Beth Cornelison – Protecting Her Royal Baby (страница 7)

He sent her a commiserative nod. “Yeah, you’ve had a busy day.” Sliding his hands down his backside, as if searching for back pockets that the running shorts he wore didn’t have, Hunter edged back toward the door. “Well, then...I’ll let you finish feeding him. In fact, I’m thinking I’ll go scare up a sandwich or something. You sure you don’t want a snack or a soda?”

“No thanks. Just sleep.” As if hearing her request, her son’s eyes—Benjamin’s eyes—closed groggily, and she stroked a finger along his silky-soft cheek. “That’s a good boy. Sweet dreams, Ben.” She raised her head. “Could you help me move him to the bassinet?”

Tugging the bedsheet up, she kept herself covered as she held Ben out from her body enough for Hunter to slide his hands under the blue bundle. When he splayed his fingers, Hunter’s hands were large enough to ably cradle her son’s head and bottom securely. The sight of those masculine hands against the soft blanket that swaddled her child sent a ripple of awareness through her. Those same strong hands had held hers with gentle warmth, had comforted her with tender care...and had pulled open the crumpled door of her wrecked car with brute power. How would those amazing hands feel caressing her skin? Exploring her body? Her pulse kicked, and her mouth dried.

What was she doing letting her thoughts stray down that path just hours after childbirth? Sure, Hunter was drop-dead handsome and kind to a fault, but talk about bad timing! She didn’t even know if she had someone at home waiting for her, worrying about where she was. And because Hunter had told the hospital she was his wife, if someone did call looking for her, they wouldn’t know she was here, even as a Jane Doe.

“Hunter? What if my family is looking for me? The hospital thinks my last name is Mansfield.”

He cut a side glance to her from the bassinet, where he watched Ben settling in to sleep. “Huh, I hadn’t thought about that.” He frowned and rubbed his chin. “But before we backpedal on that story, we need to consider all the angles of this.”

Under the sheet, she adjusted her clothes, post-nursing, and snuggled down on the bed, completely wiped-out by the delivery. “What angles?”

“Well, like your safety.”

She lowered her eyebrows, a niggling sense biting the back of her neck. “My safety?”

“You don’t remember? When I first got to your car, you were sure someone was trying to hurt you.” He moved to the chair by her bed and sat on the edge, leaning toward her with an anxious look on his face. He knew something he wasn’t telling her. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything from right before the accident? Why were you racing down that road so fast?”

“I was in labor. I—” She stopped, knowing somehow there was more to it. She sank back against her pillow, shut her eyes. Behind closed eyes images and sounds of the day’s trauma replayed in her head. Lying in the overturned car. The blinding pain in her head. The blood. The ambulance sirens. She took a deep breath and tried to push the swirl of confusion over the accident and tangled feelings toward Hunter out of her mind. The nagging sense of disquiet sorted itself out from the other memories. A fear that stole through her like a wraith, chilling her to the bone. Someone had wanted to hurt her. She was sure of it.

Brianna’s eyes flew open, and she gasped. Her gaze darted around the hospital room as if expecting to find someone standing over her, ready to snuff the life from her.

Hunter scooted the chair closer, took her hand. “What? What do you remember?”

“Nothing...specific. Just this ominous, oppressive feeling of danger. I can’t explain it, but...”

“I think I can.” Hunter’s expression darkened, and his gaze dropped to the floor, his forehead lined with deep furrows of concern.

Brianna’s gut flinched, rebelled. A sour taste filled her mouth. “What?”

“When we were leaving the accident scene, I got a good look at the back of your car.” He met her eyes, and the intensity in his blue gaze rocked her to her core. “Someone had shot at the back of your car. Maybe not today, but at some point. That’s one of the reasons I want to go back out and look at the car before the police impound it. I’m sure the officer who responded to the accident would have seen the bullet holes and will be investigating, but I want to know all I can. So I can protect you.”

She tried to swallow, but her mouth had gone dry. “Are...are you sure they were bullet holes? Maybe a rock—”

“I’m sure.” He sandwiched her hand between hers and stroked her wrist with his thumb. “I served a few years in the Army Reserves and have hunted with my brothers for years. I know guns, and I know bullet holes. The ones in your car looked to be in the .38-to .44-caliber range. The kind of weapon that has stopping power.”

