Love Inspired Suspense May 2015 #2 (36 page)

Before long both lines were inserted and ready to go. As long as Griffin and Joy didn't excite or upset her, they were allowed to stay.

The nurse checked Laura's vital signs. “Were you told that your donation could take up to six hours?”

“Yes.”

“All right, then,” the older woman said with a smile. “I'll be in and out to check on you.”

After Nurse Brooks left, the three of them watched the blood move through one tube to the machine, where it separated out her stem cells, then returned the blood to Laura through the second tube.

“Amazing,” Joy murmured.

Griffin nodded in agreement.

Laura was thrilled that she was finally actually doing something to help her father. She smiled and Griffin smiled back, staring into her eyes for a few seconds. His gaze softened before he looked away.

“How's your shoulder?” she asked.

“Not too bad.” Laura felt a distance growing between them. It was unavoidable as the time neared for her to leave.

He sat in one of the chairs provided by the center. Sunlight streamed through the window behind him, highlighting blond strands in his hair. Before long she would be saying goodbye to him. It was too easy to feel sorry for herself, so she channeled her thoughts in another direction.

“Griffin, did Boone or Sydney figure out how the sniper knew where to find us yesterday?”

“They found a tracker on Sydney's car. She pulled a print from it and it matches the nurse.”

“Nurse Cheryl!” Joy exclaimed.

Griffin nodded. “We haven't found her prints on anything else so she messed up with that tracker for some reason. Maybe she was in a rush.”

“Maybe she was afraid she'd be seen hanging around a car that wasn't hers,” Laura said.

“Could be.”

“So that tracker links her to the sniper.”

“Yes,” Griffin said, “but the police also have her cell phone records.”

“There were several phone calls between her and the sniper. She couldn't deny their connection. She also confessed to having a relationship with Arrico.”

“She was the perfect person to keep an eye out for me,” Laura murmured.

“And to hurt you,” Griffin said. “She was the one who tried to stab you with the syringe on the elevator.”

“How did Vin even know I was in Oklahoma City? Or that Dad was in the hospital?”

“Arrico's attorney, Thompson, said that after you disappeared, Arrico didn't believe you were dead so he had people start watching your family.

“When your dad got cancer the first time, Arrico thought you might show up. He convinced Cheryl Inhofe to leave her job at the prison and try to get hired on at O.U. Medical Center.”

Her aunt made a sound of surprise. Laura shuddered at how long Vin had been trying to get to her.

“When Inhofe finally got a job at the hospital, she was able to keep tabs on your dad and aunt during his first hospitalization.”

“When Dad finished his treatments and there had been no sign of me, Inhofe just kept the job?”

Griffin nodded. “It didn't take any convincing because the salary at the hospital is much better than at the prison.”

“So when Dad got sick this time, Inhofe found out and told Vin,” Laura realized.

Joy scooted her chair closer to them. “What about the person who attacked Laura in the restroom?”

“Thompson confirmed it was the sniper and that he was also the one who shot at me from his motorcycle.”

“Thompson offered all of this information?” Laura's arms ached where the needles were inserted, so she shifted them carefully on the armrest. “Why?”

“He wants a deal for a lesser sentence. There are plenty of charges to file on him. His bank account showed a deposit into the sniper's account for the shooting yesterday. There were separate earlier deposits for the attempts on us at the hospital.”

Laura shook her head. “I can't believe this.”

Griffin dragged a hand down his face. “The man who tried to kill you at the clinic confessed that it was Arrico who hired him.”

“How could I have been so stupid as to get involved with Vin? I never had a clue how bad he was until it was almost too late.”

“I don't think anybody knew how bad he was, honey,” Joy consoled.

“How did the nurse get the tracker?” Laura wondered. “Is there a store where you can just go in and buy stuff like that?”

“Actually, yes.” Griffin smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. “I'm not sure where it came from, but Thompson said he was the one who bought it and gave it to Inhofe.”

“Is that why they were meeting at her house yesterday?”

“It's probably one reason.”

“The sniper was already dead by the time Vin grabbed me at the hospital. How did he know where to find me?”

“The nurse and the tracker,” Griffin said in an even tone. “Inhofe gave Arrico the same information she'd given the sniper and he was there in time to see the shooting.”

“Did he have a car?”

“Yes, from Inhofe.”

“Did she also get the scrubs he wore at the hospital?”

Griffin nodded. “She grabbed a pair from the doctors' lounge.”

“So the tracker on Sydney's car led him to the clinic.”

“Yes,” Griffin said. “And from there he followed the ambulance to the hospital and waited.”

