Escape From the Badlands Read Online Free PDF

glance.
    “So it seems.” Shane fumed. “How did Ackerman find Kelly?”
    Gleeson tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Through me, actually. He met her when he took me to the clinic after I sprained my knee. She was real competent and looking for a job because her gig there was almost up.” He grinned. “She’s not bad to look at, either, so I think that already put her ahead of the previous medic.”
    Biting back a fiery remark, Shane forced himself to stare out the window. “What happened to the other medic?”
    “Quit suddenly. Didn’t give a reason that I’m aware of. Why you so interested?” Gleeson asked. “You know her?”
    Shane wondered what Kelly had told him. Was Gleeson testing him?
    He went for flippant. “I’ve met a lot of pretty girls. Who remembers?”
    Gleeson chuckled.
    Who remembers? Shane did—every moment of their time together was indelibly engraved on his mind. The smallest things remained there: the way her smile was higher on one side than the other, the curl of her hair right after she washed it, her laughter that always made him forget everything else. Her failed attempts at learning to cook, and all the truly awful food he’d eaten with a smile firmly plastered on his face.
    “Anyway,” Gleeson continued, “she’s saddled with a kid. Don’t know why anyone would sign on to hook up with that.”
    A kid. The comment circled in his mind, stabbing and biting like an angry beast. Is that what Kelly thought? That he’d left because he didn’t want to be saddled with a kid? How could he ever tell her the truth?
    He leaned his head back and let the miles go by, uncertain why the situation had taken such a strange turn. There was only one thing he knew for sure—Kelly had to leave. Immediately. The thought carried him back to the campground where he parted with Gleeson, shouldering the bags to take to Kelly’s trailer, the one with the Team Medic placard displayed in the kitchen window.
    The curtains were drawn and his hands felt clammy, heart hammering erratically.
    Convince her to leave. That’s all you have to do.
    In an effort not to wake Charlie if the child was sleeping, Shane knocked softly.
    Kelly answered, dressed in a pair of sweatpants that were too big and an oversized T-shirt. Her hair was still wet, but pulled up into a high ponytail. Even in clothes that didn’t fit, after a harrowing near-death experience, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and for a moment he couldn’t speak.
    Kelly eyed the bags in his hands. “You didn’t have to bring those.”
    Shane shrugged. “Concierge service included with your luxury accommodations. Car will need to be towed, but I figured you might be able to use some of these things after they dry out.” He hesitated. “Can I come in?”
    She gave him a long look before she opened the door. “Just for a minute. Charlie is sleeping. I…we’ve been looking for his mother but no luck so he’s got to settle for me. Guess I didn’t do so well tonight.”
    He saw a little bundle in the full-size bed. “Is he okay?”
    “Yes.” She took a breath. “Thank you again. I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t come along.”
    He could see in her face the effort it took to say those words to him, the man she despised. “Forget it.” He shot another glance at the boy, only the top of his head visible from under the blankets. He looked so small in the bed. “Any word on your sister?”
    Kelly’s face shimmered with pain. “My uncle has a lead, but so far nothing concrete.”
    “I hope she turns up safe.”
    “Me, too.” She hugged herself. “I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s late. I’ve got to start work tomorrow so I think I’d better get some sleep.”
    “I need to talk to you about that.”
    Kelly cocked her head at him. “I think I know what you’re going to say. I’m sorry that it’s going to be a little awkward, Shane, but I had no idea you’d be here. We’ll stay