Her breath shuddered from her, and she stared at Hunter, stunned by what she was hearing.

His hand caressed her cheek, cupped her face. “Brianna, I’m sorry to dump this on you. I don’t mean to scare you with this, but I thought you needed to know. So you could take precautions. Be alert to possible threats.”

“But...why...? I don’t...” She wet her lips and tried to slow her racing thoughts. “They weren’t just trying to hurt me, then. Whoever shot at the car was trying to...” She gulped. “To kill me?”

Apprehension dented his brow. “That’s how it looks to me.”

Her bottom lip trembled, and she caught it with her teeth. Nausea roiled in her belly, and her aching head pounded with fresh ferocity.

His grip on her cheek tightened, and he tipped her face toward him. “But listen to me, Brianna. I’m not going to let that happen. I’m going to help you get to the bottom of this. We’ll figure out who was trying to hurt you and why. We’ll find something to tell us who you are and where your family is. I promise. I won’t let anyone harm you or Ben.”

Tears prickled her eyes. She had too much to process. An attempt on her life, the car accident, her lost memory. In the midst of so much turmoil, Hunter was a beacon to her. A safe harbor. She might not know him, but her instincts told her to trust him. Gratitude was an understatement of how she welcomed and cherished his offer of help and protection. Without her memory, with her body weakened from injury and a painful delivery, with a new baby to consider, she was vulnerable with a capital V.

She covered his hand with hers, and when she blinked, a tear tracked down her cheek. “Thank you, Hunter. So much.”

Hunter’s phone buzzed, and he checked the screen. “That’s my dad. My ride is here, so I need to go.” He leaned close and kissed her forehead. The chaste kiss sent ribbons of honeyed warmth through her. “I hate to leave you, but I feel like there are answers we need at your car. I need to get out there before the police haul it away.”

A shiver raced over her skin at the thought of being left alone. But Hunter was right. They needed answers, and her car was the place to start. The only clue they had. “Okay.”

He winked at her and rose from the chair.

“If you need anything, anything at all, I’ve got my cell phone with me. Call me.” He wrote his number on the whiteboard the nurses and hospital staff used to leave the patient notes and reminders. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Try to rest. I’ll ask the nurses’ desk to keep an eye on your room. No visitors until I get back. Okay?”

She nodded, but knew she wouldn’t get to sleep, no matter how much she needed a nap. She had too much swirling through her thoughts, too much weighting her heart. She had a new baby to protect. Benjamin.

The door clicked closed as Hunter left, and she glanced at her sleeping son. So tiny. So innocent. So dependent on her.

The dark suspicion that had hovered over her since the accident pressed down and crowded her until she couldn’t breathe. Hunter had found bullet holes in her car. Somewhere beyond the hospital walls, someone was waiting to kill her.

Chapter 4

Three hours later, Hunter returned to the hospital and knocked quietly on Brianna’s door before entering, just in case she was the with the doctor...or nursing. He was no lech, but the idea of her baring her breast, even to feed her son, was fodder for vivid images in his mind’s eye. He could too easily imagine her curves bared for his exploration, their bodies tangling in the sheets. Considering Brianna was a new mother, those tantalizing fantasies left him feeling uneasy and guilty. Was he wrong to feel this attraction to her? She was a beautiful woman, and every time their eyes met, he experienced a sense of connection, a crackling energy and deep stirring in both his body and his soul.

Hearing no response to his knock, he cracked the door open and peeked inside. “Brianna?”

Brianna sat propped up in the bed, the baby in her arms, her gaze latched firmly on her son. His pulse tripped at the sight of her, and he took a moment to simply drink in the poignant image.

She’d gotten cleaned up, as he had, and someone had found her a brush for her hair. It shone in glossy gold waves that framed her face and spilled over her shoulders. Her cheeks had more color now, and her skin had a fresh-scrubbed glow. The love in her expression as she gazed at her son was so pure and peaceful, his breath stilled in his lungs. He’d seen that same expression before...on his sisters-in-law’s faces when they’d rocked his nieces. A mother’s love. Maternal awe and wonder. Raw, unfiltered affection.