Скачать книгу

did have a great smile, with the slightest hint of dimples appearing in his cheeks. She hadn’t noticed that before.

      Oh, wait. She needed to answer him.

      “Been better. But I’m okay. Sergeant Parker—”

      He cut her off. “Ryan. Please. What’s on your mind?”

      “I want to know what’s happening. While you search, I mean. I don’t want to be kept out of the loop.” She held her breath. Would he brush her off? Tell her that police business was just that?

      “I understand,” he responded in his velvet voice. Her breath left her in a whoosh, she was so relieved. “I will give you all the details I can. In the meantime, I am going to leave for the night. First thing tomorrow morning, as soon as you are released, we have some planning to do.”

      “So no one will be looking for Mikey tonight?” She didn’t like the sound of that.

      “That’s not what I said. The Amber Alert has gone out, along with the sketch of your brother-in-law, and back at the station several people are still looking into it. Checking on leads. But I need to get some sleep if I want to be able to function, and so do you.” He turned to the door. “Good night. I will see you in the morning.”

      And he was gone.

      She couldn’t believe it. She was so worried she was ready to tear out her hair. And he’d just left! In all fairness, she didn’t know what else he could do. The man wasn’t a machine. He did say people were still searching. There really wasn’t anything more that she could ask him to do.

      Sighing, she lay against the pillows, trying to shift this way and that to find a comfortable position. She’d shut her eyes, then open them five minutes later. Her nerves started to get to her.

      Her door was shut, but every once in a while she thought she heard footsteps stop at her door.

      Was Hudson in the hall?

      She strained to listen, trying to separate the different sounds outside the door. Her doorknob seemed to rattle slightly. Then it stopped. Goose bumps formed on her arms. A scream crawled up and lodged in her throat.

      The footsteps moved away from the door.

      Her night nurse entered to check her vitals. The woman was coolly professional, her voice soothing as she checked the IV and the monitors and made notes on the chart attached to the clipboard.

      Feeling ridiculous for her fears, Elise forced herself to ask the woman the question that was screaming inside her mind. “Was there someone hanging around outside my door?”

      The pitying glance the nurse gave her made her want to shrink down inside the blankets and hide.

      “Honey, no one has been outside your door. You’re completely safe here.”

      Elise grimaced. Well, at least she knew.

      She thanked the woman and watched her leave.

      At some point, she drifted off into an uneasy sleep. She woke up at one point when she dreamed that she heard Mikey crying out for her. There were tears on her lashes when she lifted them. Her head jerked around when her door opened. A male nurse entered wheeling a medicine cart in front of him. She glanced at the clock. Two thirty in the morning. Sighing, she gave the man a tired smile.

      He didn’t smile back.

      Actually, he didn’t even make eye contact. Feeling uneasy, she watched him look at her chart. Maybe he was just shy. Or not a social person. Whatever. She was not impressed with the bedside manners of the staff in this hospital. Owning to herself that she was being ridiculous, she shut her eyes again, listening to the sound of him moving around her room.

      She opened one eye. He was watching her. The moment he caught her glance, he looked away and continued with his work.

      Now she was frustrated—and annoyed with herself for her own frustration. The man was just here to do a job. He wasn’t Hudson. Even with his changed appearance there was no way Hudson had shrunk five inches. She was starting to get paranoid.

      Pressing her lips together, she closed her eyes again, determined to sleep. She could hear nurses talking right outside her door and did her best to block them. Finally, the voices drifted away.

      A minute later, she felt the hairs on her arms stand on end. Her lids flew open.

      The nurse was standing directly in front of her, a pillow held in both hands. He smiled. A grim, ugly little smile that made her blood curdle.

      “Good night, lady. Nothing personal, you understand, but it appears someone doesn’t like you.”

      The last thing she saw before he pushed the pillow down over her face was his horrific smirk. Then she gasped as the white linen pillowcase pressed against her nose. Her gasp was cut off as the ability to suck in air left her. Thrusting her arms upward, she pushed and shoved at the man smothering her. A twinge in her arm...her IV had pulled free.

      She barely noticed the pain, instead focused on the screaming in her lungs as her last bit of air vanished in a silent scream. She was going to die.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4QAYRXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/sABFEdWNreQABAAQAAABQAAD/4QOHaHR0cDov L25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wLwA8P3hwYWNrZXQgYmVnaW49Iu+7vyIgaWQ9Ilc1TTBNcENl aGlIenJlU3pOVGN6a2M5ZCI/PiA8eDp4bXBtZXRhIHhtbG5zOng9ImFkb2JlOm5zOm1ldGEvIiB4 OnhtcHRrPSJBZG9iZSBYTVAgQ29yZSA1LjAtYzA2MSA2NC4xNDA5NDksIDIwMTAvMTIvMDctMTA6 NTc6MDEgICAgICAgICI+IDxyZGY6UkRGIHhtbG5zOnJkZj0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMTk5 OS8wMi8yMi1yZGYtc3ludGF4LW5zIyI+IDxyZGY6RGVzY3JpcHRpb24gcmRmOmFib3V0PSIiIHht bG5zOnhtcE1NPSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvbW0vIiB4bWxuczpzdFJlZj0i aHR0cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL3NUeXBlL1Jlc291cmNlUmVmIyIgeG1sbnM6eG1w PSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvIiB4bXBNTTpPcmlnaW5hbERvY3VtZW50SUQ9 InhtcC5kaWQ6ODlhZGM1ODEtNDE3Mi01NzQzLTlmNzgtMmMwZDVhNWRlMTg0IiB4bXBNTTpEb2N1 bWVudElEPSJ4bXAuZGlkOjI3MDhCQkFCNDBBNjExRTg5MUEzQzQ1RUNCNEIxNjkzIiB4bXBNTTpJ bnN0YW5jZUlEPSJ4bXAuaWlkOjI3MDhCQkFBNDBBNjExRTg5MUEzQzQ1RUNCNEIxNjkzIiB4bXA6 Q3JlYXRvclRvb2w9IkFkb2JlIFBob3Rvc2hvcCBDUzUuMSBNYWNpbnRvc2giPiA8eG1wTU06RGVy aXZlZEZyb20gc3RSZWY6aW5zdGFuY2VJRD0ieG1wLmlpZDo0QTQyODQ3QjA5MjQ2ODExOTEwOTlF MDMzQzYxNzg4NCIgc3RSZWY6ZG9jdW1lbnRJRD0iYWRvYmU6ZG9jaWQ6cGhvdG9zaG9wOjdiZDIx YjcyLTQ4N2MtMTFlOC05YmE2LWMyNjBiMjA2YWNkZSIvPiA8L3JkZjpEZXNjcmlwdGlvbj4gPC9y ZGY6UkRGPiA8L3g6eG1wbWV0YT4gPD94cGFja2V0IGVuZD0iciI/Pv/iDFhJQ0NfUFJPRklMRQAB AQAADEhMaW5vAhAAAG1udHJSR0IgWFlaIAfOAAIACQAGADEAAGFjc3BNU0ZUAAAAAElFQyBzUkdC AAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAD21gABAAAAANMtSFAgIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEWNwcnQAAAFQAAAAM2Rlc2MAAAGEAAAAbHd0cHQAAAHwAAAAFGJr cHQAAAIEAAAAFHJYWVoAAAIYAAAAFGdYWVoAAAIsAAAAFGJYWVoAAAJAAAAAFGRtbmQAAAJUAAAA cGRtZGQAAALEAAAAiHZ1ZWQAAANMAAAAhnZpZXcAAAPUAAAAJGx1bWkAAAP4AAA

Скачать книгу