Fatal Exposure - By Gail Barrett Page 0,81

Then, eyeing an opening, she darted across the hall to a group of nurses clustered behind their desk.

“What happened?” she asked.

One of the nurses turned her way. “You can’t be here. You need to leave.”

“But what happened?”

“A man died. One of the cops they just brought in.”

Brynn’s belly flipped. A dizzy feeling roared through her head. Not Parker. Please, not Parker. Her knees threatening to buckle, she struggled to breathe. “Which one?”

“The older one, the guy they had under arrest. Now you need to go.”

Brynn staggered to the nearest wall, the relief sweeping through her nearly causing her to collapse. Trembling badly, she closed her eyes, knowing she should probably feel pity or compassion—or even guilt since she’d inflicted the wound that had caused her stepfather’s death. But she couldn’t summon any regret. Hoffman’s death was a blessing. The world was rid of a dangerous predator. He’d never harm an innocent child again.

She opened her eyes, but the urgency swirling around her still didn’t make any sense. Nurses were huddling behind their stations. Police were racing down the hallway, going in and out of rooms. Why this sudden commotion? Why the urgency? As unfortunate as it was, people died in hospitals all the time.

Just then an officer ran up, his expression grim. “You need to leave, ma’am. We’re clearing the hall.”

“Why?”

“This is a crime scene. Several men have been murdered. And the killer’s still on the loose.”

Several men? And they’d been murdered? Shock rendered her speechless. Hoffman hadn’t died from his injuries. Someone had come here and killed him? But who...

Delgado. The man who’d killed Parker’s brother. The man who’d executed that prisoner in the warehouse. The man who’d sent the gang leader after her. He’d finished off Hoffman—and apparently, his guards. Now he was going to kill Parker, too.

And Brynn had left him alone.

“Find Lieutenant Lewis,” she told the officer. “She’s in charge of this case. She knows all the details. Tell her it’s urgent, that Delgado is here.”

Praying that he’d listen, she took off for Parker’s room at a run.

Chapter 17

Parker drifted into consciousness, loud voices and the thunder of footsteps dragging him from sleep. He opened his eyes a slit, disoriented by the sudden brightness, and battled the urge to succumb to oblivion again. He scanned the white sheet covering his legs, the IV attached to his arm, the monitors beside the bed. To one side was a skinny table bearing a cup filled with chips of ice and a remote control unit attached by a cord to the bed. He was in a hospital—but where?

He frowned, trying to clear the fog muddling his brain and remember exactly what had put him here. Images sprang to his mind—Brynn being held at gunpoint. His desperation as he tried to save her. The shock of betrayal in her eyes. Crawling under the cabin. Lowering the kidnapped girl from the window. The terrible panic that overtook him when he’d realized Brynn was gone.

Where was she? Had she survived? He sat bolt upright, his heart in a frantic race. He had to get out of here and find her fast.

Then another memory slashed through the turmoil—Brynn standing beside him, her face ashen, as they’d wheeled him into the hospital. He slumped back against his pillow in relief. She’s alive. He was sure of that.

The remainder of the night clicked into place—Lieutenant Lewis barking out orders. Riding in the helicopter to Shock Trauma. The whomp of the rotor blades. Learning that the police had captured Hoffman, that both Brynn and the child were safe.

But would Brynn forgive his deception? He’d seen the hurt in her eyes when Hoffman had revealed that Parker worked for him. Dread taking up a drumbeat inside him, he struggled to sit up again. He couldn’t let it end like this. He had to find her and beg her forgiveness. He had to explain about Hoffman and make her give him another chance.

Shouts in the corridor caught his attention. More footsteps raced past his room. He frowned at the door, unable to ignore the ruckus in the hall. Something was going on. Some kind of emergency, judging by the noise.

He tossed the blanket aside, but a sudden wave of dizziness plowed through him, and he closed his eyes. Damn. His entire body trembled as if he’d just run a marathon. He didn’t even have the strength to stand.

Another shout came from the hall. He wrenched himself into motion, knowing he had to investigate—no matter how weak he felt.