on her hair. She pressed the alarm button on her car and heard it begin to shrilly beep and then she was falling...falling backward.

  She gasped in excruciating pain as the back of her head crashed into the concrete. For a brief moment myriad stars danced in her head and then the stars dissolved and there was nothing but darkness.

  * * *

  Leo curled up beneath the tent under the highway overpass and watched the rain pour down. There was a little tent city in this spot. Homeless people and drug addicts were his neighbors, although he certainly hadn’t interacted with them.

  He was good for now. He’d found enough to eat in a garbage dumpster behind a food store. His phone was fully charged thanks to a charging station at a truck stop and he’d managed to dye his dark brown hair a funky red that he hoped would keep the feds off his back.

  He’d ditched his signature chain and lock that he was known for wearing as well as the camo clothing that might help somebody identify him. He’d also stolen a kid’s skateboard. Now he looked like just one more of the skateboard kids who ran the streets. He hated it. He deserved so much better than this.

  If only Jared hadn’t gotten caught. The stupid jerk hadn’t even been able to get out of his own way the night the FBI crashed in. Now Jared was in jail and it probably wouldn’t be long before he’d not only confess to the four murders, but he’d also try to throw Leo under the bus.

  Rob Garner had convinced Leo that he was keeping his son strong and not talking, but for how long? Unfortunately, when Leo had jumped out of the window to escape that night, he’d had to leave his bug-out bag with all his cash behind. And now his own parents weren’t helping him at all. They had basically disowned him. It would serve them right if he broke into the house in the middle of the night and slashed their throats.

  All he needed was enough money to get out of town until things cooled down and then eventually he might be able to get out of the country. All he needed was somebody to give him a freakin’ break.

  At that moment his phone rang. It was a burner phone and he knew exactly who was on the other end. “Yeah,” he answered.

  “Something has to be done about that Colton bitch. She’s going to somehow burn you both.”

  “So, what do you want me to do about it?” Leo asked. Bingo. This was definitely his freakin’ break.

  “She needs to disappear...permanently. I tried to take care of the situation tonight, but I’m not sure it worked.”

  “Again, what do you want me to do about it?” Leo repeated. Rob Garner wasn’t a stupid man. He knew it was in Jared’s best interest if Leo was never brought in.

  Although Leo wasn’t sure if Rob truly knew how bad it would be for his son. Leo wouldn’t have a problem throwing Jared under the bus. He would get all choked up while he told a jury how Jared had manipulated him into shooting the gun and killing those men. He’d sob nearly uncontrollably as he told them he had feared for his own life with Jared and his father’s threats.

  “She’s tight with that FBI agent, Howard. It wouldn’t hurt if something bad happened to both of them. It would probably slow down the case and give us more of a chance at a really good defense,” Rob continued.

  For the first time since he’d shot those old men outside their businesses, a fresh, sweet adrenaline rushed through Leo. “So, tell me exactly what you have in mind.”

  CHAPTER 5

  It was a few minutes after ten and Brad was ready to call it another failure of a day. Styler was still out there. Rob Garner was still bitching and moaning about Jared now being questioned without him present and about everything else concerning the case against his son. And Brad hadn’t seen or spoken to Simone in two days.

  As it should be, he reminded himself. He’d read over the notes she’d given to him and marveled at her insights. If the notes were any indication of how she taught, then he could understand why her classes were so popular. She had a way of laying out information that made it easy to understand, yet her intelligence in the subject matter shone through.

  However, at this point there was nothing more she could do to help and the two of them had absolutely no reason to get together again. In fact, as far as he was concerned, it would be utter foolishness for him to pursue anything with Simone Colton.

  He had just undressed and crawled into bed when a knock sounded at his door. He jumped up, hoping it was somebody telling him they’d finally caught Leo.

  He yanked on a pair of jeans, grabbed his gun and then answered the door. It was Russ. “Hey, I just got word from a Chicago PD friend of mine that your girl has been taken by ambulance to Chicago University Hospital.”

  His girl? Simone? “What? Did he know why?” Every muscle in Brad’s body tensed as his mind went wild with worry.

  “He didn’t have any real details, but he thought it was something about a carjacking.” Russ frowned. “I figured you’d want to know. Do you want me to go with you?”

  “No... I’m fine to go.” Brad grabbed the shirt that he’d worn that day and pulled it on. “You get some sleep and I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”

  When Russ left the room, Brad quickly got on his socks and shoes. A carjacking? She had to have been hurt to be taken to the hospital. Oh God, had she been badly hurt? All kinds of crazy thoughts rushed through his head, only making him more anxious and eager to get to her as soon as possible.

  A few minutes later he left the hotel room and headed for the police-issued unmarked car that had been at his disposal since he had arrived in Chicago. Rain fell at a moderate pace, as it had all evening long.

