Page 20 of Unexpected Danger (Mountain Justice #2)

Dorena walked to the window and looked right, then left. “There’s no one at the window.” She pivoted toward Londyn, frown lines grooving the corners of her mouth. “You had a serious concussion, and it’s not uncommon to be confused.”

She hadn’t imagined it, had she? “I saw him there.” But even as she said the words, Londyn doubted herself. One thing she didn’t doubt was that Dustin had sent the flowers on the table beside her. Flowers that would be donated to someone else in the hospital once she told Brodie.

“Dr. Goley was unavoidably delayed, but he should be here soon. In the meantime, do you need anything else?”

“No, I think I’m fine. Thank you.”

“All right. Try to get some rest.”

The nurse left the room and closed the door three-quarters of the way behind her.

Londyn glanced again at the window. No sign of Dustin. At least she was safe inside the hospital.

Hopefully, Brodie would return soon. Should she call him? But what if he had to work? She couldn’t expect him to tend to her when he had other things to do.

The notecard from Dustin lay on the table beside the flowers. It wasn’t in his handwriting, which she’d only seen once at her former job. Had he called in the order? If so, would the florist be able to identify him?

Londyn reached for the remote on the table and clicked on the TV.

Forty channels ranging from home improvement to game shows, from news channels to soap operas, were at her fingertips.

Nothing sounded appealing, but she needed to distract herself from the flowers and possibly seeing Dustin at the window.

She closed her eyes and attempted to calm herself. She called to mind Isaiah 41:10 : “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

In the verse, the Lord offered reassurance that one needn’t worry. That He would provide strength, help, and the ability to forge ahead. He would uphold her.

Why then did her heartbeat fail to return to a normal rhythm, and why did the monitor indicate her normally low blood pressure at elevated levels?

She must have fallen asleep at some point because she startled when the sound of the door latch clicked. Londyn kept her eyes closed. It was likely Dorena arriving to take her vitals.

How Londyn had been able to sleep at all due to the circumstances was beyond her.

Likely exhaustion.

She rolled her head to one side, wincing at the pain. When he spoke, a chill barreled through her. Londyn’s eyes fluttered open.

“Hello, Beautiful. Well, maybe not so beautiful with the head bandage and bruising.” His familiar laugh caused her stomach to roil, and her heart to pound in her ears.

Dustin stood near the chair Brodie vacated, arms folded across his chest. But even so, she could see the disposable gloves on his hands.

What was he planning to do?

Her gaze drifted to the closed door. She was trapped.

Lord, please help me.

Dustin’s unblinking gaze settled on her. “Did you like the flowers?”

“You need to leave.”

“Is that any way to talk to a friend?” He offered a grin she’d once found charming.

Fear crept up Londyn’s spine. Dustin had already attempted to kill her. Would he try again? She perused the immediate area. If he did, she had nothing to protect herself, except a call button.

Which she pressed.

“You need to leave,” she repeated, hating how her voice quivered.

“Nah. I think I’ll stay.”

“Why are you doing this?”

And why wasn’t someone answering the call button? She pressed it again.

“Come on, Londyn, you know why.”

Was her rejection enough to cause him to stalk her and threaten her life?

For Dustin Haack, it apparently was.

He stomped toward her and ran a gloved hand down her arm, the latex cool against her skin. “Need me to remove the IV for you?” He plucked at it, and the jiggling motion tugged at her tender skin. She pushed him back with her other hand.

“No, it’s just fine.”

He studied her, his hardened eyes never blinking. Londyn held his stare while simultaneously recalling something Mr. Brenneman had told her and the others in the women’s self-defense class. “When your life is in danger, remember many things can be weapons.”

Not much to defend herself in a barren hospital room. A pen lay next to a thin three-by-five-inch notebook on the table beside the landline phone and the bouquet of flowers.

He towered over her bed, this time his eyes roving over her. Bile lodged in her throat, and she pressed the call button again.

“The hospital is really busy today, so you might as well give up on that.”

Londyn’s gaze rested briefly on the landline phone.

“Don’t even think about that either.” Dustin shoved her cell phone further from her reach, then lifted the landline, yanked the cord from both the handset and the jack, and straightened it between his hands, released it, then flipped it again so it was pulled taut.

“You weren’t thinking of calling someone, were you, Londyn? ”

Her head swirled with dizziness. “You won’t get away with this.”

“What? You’ll tell your boyfriend on me? Oh, wait. He’s not your boyfriend anymore. Not after you broke his heart.”

Jasmine had shared far too much.

“But you don’t need him anyway. You have me, and we were meant to be together.”

How had Londyn ever considered Dustin a friend? How had she ever considered dating him?

She was such a fool.

It took him all of three seconds to confirm he still loved her.

Which really wasn’t a surprise.

Brodie climbed into his service vehicle and drove first to the sheriff’s office. He’d check in, head home for a shower, then return to the hospital. Hopefully, by then, the doctor would have released Londyn.

Sleeping in the avocado-green chair in the hospital hadn’t been conducive to a good night’s rest. The crick in his neck wouldn’t be going away anytime soon. But it had been worth it to ensure Londyn would be all right.

Brodie couldn’t stop thinking about her. Their past and the present.

He was a guy, for crying out loud, and men didn’t think about broken hearts, or at least they usually didn’t. Why then couldn’t he get Londyn off his mind? Why then had he been glad and disappointed at the same time to hear she was going to be staying in Pronghorn Falls?

A call came over the radio just as he was about to turn into the sheriff’s office parking lot.