Gina's Private Police Force [Men of Montana 3] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (25 page)

* * * *

Patti returned to Gina’s room where the woman had been returned to the bed. She wasn’t asleep, but drowsiness had set in. Connor and Jared stood on opposite sides of the bed, each holding a hand. Doc Anderson stood upon her entry, ever the gentleman, and stepped toward her.

“Are you all right?” he asked gently, taking her hand.

Nodding, she smiled. “Yes. We talked. She’s very sorry. She’s young and has a lot to learn.”

“As long as you are all right.” He smiled down at her. “I know you’ll help her gain her footing here.”

Smiling shyly, she nodded briefly then looked over at Gina. “How is she doing?”

“Gina is very frightened and confused,” he answered, pulling her further away from the bed. “Her state of mind is very fragile right now after everything she has been through in the past few years. She’s already tried to leave these guys once without telling them, and I’m afraid she is going to try something crazy again.”

Patti’s heart broke at not just what the doctor was telling her, but the gentle, compassionate way he spoke. He cared about his patients so much, which caused her to love him even more. Before she could stop herself, she reached up with her right hand, wrapped it around the back of the man’s neck and drew his face down to hers. Her lips covered his and she prayed he would respond in turn, that she wasn’t taking a chance on her heart or her job.

* * * *

Doc Anderson was shocked when her lips pressed against his. He hadn’t kissed anyone since his wife had died but Patti’s lips against his felt so right. They were soft and plump and as they moved against his, he felt other parts of his body coming alive. A groan escaped him in response and he let his arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Licking the seam of his lips, Patti begged for entrance as her libido seemed to take over, wanting as much intimacy with this man as possible. When his lips parted, her tongue slipped in, swiping at his own before moving to other parts of his mouth, savoring the feel and taste of him. His tongue kept trying to draw hers back and when it did, they dueled for control.

For a few moments, they were in their own private world, away from work, patients, and other people. It wasn’t until a throat cleared that they pulled away from each other, although the doctor kept his arm around her waist. Both looked as if they were teenagers caught necking in the backseat of the car, but they didn’t care.

Looking up at the trio in and around the bed, they found Connor and Jared grinning at them while Gina was trying to stifle her giggles behind her hand.

Stepping around the bed, Connor came to stand in front of the duo. “We need to get Gina out of here and to a safe place. Will you sign her release?”

“Of course, my son,” Doc Anderson said. “I’ll take care of all that. You get her home and I’ll take care of the paperwork. Keep me informed of her status.”

Doc escorted Patti out the door.

* * * *

Connor and Jared helped Gina from the bed. Standing on wobbly legs, she let them hold her up, each with an arm under hers. Taking steps was frightening for her, for with each one, she felt as if she was going to fall. Stifling a yawn, she tried to focus on what they were doing but her head felt so fuzzy.

Stepping out into the hall, the trio met with the solid frame of Lawrence Whitaker. He looked the three of them up and down, taking note of Gina’s glazed eyes. “What’s going on here? Is she okay?”

Connor spoke up as they began walking down the hall to the elevator. “We’ve had a breach of security. We need to get her someplace safe.”

“Lyndee made it sound urgent so I came on up. Angela is on her way up with Nathan.”

Nodding, Connor responded, “Good. I think he’ll help Gina here calm down.”

The now foursome walked to the elevator and waited for it to arrive on the floor. Connor glanced back at the nurse’s station and spotted Amanda with her elbows on the desk and her face sunk into her hands in shame. He could see now how she could be misled and he hoped he didn’t cause any permanent emotional damage to the girl.

When the doors opened, the four people got on the moving car and Connor pushed the button for where they wanted to go.

* * * *

Dusk was settling in the city of Kalispell. The day had been mostly clear with white puffy clouds occasionally dotting the sky. Now those white cottony objects were cast in reds, oranges, purples, and golds as the sun began its descent behind the mountains in the west.

The air was chilly against the man’s exposed skin, seeming to burn him all over again. The clothes he wore did little to protect him except from the prying eyes of the people looking down upon him.

The affliction had been a horror show for him. After the fire his skin had just fallen off of him. Lucky enough an old girlfriend was a nurse and she helped him through the pain and anguish of turning from a man into a beast. There were no skin grafts to help him look normal again. He would be a hideous monster for the rest of his life. Sometimes he wished she had let him die.

But revenge was going to be sweet when he finally killed Gina. She was the reason he was this way. It was all her fault. When he had struck that sheriff’s truck from behind, he was trying to hurt her enough so he could take her somewhere to finish the job. She was going to feel the lick of the flame as it kissed her flesh, singeing it, causing it to blacken and fall off. He could hear her screams now and for some odd reason, it aroused him. He looked forward to taking her to the private spot he had found and sharing their last moments together.

Sitting in a car parked near the entrance to the hospital, he had let his body sink down in the seat so his head was barely visible behind the steering wheel. With sharp intent he watched for specific people to exit. From the backseat, muffled groans and curses emanated as the vehicle rocked with motion as the bundled-up person tried to kick at the seat in anger. The man leaned back and struck his fist out, hitting the man on the side of his head. The man went still.

Turning back, the mystery man watched for his prey.

He had thought for certain that cop had him earlier, but thank God for that stupid security guard. The man was so close that he was used as a diversion allowing a clean getaway. And that stupid nurse! If only she had gotten all the information he wanted. He would take care of her also.

For half an hour he watched people come and go from the building. The light in the sky faded to inky darkness save the lights in the parking lot. Drinking from the thermos he had sitting next to him, trying to get some warmth on the inside, he tried to be patient.

