fidgeted with the clasp on her purse, finally got it open, extracted a mint and popped it into her mouth. “There was a TV in the lounge, and we were able to figure out what was going on.”
Yes. He remembered the TV. It was still on with the volume muted when he got to Nadine. “You didn’t try to contact anyone? “
“There was no phone in the lounge, and neither of us had our cells with us. We’d left them in the labor rooms. Then, it wasn’t long before the pain made it impossible to try to escape. So, we stayed put … and helped each other.”
Just hearing this reopened all the old wounds. The pain. Hell. Several hours before the hostage standoff had begun, Nadine had called him from her routine doctor appointment. Her cervix was dilated, she’d said, and the doctor wanted to go ahead and admit her to the hospital.
Bo knew he should have been there to protect her. And he would have been if there hadn’t been a damn traffic accident. That fifteen-minute delay had meant the difference between life and death. Because if he’d been there at the hospital, he could have gotten Nadine the help she needed, and she might not have died from complications.
He pushed aside those regrets and focused on his guest. “Why are you really here? And please don’t try to lie and say it’s because you’re interested in the neighborhood.”
She nodded, paused again. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the nurses’ lounge.”
“Good. Because I’m all ears. And while you’re at it, why don’t you explain why you fled the scene?”
Silence. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have a response. There was plenty of nonverbal stuff going on. Increased respiratory rate. Her pulse, working on her throat. Bo didn’t care for any of it. Nor did he care for her. This woman clearly had some secrets, and he didn’t plan for them to be secrets much longer.
He came out of the chair, startling his guest with his abrupt movement. Ms. Cooper jumped to her feet and looked ready to run, but Bo caught on to her shoulders to stop her.
“You will tell me what happened,” he insisted. But then he got a sickening thought. “Did you know the gunmen? Were you their partner?”
Her eyes widened. “No.”
“And why should I believe you?”
She didn’t get a chance to answer. That’s because they heard the rushed footsteps.
Both looked in the direction of the sound, and a moment later Rosalie appeared in the entryway of the living room. “Hate to disturb you, but it’s important.” There was already alarm on her face, but it went up a notch when the nanny noticed their positions. Bo still had her by the shoulders.
“What’s going on here?” Rosalie asked.
He turned his attention back to Ms. Cooper. “I’m not sure.”
“Well, whatever it is, I hope it can wait,” Rosalie insisted. From the other end of the hall, Bo could hear his son, Jacob, babbling and playing. “You said something about a black van when you came in. You thought it might have been following you?”
That grabbed his attention. Bo let go of the woman’s shoulders and turned toward Rosalie. “Yes. Why?”
Rosalie aimed her trembling hand in the direction of the front door. “Because a black van just pulled up in front of the house.”
Chapter Two
Mattie’s heart dropped to her knees.
No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening. They couldn’t have found her this fast.
Bo reacted like a cop. He whipped his gun from the shoulder holster that was concealed beneath his jacket.
“Go to the babies,” he told the nanny. “Call Garrett O’Malley at headquarters. I want a unit out here now.” Then he headed for the front door.
Mattie followed him. She eased her snub-nose .38 from her purse and braced herself for the worst. However, she hadn’t counted on the worst coming from Bo himself.
He turned around, lightning fast, and with his left hand caught on to her right wrist. Before she even knew what was happening, he tore the gun from her hand.
“What the hell are you doing with this?” he snarled getting right in her face. So close that his body brushed against hers.
Mattie pretended not to notice the contact. “I have my reasons for carrying a gun. And you might need backup if there’s danger.”
“I don’t want or need backup from you. Get in the living room and stay there.”
Mattie didn’t try to wrestle her gun away from him, not that she would have succeeded anyway. He outsized her by at least seven inches and seventy-five pounds. But despite being outsized, she disobeyed his order.
She went to the front door and looked out one of the beveled glass sidelight windows. Even through the distortion of the bevels and the dusky light outside, she had no trouble seeing that black van. What she couldn’t see was who was inside it. The heavily tinted windows prevented that.
“What do you know about this?” Bo asked, joining her. Well, actually he muscled her out of the way and looked out for himself.
“Nothing … specifically. Maybe nothing at all.”
That earned her a glare from his narrowed brown eyes. “Then you’d better get into unspecifics, even if they involve nothing at all.”
Mattie tried to keep her chin high, though it wasn’t easy. “Later. After we take care of this.”
Whatever this was.
It could be someone from Witness Protection, or her family, or maybe the men who’d been hunting her. None of these was a good option. Unfortunately, with her luck she didn’t think it would be a van of Girl Scouts selling cookies.
From the end of the hall, Mattie could hear the sounds of children playing. Happy sounds. The nanny obviously hadn’t frightened the children with her alarming news about the van. That was good. Now Mattie had to make sure it stayed that way. She didn’t want the children upset or anywhere near the possible danger.
Despite Bo’s grunt of obvious disapproval, Mattie stayed by the sidelight window. “How long before the police unit arrives?” she asked.
“Soon.” He slipped her .38 into his jacket pocket. “Once they’re here, I’ll go out and have a chat with whoever’s in that van. And then, Ms. Cooper, I’m taking you to headquarters for an interview and possibly even an arrest for carrying a concealed weapon.”
Mattie couldn’t go to headquarters, of course. She couldn’t risk being seen. If she couldn’t convince Bo otherwise, then she’d have to figure a way out of there. But she didn’t want to leave. Not with so much unfinished business.
Or with so much at stake.
Bo volleyed glances between the van and her. He had a unique way of making her feel like a criminal.
Unfortunately,
