Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Dana Mentink (novels to improve english txt) 📗

“Not at all. Poor Gabe. I feel for him.”

He stole a peek at her profile. Tension lined her jaw. “You okay?”

“Yup.” She twirled a curl around her finger. “Your brother and his wife seem nice.”

Change of conversation. She obviously didn’t want to talk about what bothered her. “They do.” He wished he’d known them long before today.

“How did you find out about them?”

Layke bit his lip. He knew she’d ask again. How much of his story did he want to tell her? He glanced at the woman beside him. Her wrinkled brow revealed concern. He looked away and clenched his mouth shut. He didn’t need her pity.

She rubbed his arm. “You can trust me.”

He suppressed a gasp and looked back at her. Had she also felt the electricity that surged through his body from her simple touch? The sudden impulse to hold her in his arms and protect her slammed him like an oncoming freight train at full speed. Get a grip. You know you can’t commit to any woman. Especially one who clearly wants children. And he didn’t.

“My mother told me she didn’t know who my father was.”

“What? How could that be?” She pulled her hand away.

“I’m afraid my mother wasn’t a nice person. She had boyfriend after boyfriend. Said my father was none of my concern and told me to stop asking.” He could still picture the anger on her face from years gone by. “A week after she warned me to stop asking, a news broadcast caught her attention. She shut off the TV and said my father was dead.”

“I thought she didn’t know who he was.”

“She lied.” He rubbed the muscles in his neck. “She lied about many things.”

“How did you find Murray?”

“You know Kaylin’s story, right?”

“Yes. She reconciled with her estranged father. What has that got to do with it?”

“It convinced me to look into my family, see where I might be from. So I did one of those ancestry DNA tests.”

“And?”

“Found out my father was very much alive and—” He stopped. He couldn’t tell her the secret he’d kept from everyone.

“What?”

“Nothing. I don’t want to talk about him.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Did your mother say why she lied?”

How could he explain to her how he had distanced himself from the woman when it was obvious she possessed mother-like tendencies? “I haven’t spoken to her since I confronted her about my dad. She ordered me to stay away, so I hung up and refused to take any more of her calls. Changed my number.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” His voice came out harsh, but he’d leave it at that.

“So, how did you find Murray then?”

“I didn’t. He found me. Called me out of the blue one day and told me we had the same father. I didn’t believe him at first but did a check on him. Murray lived in Windsor as a teen and then moved to Whitehorse to go to college. We started Skyping together. He’s like you, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“A Christian.”

“Good. His faith will give him strength to battle this ordeal.”

Could he believe her? Why had God abandoned him as a child? “Not sure I believe that.”

“What’s made you skeptical toward God?”

A mother who beat her only child. He held back the words he wanted to say. After all of these years, his disdain for her still came through. Why couldn’t he let it go?

“Turn right in 500 meters,” the GPS commanded.

For once, he was thankful for the voice on his GPS. It interrupted their conversation and put his head back into the game. Where it needed to be. Not in the clouds thinking of a deceitful mother and a father who’d murdered.

Layke turned right into the small community and followed the GPS instructions to the health center. Cars had jammed the tiny parking lot and the lineup at the front door indicated the clinic had not opened.

“This could be interesting. The people will be antsy after waiting in the cold for the clinic to open. We may need to do some crowd control. Do you have your badge? We’ll need to identify ourselves since we’re in civilian clothing.” He winced as he thought about a rule he was breaking by not being in uniform, but it couldn’t be helped. He parked on the side of the road and turned off the engine.

She pursed her lips and pulled out her credentials.

It was obvious she still waited for him to answer her question, but he had to concentrate on doing his job. One of his rules… Keep your head in the game at all times. He fastened his badge to his belt and stepped out of the Jeep.

Hannah followed in silence.

They wove their way through the line and flashed their badges.

Once they got to the front of the building, Layke stopped and waved his badge in the air. “Everyone. This is police business. Please return to your vehicles and head home. The clinic is closed for the day. Come back tomorrow.”

Flashing lights and a siren announced the arrival of the local constables. Layke flinched. The sound would alert the suspect to their presence and they’d lose their advantage.

As if on cue, a shot pierced through the clinic’s window.

Layke and Hannah ducked, unleashing their weapons.

“Get down!” Layke yelled.

Panic erupted and the crowd scattered like bees from a stirred nest. They knocked each other down as they ran to their cars. Engines started and cars rammed into each other as they tried to exit the parking lot.

They must contain the chaos before someone got hurt.

The constables drew their guns and crouched.

Layke waved them over. “Do you have a crowbar in case we need to breach?” Introductions would have to wait for now.

“Yes,” the tall officer said. “I’ll get it.” He ran back to the cruiser while the other officer directed the cars out of the lot.

The constable returned and handed Layke the crowbar.

“Where in the clinic did the witness call from?” Layke asked.

“She told us she was out front.