Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 by Karen Whiddon (good e books to read txt) 📗

on, we need to be extra cautious. Look around. Does everything look normal to you?”

Curbing her impatience, she did as he asked. While she wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted her to look for, she eyed the back door and the windows, which all appeared to be closed. “Everything’s fine,” she said. “Now I really need to let Bridget out, if that’s okay with you.”

Jones laughed, a short humorless sound. “Sure. Just so you know, I still have nightmares about the night your front window got shot out.” He pointed to the sheet of plywood still covering it. “What if you’d been standing near there? You would have been killed.”

Already out of the truck, Carly turned to look at him. “I’ve been trying not to think about it,” she admitted. “And I’ve been too busy to remember to call a glass company. I need to set something up for a time either I or Micha will be here.”

Jones gave her a disgruntled look. “Yes, you do.”

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, are you coming?” she asked, starting forward.

Once Jones had caught up with her, he walked with her to the door, waiting while she used her key to unlock it. Inside, Bridget immediately began barking a greeting, which made Carly grin. “I love hearing that,” she said.

As soon as she had the door unlocked, she motioned Jones to wait and opened it, crouching low so Bridget could launch herself at her. Laughing, Carly indulged her pet’s frenzied greeting while Jones looked on.

“Okay, girl.” Carly got to her feet. “Let’s get you outside to go potty.”

Jones stayed right on her heels as she let her dog outside.

Carly shook her head, keeping an eye on Bridget. “What’s going on, Jones? I’m sensing that you’re not telling me everything. Why are you acting so overprotective?”

Her brother had the grace to look ashamed. “Sorry,” he said. “But I promise I’m not keeping any secrets from you. Micha didn’t have a lot to say, really. He just stated it was imperative that I not let you out of my sight.”

“What are you going to do when you have to go into the Lone Wolf?” she asked, gesturing for Bridget to come inside. Since the dog knew her dinner would be next, she happily complied.

Inside the kitchen, Jones took a seat at the table while Carly measured out Bridget’s kibble. Since he hadn’t answered her question, she repeated it.

“I don’t know,” Jones admitted. “I guess you can come with me if Micha’s not home by then.”

Carly shook her head. “I just worked a full shift. I’m tired and all I want to do is get off my feet and hang out with my dog. I’m not going with you.”

“But you’ll be left here without your vehicle.”

She grimaced. “Then I guess you’d best take me back to the hospital to retrieve it.”

“Micha better come home soon, then,” Jones muttered.

“He will,” Carly replied, certain.

But Micha didn’t come home. The sun sank lower and lower. Jones began to pace, frequently checking his watch. She knew he liked to be at the Lone Wolf before the evening rush started.

“Go ahead and go,” she urged him.

“Not until Micha shows up,” he responded grimly. “Or at least calls to let us know what’s going on.”

Carly agreed. Waiting for Micha to call, she put off trying to reach him. “I’m afraid I might interrupt whatever he’s working on,” she explained.

Jones agreed. “I need to let my people know I’m running late.” He sat down on the couch and spoke quietly into his phone. When he’d finished, he looked up at Carly and smiled. “They’ve got everything under control, at least for now.” He checked his watch. “Where the heck is Micha?”

“Good question.” Giving in to her growing concern, Carly relented and dialed his number. She listened as it rang several times and then the call went to voice mail. She left a message asking Micha to call her and then eyed her brother. “Seriously, you can leave,” she said. “I’m sure Micha will be here shortly. He must have gotten caught up in whatever he’s doing.”

Jones hesitated. “What if he doesn’t show up?”

Though the thought of that happening made her stomach twist, she kept that hidden from Jones. “He will. And if he’s delayed for whatever reason, I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t like this...” Jones began.

“Go.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “I have Bridget and I have my cell phone. I’ll make sure everything is locked up tight.”

“What about your car? Micha really didn’t want it parked here for some reason.”

Carly considered and then made a split-second decision. “I’ll be fine without it for now. I’m sure Micha had a good reason for wanting me to leave it at the hospital.”

Still her brother didn’t move. “Carly, if Micha doesn’t make it back tonight, I don’t want to leave you without any way to go to work in the morning.”

He had a valid point. But Micha would show up eventually, wouldn’t he? Unless something awful had happened to him and then... Whoa. She put the brakes on that line of thought.

“Take me to get my car,” she decided. “I can run through a fast-food drive-through on the way home. I’m too tired to even think about cooking anything.”

With a loud sigh, Jones gave in. “Come on,” he said. “Make sure you lock up tight.”

They drove to the hospital with Jones unusually quiet. As he pulled up near the gate that led to the employee-only parking lot, he turned to face her. “I don’t like this, Carly. Something’s going on and I don’t think it’s good. The fact that Micha is completely out of touch underscores that.”

She thought for a moment and then nodded. “I agree. But what else can we do? We can’t wait here in limbo until Micha shows up. You’ve got a job to go to, as do I. And I refuse to be run out of my own house.”

Leaning over, she kissed her brother’s cheek before