Midnight Promises Read Online Free PDF

extra spurt of energy, pulling in the very last of her reserves. She stumbled up the porch steps, clinging to the railing with both hands. She was so focused she couldn’t see much, just what was in front of her. Steps, a small porch, the door. The focus was getting narrower and narrower and she recognized that as a sign that she was about to pass out.
    She shuffled across the porch, unable to lift her feet, and pounded weakly on the door. She pounded again and saw a video intercom and shuffled sideways.
    Please
,
Lauren
, she thought, her heart now painfully slow. She pounded again and looked toward the monitor. She was wet from the snow but she could also feel cold sweat beading her face. She shook with the effort to stay upright.
    The loudspeaker crackled and she focused desperately on the monitor. “Lauren?” she asked. Then—
you dummy.
She won’t recognize you.
She used the handle Lauren had given herself in their private chat room. “Runner?” Her voice came out a weak wheeze.
Oh God
,
please answer!
Please open this door before I collapse.
    “Felicity!” The door opened and there she was, Lauren. Prettier than in the photos Felicity had used for her ID. A little plumper, happy. Lauren held out her hand and Felicity took it, stumbled over the threshold, fell.
    Or, didn’t fall.
    Something very strong and big was there.
    Felicity had been so concentrated on Lauren that she hadn’t noticed that she was with two men. One dark, one dirty blond. Both big, but the blond was very tall besides being as big as a house. He was the one who’d stopped her fall, who gently laid her on the floor.
    He was looking at her intently, opening her coat, frowning when he saw the blood. He lifted her shirt and looked up at Lauren.
    “Knife wound and it’s bleeding heavily. We need to get her to a hospital. She’s lost a lot of blood.” He was probing the wound and though the painkillers still masked some of the pain, she gasped.
    Something about what he said—
    “No!” She tried to shout but it came out a hoarse croak. Felicity clung to the man’s thick wrist. He had big, powerful hands attached to big, powerful arms. He felt so warm and strong and alive. Touching him was like getting a little infusion of energy.
    What he wanted was so dangerous. She clung to his wrist, leaving blood streaks on his skin. She looked at him, at Lauren, then back at him. Lauren was looking at him too, so he was the decider. She tried to tighten her fingers around his wrist and wondered whether he could even feel her.
    “No hospital!” she gasped, the tiny spurt of energy coming straight from her terror at the idea of going back to the hospital and being found by her attacker. “
Please.
He’s after me! He was waiting for me at the airport. He’ll find me in a hospital. I just escaped from one and he—” She coughed, felt fresh blood flow from the wound. “He was there,” she finished weakly.
    Lauren knelt down next to her,and took her hand. Lauren’s hand felt warm and vital too. Felicity stared up at her, at this friend she’d never seen before. That she was a friend was unmistakable. She looked so concerned, so distraught. Her eyes were filled with kindness and sorrow. “Honey—” She stopped, took a deep breath. “Honey, we need to get you to a doctor.”
    Felicity knew that but also knew that medical care would leave a trace her attacker could easily follow. The doctor would save her life, only to have her attacker take it later.
    Felicity let go of the man and reached for Lauren’s warm hand with both of hers. Her hands were slick with sweat and blood but Lauren didn’t seem to notice. She curled her fingers around Felicity’s hands. Felicity gave Lauren’s hand a little shake, looking up into her friend’s pretty face and pleaded with everything in her. “Please,” she whispered hoarsely. “Please. He’ll kill me if he finds me.”
    The big man who had been examining her wound with careful hands looked at Lauren.