Bateman Hunted

Hawkins Ranch Series - Cody's Story
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9918748-0-4
Verlag: Shiba Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 289 Seiten

Maggie McGonigal isn't as concerned about staying alive as she is about protecting her son. After seven years in witness protection in Seattle someone is once again trying to kill her. She's forced leave Seattle and go to Victoria, BC in Canada. She contacts the man she never wanted to see again. She needs to convince him to take his son back to the Hawkins ranch in Duster, Montana, where he'll be safe. The hired killers are not after her son. They want to kill her as payback. As long as Matt is with her, he's in danger. She believes the farther he's away from her, the safer he'll be. The one glitch is Cody Hawkins doesn't know he has a son. After she manages to explain that to him, she'll figure out how to keep herself alive. Cody Hawkins comes running to Victoria, BC when the woman he wants to forget calls him for help because someone is trying to kill her. It's been seven years since Maggie walked away from Duster. Why has she contacted him after all this time? Who would want to kill her? Can he help her and then walk away from her? Cody meets Maggie in the bar of the hotel. She asks him to meet her son and take him back to Duster. The Witness Protection has failed them and the hired killers have found her. Cody agrees to come back to her hotel room and meet Matt, her son. While there, someone shoots at her through the window. Maggie is shot in the arm. He agrees to take Matt back to the ranch, but wants Maggie to come back with him, so he can protect her and her son. When she refuses to leave with him Cody waits until the medication the doctor gave her knocks her out. He kidnaps her and explains it to Matt. Cody lives in the Hawkins ranch house with his parents, Sam and Anna Hawkins, as well as his brothers, Gabe and Ky. Luke, his other brother, is the town doctor and lives next door. For the next few days, back at the ranch, everything appears normal in town with no further attempts on Maggie's life. They hop

