MARCUS (Dragon Security Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

ma’am.”
    “And quite calling me ma’am, it makes me feel old.”
    He cracked a smile, the first I’d seen on his handsome face. I smiled, too, dropping a wink before I slipped through the triage doors again. Blake was still pacing, still worrying outside the exam room door. I touched his arm, forced him to stop and focus on me.
    “My asset has everything under control. Miss Price is perfectly safe.”
    He studied my face for a long moment. “If this happens again…”
    “It won’t. But if you would reconsider—“
    “We’ll stick with things the way they are.”
    I nodded, telling myself there was nothing I could do about it. If this girl was hurt because Marcus wasn’t allowed close to her, that wasn’t on me. It was on Blake.
    I patted his arm. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything else.”
    I walked out of the hospital, my thoughts already back to my bedroom and the man I left lying in my bed.

Chapter 4
     
    Cadence
    Blake drove me home, helping me out of the car and slowly up the stairs.
    “The doctor said you could take two of these pills as soon as we got home.” He held up a prescription bottle. “Water? Or do you want something else?”
    “There’re water bottles in the fridge.”
    He went into my kitchen as I settled on the couch, lifting my foot to the coffee table. You wouldn’t think that a flesh wound would hurt that much, but this thing was on fire. My entire leg ached, deep down in the muscle. I ran my hand over the bandage the doctor had put on it, feeling the tender area where they’d placed fifteen stitches.
    “You are lucky,” the doctor had said. “A few inches up and to the left, you might have severed an artery.”
    Yay.
    Blake came back with the water bottle. He handed me a couple of pills and I swallowed them, closing my eyes as I chased them with the water, wishing it was something stronger. I’d given away the few bottles of booze I owned in anticipation of the pregnancy, but now I regretted it. I wasn’t pregnant yet.
    “I’m worried about you,” Blake said, settling on the couch beside me. “I don’t like this.”
    “I’m not too thrilled about it, either.”
    “I’m glad you called me, though.”
    I nodded. “I don’t understand why someone would want to shoot me like that. The cops said it was probably a random drive by. Do you think that’s what it was?”
    “It’s possible. Those things happen, unfortunately.”
    “I know. I just…it was scary.”
    “I know.” Blake took my hand and held it for a long moment. “I want you to get out of town.”
    “What about the procedure?”
    “It’s two weeks before the doctor can do the insemination. You don’t have to be in town during that time.”
    “True. But—“
    “I have a cabin in Ruidoso. I want you to go up there, try to relax. Start the hormone therapy and prepare yourself for the insemination. Then you can drive back down the night before.”
    “But my friends are here.”
    “It’ll be safer there.”
    I couldn’t argue with that.
    Blake squeezed my hand. “I’ll drop the keys off in the morning. Until then, keep your door locked, okay? Don’t let anyone but me in.”
    “Do you think I’m in danger?”
    “No. But it doesn’t hurt to take precautions.”
    He leaned close and kissed my cheek. Then he got up, heading for the door.
    “I’ll call you before I come over.”
    “Okay.”
    He left and I hobbled over to the door to lock it. The pills he’d given me began to kick in as I undressed, preparing for bed. This quiver of fear came to live in my chest, making my stomach a little uneasy. I could see the outline of the man who shot at me. Brown hair. A long, patrician nose. But that was about all I saw. He was wearing sunglasses that were large and hid most of his face.
    But he was looking right at me. Like he was targeting me.
    Why would someone want to hurt me?
    I crawled into bed, careful with how I place my injured leg. Blake’s decision to make me leave town was almost