Hostage Midwife Read Free

whispered to me.”
    He ducked his head to put his lips close to her ear. “Maybe I was just being friendly.”
    “Friendly like a fox.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “You don’t look dangerous until you’re ready to pounce.”
    “Scared?” he asked.
    “I can handle a pounce.”
    “I bet you can.”
    Finally, she turned her head and looked at him. When her lips curled into a smile, her green eyes crinkled at the corners. He guessed she was in her early thirties, which was, in his opinion, the perfect age. They wouldn’t have to waste time playing games.
    “Tell me about the gold,” she said. “Why do you keep it here instead of in a bankvault?”
    “Spencer Enterprises is still family owned and operated, which means our company tolerates more than our share of eccentricity. My uncle, Samuel, is the last of the older generation of Spencers. He’s kind of a genius when it comes to architecture. He designed this office park.”
    Forty years ago, the oil business had been booming in Colorado, and Samuel had proposed a ten-storybuilding and three others that were four stories each. There was a definite need for more office space in the Denver/Boulder area, but Valiant wasn’t the most convenient location. Prevailing opinion—including that of Nick’s father, who was the CEO—had been that good old Samuel had taken a swan dive into the crazy pool.
    As it turned out, Samuel was right. Valiant was just close enough to Boulderand Fort Collins to be a viable corporate headquarters. They played up the outdoorsy lifestyle and the nearness to the mountains. When the oil and gas companies moved out, the software companies moved in. “Uncle Samuel situated Spencer Enterprises on the ninth and tenth floors. And he wanted the gold to be here.”
    “But why?” Kelly asked.
    “Part of our corporate identity,” he said witha shrug. “We do a lot of construction business all around the world. The clients who come here want to see the gold. They’re usually impressed.”
    “How much is it worth?”
    “Fifty kilobars at two pounds each.” The elevator dinged at the ninth floor. “It’s about two and a half million dollars.”
    She gave a low whistle. “That’s a lot of money to leave lying around.”
    “We’re eccentric,but we’re not stupid. Our security is intense.”
    When the elevator door opened, Marian Whitman stood waiting for him. Though it was almost eight o’clock on a Sunday night, her grooming was sleek perfection. Not a single blond hair dared to slip out of place. The only color on her face came from her perfectly painted ruby lips. Her mouth barely moved when she said, “I expected you to be alone,Nick. We have business to discuss.”
    He didn’t want to talk about corporate deficits and poor investment decisions. “It can wait.”
    “Your uncle is here. He’s in his office. I think this might be a good time to confront him, while there are no other distractions.”
    But Nick longed for distraction. He wanted to sling his arm around Kelly’s slender waist and take her outside for a walkalong the path outside the office park. He wanted to tease her and make her laugh while they looked up at the half-moon. The March air would be crisp and invigorating.
    Kelly shook Marian’s hand as she introduced herself. “I don’t want to interrupt. I’ll be going.”
    “Thank you,” Marian said, “for understanding. Nick? Come with me.”
    Though she was the Chief Financial Officer and theundisputed queen of the corporate balance sheets, he was still the boss. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “First, I’m going to show Kelly the gold. Then, I’ll escort her downstairs to her car. If I’m lucky, she’ll agree to come for a walk with me along the creek and we’ll see a couple of chipmunks scampering away from the nighthawks. After that, Marian, I’ll come back here. Then, and onlythen, we can talk.”
    Not waiting for a response, he directed Kelly through the glass