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bateman, Beverley

Leseproben

CHAPTER ONE Maggie McGonigal scrunched herself into a ball on the mezzanine floor to prevent being seen from the lobby below. She peered around the marble pillar into the reception area of Victoria, British Columbia’s grand Empress Hotel. Because wealthy international tourists flooded the hotel every year, she hoped to hide in the crowd from the unknown killers. A man in a dark suit and hat paused on the gleaming gray marble floor under the nineteenth century crystal chandelier and stared up at the mezzanine. She held her breath. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. Was he looking for her? Could he see her? Was he the person who’d been hired to kill her? She had no idea what the shooter looked like as she stared down at the man. A woman standing a few feet from Maggie waved her hand wildly. The man smiled and waved back. Maggie slowly released her breath. Not him, but any one of the tourists below could be the one who wanted to kill her. The hundred-year old ornate Empress was one of ten railroad hotels built across Canada. The stone structure stood guard over Victoria’s inner harbor amid beautiful English gardens and the bustle of tourism. Horse-drawn carriages, street artists, carts selling various souvenirs and docks for departing whale watching tours added to the charm. Her hope was that it would also stand guard over her and her son, Matt. She’d chosen it because of the layout and hoped the large number of tourists who swarmed through might give her the cover she needed. Also, it hadn’t taken that long to get there, just a ferry ride from Seattle. No one would pull out a gun in the middle of this crowd and shoot her, would they? The possibility of dying right here on the mezzanine sent a shiver reverberating through her body. She’d visited the hotel a few times and loved the setting and the atmosphere, but she’d never stayed here before. Way too much money, but she had splurged on their high tea once. Extra towers and wings had been added over the years. This time, she’d spent the money on a cheaper room in a back wing, across from one of the towers. Her life and Matt’s might depend on it. It would only be for a day or two, if her plan worked. Sweaty fingers pressed against the cool marble of the pillar. She rested her forehead against the column, waiting. Life had thrown her a few curves over the years, some from bad decisions on her part. She should have never left Montana, but Cody hadn’t given her much choice. At least, that’s how she’d seen it back then. Now she had to face him, if he came. Her stomach roiled like the ocean waves outside the hotel door. It had been almost seven years. She’d been in hiding more than six of those years, and she wasn’t that small town Montana girl any longer. Cody probably wasn’t the same cowboy, either. Would that make any difference in her feelings about him? Maggie checked her watch. She didn’t know which was worse, the waiting or actually seeing him again if he showed up. The mezzanine allowed her to position herself so she could see him when he walked through the lobby door. She hoped Matt and the sitter were doing okay. Maybe she should have told them stay in the hotel room, but Matt had wanted to see the boats. She closed her eyes. Her only priority was to keep Matt safe. The killers weren’t after him just her, so if Matt wasn’t with her, he’d be out of danger, which was why she’d contacted Cody. That was the only reason, after all this time, to ask for his help. Would he come? Of course, he would, but a niggling doubt caused surf-sized waves to crash in her stomach. Maybe after all this time, he’d moved on, married Cathy and had children. What if he’d forgotten her? What would she do then? The tourists bustled through the hotel, a background of brilliant colors. The cacophony of their multiple languages occasionally intruded into the life and death issues on her mind. She brushed her hair away from her face with nails she’d chewed to the quick. Once Matt was gone, she should probably cut and dye her hair before going into hiding again. A mousy brown would be less noticeable than her flaming red color. Where would WITSEC send her this time? Not that it mattered, as long as her son wasn’t with her. A woman stopped just below Maggie and pulled a metal-like object from her purse. She glanced up at the balcony. Wriggling back from the edge of the balcony Maggie held her breath. Could the shooter be a woman? She peeked back around the pillar. The woman held the camera out to her partner and stepped back toward a table with a huge floral arrangement. Maggie needed to get out of here. It wasn’t safe. Maggie realized that now. She had no idea who the shooter might be, which gave them the advantage. If they followed her across the border from Seattle, they could be anywhere. They might not shoot her in the lobby, but they would find some place to assassinate her, even here. What if Cody ignored her message? Maybe he was still back in Montana chasing cows. With that possibility, she really needed to come up with a Plan B. Please Cody, hurry up and take our son. Once he’s safe, I can contact Donald and run for my life. She’d arrived half an hour early in case he arrived ahead of time. Cody had a habit of doing that. At least, he used to do that. He could have changed. She stretched her legs, shrugged her shoulders and wondered if he had married. Maybe his wife hadn’t wanted him to come all this way to see another woman. One more thing she hadn’t considered. Her mind swirled. She should grab Matt and run, but where? She chewed what was left of her finger nails. The tension tightened her neck muscles into a knot. What if he didn’t come -- but then again -- what if he did? How would she get him to accept a son he didn’t even know about? How would he have reacted if she’d told him six years ago? After then there’d been no way she could contact him to tell him, until now. A cowboy with shoulders the size of Montana entered the lobby through the revolving door. Tall, dark and still damn good-looking, he strode through the lobby in his black t-shirt, tight jeans, his black Stetson shoved back on his head as the heels of his boots clattered across the highly polished floor. Maggie’s heart pounded louder with each step. Excitement rifled through her body. Cody had come. And he was early. He approached the front desk and the female receptionist almost tripped trying to yank away the “closed” sign from her station. She purred up at him. A group of chatty tourists passed by the reception desk, so Maggie didn’t catch the words. She bent forward between the pillars. Even then, all she heard was the hum of the woman’s voice. Cody flashed his heart-stopping grin at the blonde. She looked like she might faint right then and there. The same warmth Maggie remembered from years ago spread inside her chest. It always happened to her when he’d looked at her like that and grinned. He’d made her feel special, even when she was a teenager. His dark hair curled around the base of his neck when he removed his battered Stetson and laid it on the counter. She’d run her fingers through those curls that last night they were together. He leaned in to talk to the girl. A shard of jealousy stabbed through Maggie. Come on, girl. He never really cared about you or he wouldn’t have been with another woman as soon as he got back from that cattle drive. She wouldn’t have contacted him if the mafia hadn’t found her, but he had to meet Matt, get to know his son, and take him back to Duster. If Matt stayed with her, his life was in danger. Cody glanced at the woman’s nametag. “Thank you, Louise. I’m looking for Miss Johnson, Jane Johnson.” Maggie’s closed her eyes, letting the sound of his deep drawl float up and wrap around her. Most of the people moved past the reception desk allowing Maggie to hear the conversation. Louise fluttered her eyelashes. “Certainly, let me check that for you.” “Mr. Hawkins?” Cody nodded. “She left a message for you to meet her in the bar. It’s up one level on the mezzanine floor and around the corner to your right.” “Thank you, Louise. I appreciate your help.” “Anytime Mr. Hawkins, if you need anything else, let me know.” Cody nodded before he strolled across the lobby. When he turned toward the stairs, Maggie stood up and slipped out from behind the pillar. She didn’t want to be caught spying on him like a teenager. That would be a great way for him to find her. She brushed a few specks of dust off her jeans and straightened the camel jacket she’d worn over her t-shirt before scurrying toward the bar. She wanted to be sitting when he walked into the room. It would give her more control over the situation, and she needed all the control she could muster right now. Inside the bar, she picked a chair facing the entrance. Her heart pounded like a jungle drum, her mouth felt parched. Cody was here. *** After all this time why did Maggie want to see him? And what the hell was she doing in Canada, fer chrissake? Cody took the stairs to the mezzanine two at a time. Damn her anyway. It had been seven years since she’d walked out on him. He’d searched everywhere, but she’d dropped out of sight. How could...