“Shh.” He ran his hand down the back of her hair, his body trembling as badly as hers.

“Uncle Marc!” She pushed herself away from him and ran for the front door.

Ty grabbed her hand, yanking her back. “He’s alive. I checked him when I got here and the police and ambulance are on their way.”

“What about him? Where’d he go? The guy who shot Uncle Marc?” She visibly gagged at the recollection before steadying herself.

Ty exhaled a long breath. “Derek pulled up at the same time I did. The guy had just run out the back door. He probably heard us pull up, panicked and ran.”

“I don’t understand how you knew to come back.” She wiped the moisture off her face with her hands.

“Derek reached me on my cell phone at the hospital. Dumont called the police and reported a stalker. Obviously it was a ruse to get Derek waylaid so your uncle could come here to find you.”

Ty still recalled the panic he’d felt getting the call, but that was nothing compared to the gut-wrenching fear he’d experienced when he’d pulled up here and seen Dumont lying in a pool of blood, the front door wide open and Lilly nowhere to be found.

“He got away.” Derek walked in from the entry off the kitchen, breathing heavily. Frustration was etched all over his face. “The bastard went through the back bushes before I even got outside.”

“Where’s Digger?” Lilly asked, panic-stricken. “Where’s my dog?”

“Safely in the kitchen,” Derek promised her.

She slumped against Ty in relief.

“Did you get a look at the guy or his car?” Ty asked her.

She shook her head. “I never saw him at all. I think the car was a tan sedan of some sort. That’s all I saw before he shot Uncle Marc.”

Ty nodded. “I noticed the same color car parked in front of the neighbors’, but nothing more. Derek?”

“Same here.”

Ty’s frustration grew since they’d lost their last link to finding out who the guy was.

Lilly grabbed Ty’s hand suddenly and pulled him toward the front door.

Derek followed close behind.

She bent down beside her uncle who lay facedown with a bullet in his back. He didn’t move.

Ty checked the pulse in his neck once more. “Faint but he’s alive.”

Sirens blared, sounding closer by the second.

“Uncle Marc?” Lilly asked, leaning her face close to his.

Ty put his hand on her back which was damp from sweat and fear. “He’s unconscious.”

“Who shot you?” Lilly asked the old man. “Who wants you dead? Were you telling me the truth when you said you weren’t behind the attempts on my life? Were you?” She couldn’t help demanding answers to the questions that haunted her.

Ty lifted her away from the man just as the paramedics ran up the front lawn, cleared them away from the area and got to work.

Seconds later, the police followed. The paramedics moved Dumont into the ambulance and transported him to the same hospital where Ty’s mother had been admitted. Though he was anxious to get back to her, they sat through an hour of questioning in his mother’s family room. Lilly answered everything she could while Ty and Derek did their part to help. Finally, the officer ran out of things to ask, at least for the moment.

“We need to get back to the hospital,” Lilly finally said, still trembling.

The cop who’d been taking notes snapped his pad shut. “I’ll need you to come by and give official statements, but you can go now.”

“Those statements might not have been necessary if one of your men hadn’t stalled me, giving Dumont the chance to get to Lilly and get himself shot,” Derek muttered. “I’m licensed and he knew it the second I showed him my badge. He should have just let me go.”

The cop, a guy who knew both Ty and Derek, nodded in understanding. “We’ll look into what happened. I promise. In the meantime, I suggest you stick close to Lilly until we follow up any leads that come from the investigating team.” He gestured to the rest of the house, indicating the forensics team who were checking footprints, interviewing neighbors and checking on other possible leads.

Guilt rushed through Ty for leaving Lilly alone in the first place. But with his mother in the hospital and Derek on his way, the decision had seemed like a safe one at the time.

“She’s not leaving my sight again,” he said, reaching for her hand and pulling it tight against his side. “Right now I’m getting her out of here.” She didn’t need any more time in the house with the frightening memories.

“Derek, can you take the dog?” Lilly asked. “I don’t want to leave her here with all these strangers coming in and out.”

The house had been designated a crime scene, something that would worry his mother sick-so he didn’t plan on telling her just yet. When she was stronger, he’d fill her in on everything. And she would get stronger. She’d be fine. He had to believe that.

“Sure. I’m not on Dumont duty anymore.”

“Right. The cops have someone watching him at the hospital until whoever shot him has been caught,” Ty said.

