Chapter Five

“I can’t leave without Lily. He’ll take her, and I’ll never see her again.”

Riser was aware of every ounce of panic in Laney’s voice; he was also aware of what he needed to do.

“You heard the doctor; she will be in recovery for a minimum of three days. He can’t take her from this hospital before then.”

Laney backed up a step, holding her hands up in front of her, as if she could ward off him, his arguments, and anything that could keep her from her daughter. “Then I’ll wait until they roll her out of surgery, and I’ll take her out of here.”

“You can’t move Lily that soon after they’ve cut her open.”

Laney flinched. Riser needed her to see reason. “She’ll bleed out. There’s no way around that. And if that doesn’t happen, she’ll get an infection in her wound. That could kill her too.”

Laney continued to hold up her hands, shaking her head in silence. She backed up another step and bumped into the emergency room doors.

“Laney, you said your husband is a cop. If he’s got an alert on your name or your daughter’s name, that means the cops are already on their way here. If everything you’ve told me is true, then he will have you arrested. And once that happens, there’s nothing I’ll be able to do to protect you or Lily.”

Riser glanced over his shoulder, making sure no one else had come around the corner. No signs of life. But he knew Laney’s file had pinged some kind of an alert—it explained why that nasty nurse had been gaping at her computer. It explained why they’d been left here this long. Local PD would be here any second. The sheriff back home, Bo Lawson, was a solid guy. He’d help them, Riser knew he would, but Bo would have to take Laney into custody until they sorted this situation out. Problem was, men like Laney’s ex wouldn’t sit around and twiddle their thumbs and wait on someone else to butt into their lives. He’d blow in like a raging bull and destroy everything in his path to hurt Laney.

They had to get out of here. The OR doors boxed them in, offering no escape route, but Riser knew a way out the back. He could sneak her out to the little cabin he’d built a few miles out of town. No one other than Ethan knew the location. They could hole up there for a day or two, give Riser time to contact the sheriff and get a restraining order against Laney’s bastard husband.

“I can’t lose her.”

Riser closed the distance between them and grabbed her wrists, careful not to hurt her but forceful enough to get her attention. “Then come with me, now. Like I said, they won’t let anyone move her from this hospital for at least a few days. But Mark can have you arrested tonight, and then what help will you be to her?”

She had that shell-shocked expression he’d only seen on soldiers in battle, but he couldn’t let her freeze up now. Not with this much at stake.

“I’ve got a cabin we can hide out at for a little while. I’ll fill Sheriff Lawson in on the situation, and he can help. He’s a good guy, and he’s best buds with the judge; we’ll get a restraining order against your ex to keep him away from Lily.” Riser took Laney’s face between his hands. “And I’ll personally guard her, if it comes down to that.”

Seeing terror in any woman’s features made rage boil up inside Riser, turning him into a giant, protective beast, but seeing it on Laney’s face felt even worse. He ground his teeth together, knowing she could hear his jaw popping from the force of it.

He’d lost one woman under his protection to a madman, something that haunted him; he wouldn’t allow it to happen again. “I swear on my life, just trust me. You’re no good to Lily locked up in a jail cell, especially if it’s controlled by your abusive ex.”

Laney seemed to snap out of whatever terror-induced haze had taken control of her mind, and heat rushed to her ghostly pale cheeks. “You’re right.” She gulped, the movement making her throat bob. “If he even lets me make it to the jail cell.”

Riser kept his mouth shut, not needing to confirm or deny it was a possibility. They both knew it was a likely scenario. He’d met plenty of men like Mark—men who used their power to hurt and control people rather than protect them—and he didn’t doubt the asshole would twist the law to suit his own needs. Laney had run away with Mark’s daughter, and Riser seriously doubted the guy would forgive and forget. If Mark was allowed to leave the hospital with Laney, Riser was willing to bet no one would ever see her alive again.

 “Stay close to me, keep your head down, and don’t act suspicious. We’re going to walk out of here,” Riser took her hand and eased down the hall toward the corner.

Laney grabbed her purse and tucked in close behind him. Riser eased up to the corner and peered around, wishing like hell he’d brought his sidearm in from the car. As long as he did his job right, he wouldn’t need it in here. Besides, ripping out his sidearm in the hospital would be a guaranteed attention getter when the only thing he wanted to do was blend in and coast out. The nurses’ station was a steady buzzing. His particular nurse, the sour face, was preoccupied, dealing with an old man yelling about aliens. Served her right.

He glanced at Laney’s face and saw that it had gone pale once more. She was glancing over her shoulder at the operating room doors.

