Unexpected Father. Delores Fossen

won’t let the cops and Lilly Nelson try to pin trumped-up charges on me again,” Sandling insisted. “Find another scapegoat, Detective Lawrence, and leave me the hell alone.”

      And with that, Sandling turned and walked away. His hand shot up, to give O’Reilly a back-off warning when the detective tried to take hold of his arm. O’Reilly’s escort duty wasn’t necessary; Sandling left on his own, practically gliding down the hall. Jason kept his gaze fastened on him until the man was out of sight.

      “Make sure he doesn’t come back,” Jason instructed O’Reilly. He turned to Lilly, who was indeed trying to get out of bed. “Stay put. He’s gone.”

      Huffing, Lilly sank her head back onto the pillow. “Well, that was a special ending to a special night.”

      It was indeed. “I’ll beef up security at the nurses’ station and the front door.” Just having to say that riled him, because until Sandling’s impromptu visit, Jason thought he’d already done that. Which only proved just how dangerous this situation was. It was next to impossible to secure the place. He needed to have her transferred to the other hospital immediately.

      “Sandling wouldn’t dare try to come back tonight,” Lilly said under her breath.

      It seemed as if she was trying to convince herself.

      “Are you still having doubts as to whether you need protective custody?” Jason didn’t wait for her answer. “Then think again. Because I’m going to protect you whether you want it or not.”

      It was an order. Solid. Forceful. Certain. But Jason had his own doubts about the certainty. With everything that’d happened, he had to wonder. Could he do his job and keep Lilly alive?

      Chapter Five

      Lilly’s nerves were too frayed, and there were too many butterflies in her stomach for her to object to what Jason was doing. And what he was doing was lifting her from her wheelchair into the seat of the waiting SUV he’d rented. The rental was a necessity, he’d insisted, because his own vehicle would be too easily recognized.

      By Wayne Sandling, perhaps.

      Or by someone else who wanted to silence her permanently.

      Carrying her was a necessary act, as well, Lilly reminded herself, because despite the past two days of intensive physical therapy, she still wasn’t able to walk unassisted. That meant she didn’t have a choice about his hands-on care. Still, there was something unnerving about having to rely on anyone—especially Jason—to make sure she got from point A to point B.

      On the plus side, she was leaving point A: the hospital.

      Point B: Jason’s house.

      Where she would see her daughter for the first time.

      Lilly glanced down at the photo she had cradled in her hand. That instantly soothed the unpleasantness from having to rely on Jason to carry her. It also lessened the fatigue and the stress from the spent adrenaline and the sleepless nights. She could face almost anything now that she knew she’d soon meet Megan.

      The April air was already muggy and much too warm, and the morning breeze whipped at them, bringing with it the fruity grape smell of some nearby mountain laurels. It blended with the scent of Jason’s aftershave. No fruity fragrance for him. It was manly, and it reminded her of warm leather and the woods.

      Jason nestled her in his arms, on the side away from his shoulder holster and weapon. Her aqua-colored silk top and pants whispered against his T-shirt and jeans. What a contrast. Her, wearing silk, mainly because that was the primary fabric in her wardrobe. Jason, wearing jeans, snakeskin boots and a plain black T-shirt. She was betting he had a lot of those items in his closet. But that wasn’t a criticism. He looked darn good. In fact, his firm, nicely shaped butt was meant for jeans, and she wasn’t exactly pleased that she’d noticed that about him.

      “Sorry,” Jason mumbled when his arm swiped across her breast. He eased her onto the front passenger seat.

      After all the inappropriate thoughts she’d had about his butt, Lilly pretended not to notice the intimate contact, even though she did suck in her breath. Thankfully, Jason pretended not to notice that.

      She sighed.

      This protective custody wasn’t off to a good start. Lilly wasn’t counting on it to get much better, either. All she could hope for was that the person who’d tried to kill her would be caught quickly so that neither Megan nor she would be in danger. As long as this person was out there, the sleeplessness would continue. So would the sickening, ominous feeling that the next breath she took could be her last. Hardly the beginning of a new life that she’d wanted when she’d first awakened from the coma.

      Jason got in the SUV, started the engine and drove away from the hospital. Lilly spared the place a glance in the side mirror. She wouldn’t miss it. She was anxious to get on with her life, and that getting on with it started now. Of course, she would have to return every other day for physical therapy, but that wouldn’t take too much time from her plans to bond with Megan. She’d missed so much already, and she didn’t intend to waste even a minute more.

      “What kind of security measures have you taken to make sure all of us are safe?” she asked Jason. And by “all of us,” she definitely meant Megan.

      “I’m taking lots of precautions.” He hitched his thumb in the direction behind them. “That’s an unmarked car with two officers inside.”

      She took another glance in the mirror and saw both the vehicle and the plainclothes cops.

      “They’ll make sure no one’s following us and that we get to my place in one piece,” Jason explained. “I also created a little diversion by telling the hospital staff and your secretary, Corinne, that you’d be going to your house for a few days. There’s a decoy car headed there now. It’ll pull into your garage, and the officers will exit through the back. So if anyone’s looking for you, they won’t know if you’re there or not.”

      All in all, it was a good plan. Or rather, it was a start to a good plan. “That’s one base covered. How about your house? Is it safe?”