Free Saved by Lorhainne Eckhart Page B

her to stop. She was a treasure, and on more than one occasion, Eric had told Joe how lucky he was. He envied Joe for having found Mary-Margaret, a woman fiercely devoted to her family, and it showed with the close, loving relationship she and Joe still shared after eleven years of marriage and three kids.
    “ Listen, is there anything else you were able to get out of Edwin?”
    Joe frowned. “Not much else, I’m afraid. He’s going to do some checking, see if he can track this guy, find out what he’s up to. He asked to be kept apprised of any other information that you get out of Abby, anything else she may remember. She may know something more of what this guy was really up to.” Joe crossed his legs before continuing. “As you know, we won’t be privy to whatever information he may have, but he will unofficially find out and let me know.”
    “Thanks, Joe, but for now let’s just keep this between you and me. I need to decide the best way to handle this.”
    Joe didn’t sit around and wait for Eric to dismiss him. He took his leave, carrying on with his duties. Eric remained in his chair long after Joe left. He was treading on shaky ground keeping Abby on board, but for some reason he couldn’t explain, he wanted to keep her close. He really didn’t want to over analyze it, because he didn’t get involved with women. He didn’t want to care for them, and protect them, and plan futures with them. Not him, a child who’d been abandoned in an alley when he was a kid by his own junkie of a mother. He’d never had a loving, honest relationship with any woman.
    He swiped his weary eyes and glanced at his watch: 2200. No wonder he was tired. He stuffed the file Joe had left in his top drawer and eased to his feet, stuffing the keys in his pants pocket. He headed off to bed, making a mental note to speak with Abby first thing in the morning.

Chapter Nine
    “Taylor, any trouble, anyone trying to sneak in?” the captain asked the guard posted outside sickbay.
    “No, sir. The doc just returned. Just Carruthers inside with the patient,” the young sailor replied.
    Eric pushed open the door, and the first thing he saw was an empty bed. The doc was rummaging through the cabinets.
    “Where is she?” Eric asked.
    “Bathroom.” Larry gestured across the room just as the door swung open and a very pregnant Abby hobbled out with a crutch under one arm. Her hair was brushed, her face a colorful palette as the bruises healed. She was beautiful under all that in a simple sort of way.
    She stopped and stared off to the side at a set of lockers, then frowned. Eric stepped closer to see what had put that frown on her face, and he spotted Gail Carruthers shoving a clipboard in a locker. Her cheeks were pink, and she turned her back on Abby.
    When Eric glanced back at Abby, she was watching him with startled eyes, a heavenly blue that reached across the room and hit him in the gut. This time, she didn’t lower her eyes, but he could tell she was taking all her courage not to hide herself. Her hand was trembling as she tucked her long bed hair behind her ears and then tried to smooth it down a second time.
    His heart was pounding hard in his chest as he stepped across the room to her. Then he heard the sharp clang of the door closing, and he glanced over, realizing Carruthers had left.
    “How are you this morning? Did you sleep well?” he asked.
    She was so tiny that the top of her head barely reached his shoulder, so she had to look way up at him, and that was when her crutch started to wobble. Eric slid his arm around her back at the same time as he pulled the crutch from her. He was nearly undone, feeling the swell of her belly and the baby inside her.
    She nodded, and this time she did glance away, but he could feel how he was affecting her as he helped her back to bed. Her heart was pounding, and she was trembling underneath his touch. He wondered for a moment if she feared him, and that thought brought an ache