Deceive Her With Desire by Nina Pierce Page A

phone’s display screen.
    “Meghan, what’s wrong?” Her sisters never depended on her for anything. Only a life or death situation could have her tracking down Deirdre in the middle of the night.
    “Dee, it’s Daddy.”
    “Is he…he…” A sob escaped. Her stomach went cold and her legs turned to mush beneath her, dropping her hard onto the stairs. She couldn’t finish the question. She didn’t want to know the truth. She loved her father too much to lose him now. Austin pushed past her, dropping to his knees in front of Deirdre, his hands rubbing her thighs.
    “I think it’s his heart.” Meghan talked through her tears. “Mum called an ambulance. They’re headed to the hospital now. Peter and I are leaving now. We’ll meet you there.”
    Deirdre’s heart sank as the line went dead.
    “Deirdre?” Austin brushed the hair from her face.
    “Daddy’s in the hospital. He’s…” Fear clogged her throat.
    “Get dressed. I’ll have you back in Delmont in less than thirty minutes.”
    * * * *
      Deirdre jumped out of the Jag before Austin had a chance to put it in park. The emergency entrance of the Delmont Hospital glowed eerily in the dark of the night. The sulfur street lamps cast an ominous orange hue over the scene. She’d been in this nightmare before.
    Not waiting for Austin, Deirdre sprinted the short distance across the nearly empty parking lot, wanting only to get inside and find her father. Austin had made the drive from Cutler in less than twenty minutes. Still, it had seemed like an eternity for them to reach their destination.
    Deirdre hoped she wasn’t too late. Meghan had shut off her phone, and they’d had no communication since she’d talked to her sister in the stairwell at Austin’s condo. Another heart attack. She prayed her father’s weakened body could survive the trauma.
    “Where’s my father?” she said to the receptionist before the pneumatic doors hissed closed behind her.
    “Deirdre.” The petite blonde at the emergency room receptionist desk stood abruptly, dropping the romance novel she’d been reading. Everyone in Delmont knew the Tillings . “He’s been taken up to ICU. Your family’s already up there. We’re all saying prayers for him,” she yelled at Deirdre’s retreating back.
    Deirdre absently acknowledged the woman over her shoulder and sprinted toward the stairwell. The elevator to the third floor would be too slow. She took the stairs two at a time, Austin’s feet pounding on the rubber treads right behind her.
    She’d talked non-stop since climbing into the car, nonsensical ramblings about her childhood and her sisters. Austin seemed to understand her need to focus on her family. He hadn’t commented, only forced the Jag along the twisting back roads at reckless speeds. Her heart was as heavy as the darkness that shrouded the car. Hope glowed weakly like the dashboard lights. But it was all she had to hold onto—hope and her family.
    She burst through the door on the third floor and ran the short distance through the familiar hallway to the ICU. She detested hospitals. The smell of disinfectant nearly made her retch, but she swallowed down the bile with the fear clawing at her throat. Austin ran into her back when she turned the corner and stopped abruptly.
    They were all there.
    Her mother stood in the center of the small group, looking tired and frail. Deirdre’s sisters, Julie and Meghan flanked her. It was hard to tell who was emotionally supporting whom. Peter and Damon, her sisters’ fiancés, stood behind them, their arms wrapped around the small group. Tears ran down the women’s cheeks.
    She was too late.
    “Deirdre, sweetie.” Her mother whispered the words, but she heard in them a truth she knew she couldn’t face.
    The tears that had threatened the entire drive slid down her face. Deirdre stared at the cluster, too dazed to move from where she stood. She wanted time to stop right now and for no one to say a word. She didn’t