The Miracle Strain Read Free

behind him. Theysmile at each other and he extends his other hand behind his back,toward her. They are now some ten feet from the limousine. Theirhands clasp and Tom turns around, leaning toward her as hedoes when he's about to kiss her.
    At that moment the broad-shouldered figure steps out of thecrowd in front of them.
    Moving closer to Tom, Olivia doesn't see the person atfirst. Then out of the corner of her eye she sees the crescent-shapescar on Jack Nichols's face twist into a scowl. Why does he lookso angry? So frightened?
    Then time seems to slow down.
    There is a sharp report, and Jack is pushing Tom away fromher. Wrenching his hand out of hers, making him fall againstHolly.
    In that split instant she clearly sees the man in the bigshouldered coat. He's standing in front of her, pointing at whereTom was.
    Where she is.
    A flash comes from the man's hand and another report cracksthe cold night. An enormous force hammers into her chest, pushingthe air out of her lungs, throwing her onto the ground. Then another impact hits her, and another, and another, rolling her downthe steps like a rag doll. She is more stunned than pained whenshe tries vainly to get up.
    She must help Tom and Holly.
    On the steps above her she can see Jasmine standing stock still,her electric blue cape dark with blood. Olivia hears a scream andsees Holly's big hazel eyes--so like her own--staring at her withhorror. She's no longer wearing her hat and Olivia's first thoughtis that Holly will get cold. Olivia tries to smile. She wants to reassure Holly, but she can't move and the back of her head feels wetand sticky. She suddenly realizes that this is all she can feel.
    As her head rolls to one side she locks eyes with her fleeingkiller, who is already fading back into the stunned crowd, and issurprised by what she sees.
    Where's Tom? she thinks. He'll make everything all right.
    She hears him calling her name. He sounds far, far away.
    Then, like a forgotten thought, his voice is gone, and she seesand hears no more.
    "Olivia! Olivia! Olivia!"
    The more Dr. Tom Carter screamed his wife's name, the harder he found it to believe what he saw. Crawling down the icy steps, he ignored the one bullet wound in his own leg. In all his years as a surgeon he had never seen so much blood from one person; the snow around Olivia's body was red with it. This couldn't be happening. Not tonight of all nights.
    Everything had happened too fast---was happening too fast. Seconds ago he had everything. And now...
    He could barely continue the thought. The world had gone mad. The crowd was shouting and screaming as the police tried to hold it back, forming a circle around his mini hell. Sirens screamed and cameras flashed. Jack was coming toward him, his face ashen white.
    Leaning over Olivia, Tom gently brushed strands of blond hair from her face, expecting her open eyes to blink--to smile in recognition. But they just stared back at him. There was something strange about her head. With horrible detachment he realized that the back of her skull was missing.
    He bent down and held her to him. "Why?" he cried, unaware he was shouting his thoughts out loud.
    Then a realization, even colder than the night, froze his heart. Jack had pushed him out of the line of fire. The killer had been aiming at him, not Olivia.
    He should be dead, not her.
    Guilt, like a dagger, pierced the shock, making him retch. Then through the chaos, he heard a small whimpering sound behind him.
    Holly? A panic seized him, just as Jack put a hand on his shoulder.
    "Holly?" he shouted, pushing his friend away, twisting around to see his bloodstained daughter being comforted by her godmother. Jasmine's face was deadly pale. Reaching for Holly, Tom checked his daughter for injuries, all the time looking into pleading eyes, which begged him to explain what no sane man could. With a relief so fierce it made him gasp, Tom realized she was physically unhurt and squeezed her to his chest.
    "It'll be okay," he