Terror closed over her like a giant, smothering hand. Closing her eyes, Lily fought a rise of panic. From his bulk, she could tell this wasn’t the same man she’d encountered in the basement, which meant there was more than one shooter. What in the name of God was going on here?
Gun drawn, the man systematically searched the atrium. People whimpered as he passed them by. Lily prayed he didn’t shoot. A terrible sense of helplessness descended over her. Crouching lower, she raised her head and peered over the sofa back. The shooter was less than thirty feet away, his eyes narrowed and scanning, the gun ready at his side.
Knowing she had mere seconds before he discovered her hiding place, she looked around for another. The front revolving doors were too far away; she’d have to cover too much open ground to reach them. Behind her, a dark hallway led to the public restrooms and a bank of pay phones. She didn’t get down here often, but she was pretty sure there was an emergency exit at the end. If she could reach the hall, she could sneak out the door undetected. But she had to move. Now.
Never taking her eyes from the man with the gun, she crawled backward toward the darkened corridor. Twenty feet away, he ordered several people facedown on the floor. Lily prayed he spared them, but she didn’t stop moving.
She was midway to her destination when a subtle noise from behind her nearly stopped her heart. She looked over her shoulder to see the dark figure of another man rush her. All she could think was that there was a third shooter, and her pulse went wild. A yelp escaped her an instant before he pressed his hand to her mouth.
“If you want to live, don’t make a sound,” he said, and dragged her into the corridor.
Chapter Two
If not for his military training, Chase would have surely walked into a bullet. It wasn’t the first time his instincts had saved his life. Maybe this time, they’d saved Lily’s life, too.
He almost didn’t see her. Not because of the darkness or the throngs of frightened people. When he’d entered the hospital ten minutes ago, he hadn’t been looking for a pregnant woman.
But a man never forgot certain things about a woman he’d once loved. Chase had spotted Lily from thirty feet away in near total darkness. Despite her bulging midsection, he’d known immediately it was her. He would know her if he were blind and deaf. He would know her by touch alone. By smell. By the way she breathed.
He couldn’t believe she was pregnant. Couldn’t believe she’d moved on to another man so quickly. He had to bank a quick rise of jealousy.
But there was no time for petty emotions now. From the balcony above the atrium lobby, he’d counted two shooters, possibly three. He didn’t like the odds, but he’d faced worse. For now, he had to focus on moving her out of there without either of them getting shot.
Lily struggled against him as he pulled her into the darkened hall. Terror and panic came off her in waves. She thought he was one of the gunmen, that he meant her harm, but there’d been no time to identify himself let alone talk her into letting him help her.
“It’s Chase,” he whispered. “Calm down. You know I won’t hurt you.”
She went still, but he could feel her trembling violently. Her breaths came in fast, short bursts from her nose. He’d approached her from behind and wrapped his right arm around her abdomen, placing his left hand over her mouth. Her body pressed flush against his. It was more lush than he remembered and so soft and warm that for a moment all he could think of was sinking into her and never letting her go. That the old attraction was still sharp after so many months shocked him almost as much as her pregnancy.
“I’m going to take my hand from your mouth,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t scream or those goons with guns are going to come calling. You got that?”
She nodded.
Slowly, he removed his hand.
She turned to face him. In the semidarkness her big green eyes looked black against her pale complexion. As always, she’d pulled her long curly red hair into a no-nonsense ponytail at her nape. She looked the same as last time he’d seen her. The same as in every dream he’d had about her in the months they’d been apart. Except for the soft roundness of her belly.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered.
Because he wasn’t quite sure how to answer, he eased her to arm’s length and looked her over. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”
“I’m okay.” Her eyes flicked to the lobby. “There are two men out there with guns who want to kill me and I have no idea why.”
“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you,” he said.
She noticed the blood on his sleeve, and her eyes softened. But realization dawned and the softness quickly transformed into anger. “My God, you’re part of this.”
“That’s not how it is.”
She looked as if she wanted to hit him. “Things never change with you, do they, Chase?”
“This is no mission,” he said, hating that his tone was defensive. His work with Eclipse and his penchant for risk taking had been points of contention between them from the beginning of their relationship.