Chapter Seven

Marlie watched June Bug get smaller and smaller in the sideview mirror. She didn't like leaving her truck parked on a city street for too long, but for now, she'd go with McGarry's need for urgency.

As they drove to the hospital, she glanced at his profile. To describe it as "chiseled" would be an understatement. Mainly because he hadn't stopped clenching his jaw, which only served to flex all the muscles in said jaw.

Was there a single body part on the man that wasn't packed with hard muscle? From what she recalled during her sidewalk meltdown, his chest had been loaded with them.

Stopped at a red light, he tapped his long fingers on the wheel. Patience definitely wasn't his strong suit. Despite that, he'd been unexpectedly gentle with her while she'd sobbed her heart out. On the embarrassment scale, that definitely rated a ten. Yet, in his strong embrace, she'd experienced something she hadn't realized until that moment she'd so sorely needed: comfort.

She scratched Blue beneath his chin. She'd always planned on getting a dog for Aiden. Someday. That day had never come, and now it never would. Blue turned to her, stretching so she could access more of his neck. The dog was beautiful, with a classic brown and tan coat but with the most amazing smoky-blue eyes. Hence the name Blue, she assumed.

When the light turned green, McGarry headed for the hospital entrance. What he'd divulged about his sister—his twin sister—certainly explained what was behind all that intensity and his drive to find missing children.

He parked in a designated spot for police vehicles and threw a placard on the dashboard. The three of them, including Blue, walked in silence into the hospital. The silence continued right up until they'd gotten to the elevator bank.

"Agent McGarry," she said. "While I—"

He pushed the up arrow. "Call me Evan."

"Fine. Evan. While I share your concern for the other children at the camp, at this point, Noah is my main concern."

"As it should be," he agreed with a curt nod.

Something about that little nod set her teeth on edge. He was using her, and they both knew it. "I won't let Noah get hurt in your quest for justice. Physically or emotionally."

The elevator doors opened, and several people exited the elevator, maneuvering around them. Evan stepped closer, towering over her by at least twelve inches. "Protecting children is my job, so what in the world makes you think I'd let that happen?"

She'd pissed him off, but it had to be said. There was something else stewing behind those glacial gray eyes, something he wasn't telling her. She'd seen FBI CARD team agents in action. Sure, they'd cared about finding Aiden, but there was a sizzling intensity about Evan McGarry those agents didn't have. Maybe it was her training, much of which could be applied to both children and the adult psyche. Or maybe he was just wired differently. Either way, his determination took those agents' drive and multiplied it by a hundred.

Was she being too hard on him? "Forgive me. That didn't come out the way I intended. I just meant—"

"You meant that I'm a cold-hearted sonofabitch who won't let anything get in his way. Even an eleven-year-old boy." His hand shot out, preventing the elevator doors from closing. "Let's go."

Wonderful . Now he was not only pissed off but insulted. She followed Blue into the elevator, waiting for Evan to get in. "I didn't say you were cold-hearted. It's just that…"

"Just what?" he shot back. "The suspense is killing me."

"I get the feeling there's something else going on you're not telling me. That's what has me worried."

A beat of silence, then, "You have nothing to worry about, and there's nothing I'm not telling you."

"Are you sure?" She still couldn't shake the feeling there was something else he didn't want her to know. "Promise me you won't ever lie to me."

"I promise," he answered quickly.

Perhaps too quickly?

The elevator doors closed. Blue panted. The only other sound she probably imagined was Evan grinding his teeth. Okay, she had to admit, perhaps she'd been a bit harsh on the man. She believed his words. It was his hesitation preceding it that left her wary.

Luckily, her association with him was temporary. Maybe as short as two weeks. Maybe less. By then, the system would find Noah a new foster family, and he'd cease to be her responsibility. Never seeing him again still left a big ole hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach.

At Noah's floor, the doors opened. Blue's nails click-clicked on the polished granite floor. As it always did, that unpleasant antiseptic smell all hospitals had, swept through the corridor.

Tish and two hospital security guards stood at the nurse's desk. Tish's brow creased as she caught sight of them. "I was just about to call you. Did you pick up Noah already?"

"No. We just got here." Icy talons of fear dug into her heart. "Why?"

"He's gone," Tish said, the frown lines in her forehead deepening.

"What do you mean gone ?" As Marlie asked the question, she realized those were the exact words— verbatim —her now-ex-husband had said to her three years ago. The talons of fear dug deeper. She hadn't even taken custody of Noah, and already she'd failed him.

"Before we jump to conclusions, let's get more facts." Evan's voice was calm, but there was an intensely focused, dare she say, deadly , glint in his eyes. "You said you'd call Kids Corner and tell them not to come. Is there any chance the signals got crossed and they came anyway?"

"No." Tish shook her head fiercely. "Even if they did, they'd have to come to the nurse's station and sign papers. They know the drill. Besides, I just called them, and they confirmed they did not send anyone to pick Noah up yet."

Another nurse rolled a cart from one of the rooms. "Are you looking for Noah?" she asked. "Someone was here asking about him. He said he was a friend of Noah's."

"When was this?" Evan barked.

"About fifteen minutes ago."

"Did you see where he went?" Evan asked, and the nurse shook her head. "Describe him," he ordered. "Age, height, weight, eyes, hair, clothes."

The nurse shrugged. "Mid-thirties, I think. Maybe five-ten. Kind of thin. I don't remember his eye color, but his hair was brown."

"Clothes?" Evan prodded.

The nurse frowned. "Blue jeans and a sweatshirt. Tan or gray. I'm sorry. I don't remember much else. Except that he wore a wedding ring."

