Not the Marrying Kind (Destiny Bay Romances - Forever Yours) (26 page)

Shelley said a few words she wasn’t used to using, and then she ran up to her apartment and got out the yellow pages, looking for the number of Destiny Bay’s one lonely cab company.
 
She found it, but the phone rang and rang and no one ever answered.
 

She repeated the bad words, added a few new ones, and began to walk.
 
After all, the hospital was only about two miles away.
 
She ought to be able to make it in no time at all.
 

Too bad she had forgotten to change her shoes.
 
Heels didn’t usually last two miles.
 
Sighing, she slipped them off and put them in her bag and then she was barefoot for the trip.
 
As long as she didn’t find any glass on the way, she ought to be okay.
 
Shouldn’t she?
 
Too late for anything else now.
 
She was committed.
 

She had a choice.
 
Either she could go down and walk along the main street where she would likely be accosted by cars full of teenaged boys or maybe even real bad guys, or she could stick to the residential path she’d started on.
 
No traffic, but it was sort of dark and she wouldn’t have any hope of getting a ride this way.
 
She made a quick decision and turned down toward the beach.
 
She could walk along the sea wall and feel a little safer.
 

Looking ahead, she could see the tower of the hospital rising above the landscape like a castle on Mt. Olympus, looking far away and hopelessly unattainable.
 
Would she ever get there?
 

A homeless man came out of the shadows.
 
She couldn’t understand what he was saying and she hurried past him.
 
Then there was a younger, more attractive young man, but obviously drunk.

“Hey honey,” he called out to her.
 
“Where are you going?
 
Can I come too?”

Her heart was beating hard now, almost stopping the breath in her throat.
 
She went on, looking at the tower in the distance, aiming for her goal.
 
She had to get there.
 

“Hello little lady,” said a suave voice coming out of a fancy sports car that slowed near her.
 
“Do you need a ride?
 
You shouldn’t be out here at this time of night.
 
Come on.
 
Let me take care of you.”

She didn’t even look at the car the voice was coming from.
 
Pretending not to hear a thing, she walked faster.
 

Another car slowed near her.
 

“Uh, Miss Carrington?
 
Hello!”

She turned to look at that one.
 
The car belonged to the police and the face at the open window was one she recognized.
 
Relief flooded her and she sagged, stopping and laughing softly.
 

“Kurt, isn’t it?” she said, remembering the young officer who had helped her when she’d accused Michael of shoplifting weeks before.
 
“Oh, it’s nice to see a friendly face.”

“Where are you going?” he asked.
 

“The hospital,” she said.
 
“I’ve got to get to the hospital and…”

“What is it?” he asked, alarmed.
 
Opening the door, he jumped out to get closer.
 
“Are you hurt?”

“No.
 
Oh no.
 
But my cousin is having a baby, and my car broke down and…”
 
To her horror, she found herself tearing up and sniffling.
 
“I’m sorry, I just…”

“No, you get in the car,” he told her firmly, taking her arm.
 
“We’ll take you to the hospital.
 
No problem at all.”

She sighed, letting him steer her to the back seat of the car and sinking into it gratefully.
 
“Thank you so much,” she said.
 

He smiled and got back into the front passenger’s seat.
 
“No problem,” he repeated.
 

By car, it only took a few minutes.

A call came in just as they pulled up to the parking lot.
 
Shelley couldn’t make out what was being said.
 
The transmission was crackly and she wasn’t used to trying to decipher it like the policemen were.

“Sounds like there’s been a shooting at the marina,” Kurt translated for her.
 

“What?
 
Oh no.
 
I hope no one was hurt.”

Kurt looked back at her after signaling something to the man at the wheel. “Sorry, but we’re going to have to drop you off here and get there as quickly as we can.”

“Of course,” she said, slipping out of the car and waving goodbye.
 
“Thanks so much,” she called after them.
 
Then she turned toward the hospital entrance.
 
Just before she went in, she put on her shoes.
 
At least she wouldn’t look like a vagabond.
 

Now to find the babies.
 

Michael groaned.
 
He’d screwed up.
 
He didn’t do that very often, but when he did, it was usually a doozy.
 
He’d lost sight of Robert and now he had no idea where the attack would come from.
 

There was bound to be an attack.
 
A man like Robert wouldn’t give up so easily.
 
He’d thought he could keep an eye on him and be ready to counter, but he’d lost him in the gloom and now he didn’t know what angle he’d be coming from.
 

But he was pretty sure he knew where the focus would be.
 
Here were Tag and Mickey, getting ready to pull into their slip and tie up.
 
So Robert had to be nearby.

Drawing his weapon, he moved slowly to the edge of the shadows and looked over the walkways that formed the structure of the marina.
 
He wanted to be ready when Robert made his move.
 
And that should be any second now.
 

He listened, hard.
 
The lapping of the water against wood, the sound of the boat maneuvering into the slip, a far away sound of a car revving up—he held his breath as the hair rose on the back of his neck.
 
Robert was close.
 
He could feel him.
 

He heard the movement behind where he was crouched with a sick sense of frustration and then everything seemed to go in slow motion.
 
He turned, but oh so slowly.
 
Why couldn’t he move faster?
 
He knew the shadowy figure he saw had to be Robert who had somehow managed to come in behind him.
 