“Exactly how far away does your ex live from this hospital?”

“A couple of hours,” she answered quietly.

“Then we don’t have much time.”

Riser would wait ’til later to question Laney more about her situation. He had a lot of questions, but right now his number-one priority was getting her safely out of this hospital and hidden. Riser peeked around the corner again, made sure the nurses were still preoccupied, and then led Laney around the corner and down the next hall.

Riser stared straight ahead, listening for any break in the argument going on at the nurses’ station. It was the best distraction he could hope for in the limited amount of time it would take for them to make the crossing. If they were lucky, they’d sail right out the back door.

“Hey you, stop.”

Riser kept walking, maneuvering through the clogged hallway, shouldering his way past staff nurses and patients. Not his favorite scenario, but hopefully the people around them wouldn’t realize what was going on until it was too late.

“Stop those two! They’re wanted for kidnapping!” the sour face yelled.

Riser didn’t look back; he squeezed Laney’s hand and took off, hanging a left and then a right, zigzagging down the hallway toward the back door. No one tried to stop them. Riser dwarfed most of the staff by at least a foot, and only an idiot would get in his way right now. The only thing separating them from their exit was the cardiac unit in the back. It would be a piece of cake to sneak around the front to his truck and leave.

“Police! Stop where you are!”

Riser craned his head to the right to see a pudgy, balding cop giving chase. It was probably the first detainment the man had ever tried to make. Well, he wouldn’t be taking them in today. Riser had promised Laney that he’d keep her safe and protect her daughter—or die trying. It was a promise he intended to keep.

“Laney, move it!” Riser increased his speed, pulling Laney along behind him. She was struggling to keep up with his longer stride, but her face was all determination. She’d do it for her daughter. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. “Just a little bit farther.”

They rounded the last corner and shoved past a doctor standing outside a patient room with a clipboard in hand, inadvertently knocking him into the wall.

Riser didn’t slow down to apologize; he pounded toward the double doors at the end of the hallway, stuck his arm out straight, and shoved through them into the warm, summer air. Thank God, the moon was tucked behind the clouds, and there were only a couple of streetlights in the rear parking lot to light the path. He needed to get around front to his truck, but he didn’t want the path to be any easier for the people following them.

The hospital doors slammed open and the heavy cop came running out, struggling to get his sidearm out of his holster. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”

The man fumbled the gun like he’d never held it and lifted it in the air with a one arm move classic for rookies. Shit. The cop didn’t have a clue what he was doing. He’d accidentally fire off a round if he didn’t get his grip under control.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Riser didn’t think; he didn’t feel; he just reacted.

He threw Laney to the ground. The bullets chinked into the pavement a few feet from their heads. Laney screamed. Riser jumped to his feet, and charged. The cop’s determined, sweaty expression morphed into one of shock.

Before the man could pull the trigger again, Riser tackled him to the pavement and wrestled his gun free. As much as he wanted to shoot the bastard for daring to fire a weapon in their direction, he emptied the clip and threw the gun as far as he could across the parking lot. “Don’t follow us,” Riser said in a dark voice that had the cop nodding his head instantly in agreement.

“Yes, sir.”

He ran back to Laney, snatched her up, and took off around the side of the hospital. “We’ve got to hurry. Run for my truck, it’s the black four door in the corner.”

A cop car came squealing around the corner, lights flashing, sirens blaring. Riser shoved Laney down between a couple of vehicles until the car blasted past them, and they took off again.

Moments later, they were in Riser’s truck, both of them breathing heavily. “Laney, buckle your seat belt,” Riser said, as he cranked his truck.

“All—all right.” Laney fumbled with the seat belt, unsuccessfully trying to get it to latch. Riser threw his truck into reverse, slammed on the gas, and then shoved it into drive. He floored the pedal and squealed out of the parking lot, just in time to see the first cop come running around the corner, waving his arms frantically to his fellow officers, pointing in their direction.

“Shit, hold on.” They still had quite a way to go before they reached the safety of his cabin, and they had to make it out of town without being followed.

Laney gave up her battle with the seat belt and grabbed the door handle, jamming her feet into the floorboard.

It was going to be a bumpy ride.

A pair of bright headlights arced through the rear window and the cop’s siren wailed through the sleepy small town. Riser accelerated, two handing the wheel, speeding straight down the next few blocks as he searched for the best turn off.

If this was a high-speed chase by a drug lord or terrorist or something he’d slam on the breaks, do a one-eighty and pump that car full of lead. But he couldn’t do that to the local law enforcement considering they thought they were in pursuit of a criminal. He’d have to evade and escape without tearing up the town.

