by Sandra Owens
He studied her for a moment. “I’m feeling kind of weird about this, but if I ask Brooke out, is that a problem? I mean since we’re just going to be friends. That is all we’re going to be, right?”
What she wanted to do was talk about the lab report and how the police planned to catch the bastard hurting animals. But this was a conversation they needed to have. “Yes.” She gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too. Is it because of the guy across the street from you?”
“How do you—”
“Because when I picked you up for our date, you kept looking over there, and when I brought you home, same thing. Like you were afraid he was watching, and you didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. I saw him standing on his porch when I came down your street to get you.”
“Wow, you’re good.”
He laughed. “I’m trained to observe. So no reason we can’t be friends?”
She really did like him. “No reason at all, and I think you and Brooke are perfect for each other.”
The grin spreading across his face was cute. “Thanks. Now, what does this say?”
She stayed silent as he read the report.
“Strychnine,” he muttered, looking up at her.
“Found in gopher bait. Mix it into raw meat, leave it where you know an animal will get to it, and walk away.”
“That’s going to be almost impossible to trace.”
She scrubbed her hands over her face. This whole business infuriated her. “I know. I did an Internet search. It’s as easy to buy as candy.”
“All we can do at this point is what we’re already doing. We’ve put the department on notice to keep an eye out, and we’ve beefed up patrols in this area. I wish there was more we could do.”
“Yeah, me, too.” They’d saved Rascal this morning, but would the next dog or cat be brought in fast enough to save? “Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s time to close. Go ask Brooke out before she leaves.”
Mike shot her a grin. “Yes, ma’am. I’m on it.”
After he left, she completed the notes on her last patient. Brooke came bouncing in, followed by Michelle.
“Oh my God. Stud Two asked me out.” Brooke grabbed Michelle’s hands, dancing them in a circle. “He’s so freaking hot. We’re going to dinner tonight. Tell Michelle she has to come home with me and help me decide what to wear.”
Riley watched them, smiling at Brooke’s excitement. “Michelle, go home with Brooke and help her.”
Brooke came to a sudden halt and turned to Riley. “Is that okay? I mean, he wouldn’t have asked me out if he was going out with you, too, would he?”
“No, Mike wouldn’t do that. Michelle, get her out of here before she explodes all over my desk from giddiness.”
Brooke grinned. “Thank you.”
“You bet. Enjoy your date.”
“Oh, I’m gonna. See you Monday.”
Riley spent a few more minutes organizing her office, then made the rounds before leaving. Denny wouldn’t come until later that night, so she made sure the one cat and three dogs being boarded had water. If Rascal hadn’t recovered enough to be sent home, she would have waited for Denny to arrive. But because she was seeing Cody, she was glad she could leave. She had just enough time to go home, take a shower, shave her legs, and dress.
With her purse over her shoulder and her phone in hand, she headed for her car. Her long sex drought was going to end tonight. The hottest bad boy on the planet was going to see to it. Her toes tingled just thinking about it.
She clicked her remote a few feet from her car, and at the sound of footsteps behind her, she started to turn, her heart sinking at the thought of someone rushing their sick pet to her. Before she could see who it was, pain exploded in the back of her skull, and her world faded to black.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The plate of assorted cheeses, paper-thin shaved ham, grapes, strawberries, and blackberries looked good if Cody did say so himself. He visualized feeding those berries to Riley with his fingers. Because he’d noticed that she liked her beer slushy, he had a bottle in the freezer. For dessert, he had the makings for ice cream sundaes. A fun meal, and one he wouldn’t have to spend time in the kitchen making.
His plan was for them to eat their dinner on the porch, then watch the sunset while he played for her. She seemed to like that, and other than for his teammates when they had been on deployment, he only played his guitar for his dogs. Until Riley.
Although it seemed like it should be just the opposite, being around her calmed him. She wasn’t quiet or meek, so he didn’t understand why that was. Where was she? He’d been keeping an eye out the window, thinking she should’ve been home by now. Hopefully, she hadn’t had a last-minute emergency, especially another poisoned pet.
Whether or not Maria could narrow down his search of the suspect’s car to a reasonable number with only the first two letters of the license plate remained to be seen. He’d given her the info on the model he thought the car was, and with that and the letters, he hoped she could give him a list to start working on.
He was feeling pretty good about the decisions he’d made. Letting Riley into his life for however long she could put up with him, agreeing to see the head doc, and this morning, e-mailing everyone he knew even vaguely who was still in Afghanistan—sending them a picture of Layla—were all positive steps in getting his head screwed back on right. Seeing the doctor meant he’d have to face whatever had happened that was giving him nightmares, but he was finally ready to deal with it. Yep, he was feeling good that he was finally taking control.
At another glance out the window, he saw that the sun was starting to set, and if she didn’t get here soon, they were going to miss watching it together. Where the hell was she? He took the bottle of beer out of the freezer before it exploded and put it in the fridge.
There was nothing left to do until Riley arrived, and he realized that even more than the sex they had put on the agenda for tonight, he just wanted her with him. Not that he wasn’t looking forward to the sex. He wasn’t going to kid himself about that, but it was more than that with her. Too restless to stay inside, he decided to wait for her on the porch.
“Wanna go out?” Both dogs jumped up and ran to the door. Before he could reach them, his phone buzzed, Riley’s name popping up on the screen.