“Unbelievable.” Joy shuddered, patting Laura's hand. “I'm so glad all of this is over, although I'm not ready for you to leave, honey.”

Neither was Laura. Another reason she didn't want to leave was that she wanted to know if Inhofe and Thompson would have to pay for what they'd done. It sounded as though they would. “What about Pastor Hughes?”

“Good news there,” Griffin said. “Arrico insists he doesn't know the man.”

“Do you believe him?” Laura asked.

“He has no reason to lie.”

Laura was glad the preacher had been cleared. He visited her father daily and the two men had established a good rapport.

“Is Vin already back in McAlester?” she asked.

Griffin shook his head. “He's headed there now. Yates called earlier to say he had turned Arrico over to the marshals for Oklahoma's central division and they're transporting him.”

“Good,” she said fiercely.

“What about the other two escaped convicts?” Joy asked.

“They were apprehended this morning and are in the custody of those same marshals.”

Her time here had shown Laura how short life was. If she stayed in Oklahoma City, it could be even shorter for the people she loved. That hurt. But it stung just as much that she had no choice but to leave.

She tried to move past the resentment that had hounded her for the past couple of days.

For the remainder of the time, their conversation was filled with local news and the upcoming holiday. Laura hated that she would miss Thanksgiving with her family.

The white-haired nurse came in to check on Laura and determined her donation was complete. After removing the needles, she disposed of them in the biohazard waste container, then took the bag of stem cells to the area where they would be stored until being taken to Nolan.

When Aunt Joy left the room to call Laura's dad, Griffin's phone rang. As he spoke in a low voice, he wandered around the room stopping to look at the posters on the wall soliciting blood donors. One of them explained the process Laura had undergone. Another illustrated how her father would receive the stem cells.

After the brief conversation, Griffin hung up and turned to Laura. His face was solemn. “Floyd is here.”

So, it was time. Laura wasn't ready, but she knew she never would be. Throat tight, she nodded and rose from her chair.

“Laura?” There was no mistaking Yates's drawl.

Her stomach dropped as the lanky marshal appeared in the doorway. “Hi.”

“Everything go okay?”

“Yes.” She smiled, though she didn't feel like it.

The older man's gaze skipped from her to Griffin, then back again. “We should probably get going.”

Joy stepped around Floyd, came toward Laura and grabbed her in a hug. “I hate this.”

“So do I,” Laura whispered.

“I believe you'll be able to have a normal life one day,” her aunt whispered. “I'm going to pray about it.”

Laura squeezed the other woman hard, then released her. Handing Laura one of her embroidered handkerchiefs, she took her own and dabbed at her watery eyes. She stepped away and the marshal gave Laura an expectant look.

Before she could move, Griffin put a hand on her arm, looking at Floyd. “Can you give us a minute?”

“Sure thing.” Yates nudged Joy out into the hall and followed, closing the door behind them.

Though Laura was glad to have a moment alone with Griffin, she was afraid she might cry. She'd done enough of that, especially regarding a situation that wouldn't change.

The man she'd come to care for drew her in front of him, his gaze searching her face. “Are you going to be all right?”

“Yes. No.” Her voice cracked. “I don't know. I couldn't sleep last night.”

“Nervous about donating your stem cells?”

“No. All of these stupid thoughts kept running through my head.”

He took her hand. “Like what?”

“Like what if I left WitSec? What if I stayed with my dad?” She could feel his disbelief and his protest. “See, they were stupid.”

“Laura.”

“Don't worry. I'm not leaving the program. I never even really considered it, but it was a nice daydream.”

He folded his arms loosely around her waist. “I wish things were different. I wish I could ask you to stay, but it's too dangerous.”

“And not just for me.”

“Also your aunt and dad.”

“And you,” she added. “My being gone will take the target off your back.”

“Danger, I can deal with.”

“But you shouldn't have to.” She shook her head. “This is my fight. I can't ask you to take it on long-term. You've been through enough.”

Griffin didn't disagree and a part of her selfishly wanted him to argue. Wanted him to insist he would leave everything and come with her. No one had the right to ask such a thing. She certainly didn't.

He couldn't ask her to stay and she couldn't ask him to go. Not only would it be presumptuous of her to think her bodyguard would even consider it—whatever was between them was too new—but she couldn't ask him to leave his life. She knew
exactly
what that meant.

“After everything we've gone through, my life still isn't my life. Vin can still get to me.” She couldn't keep the hard edge of bitterness out of her voice. “I
still
have to move to another place. Still have to get a new identity. I can't leave WitSec, because Vin still wants me dead. Will that ever end?”

