At the corridor, she stopped, and he moved into it. The impulse to rush away from him and her unwanted feelings was almost too much to bear. And yet, oceans of vulnerability swamped her, urging her to slip under his arm and let him hold her as he’d done in the lounge—let him take care of her and Ella.
Reid waved her forward. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a safe place for you and Ella.”
Had he mistaken her current angst for worry over Fowler? How had that not taken precedence in her thoughts? There was a madman after them, for goodness’ sake, and her daughter was in the hospital. Time spent focusing on Reid and her reaction to him was wasted time when she should be thinking of what she would do if Dr. Browne said she would discharge Ella.
At Ella’s door, Russ greeted them with a quick nod. “Before you go in, I wanted to let you know I got ahold of Chief Gleason. Forensics hasn’t processed those prints from Santa’s van yet. I tried to light a fire under him, but he said they’re short-staffed for the holiday and working on a murder investigation. He prioritized the work but said they’ll finish when they finish.”
Reid gritted his teeth. “Thanks for calling him.”
“Yeah, I didn’t like his answer either, so I pulled two of my deputies to canvass the area. See if they can find someone who saw something. Maybe give us a lead until those prints come in.”
“Didn’t the locals already do that?” Megan asked.
Russ’s expression soured. “They did, but I get the feeling they weren’t as thorough as I would want.”
Megan suspected not all law enforcement officers had the same work ethic as Russ, and she really appreciated his dedication.
“Thank you, Russ. I know you are going above and beyond.” Megan smiled at him.
Russ seemed as if he was going to say something, but Dr. Browne stepped out of Ella’s room. Megan didn’t like the tight expression on her face, and she braced herself for the news.
The doctor glanced at Reid, then Russ before training her gaze on Megan. “Maybe we should talk somewhere more private.”
“It’s okay,” Megan said, apprehension making her want Reid by her side. “You can talk in front of them.”
Dr. Browne shoved her hands into the pockets of her white coat. “Ella is improving steadily, and she’s eager to get out of here for the holidays. I believe discharging her would be in her best interest.”
“I hear a ‘but’ coming.” Megan learned that doctors could be evasive when bad news lurked around the corner, and at times she had to force the issue.
“No but.” Dr. Browne gave a tight smile. “I’d like to talk about conditions for her discharge. To be on the safe side, I’d like Ella to have labs drawn and see her in my office every morning for the next week or so.”
Every morning? Impossible.“I don’t know if we can do that. We need to leave town to get away from the man I told you about.” Megan glanced at Reid, but couldn’t discern his thoughts.
“I completely understand, but I wouldn’t recommend travel for Ella right now and would be hesitant to discharge her under such circumstances.” She drew her hands from her pockets and crossed her arms.
Megan had been offered a way out of this terrifying ordeal, only for it to be snatched away a moment later. It seemed as though around every turn, life conspired against her. Had God truly turned His back on them? He could change what was happening, but was He hearing her pleas?
She didn’t think so and the thought sent nausea swimming in her gut. “I don’t know what to do. We can’t stay in the city.”
Jaw set, Reid stepped forward. “Megan and Ella can stay with my family. We live about forty minutes from here, and I could drive them to the appointment each day. Would that work, Dr. Browne?”
The doctor tilted her head, blinking rapidly. “Yeah, sure. I don’t see why not.”
Megan spun to face Reid. She and Ella couldn’t stay with him. That was crazy talk. Just plain crazy. She didn’t need to be in his company twenty-four hours a day.
She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could speak, he pushed up his sleeves and moved into Megan’s personal space. She knew that posture. Had seen it many times during Fowler’s trial. He wasn’t going to back down—no matter what—and arguing would be useless.
Why argue when he was right? The solution he offered fixed their problem. His home was close by. Jessie and Bandit would be there to keep Ella company, and Reid would be on hand to protect them should Fowler somehow learn their location.
“Thank you for the offer. We’re glad to accept.” Okay, maybe not glad but it would be bad-mannered to act churlish when he was offering sanctuary at his home.
Yes, it was a good plan for all involved. If—and it was a big if—she found a way to ignore her growing feelings for this man who towered over her with a far-too-appealing look of satisfaction on his face.
An hour later, Reid marched up the walkway to the real Santa’s, AKA Toby Turner, home in a well-kept subdivision with single story homes built in the sixties. He’d hoped to be driving Megan and Ella to his place by now, but they were waiting on final blood test results for Ella. Reid had alerted security that he would be leaving for an hour or so, and Micha was taking over their protection.
He passed a giant blow-up Santa and rows of large candy canes lining the walkway and reached the house outlined in multi-colored lights to knock on the door holding a pleasant-smelling pine wreath.
The plump man pulled open the door, jingling came from little colored bells dangling as ornaments from a Christmas tree on his gaudy red and green sweater. He had long silvery hair but no beard and wore khaki pants. Still, Reid could easily imagine him in a red suit with a fake beard entertaining children.
