Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #1 Read Free

yet there was an aura about him that made her think of danger. Either that or she was simply being influenced by the disquieting thoughts that had begun the moment she’d heard the news of an explosion.
    Once she had recorded Isaac’s necessary preliminary information, she slit the leg of his uniform pants the rest of the way to his knee, folded back the fabric and carefully removed his boot.
    â€œWell? How bad is it?” he asked.
    â€œThe doctor will make that assessment when he gets here.”
    â€œLet me put it this way.” Isaac reached for her wrist and clasped it, gently but firmly, sending another shiver zinging up her spine. “If I just bandage it up and go back to work, will I be sorry?”
    â€œI would certainly think so.”
    He heaved a telling sigh. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
    â€œYou got hurt at the monument, like the others, right?”
    â€œRight. Abby and I were there to do a safety inspection of the area. She couldn’t have missed detecting the bomb. It had to be placed there
after
we made our sweep. There’s no other possible explanation.”
    Her brain absorbed very little more after he said
bomb
. That word had been a trigger for a surge of negative emotions for many years, and this instance was no different. Latent fear gripped her heart, stilled her movements and turned her fingers to stone. It wasn’t until she felt his warm touch on her forearm that she snapped out of it. Sort of.
    â€œYou okay?” The dark, dancing eyes had narrowed and he was studying her as if she were a specimen under a microscope.
    â€œI’m fine.”
    â€œYou keep telling me that but every now and then I see something else.”
    â€œMust be your imagination,” Daniella assured him.
    The expression on the police officer’s face was clear. He didn’t believe her. And little wonder since she was anything but fine. Matter of fact, at this moment, all she wanted to do was run out the door, disappear into the night, leave everything behind and never look back.

TWO
    I saac had been visited by a physician and was sporting twenty-three stitches by the time his boss, Captain Gavin McCord, arrived at the hospital and began berating him.
    â€œYou broke at least two rules tonight. You should have cleared that area the instant your dog alerted and waited for an ambulance instead of hitching a ride,” McCord said with a scowl. “Care to tell me what happened?”
    â€œI did clear it. The problem wasn’t because of me or Abby.” Isaac had been enjoying the pretty nurse’s company as she’d begun to bandage his calf and he smiled in her direction.
    McCord eyed her, too. “Could you finish that later? I’d like to talk to my team member privately.”
    â€œOf course.” She stripped off her latex gloves.
    In spite of her quick, compliant reply, Isaac could tell she was hesitant to leave him. Why? They hardly knew each other.
    Given no personal background on her he was in the dark, but if he’d had to guess he’d have concluded that she was either normally high-strung or suffering from serious guilt. He hoped it was not the latter.
    Isaac and his captain watched her edge away, then disappear through a gap in the curtains surrounding the exam area. Their eyes met.
    â€œWas she that uptight when you got here, or have you done something to upset her?” Gavin asked.
    â€œHey, don’t look at me.” Isaac raised both hands. “If anything, she’s acting a little better than she did at first. Her jitters were so noticeable when I walked in, I asked her if she was new on the job.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œAnd, she said she wasn’t.”
    â€œCurious. You’d think an experienced trauma nurse would have steadier nerves.” His brow knit. “I think I’ll run a background check on her, just in case.”
    â€œShe can’t have been responsible for the