  As he drove to the hospital, his brain continued to go wild with suppositions. Had a gun been involved? Had she been shot? Or had this been something much more dangerous...much more insidious than a carjacking?

  Rob Garner. A vision of the man angrily threatening Simone filled his head. Did he have something to do with Simone being in the hospital? Or was Brad overthinking things? There was plenty of crime on the Chicago streets without Rob Garner being in the mix.

  Right now he didn’t care so much about answering these questions. All he really cared about was her condition. It seemed like it took him forever to reach the hospital. Traffic was slow and people drove like they had never driven in the rain before. He found a parking space in the hospital lot and then raced for the emergency room.

  The waiting area was half filled with people. A little boy fussed and cried in his mother’s arms and an old man had one hand wrapped in a makeshift bandage. A young couple sat side by side, her head resting on his shoulder. Two young women paced the floor, looking sick and strung out.

  A hospital was definitely not Bra
d’s favorite place to be. His mother had lingered three long days before succumbing to the wounds from her killer. Brad’s father had brought him to visit every day.

  He’d been convinced that Brad’s mother would rally, that she would somehow be okay, but Brad had smelled the death in the room, had seen the shadow of death on his mother’s face and had known even at twelve years old that she wasn’t going to have a miraculous healing.

  He now went to the desk, where a harried-looking nurse sat behind a glass partition. He flashed his credentials and she opened the window. “Can I help you?”

  “A woman named Simone Colton was brought in here by ambulance about an hour ago. I need to speak to the doctor in charge of her case.”

  “Please, have a seat and I’ll see what I can do,” she replied.

  With a sigh of frustration, he sank down in a chair near the window. He waited ten minutes and then finally the nurse waved at him and opened the door that separated the waiting room from the curtained-off emergency beds.

  Brad hurried through the door and was met by a young doctor who wore the name tag of Dr. McCoy. Once again, Brad showed his credentials and then enquired about Simone.

  “Miss Colton was brought in after having suffered a head trauma that rendered her unconscious. She regained consciousness soon after arriving. We’ve now run the appropriate tests to make sure she didn’t have a fracture or any brain bleed. Both tests came back negative, but I’ve had her transferred to a bed upstairs for a night of observation.”

  “What room has she been transferred to and can I see her?” Brad asked, his emotions flying all over the place. He needed to know how she had ended up here with head trauma.

  “She’s in room 605. I’ll tell you what I told the officers that came in with her. I don’t want her stressed by too many questions. The main thing she needs right now is rest.”

  “Got it,” Brad replied and hurried back to the exit of the waiting room. Once there he went down a long hallway and came to the elevators that would take him up to the sixth floor.

  His heart thundered in his chest. She’d suffered a head trauma... What did that even mean? Had somebody tried to jack her car and hit her over the head with the butt of a gun? With a crowbar? Where had this happened? He didn’t even know what kind of a car she drove.

  Once the elevator doors whooshed open, he quickly stepped out, checked the sign on the wall and then raced in the direction of her room. The halls were quiet and the lights were dimmed at this time of the night.

  He was vaguely surprised when he reached her room to find nobody else there with her. She lay in the bed, a lamp just above her head casting light on her pale face. Her eyes were closed and she looked small and achingly vulnerable in the big hospital bed.

  He needed to contact somebody. He needed answers as to what had happened to her, but at the moment he just needed to stand in the doorway and watch the steady rise and fall of her chest beneath her blue-flowered hospital gown. He needed to gaze at her beautiful face and assure himself that, at least for now, she seemed to be safe and resting peacefully.

  Suddenly he was gazing into her bright blue eyes. “Simone,” he whispered softly.

  Her eyes widened. She looked around the room and then back at him and then a deep sob escaped her and she raised her hands to hide her face.

  “Simone...” In four long strides he was at her bedside. “Please don’t cry,” he said.

  “I...I can’t h-help it, Brad. I was so...so scared and m-my head is k-killing me.”

  He sank down next to her in a chair. “Simone, crying is only going to make your head hurt more. You’re safe now.” He reached out and pulled one of her hands away from her face. He held on tight and slowly she lowered her other hand and gazed at him through tear-filled eyes.

  He continued to hold her hand as she drew in a few deep breaths in an obvious effort to calm herself. For several moments they were silent. Although there were a hundred questions he wanted to ask her, he also wanted to give her enough time to gather herself together.

  Finally, her tears stopped and her eyes were more clear. “Simone, I don’t want to upset you, but I need to know what happened tonight.”

  She reached for a water cup on a small tray on the opposite side of the bed. She took a swallow, then set down the foam cup. “I...I had my last lecture tonight. It all went great and afterward I headed for my car in the staff parking lot.” She paused and a whisper of fear darkened her eyes.