A small road, divided down the middle with cute trees, appeared just ahead to the right. “Hold on, Laney.”

He down shifted, yanked the wheel and then screeched around the corner at the last minute, clipping a low hanging limb with the tail end of his truck.

Laney slid across the bench seat, her gasp drowned out by the roar of his pipes as he accelerated forward. She started to scoot away immediately, but he hooked another right, slamming her right back up against his rib cage, forcing her to straddle the stick shift.

She trembled and like it had a mind of its own, his arm fell around her shoulders. Damn, she smelled good. Like fresh flowers and honey. “I’ve got you.”

She stared up at him, her big brown eyes sucking him in, and for the moment he completely forgot where he was. How could he have never noticed how striking she was? Even in the crumpled and stained baggy T-shirt she made his chest squeeze tight.

Blue lights swept through the window, dragging back to the present. Shit, what the hell was wrong with him?

Riser forced his gaze to the rearview mirror, anything to distract his mind from Laney and her soft skin touching his. He needed to let go of her and focus on driving, but damn him if he could pull his arm from her shoulders, especially with her trembling in his grip.

Then her body lost some of her rigidity and she folded into him, her small arm going around his waist. Forget letting her go, he pulled her closer. The sirens screamed closer and Riser tightened his grip on the wheel. Right now, he felt like he could fly.

“I’ve gotta lose this tail.”

She nodded against him. “I’m all right. Go.”

No more words needed, Riser let go of her shoulder and shifted into over drive. The small town mainstreet blurred past, the streets empty at this time of night. Thank God. The last thing he needed was having to worry about avoiding innocent bystanders as well as the cops.

The buildings fell away and the cop car lagged behind, further away but not gone. They’d left the camoflauge of the buildings and now sped past fields and the occasional farm house.

Nowhere to cut corners and hide.

Laney’s fingers dug into his waist. “What are we going to do?”

He scanned the horizon ahead. Without the streetlights from town, darkness prevailed, only broken from his head lights. They took a long curve, flanked on the left by a thick patch of trees and the cop disappeared for a few seconds. The trees gave way to another corn field. Inspiration struck.

Riser killed the headlights, shifted down to first and turned off the road. Laney let out a squeal as the cab of the truck dipped into a ditch, rocked up and then they were bumping into the cornfield in the dark.  “What are you doing?!”

He braked and killed the truck, letting his hand slide from the stick to her knee. “Hiding from the cops,” he said with a smirk, “Did this once when I was a teenager.”

The sound of cicadas and crickets permeated the cab. Laney licked her lips and his gaze honed in on her mouth.

“So, you made it a habit to break the law?”

He could practically feel the energy thrumming off her now, the burn off of a mad dash of adrenaline. He had the same rush, only his was shifting into over drive from being so near her. “Na, just a little cow tipping.”

She chuckled and the sound was sweet music to his ears. “Somehow, I don’t have any trouble imagining you doing something like that.”

“I was a little bit of a prankster,” he said with a grin. His imagination wasn’t on tipping cows, however, it was on her lips and how good she would taste. She blinked, fanning her thick eyelashes over flushed cheeks, each innocent move stoking his need. His fingers dug into her knee, itching to move up her thigh.

What the hell was wrong with him? He had to get her to safety and call Bo, save her from her ex, but all he could focus on right now was her satiny skin practically glowing in the moonlight. If he didn’t get some distance between them soon, he’d be laying her down on his bench seat right here in the middle of nowhere. His throat clamped down and heat filled his groin. She’d be so beautiful with her hair fanned out beneath her…

The cop car roared past. Riser blinked. Fuck.

He threw her to the bench out of sight, their harsh breaths mingling. She went all stiff beneath him, but there wasn’t any fear on her face – just raw desire. The same edgy need gunning through his veins and heating his skin. He dropped his forehead to hers, grasping at the last threads of his control. “We need to go.”

Her whispered response caressed his face, “You’re right.”

Let her go, man. You’re getting distracted again – he couldn’t afford another bungled mission. Another Caroline Cotter.

He sat up, ignoring the quaking want shaking his frame and grabbed the keys. He cranked the truck and craned his head around, backing out of the field in the dark. He couldn’t stop his gaze from cutting to Laney as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, her lush lips locked into a shakey, but firm, line. She stared straight ahead with a shattered expression. He’d hurt her somehow.

How much more of a bastard could he be than to basically take advantage of her in her situation?