Evan turned to the guards. "Put this out on the radio and call the police. Start searching the hospital for this guy. Let's go," he said to Blue.

He and Blue headed into Noah's room. With her heart threatening to beat a hole through her chest, Marlie went after them. She stopped at the door and gasped.

The bedsheets were askew, hanging off the edge of the mattress. Noah's water cup and a straw lay on the floor. A small puddle of water had spilled out next to it. "This can't be happening," she whispered. Not again .

Evan pointed to the bed. Gracefully, Blue rose on his hind legs, resting his front paws on the mattress. With noisy inhalations, he sniffed the pillow and sheets. "Find him," Evan said in an even tone.

The second Blue's front paws hit the floor, he and Evan shot past her back into the corridor. Marlie couldn't move, couldn't think, and could barely draw in a breath as she watched them race for the stairwell. When the door slammed shut behind them, she flinched.

Noah wasn't her child, and this wasn't her fault. Still, the hollow, empty feeling in the pit of her stomach was there, and it was real. The same as it had been when Aiden had gone missing. But this wasn't Aiden. Maybe this boy they would find in time. Before…

Don't go there .

She tore down the hallway and pushed open the heavy stairway door. One level above her, a door slammed shut, echoing loudly. She took the stairs up, two at a time. Her soft-heeled shoes thudded dully, and her chest tightened with fear.

At the next floor, she yanked on the door and looked both ways. This floor was a mix of specialized patient rooms and a few spare doctors' offices, most of which were vacant. Evan and Blue were nowhere in sight.

She turned left, half running, half walking as she looked into every open doorway. At the end of the hall, she spun and raced back to the stairwell, heading in the opposite direction. At the first open door, she stopped. Evan stood in front of a desk. Behind the desk and sitting in front of a computer, sat Noah, scrubbing Blue's ears.

He looked up, his face brightening. "Hi, Marlie!"

As the fear slowly bled from her body, relief nearly took her to her knees. Then relief got nudged out by anger. Misplaced anger, but it had scared the crap out of her, nonetheless.

Doing her best not to let it show, she took a deep, calming breath. He's okay. He's okay , she repeated, hoping the mantra would soothe her frazzled nerves.

"Why don't you sit down?" Evan guided her to a chair. "Then Noah can tell you what he's been up to." He nodded to Noah. "You know she was worried about you."

"I'm sorry." He hung his head. "The nurse said someone from that place was coming to get me, and I don't want to go there."

"So you ran away," Marlie said, stating the obvious.

"Not really. I'm still in the hospital. I was looking for a computer, and the door was unlocked so…"

She leaned across the desk and pivoted the monitor. The Colorado Rockies homepage filled the screen. Every single computer in the hospital—on the planet, really—required some kind of password. "How did you log in?"

"Um." He twisted his lips and looked away.

"Noah?" She dragged out his name so it sounded more like No-ah.

"I, uh, found the password."

"Oh, really." She crossed her arms. He'd said he was good with computers. Apparently, he was also one crafty little kid. "Where exactly did you find the password?"

He shrugged, refusing to look at her as he pulled open one of the small drawers and shoved some papers aside. She stood and leaned farther over the desk. Taped to the bottom of the drawer was a combination of letters and numbers.

Now that her fear had lost most of its steam, she focused on her new, albeit temporary, parental responsibilities. "I know how much you love computers, but this is the equivalent of trespassing. How would you like it if someone broke into your computer and started snooping around?" Again, he shrugged, but Marlie knew she'd gotten through to him. "You shouldn't have left your room. Not without telling someone. I— we ," she corrected, catching the corner of Evan's mouth lifting, "were worried about you." More than worried. She'd been on the verge of an all-out panic attack.

"Are you mad at me? Please don't be mad at me. I won't do it again. I promise." With his head tilted down while he looked at her, he reminded her of a green-eyed puppy that had been caught tearing a pillow to shreds.

Knowing what he needed—what they both needed—she held out her hand. Noah came around the desk and let Marlie hug him. She pulled away and tucked an errant strand of hair behind his ear. "You don't have to go to Kids Corner if you don't want to."

"Where will I go?" He cocked his head and scrunched up his brows. "I don't want to stay here anymore, and I don't want to live with Sheila and Mike again."

Here goes nothing . The final plunge. The real commitment. "Would you like to come live with me? For a little while, anyway," she tacked on quickly.

"Really?" The broad smile lit up his face like someone had turned on a high-voltage lightbulb.

"Just until we can find you a new family to live with." Hearing the words left her with a heaviness in her chest.

"Oh." The brightness on his face extinguished like someone had flipped a switch. "Okay."

"It'll be fun. Now let's go get you dressed." The hospital had washed the clothes he'd worn when he arrived. Going shopping was first on her temporary-mom to-do list.

"Hold on a minute." Evan sat on the edge of the desk. "Noah, did anyone come to see you right before you came up here?"

"No."

Evan frowned. "The nurses said someone came to see you. I'm going to describe him. Tell me if you know this person."

"Okay." As he listened to Evan's description, Noah's eyes grew wider, and he began chewing his lower lip. "That could be John. He's married to Margaret."

"The couple you said run the camp?" Evan asked.

"Yeah," he whispered, the fear in his eyes becoming more evident. Noah dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around Blue and muttering into the dog's coat, "Don't let them find me."

Oh no . There could only be one reason someone from the camp was trying to find Noah.

The darkening expression on Evan's face confirmed her suspicion.

To take him back there . Or worse.