“Who would want him dead?” Lilly asked. “And who’d come after me if not Uncle Marc?”

Ty shook his head. He’d been sorting through possibilities since hearing Lilly’s version of events. “He said he wasn’t behind the attempts and he knew who was?”

She nodded. “I was petrified and I wouldn’t let him into the house. But after he was shot, it actually seemed like he came to warn me, not hurt me.”

Ty rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands. “Let’s get to the hospital and see how my mother’s doing. Maybe there’ll be news on your uncle by then, too.”

“And don’t worry about your dog,” Derek said, coming back into the room with Digger on her leash, trotting happily at the other man’s feet.

“Looks like you got yourself a new lady,” Ty said, laughing. He knew all too well how Digger attached herself to new people.

“She stinks,” Derek said with a frown. “Did you ever think of getting her breath mints? She licked my face when I was putting her leash on and I swear to God, I nearly passed out.”

Lilly grinned. “It’s part of her charm. Take good care of her and thanks again.”

They started for the door together, when Ty turned to Derek. “She likes to sleep with you,” he told the other man. “And she likes to be on top.”

“Swell,” he muttered.

And Lilly laughed for the first time in hours.

TY HAD CALLED Hunter about the incident at his mother’s. Hunter had called Molly, knowing she’d want to be there when Dumont was brought in. He’d promised to meet up with her as soon as his meeting was over. She’d told him not to rush, that she was fine.

And she was fine. At least fine as far as Molly’s life was concerned. As soon as she’d hung up with Hunter, Molly had called her mother.

“I really don’t do hospitals,” Francie had said.

Disgusted, Molly had slammed down the phone and driven straight to the hospital by herself.

Molly heard the distance in her mother’s voice. She’d sensed it for a while. Ever since the party, when Francie had discovered Lilly was alive and well and stood to inherit the trust fund that would have been Marc’s and by virtue of marriage, hers, as well.

Molly had hoped things would turn out differently this time, especially since her mother hadn’t yet ended things with Marc. But with her mother’s refusal to come to the hospital, Molly had to face the truth. Francie was merely biding her time, waiting until she had a lead on another eligible wealthy man or at least until she had an idea about where to find one. Knowing Francie, a cruise or a trip to Europe would be her next stop as she hunted for her next victim. She wouldn’t think twice about leaving Molly behind. In fact Molly would be lucky if she received a goodbye. After all, she’d been this route before.

So much for family. So much for a mother loving her daughter and realizing her past mistakes. So much for Francie having changed.

Molly stepped through the automatic hospital doors and strode up to the check-in desk. “I’m here to see Marc Dumont,” Molly said to the tired-looking woman sitting in front of her.

“Are you immediate family?”

Molly swallowed hard. “No.”

The woman glanced down at the papers on her desk. “Mr. Dumont is not allowed visitors just yet. Have a seat and we’ll let you know when you can see him.”

Molly nodded. “I see. Thank you.” She turned and headed for an empty chair in which to wait.

The longer she sat, the more uncomfortable she grew and she fidgeted, unable to remain still. She didn’t belong here. She wasn’t related to Marc and probably never would be. But he’d been good to her in ways nobody else had been and she wanted to make certain he would be okay.

She tapped her foot. She drummed her fingers against the armrest. And she waited.

“Molly?”

She glanced up and saw Lacey and Ty standing in front of her. She rose to her feet. “I didn’t see you come in.”

“You were deep in thought,” Lacey said.

“Yeah. Not in a pleasant place, either. Are you okay? Hunter told me what happened. I can’t believe Marc was shot right in front of you. Why did he come to see you in the first place?” Molly asked, still missing major parts of the story.

Lacey shrugged. “We never got that far. Is there any news?”

“Not yet.”

“I need to go inside and see my mother,” Ty said.

“I’m coming.” She touched Molly’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Go. I’ll be fine.”

Lacey gave Molly a quick hug and walked off with Ty.

Molly sighed. Her gaze followed the retreating couple until they disappeared behind the emergency room doors, then she glanced around the busy room. Most people were here with someone else. A friend, a family member. Someone they loved. Not Molly.

As she waited for news on Marc, she realized something profound. She’d spent too much time defending the man and not enough time sorting through the truth, only to end up exactly where she feared she’d be when all was said and done.