Heart Of A Hunter. Sylvie Kurtz
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steps got shorter, faster. âMeter reader? UPS delivery? Anything else?â
âSpecial delivery from the post office two days ago. Propane yesterday.â
That gave him some place to start. âDid you make sure the security system was on at all times?â
âThatâs what you pay me for,â Mario said, voice sore as if Sebastian had poked a bruise. Marioâs hawks squawked in the background.
Things werenât stacking up right. Sebastian rubbed a hand over his chin. Could someone whoâd just escaped a prison riot, killed two marshals and traveled four hours from a murder scene have been careful enough to leave no trace?
Kershaw wasnât into finesse. He was into results. Leaving evidence would mean nothing to someone bent on revenge. Heâd have wanted Sebastian to know he was the cause of his grief.
Sebastian spun on his heels and faced the closed door of Oliviaâs room. If not Kershaw, then who? Who would want Olivia dead?
Chapter Four
As the nurse left with the wheelchair, Sebastian guided Olivia out the glass front doors of the hospital toward the parking lot.
âI will wait,â she said, tugging her arm free from his grasp.
Standing still she made too big of a target, but he couldnât explain that to her without frightening her. âI canât leave you here by yourself.â
Her hands knotted in front of her, and she shrank back toward the hospital entrance. âI will be fine.â
She was afraid, and he didnât know how to make her feel safe. âI wonât.â
Her blue eyes searched his and made him feel like a heel for manipulating her cooperation. Iâm not your captor, he wanted to say. But that wasnât really the truth. The Aerie would become a prison of sorts until Kershaw was caught. For her own good. With a sad nod, her gaze slid away and she stepped beside him.
Sebastian had almost made it to the SUV when the shriek of brakes had him instinctively putting Olivia behind the shield of his body and drawing his weapon.
The driver wasnât Kershaw or some other unknown piece of scum bent on mowing them down; it was Paula shooting visual daggers at him through the windshield of her ancient Volvo. While he holstered his weapon, he thought heâd rather deal with Kershaw.
âOh, no you donât!â Paula stormed from her car and blocked the path to his vehicle. âSheâs coming home with me.â
âYou canât protect her.â
âFrom what?â
He didnât answer. Couldnât. Paula more than anyone would relish his failure and throw it back in his face.
A small wounded sound came from Paula. She half sank to the asphalt, then sprang up. âI knew it. This is all your fault.â
âItâs no more my fault than Rogerâs leaving you penniless.â Below the belt, but she was pecking at him as if she was a vulture, and he couldnât just lie there like carrion. He needed to get Olivia out of this open space and into the safety of their home.
The second Paulaâs face hardened, he regretted the flash of temper. Roger was dead; Olivia was still alive. Paula wasnât a fugitive. Fighting her dirty wasnât fair.
With a skinny hand, Paula slapped his cheek with all her might. The sound echoed across the parking lot like a shot. The mark burned and throbbed. âYou bastard.â
Contrite, he reached for her arm. âPaulaââ
She twisted from his grasp. âNo, you stay away from me. And from Olivia. Iâm taking her home.â
He grabbed her as she tried to go around him. Turning them both away from Olivia, he whispered, âYou canât.â
Her pale blue eyes searched his face and disgust narrowed them. âWhat have you done?â
He swallowed hard around the lump of his failure. âSomeone I put in prison escaped. He wants to kill Olivia to hurt me.â
Paula mewled.
âThe Aerie is protected,â Sebastian insisted, scouring the parking lot for hidden dangers.
âA lot of good that did her.â She waved toward the hospital building with her free hand. âLook where she ended up.â
âThis isnât the time or place to discuss this.â
âYouâre right. Iâm taking her home where I can look after her. Youââ She jabbed him in the chest. ââshould do what you do best. Leave her alone while you hunt your fugitives. I canât believe youâve done this!â
He maneuvered to keep Olivia safe between the shield of parked cars and his body. âIf I thought leaving with you was the best thing for Olivia, Iâd do it in a heartbeat. This guy has nothing to lose, Paula. Heâll go through you, through Cari, to get to her. Do you really want to put your daughter in danger just to win this point?â
Paula shook her head. âNo, youâre lying. You want to keep Olivia to yourself. She was leaving you, and youâre too selfish to admit she wanted out of your life.â
Oliviaâs leaving had nothing to do with this hardheadedness. He had to keep her safe. It was his duty and his obligation. He reached behind him and found the softness of Oliviaâs coat. âDo you want to look at his rap sheet? Kidnapping, rape, felony assaults. He murdered two marshals to get here. Tortured them. Cut them up like bait. He doesnât want to go back to jail. Heâd rather die. He has nothing to lose, Paula. And he wants to hurt me by killing your sister. Look what heâs already managed.â
He scanned the lot, took in the duo of nurses chattering to his left, the orderly with hunched shoulders hurrying to his right and the traffic getting heavier on the road. He needed to get Olivia out of there now.
Paula sniffed, shaking her head. âI canât let her go with you. I have to protect her from you. She was leaving you, Sebastian. She was leaving you. You donât deserve another chance to change her mind.â
Because Paula was half right, Sebastian offered her the white flag of a promise. âWhen Kershawâs back where he belongs, then Olivia can make her own choice. Until then I will protect her with everything I have.â
He didnât deserve this second chance, but he would take it. Heâd never told Olivia how much her serene presence meant to him when he returned from the chaos of the ârealâ world. Heâd never told her just how deeply he loved her. He owed a debt to Olivia for all the times heâd kept her waiting and worrying for him, for all the times heâd assumed she would always be there when his job was done. And the thought that he would fail Olivia scared him more than any special operation heâd ever worked. He felt her shift behind him and blocked her in.
âIâll fight you in court if I have to,â Paula said.
Because he needed her as an ally and not an enemy, he tendered an olive branch. âOliviaâs confused now. Sheâll need a woman to talk to. Stay with us. She needs you.â
The shimmer of tears in Paulaâs pale blue eyes, the trembling of her lower lip and the press of her fist against her heart told him heâd finally said the words sheâd wanted to hear all along.
SHE WATCHED THEM, the hard man and the stick woman, a breath away from her. They stood like gunslingers, exchanging barbs as hot as flying bullets. Anger rose from them in writhing snakes, and