Free Hostage Midwife by Cassie Miles Page B

voice. “Are you okay?”
    “I don’t want you to worry,” she said, “but I think I might have picked up a stalker.”
    “I’ll be right there.”
    She took a seat at a round table in the central atrium. When she lifted the cardboard coffee cup to her lips, her hand was shaking. The hairs on the back of her neckprickled, and she looked over her shoulder. Was he here?
    Nick strode toward her from the elevator, and she’d never been more relieved to see someone. As soon as he sat at her table, she started talking, telling him about the man on the street and Radcliff’s limo and the sighting of Trask.
    “Did you get a license plate number?”
    “I should have,” she said. “I didn’t think of it. Thisis kind of new to me. I’ve never been stalked before.”
    “Is there anything else you can tell me about the guy?”
    “He was average height and weight. Nothing remarkable about him at all, other than he was lurking around and following me.” She leaned back in her chair. Being with Nick was already curing her panic. “I really only saw the guy three times, but then I saw the limo. It felt likethey were swarming around me like a bunch of sharks and I was a helpless minnow.”
    “Don’t be scared, little minnow. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
    He pulled his cell phone from the inner pocket of his gray tweed sports jacket. The slim phone looked tiny in his calloused hand, but he used it like a lethal weapon. His confidence made her believe that he was capable of dealingwith any threat. She sighed and said, “Thank you.”
    “For what? Getting you into this mess?”
    It had been a very long time since anyone offered to take care of her and meant it. Sure, she had friends like Serena, and her family in Chicago, but she didn’t have a partner who was on her side no matter what, even when she was wrong.
    Picking up her coffee and her satchel, she stood andsaid, “I should get upstairs to the gym before the couples arrive for class. Coming with me?”
    “After I make a couple of calls.”
    “Please don’t be late,” she said. “I don’t think Lauren could stand any more disruption of her schedule.”
    “She’s doing a lot better today. Having Julia come over to help made all the difference. She’s got everything on track—obituaries, arrangements fora memorial service, plans for cremation, notifications, everything.”
    Glancing toward the hall that led to the bank of elevators, she said, “Too bad I have to go all the way to the front to go up one floor. With this high ceiling atrium, it almost seems like there should be a staircase to the second floor.”
    “At one time, there was. We took it out to provide better security for the upperfloors. The same is true for the underground parking. There’s no elevator from the parking levels.”
    “Because of the gold?”
    “A little.” When he stood, he towered over her in a most pleasant way. “Mostly, we upped our level of security because that’s standard procedure for office buildings, even if all we’re protecting is software and sportswear.”
    “Sports?”
    “There’s an officefor a national distributor of sports equipment on the sixth and seventh floors. We should stop by and visit them. What’s your favorite outdoor activity? Skiing?”
    “I do a little cross-country,” she said, “but I really love rock climbing.”
    He grinned. “You’re not afraid of heights.”
    “I like tall places.” And tall men, she thought. “But I tend to get kind of freaked out when weirdcars and limos start tailing my van.”
    He rested his hand on her shoulder and gently stroked her arm. “No freak-outs necessary. I’ve got it covered.”
    “Don’t be late for class.”
    As she strolled toward the elevators, her attitude was completely transformed from earlier when she’d been looking over her shoulder and expecting something terrible to sneak up on her. No longer alone, shehad Nick watching her back. It felt good to trust him.
    In