Griffin stroked a hand down her hair. “I'm not going to stop trying to get something more on him.”

He was in her corner. That was something new this time around. Even if it made no difference ultimately.

She blinked back tears. “I like knowing you're on my side, but—”

“It doesn't change anything right now,” Griffin said quietly.

“Right.” Resentment bubbled up inside her. Just when she'd given up hope that she might open her heart again one day, she'd met Griffin. And now that was over.

Struggling to keep her composure, she stepped out of his embrace. “I'd better go. This isn't going to get easier. I should be taking my own advice and turning it over to God, but it's hard. I want an answer now.”

“I want you to know—” He cleared his throat, his gaze locking on hers. “I'm glad we met. I refuse to believe we won't see each other again.”

“I hope you're right.” She rolled up on tiptoe and brushed a kiss against his cheek.

He gently turned her face to his and kissed her lips. Tears slid down her cheeks.

I love you.
But she kept the words to herself. She touched his face, then walked out.

Laura met the marshal at the front door, glad Griffin hadn't followed. It was hard enough keeping her composure when she saw her aunt. Eyes welling with tears, Joy promised she would keep Floyd updated on Nolan's progress and the marshal would pass the information on to Laura.

As Yates drove her away from the clinic, Laura didn't look back. She couldn't. She was doing the right thing. And it felt lousy. She and Griffin would never know what might have been between them.

WitSec had cost Laura a lot. Today it felt as if it had cost her everything.

TWELVE

H
e might never see her again. As Griffin stood watching the marshal's sedan drive away, he rubbed his chest, trying to get rid of the hollowness there. The hopelessness in Laura's blue eyes had hit him hard.

It didn't sit well that there was nothing he could do to keep her here. As a SEAL, he'd learned how to improvise in any situation, how to persevere until he got the result he needed. To be proactive.

Besides chasing down the latest lead on Arrico, was there anything else Griffin could do? There was no way to change the final outcome unless Laura's ex was out of the picture permanently. Griffin had lost that chance when he'd let the felon walk out of the hospital stairwell.

More than frustration gnawed at him. There was anger and doubt. Had he made the wrong choice again, just as he had in Afghanistan? He prayed that he hadn't.

Joy walked up beside him, her gaze following the automobile for a moment before shifting to Griffin. “You have feelings for her.”

“A lot of good it does.” He did have feelings for her, deep permanent feelings.

Her aunt glowed with pleasure. “She has feelings for you, too.”

“And we can't follow up on them. It might not ever matter.”

“
You're
giving up?” Joy arched a brow.

Griffin frowned. “No, I'm going to do whatever I can. I just don't know if it will be enough.”

Joy touched his arm. “Maybe if you ask, God will show you a way.”

Griffin didn't see how, but it couldn't hurt. Feeling restless and out of sorts, he started for Enigma's office. He wasn't ready to face the emptiness of his house. As he drove, Joy's advice came back to him.

Maybe he would pray. He felt strange asking for help when it had been years since he'd even thought about God.
It hadn't been years.
Since Laura had come into his life, they'd discussed God more than once.

Her words in the barn came back to him. She'd said God had sent His Son to die for everyone, even Griffin.

He wasn't sure how to start praying, so he started with Laura, just laid everything out there—her safety, his feelings about her, the ambush in Afghanistan. When he finished, an unexpected peace came over him for a few seconds. Then a very clear feeling that he had just lost the best thing to ever happen to him in this life.

Letting her go hurt every bit as deeply as losing Davy, Ace and J.J. had.

He knew something else, too. God had sent Laura Prentiss to him. She was a gift he wanted to keep.

Even though he had what he needed to connect Arrico to the attempts to murder him and Laura, all it did was keep the jerk in prison. It might be enough to get him moved to solitary, but it might not. Either way, the guy was still a threat to Laura. So she'd had to disappear again.

But this time, Griffin could go with her.

The thought stopped him cold.

What would it mean to go into the program with her? Because of Laura, he knew what leaving his current life would cost. Not only would it be difficult to cut off contact with his friends and colleagues, it would hurt to leave his house and land. Those things belonged to him. Nothing else ever had. The place was his first real home. Could he give all of that up for Laura?

It would be a trade-off, no doubt. But he was afraid if he let her go now, it would be for always.

And he couldn't imagine his life without her in it.

* * *

Griffin called the director of the US Marshals Service to get things going. By nightfall he had a new driver's license with a new name and authorized documents to present to Marshal Yates. Now he could go wherever Laura went. He wanted to go there now.