Finally, he saw the threesome exit the front doors. Gina was huddled between the two cops. He couldn’t believe that she was with both of them, the slut! They helped hold her up and he was pleased with himself that he had hurt her. One of the men sprinted off in the opposite direction of the mystery man and about two minutes later returned with the white Sheriff’s SUV. Jumping out, he stepped around the vehicle and helped get Gina in. He returned to the driver’s seat and drove off.

Waiting a few moments before he pulled out, he kept a careful distance behind the other vehicle so as not to tip the sheriff off that he had a tail.

* * * *

The Tahoe had only gone a block and was stopped at a light. Glancing in the rearview mirrors, Connor nonchalantly announced, “We have a tail.”

No one turned around to check, taking the sheriff at his word. Jared in the front seat leaned over a bit and looked out the side mirror. “Taxi?”

“Yup.”

“I certainly hope the driver is okay.”

“Me, too,” Connor agreed. “This guy seems like a bit of a loose cannon.”

“And those are the worst kinds. I think he thinks he doesn’t have anything to lose.”

“Well,” Connor suggested, hitting his lights and driving through the red light causing a bit of havoc in the intersection. “Let’s play with him. I want to see how much he’ll go through to get to us.”

Flipping the switch on the siren, it joined the flashing lights as they picked up speed down the road to the highway. Watching through the rearview, Connor and Jared were impressed that the taxi seemed comfortable keeping up with them, although at a slight distance. They both had to wonder whether the man had a mental issue or was in such denial that he wasn’t noticed by them.

Once on the highway, Connor brought the Tahoe up to seventy miles an hour and had switched off the siren and lights. Jared called into Brian Hawthorne with the Montana Highway Patrol to give them the heads up and then called into the office to inform the temporary night patrol to do the same. After that, he called into Trey to have him, Storm, and Austin as backup in case they needed them. They were hoping to have this tied up by the end of the night.

The woman in the backseat sat huddled quietly against the driver’s side. A blanket wrapped around her to ward off the cold as she shivered in fear.

Connor’s gaze kept vigilance between the road ahead and the rearview mirror. The taxi was keeping time with them yet far enough back that if they weren’t looking for it, they would have missed it. Also, since it was nighttime and the middle of winter, it was easy to keep track of cars on the road.

Coming around Flathead Lake, Connor slowed his speed due to the terrain. He didn’t want to endanger anyone with the curves the highway took around the shore of the glass-like lake. The half-moon shone down on the water, leaving a long streak of light floating ominously across the lake. Thank God there was some sort of moon out as it gave a bit of light to the surrounding landmarks along the road, Connor thought.

Apparently the mystery man wasn’t local as he hadn’t slowed down when Connor had, and after they had taken a curve, Connor watched in the rearview mirror as the taxi took one too quickly and had to pull the vehicle out of the median with a sharp turn of the wheel. A secret desire within the sheriff hoped he would overcorrect his mistake and end up in a field, but then there was the chance he would hurt someone innocent in the mayhem.

Jared had hung up with Trey and he turned to their passenger. “It’s going to be all right. We have plenty of help heading to the house right now. Just relax and let us handle everything.”

Nodding her head, she still didn’t speak. Exhaustion had overtaken her but she refused to drift off, afraid if anything happened, she wouldn’t be able to protect herself if needed. A murmured “Okay” was barely audible as she laid her cheek against the cool glass.

Connor and Jared glanced at each other at the weakened voice, hoping they hadn’t pushed her too far. They wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, but this was their chance to get the maniac that was making all three of their lives miserable. Setting his eyes back on the road, Connor continued on at about fifty-five miles an hour.

At times the taxi got closer, as if he was antagonizing them, and other times he slowed so considerably that they wondered if he was backing off until he held his distance steady again. Perhaps he was drifting off as it had been a tiring day for all of them.

Taking the highway 28 exit, Connor headed west. The taxi followed. Considering the highway was mostly used for locals, Connor nearly laughed at this man’s tailing blunders.

“Give me the run down,” Connor ordered his deputy.

“Wolf was already at the house with Angela and Nathan. Angela will take the little guy to their house once we get there. Trey is on his way from the office along with Lyndee. Storm, Austin, and the Circle G hands are on their way from the ranch. We’ll have plenty of backup.”

“Good. I want this asshole contained so we can find out exactly who he is,” Connor ground out.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jared asked, confused at his partner’s comment.

“That’s the reason I want to find out. It seems too cut-’n-dried that it’s him. I have a funny feeling about all this. Something just isn’t right.”

Jared sat back quietly, not sure what Connor was feeling. He tried to process the facts in his head as they scurried along to their destination.

The car the mystery man was driving had been registered to Gina and her husband so it was a very slim chance that it was a stranger that was trying to harm her. The man didn’t seem to try to hide himself too much unless his motto was to hide in plain sight. He had stolen his friend’s truck after he had left for his duty, which meant he had been in town for a while following people around. No one had really complained about a scarred stranger roaming around town. In fact, Connor was the first one that had noticed him. He had to point him out to Tanya.

Was it possible he had been in Polson a lot longer than they had thought? Did he follow Gina here? Was he planning on killing her and taking Nathan away or was he out to hurt both of them?

Dialing a number into his phone, he waited until the gruff voice on the other end answered, “Polson Diner.”

Jared smiled. The man could put the fear of the devil into everyone he met, but he and Connor were beginning to see a different side to Glen thanks to their woman, who seemed to lighten the hearts of those she touched.

“Hey, Glen. It’s Jared. This is official business, so may I please speak with Tanya?” he asked, hoping the man would agree.