  “It was raining and I...I was almost to my car,” she continued, “when I heard a couple of footsteps behind me. I started to turn and then I was shoved hard and my hair was yanked. Somehow, I managed to push my car alarm before I fell backward and hit the concrete with my head. I woke up here. The doctor told me the two police officers who followed the ambulance believed it was a carjacking gone awry.”

  She winced slightly and then pulled the thin hospital blanket up closer around her neck. “To be honest, I don’t know what to believe. It all happened so fast. I suppose it might have been a carjacking. I can’t imagine what else it would have been.”

  “Were there other cars in that parking lot?” he asked.

  She nodded and then winced again, her headache obviously causing her pain. “There were a few.”

  He asked her several more questions and he could tell she grew more and more weary.

  She drew in a deep, heavy sigh. “Brad, I don’t want any of my family knowing about this. I’ll be out of the hospital tomorrow and there’s no need to worry any of them.”

  “I will do my best not to tell anyone,” he replied. “Now, the best thing you can do is get a good night’s sleep.” He rose from the chair.

  The instinct...the need to lean down and kiss her on the forehead or on her cheek shocked him. Instead, he quickly stepped back from the bed. “I’ll be back in the morning, Simone.”

  “Thank you, Brad.” Her eyes slowly drifted closed and he stepped outside of the room. He hurried down the hallway a little ways and then pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He was far enough away that she wouldn’t be able to hear his conversation, but close enough that he still had his eye on her room.

  He needed to speak to the officers who had responded to the scene, but first he needed to call the lieutenant who was the liaison between the FBI agents and the Chicago PD. He wanted to arrange for a guard on Simone’s door.

  Even though the police had believed it was a carjacking, Brad’s gut instincts told him that there was a real possibility it might be something different. It was just too coincidental that Rob had threatened her and then she was attacked in a staff parking lot.

  There was no way to be sure his instincts were right or wrong, but he wasn’t taking any chances with Simone’s safety. It took forty-five minutes for a police officer to show up for the guard duty. He settled into a chair in the doorway of her room and told Brad he would be there until Brad returned the next morning.

  The next place Brad went was to the police station to see if he could hunt down the two officers who had responded to the 911 call made by a security guard at the college. He got lucky and found both of them together at their desks.

  They agreed to meet with him in one of the interrogation rooms that currently wasn’t in use. “I just want to get the rundown on what happened when you arrived at the call on the campus earlier.”

  Mike Walker was a young patrolman. He frowned. “When my partner and I arrived on scene, Miss Colton was unconscious on the ground. Her car alarm was going off, which had alerted the security guard who called it in.”

  “I immediately checked the area for a perp, but I didn’t see anyone around.” Paul Winthrop appeared to be the older, the more seasoned of the two.

  “Where were her car keys?” Brad asked.

  “In her hand,” Mike replied. “Although her computer case and an umbrella were on the ground near her. It looked
like an open-and-shut case to me.”

  “If she was unconscious with her keys in her hand, then why wasn’t her car stolen?” Brad asked.

  “It would be my speculation that the alarm scared the carjacker off,” Paul said.

  “Do you know how long the alarm rang before the security guard responded?” Brad asked.

  “He wasn’t sure. He only heard it when he stepped outside to have a smoke. Do you know how she’s doing? She was still unconscious when we were with her earlier,” Mike said.

  “I just left the hospital and she’s going to be okay. She’s being held overnight for observation, but she should be out of the hospital sometime tomorrow,” Brad explained.

  “That’s good to hear,” Paul replied.

  “Can you email me your reports when you get them written up?” Brad asked.

  “I’ve already written mine up,” Paul replied. “Just give me your email and it will be done.”

  Brad gave the two men his email address and then thanked them. When they parted ways, Brad’s impulse was to rush back to the hospital, but he knew he had other things to do in order to assure Simone’s safety going forward.

  He went back to his office and read Paul’s report and then just sat for several minutes trying to clear his mind. He needed to think rationally and not emotionally.

  It was evident that everyone he had spoken to believed it had been a carjacking gone awry, but all his instincts screamed it had been Rob or somebody close to Rob who had attacked her.

  He’d seen the hatred in the man’s eyes both times he’d encountered Simone. Worse than the hatred had been the whisper of fear he’d seen in Rob’s eyes.

  Brad believed Rob saw Simone as a viable threat to Jared’s freedom, and if that was the case, then he was a clear and present danger to her. If what Brad believed was true, then tonight Rob had attacked her. The car alarm very well might have saved her life.

  If Rob’s intention had been to take her out permanently, then tonight he had failed. What scared Brad was that meant another attack was possible, and the next time Rob just might succeed.