Lynette Eason - Bounty Hunter

“Very nice. Asher looked forward to it all morning.”

Riley reached for her hand and held it, noticing the texture of her still-smooth skin, feeling the warmth of her fingers. A hand that had wiped his tears and cleaned his little boy knees and elbows, had cradled him in her arms when his prom date had stood him up. He was a man who still wanted—if not needed—his mother and her comfort. He wondered if he should be ashamed to admit that. “How are you feeling? Are you taking your medicine?”

“I am.” She had a heart condition that required daily medication. One reason she felt she couldn’t handle full custody of Asher and why Riley had agreed to be the one to take him should anything happen to his sister. He’d never thought he would be in the position he now found himself. He swallowed and stepped next to the child to run a hand over Asher’s sweet face. The boy opened his eyes.

And smiled. “You’re still here.”

Riley’s heart tripped over itself at the love and trust reflected there. He leaned closer and pressed a kiss to Asher’s forehead. “Sure I am. How are you doing, Champ?”

“I want to go outside and play.”

Riley’s throat tightened on the tears that wanted to flow on behalf of the little boy he loved so much. “Soon, Asher. I sure hope you can do that soon.”

“Me, too.”

“Maybe we can get a wheelchair and roll you outside in a little while.”

“Okay.” Asher closed his eyes again then opened them when the door opened and the doctor walked in. The boy reached for Riley’s hand and held on but there was no fear in his blue eyes. For that Riley was grateful. He’d promised Asher that everyone in the hospital was there to help him walk again and Asher believed him. For now.

The doctor started to speak and Riley fingered one of the tubes running out of the little guy’s body. Fresh fury rocked him. He drew in a deep breath. God, where are You? Where were You? Why didn’t You protect them?

THREE

Harper frowned as she waited on Riley to come back out of the room he’d entered.

They were on the pediatric floor and Harper would admit, once she realized he was heading for the hospital, she’d thought he might be meeting a woman who worked there. A girlfriend nurse or doctor. Then she wondered why that was her first thought. She finally admitted it was because she wanted to know if there was someone special in his life. She grimaced. Why did it matter? It was not like she wanted him to act on his subtle hint about going to the restaurant on a date. Not with her, anyway. Did she?

She did.

And she didn’t.

She loved her job and knew she was good at it, but deep down, in a place she would only admit to herself, she wanted more. But she was afraid she just wasn’t meant to have a family of her own. And right now wasn’t the time to think about it. Conflicted, she pushed the thoughts away and focused on the reason she was there.

Once they’d arrived on the floor, the fact that everyone greeted Riley warmly seemed to support the theory that he was a regular visitor. But he hadn’t spoken to any of the women there other than to offer a brief wave and a smile. He’d gone into one of the rooms followed by the doctor shortly thereafter. Her curiosity ramped up into high gear.

But one thing was settled. He definitely wasn’t meeting Jake Morrow. So who? The woman who’d walked out wiping tears from her cheeks? She definitely looked like someone who might be Riley’s type. Pretty, with a sweet smile she’d shot at the nursing station as she’d passed by.

Harper stayed where she could see the door and waited. Ten minutes later, her patience paid off. The doctor stepped out and she waited for him to walk her way. “Excuse me?”

He stopped. “Yes?” He looked to be in his midforties and was a good-looking guy with kind green eyes.

Harper flashed her badge. “I’m investigating a case. Do you know Riley Martelli?”

“Of course. He’s Asher’s uncle. A better guy you’ll never meet.”

The glowing endorsement eased her nerves a bit. “That’s good to hear. And your patient is Asher?”

The kind eyes hardened. “Yes.”

“Can you tell me what happened to him?”

“No. HIPAA laws and all that.” Harper frowned and the doc lifted a brow. “But it was all over the news. You didn’t see it?”

“I’m not from around here. Can you fill me in?”

He hesitated and shrugged. “I can tell you what was on the news. Asher caught two bullets when a stalker went after his mother.”

Harper gasped. “That’s horrible.” Even though she’d seen a lot of awful in her line of work, she would never become numb to murder.

He nodded. “Charlotte, Asher’s mother, died almost instantly with a bullet that went through her heart. Asher pulled through. One of the bullets is lodged very near his spine and he needs some pretty tricky surgery to remove it. The one that went through his shoulder did some damage, but nothing major.”

“But he’ll be all right?”

“He’s already pretty well recovered from that one. Until we can get the bullet from his back, though, he won’t be able to walk. And yes, all of that was on the news—well, on television in a press conference, I guess you would say. After Charlotte was killed, her mother went on television and told the story. She then begged people to be on the lookout for Van Blackman and to call the police if he was spotted.”

“Did it help? Her plea?”

The doctor shrugged. “They got some leads but nothing that panned out.” His nostrils flared. “And so he’s walking around a free man while that little boy now has no mother and can’t get out of that bed.” His eyes flashed in fury at the injustice and Harper tried to process the words and push aside her shock.

“When is he supposed to have the surgery?” she asked.

“We’ve been waiting for him to heal enough to handle it. When he first got here, we didn’t think he was going to make it, but he’s pulled through like a champ.” He smiled proudly. “In fact, that’s his new nickname around here. Champ. We’re still waiting to see when we can schedule the surgery.”

“Doctor? Special Agent Prentiss?”

She froze and grimaced. Busted. She turned to find Riley staring at her. “I told you to call me Harper.”

He raised a brow. “Harper. What are you doing here?”

She opened her mouth then shut it. What could she say?

His hands went to his hips and he frowned. “Did you follow me?”

“Yes.”

“But...why?”

Harper glanced at the doctor who looked decidedly uncomfortable. She offered him a small smile. “Thank you.”

“Sure.” He escaped quickly.

Harper looked back at the glowering Riley. “I don’t blame you for being mad. I just had to make sure you weren’t meeting with Jake Morrow.”

“Meeting with Ja—” He ran a hand through his reddish blond hair. “Why would I be meeting with the man who shot at me?”

He was either truly confused or an Oscar worthy performer. “I don’t want to take you away from your nephew, but is there somewhere we can go to talk? When you’re finished?” Her phone buzzed but she ignored it for the moment.

He stared at her a moment longer then shrugged. “Let me tell my mother and Asher what I’m doing. We can go down to the cafeteria and get a sandwich. I’m starving.”

“Sure.”

He started to walk away then turned back. “Hey, do you have Star with you?”

“Yes. She’s in the car. Why?” She’d wanted to remain inconspicuous. Walking in with Star would have made her stand out like a sore thumb. The dog was fine in the temperature-controlled area of the vehicle.

“I’ll tell you in a minute.”

He was gone all of thirty seconds before he returned. “I was going to ask you to bring Star up to see Asher, but he’s sleeping deeply. I don’t want to disturb him.”