Blindside

Read Blindside for Free Online Page A

Book: Read Blindside for Free Online
Authors: Catherine Coulter
Tags: english eBooks
“Take good care of my patient. Keely, you keep a close eye on Sam, too, okay?”
    Keely allowed Sam to sit next to her mother, his head on Katie’s leg. She pressed close to his other side. “I’ll keep him warm, Mama.”
    “Sam,” Katie said, lightly touching her fingers to his pale cheek, “you’re a very lucky boy.”
    Sam, who felt dopey and stupid, said, “That’s what my mama was always telling my dad.”
    “I’ll call your daddy right now if you’ll just tell me his name and phone number.”

    Sam said against the wet denim on her leg, “My dad’s name is Miles Kettering. He’s really cool. He can fix anything. He fixes helicopters for the government.”
    His father was a government contractor? Could that be why he was kidnapped?
    “What’s your home phone number, Sam?”
    He was silent, thinking, but he couldn’t get it together, and she knew his brain was closing down. “It’s okay. I’ll call information. Colfax, Virginia, right?”
    Sam managed to nod before he closed his eyes. He felt her strong leg supporting his head. She still felt wet through the blanket she’d put under his head. He felt the sway of the truck and the little girl’s body pressed close against him. He was warm. He was safe. He was asleep in the next minute.
    Katie pulled the blanket more closely around his shoulders, and whispered to Keely, “He’ll be okay, sweetie. You just stay there, keep him really warm.”
    After a moment, Keely said, “I would have saved myself, too, Mama.”
    “I know you would have, Keely. Now, let me get information in Virginia and find Sam’s daddy.”
    When the phone rang, Miles jumped nearly three feet. He’d been telling the agents again how the government contracts worked, who his competitors were, and how much money was involved. Agent Butch Ashburn, the lead on Sam’s kidnapping, nodded to the other agent, Todd Morton, who’d just swallowed a doughnut too fast and was choking.
    “Showtime,” Agent Ashburn said.
    Savich, who’d just gotten to the Kettering house, laid his hand on his friend’s arm and said, “Everything’s set, Miles. Just answer the phone. Keep calm, that’s more important than I can say.”
    Miles Kettering forced his hand to reach for the phone.He didn’t want to touch it, didn’t want to because he was afraid that Sam was dead. So many children were kidnapped and so few survived. He could hardly bear it.
    It had been a day and a half. This was the first word. His hand shook as he lifted the phone.
    “Hello? This is Miles Kettering.”
    “Hello, Mr. Kettering, my name is Sheriff K. C. Benedict from Washington County, Tennessee. Don’t worry, I have your boy, Sam. He’s just fine. He managed to escape his kidnappers. He’s with me. Mr. Kettering? I promise you, he’s okay.”
    Miles couldn’t speak. His throat worked. “I don’t believe you. You’re the kidnapper, right? What do you want?”
    Butch Ashburn and Todd Morton were standing there staring at the phone, trying to look both calm and competent. Savich took the phone from Miles’s hands. “Who is this?”
    Katie understood. She said again, “This is Sheriff K. C. Benedict from Washington County, Tennessee. Sam is just fine. He managed to save himself. I’ve got him with me. Tell his parents not to worry, he’s okay.”
    “This is Dillon Savich with the FBI, Sheriff. Thank you very much. Give me your exact location and we’ll be there as quickly as we can.”
    Katie gave the man directions. She’d never before met a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She patted Sam’s shoulder, whispered, “Your daddy’s going to be here soon now, Sam,” but Sam didn’t hear her. He was asleep.
    She heard Mr. Kettering say in the background, “I want to talk to Sam.”
    She said to Agent Savich, “Sam’s asleep. Do you want me to wake him?”
    Miles Kettering came on the line. “No, let him sleep. I’ll see him soon. Please, Sheriff, tell him I love him. Whatabout

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