Street lights glowed along the highway as he drove north from downtown Oklahoma City. Connecting to his phone via his Bluetooth in the SUV, he called Floyd Yates.

“Devaney,” the marshal boomed, “I was just fixin' to call you.”

“Great minds, I guess.”

“What did you need?”

“Laura. I mean, I've decided to go into WitSec with her. If she'll have me. Have you already relocated her? Can you tell me where she is?”

“She's not with me.”

His heart kicked hard. “I'm serious. I need to know.”

“I'm serious, too. She isn't here.”

“What? Where is she?”

It sounded as if the marshal chuckled, but there was nothing amusing here. “I take it you haven't listened to the news in the last hour,” the older man said.

“No. Is she all right?”

“She's better than all right. Arrico and the other two prisoners tried to escape en route to McAlester. They wounded one marshal, but the other one killed them.”

Griffin was silent for a moment. “All of them?”

“Yes.”

“That means—”

“Yes.”

Laura was free! “I'm going after her! Do you know where she is?” Before Yates could answer, Griffin realized. “Never mind. I do.”

* * *

That night, hours after saying goodbye to Griffin, Laura was at the hospital. She was both happy and sad. Her father's transplant had taken place earlier and gone well. The first sign that the stem cells would be growing and developing would show up in a rising white blood cell count. According to Dr. Farmer, it could take anywhere from ten to twenty-one days for that to appear.

And now she could monitor her father's progress in person. The news that Vin had been killed during another escape attempt hadn't quite sunk in, but she had wasted no time getting to the hospital.

It was hard to believe that late this afternoon, she'd been with Floyd on her way to a new life in Kansas.

Tears of joy filled her eyes and she dashed them away. Boone and Sydney were here, as was Aunt Joy. The only person missing was Griffin, and she planned to duck into a room somewhere to call him.

Even though she hadn't been allowed to see her father yet, the mood she shared with her friends outside his hospital room was celebratory.

Joy looked around their little circle. “Who's up for some dinner?”

“I am,” Boone said.

Laura was hungry. She had only now realized that she hadn't eaten since breakfast. “That sounds good to me.”

“Me, too.”

Down the hall, the elevator dinged. As she looked over her shoulder, her heartbeat skipped. Griffin. She spun to face him. He looked great. Healthy and strong and wonderful. Yes, it had been only hours since she'd seen him, but everything in her world was more vivid now. More appreciated.

Everyone turned, welcoming him with a smile. Laura smiled, too, her heart swelling in her chest.

He addressed all of them, but his gaze settled on her. “Does this good mood mean Nolan's transplant went okay?”

“Yes. It went very well.” Joy explained how long they would have to wait before they received the first sign that the new stem cells were growing.

“That's great news.” He still hadn't taken his attention off of Laura.

She had to know. “Did you hear about Vin?”

“I did.” He moved closer until she could see the stubble of his late-day beard and the warmth in his blue-green eyes.

The now-familiar flutter in her stomach had Laura smiling broadly. “That's something, huh?”

“Yep, something.” His gaze traced her face. “I need to talk to you.”

“If it's about earlier—”

“It is. I forgot to tell you something.”

She frowned.

“When I agreed with you that nothing in your life had changed, I was wrong. I've changed. My feelings for you have changed.”

“They have?”

“Ooh,” Joy said.

Laura could feel Boone and Sydney smiling, but she kept her attention on Griffin. Gentle hands cupped her elbows. “You might think it's too soon or that we don't know each other well enough, but I love you.”

She blinked up at him, her pulse scrambling. “I love you, too.”

“Thank goodness.” He brushed a kiss on her lips.

She rested her hands on his arms. “When did you know?”

“When I told you what had happened to my friends, but I didn't see a future then. You were only supposed to be here for a week.”

She nodded.

“After you left with Floyd this morning, I realized that God sent you to me and I didn't want to give you up.”

He wiped away a tear on her cheek.

She watched him closely. “What would you have done about us if Vin were still alive?”

“I'm glad you asked.” Griffin pulled out his new driver's license and gave it to her.

She looked down at the photo. It was Griffin, with a different name. “Who's Griffin Dodd?”

“Me.”

“What—?” Understanding spread across her face. “You were coming into WitSec with me?”

“That was the plan.”

“You would do that for me? Leave your home and your job?”

“You're my family. I couldn't let you go without me.”

He kissed her again. “God put you in my life and you put God in mine.”

“You really believe that.”

“I do.”

Her heart felt too small to contain all the joy. “Oh, Griffin. This is wonderful.”

“The best part is no more undercover. You've got your life back.”

“No.” She smiled up at him. “The best part is having you in it.”