Free The Agent's Redemption (Special Agents At The Altar 4) by LISA CHILDS Page B

perched on the exam table. And her breath shuddered out in revulsion.
    She had seen this man just the day before—staring in her son’s bedroom window. “What are you doing here?” she asked Kyle Smith.
    According to the clinic laptop, he’d checked in at the desk with the complaint of stomach cramps. He wasn’t doubled over or flinching, though. He looked perfectly healthy to her and perfectly evil, wearing a wide, self-satisfied grin.
    “I didn’t get the chance to talk to you yesterday,” he said, “what with Special Agent Bell calling the local authorities to report us for trespassing.”
    Unfortunately, he hadn’t spent the night in jail since he’d been on the news later that evening—at the scene where Amy Wilcox’s body had been discovered.
    “You were trespassing,” she said. “And you’re trespassing now.”
    He shook his head but not a blond hair moved on his head, as if lacquered down or as artificial as his orange-looking tan. “The clinic is open to the public.”
    “To patients,” she said. “Not reporters. You need to leave.”
    “I came here for treatment,” he said. “You can’t turn me away. Haven’t you taken an oath to do no harm?”
    She wanted to harm the man for the scare he’d given her son and her. “I’m a physician’s assistant,” she said. “Not a doctor. I’ve taken no such oath.” She opened the door and called out, “Security.”
    The clinic had none, but she suspected that the sheriff’s deputy was still hovering around on Jared’s orders.
    Kyle Smith jumped down from the exam table, but instead of walking out, he came closer and shoved a mike in her face. “So FBI special agent Jared Bell spent the night at your house,” he said. “Are the two of you back together?”
    She gasped at his audacity and his knowledge. He must have been the reporter who had discovered their relationship six years ago. The press had given Jared a real hard time about being unprofessional. She had wondered then if Jared had broken off their relationship to save face and his career. Her heart beating fast with fear, she backed away from Kyle Smith—into the hall. How had he known that Jared had spent last night at her house? Was he the one watching her? Was he the danger to her?
    “Your son is his,” the reporter continued. “Alex Drummond’s birth certificate confirms it. You listed his father as Jared Bell.” His snide grin widened. “Does Special Agent Bell know yet that he’s a father?”
    “A woman is dead,” she reminded him. “Why does my personal life hold any interest for you?”
    “You’re the story,” he said. “It started with your sister and you and Agent Bell.”
    The murders had started with Lexi. But Rebecca had nothing to do with them. “Leave me alone!”
    Finally, the deputy rushed down the hall, his hand on his gun. “Ms. Drummond, are you okay?”
    She shook her head. “No, please show Mr. Smith off the premises.”
    “I’ll be back,” he told her—again with that wide grin—as the deputy escorted him out.
    She was still shaking as she headed toward the front desk. Hadn’t the intake nurse recognized the reporter? Why had she let him back?
    Before she could ask, Sylvia called out to her. “You have a call, Rebecca, on line three.”
    Jared. Maybe the deputy had already called him about the reporter. She stepped into a private office off the reception area and picked up the phone. “Hello?”
    Her breath, still coming fast from her confrontation with the reporter, echoed in the phone. But no one spoke to her. “Hello?” she said again. Maybe Sylvia had told her the wrong line. She was reaching for another button when that raspy whisper spoke to her.
    “Becca...”
    She shivered. “What do you want?”
    “For you to be careful,” the voice ominously replied. “You’re in danger.”

Chapter Eight
    After a sleepless night, Jared should have been exhausted—so exhausted that he should have been back at his apartment in