If he could only turn fast enough to stop him….

He felt the blow to the back of his head and saw his glock leave his hand and go skittering across the wooden deck.
 
He didn’t black out.
 
Instead, he kept turning, even as he fell, and once he hit bottom, he used all his strength and will power to bounce back, coming up and leaping across time and space to throw himself at Robert.
 
He heard the shot and felt something hit his shoulder, but he kept going.
 
He was an attack machine and his only goal was to knock Robert out of the picture before he could hurt Mickey or Tag.
 

He heard the gun go off again but he didn’t feel anything.
 
And then he had hold of Robert, knocking him off his feet, slamming his head into the steel pipe that held the roof onto the deck.
 
He felt him go limp under the force of his body, saw the gun fall and spin over the edge and into the water, and then, finally, he relaxed.
 

He’d done what had to be done.
 
He heard the sirens arriving.
 
It was over.
 

And finally, everything turned black.
 

Shelley walked down the hospital hallway, the sound of her heels clicking on the tile surface sounding brittle and lonely in all this emptiness.
 
Where was everybody?
 
She wasn’t sure where she was going.
 
There had been a lot of construction at the hospital lately and at this hour, there was no one to give her guidance.
 

Suddenly, Carrie appeared at the end of the hall, her blond hair flying around her head as though she’d just been in a windstorm.
 

“Shelley, come quickly!”

“What’s the matter?”
 
She began to walk faster.
 
“What’s happened?”

“Jennifer is delivering.
 
The first baby is out and he seems to be okay, but the other one is in trouble.”

“Oh no.”
 
She reached where Carrie was and gave her a hug.
 

“There’s some problem with the cord around his neck, something they couldn’t see before because the other baby was in front.”

“Oh.”

Carrie took her hand and began to lead her to the waiting room, her pretty face anxious.
 

“They think he’s under stress.
 
They are really worried about him.”

“Poor Jennifer.
 
And Reid.”

“I know.”

“Wait.”
 
Shelley looked at her cousin’s wife.
 
She looked as big as a house and just as overwhelmed as anyone would be at that size.
 
“Carrie, you have got to slow down.
 
You’ve got your own baby to think about.”

“I know.
 
I…I will slow down, just as soon as…”

“No!”
 
Shelley pointed her to a chair.
 
“You’re going to sit down right now and take it easy.
 
If you want anything, I’ll get it.
 
If you have a message for someone, I’ll take it.
 
I mean it, Carrie.
 
I can’t believe Grant is letting you run around like this.”

Carrie’s face crumpled.
 
“He’s not here.
 
He’s in New York on a business trip.
 
I’m just trying to hold it together until…”

“Sit!”

Carrie did as she ordered, looking as though all her energy was spent.
 
“Oh Shelley,” she whispered, obviously exhausted.
 

The waiting room was full of Carringtons and their various spouses and relatives.
 
Shelley spotted Janet and called her over.
 
She looked just as pregnant as Carrie, but not as tired.
 

“Janet, please, make sure Carrie stays put and gets some rest.
 
I’ve got to try to get hold of my brother Rick and get him over here.”

Janet nodded, a smile on her pretty face.
 
“Sure.
 
I’ll take care of her.”

Shelley went to the window and tried her sister’s cell phone.
 

“Kathy!” she cried when she answered.
 
“Where are you?”

“We’re still in Rome.
 
Jace rented a beautiful villa and we’re basking in the glow of sweet success.”

“You deserve to bask.
 
We’re all so proud of you.
 
The whole room drank a toast to honor you at the Waltz Away Ball the other night. You would have liked it.”
 
She laughed.
 
“But listen.
 
I’m at the hospital, and I just thought you ought to know that Jennifer is having the twins right now and there are some complications, so you ought to stay in touch.”

“Oh Shelley, I’m so glad you’re there.
 
Please do keep me updated.
 
No matter what time, I want to hear.”

She was glad her sister cared.
 
Sometimes it seemed like Kathy was off on her own projects and didn’t have time to be part of their family.
 
So she promised to keep her informed.

Next she tried calling her brother Rick, only to find he was right there in the waiting room with her.
 
She just hadn’t seen him.
 

“Come on Shelley,” he teased her.
 
“Look up.
 
See the doofus with the big grin by the elevator?
 
That’s me.”

“Oh Rick.”
 
She hurried over to give him a hug and then she turned and threw her arms around Terry Yardley, the current woman in his life, who was standing beside him.
 

“I never did get a chance to talk to you about your life as a butler,” she said, smiling at her.
 
“I know you’ve been working at Mar Vista all summer.
 
How unusual!”

“I come from a long line of butlers, so it’s a family tradition.”

“Good,” Shelley told her happily.
 
Rick had gone through some rough times in the past.
 
She was glad he’d found a woman he cared for.
 
“I like family traditions.”

A high-pitched sound ripped through the night.
 
She stopped, listening.
 
She could hear sirens arriving at the emergency entrance.
 
That reminded her of her ride in the police car.
 
What had they said?
 
A shooting at the marina?
 

Suddenly her heart was beating hard.
 
She didn’t know why, but she had to know who was arriving downstairs.
 
Turning from her brother and his latest, she hurried toward the stairs.
 

“I’m sorry, Miss,” said a guard at the double doors.
 
“No admittance.”