“You’ll have to wait out here, Mr… .”
“Devlin. Cooper Devlin. Please help her.”
“We will.”
He watched helplessly as they rushed her away. When he couldn’t see her anymore, he closed his eyes and prayed. A hand landed on his shoulder, and he glanced at Grayson. “I need to call her father.” It was a phone call he dreaded. “I promised her I’d keep her safe, and I didn’t.”
“Stop that right now. Only one man is to blame and he’s dead.”
“I wish he wasn’t so I could kill him again.”
“And I’d help you. I’ll go get us some coffee while you call her father.”
He walked outside to make the call.
“Hello,” her father said. “Is this Cooper?”
“Yes. We found her.”
“Is she all right?”
“No. She’s unconscious. He tried to strangle her and then he shot her in the shoulder. She’s in the emergency room with the doctor. They’ll probably take her to surgery to remove the bullet.”
“I’m coming there. What hospital?”
“Why don’t you wait awhile? This is a small hospital, and I’m probably going to arrange a medevac flight to take her toAtlanta where we can get her specialized care.” Someone who understood trauma and probably PTSD. He had a sinking feeling she was suffering from the disorder.
“I want to be with my daughter.”
He inwardly sighed. “I know you do, Frank, and you should be, but you could be halfway here while we’re flying her to Atlanta. I’ll keep you updated as soon as the doctor here tells me something. I’m not leaving her side, okay?”
“I shouldn’t have let her answer the door knowing he was after her.”
He got Frank’s guilt more than the man could imagine. He shouldn’t have left her unprotected, even though he’d thought she’d be safe at her father’s. “You couldn’t know he’d be brazen enough to come to your door. This is on him, not you.” Easy words for him to say to someone else because protecting her had been his job.
“I’ll wait, but not too long,” Frank said. “Call me as soon as you know something.”
Cooper promised he would. After disconnecting, he went back inside. “He wanted to come here now, but I talked him into waiting until we know if we’re going to move her to Atlanta.”
Grayson handed him a cup of coffee. “In his place, I’d want to be with my daughter, too, but it’s best he waits until we know something.” He glanced over Cooper’s shoulder. “Is that the doctor?”
“Yes.” He hurried to Dr. Hasting. “How is she?”
Chapter 30
“She’s waking up,” a male voice said.
Oh, God, he was here. He was going to kill her. Kendall tried to scream, but her throat wasn’t working. She tried to get away, but he held her down.
“We need to calm her down.”
That was a woman’s voice. Had he kidnapped another woman?
“Give her five milligrams of haloperidol,” the man said.
“Easy, Kendall. You’re safe.”
No, she wasn’t safe. She never would be. Something pricked her arm. He was poisoning her. She reached for that black box where he couldn’t find her. She would be safe there. The darkness settled over her, and she breathed a sigh of relief that she was invisible now.