“Hey, darlin’. You get delayed?” At the sound of heavy breathing, he frowned. “Riley?”
“Hel-help.”
“Riley! Where are you?” No response. Phone in hand, he grabbed his keys. “Stay,” he said when the dogs tried to follow him. Not bothering to lock the door behind him, he slammed it shut on his confused dogs and ran to his truck. The only thing he knew to do was to drive from his house to her clinic, watching for her car.
He was two blocks from his destination when a siren sounded behind him. With a glance in the rearview mirror, he saw a cop car, lights flashing, on his tail. Eyeing his speedometer, he saw that he was traveling far faster than the residential speed limit. Too bad. The cop could just follow him.
His tires squealed when he took the turn into her parking lot, the persistent police car still on his bumper. The front lot was empty, and he sped to the back where she parked her car. If she wasn’t there, he didn’t know what he’d do.
As soon as he came around the corner and saw Riley facedown on the pavement, his heart fell so hard that he thought he was having some kind of attack. He screeched to a halt, shoved the gear lever into Park, and almost fell out of his door trying to get to her.
“Riley!” he yelled, running to her. When he reached her, he dropped to his knees and put his fingers on her throat, looking for a pulse. “I’m here, darlin’,” he said, willing her to respond. She didn’t, but he let out a relieved breath when he felt the blood flowing through her neck vein.
“Don’t move her.”
Cody looked up at the cop standing over them, recognizing him as the man who’d ta
ken her out. “Call for a fucking ambulance.”
The officer was already speaking into his radio, giving an address for the rescue squad. Cody petted her shoulder, not knowing where else he could safely touch her. He wished Doc were here. His friend would know what to do.
He leaned close to her ear. “Wake up, darlin’. We were supposed to watch the sunset together, but that’s all right. We can do that some other time. You just need to wake up.”
She moaned.
Let her be okay, he prayed, something he hadn’t done since they’d lost Evan Prescott on an operation in Afghanistan. His prayer hadn’t work then, but he refused to go there. Sirens sounded in the distance. The cop knelt on the other side of her, and Cody glared at him for getting close to her.
The cop glared right back. “Hey, man, I know she prefers you, but she’s still my friend. Don’t be an ass.”
Cody gave a terse nod as he took Riley’s hand in his. Her skin felt so damn cold and clammy. “Why haven’t you caught who’s doing this?” he demanded. If the cops had done their job, Riley would be sitting on his porch, drinking her slushy beer while he fed her grapes.
“Why hasn’t K2?” the man retorted.
The hell? Cody jerked his gaze up. “What do you know about K2?” And if the dude didn’t wipe that smirk off his face, Cody was going to do it for him.
“Not as much as I’d like. When she told me it was her neighbor she was interested in, meaning not me, I ran a check on you. Whoever you people are, you’re downright spooky. I’m a cop. I should be able to find out anything I need to know about you, but I was blocked at every turn. That tells me you’re a black ops operation.”
When the cop paused, no doubt waiting for Cody to confirm his guess, Cody stayed quiet.
“Yeah, I didn’t expect an answer. I’m Mike Kilpatrick. Not yet ready to say nice to meet you, Cody Roberts. Depends on how you treat the lady.”
If the man didn’t shut up, Cody was going to put him flat on his ass. That he’d treat Riley bad in any way was an insult. So you didn’t mean it when you said for however long it lasted? You didn’t think that would hurt her? Okay, so short term he had no intention of hurting her, but long term? He probably would. After he knocked the cop into tomorrow, he’d do the same to himself.
A rescue squad truck sped up, closely followed by an ambulance. The EMTs pushed him aside, checked her vitals, put a neck brace on her, and then loaded her on a stretcher. Cody watched as they closed the back doors of the ambulance behind them, whisking Riley away. He felt like his damn heart had been torn out of his chest.
“Where you going?”
Cody picked up Riley’s phone and purse. “To the hospital. Why don’t you do your damn job and find out who did this to her.”
“I plan to,” the man said, not seeming to take offense.
So did Cody, and when he found the person responsible, they were going to have the worst day of their life.
At the emergency room, no one would tell him anything because he wasn’t a relation. To keep from going on a rampage and tearing the place apart to get to her, he went to a chair that had a view of anyone coming or going. From there, he could see if they moved her.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, his fingers touching her phone. Curious how she’d been coherent enough to dial his number as hurt as she was, he nosed around in her contact list. When he found that her clinic was number one on autodial, that didn’t surprise him. What did was that he was number two. All she’d had to do was push one number to call him, which answered one question, anyway. But he had a whole slew of others. He hoped to God that she’d gotten a good look at the bastard’s face.
Riley smelled antiseptic, but that was a common odor in her practice. Was she in her clinic? If she’d fallen asleep at her desk and missed her date with Cody, she was going to be royally mad at herself. Although her eyes felt like they’d been glued together, she managed to crack one open, then the other.
The first thing she saw was Cody’s face looming over her, and the second thing was Mike’s on the opposite side of her bed. Why were they in her bedroom? She tried to frown at them, but gave up when a searing pain in the back of her head made her want to throw up. To hell with them, she thought, and promptly fell back to sleep.
“Go do your job and find who hurt her.”
Cody?
“We don’t have anything to go on. I need to talk to her when she wakes up, see what she remembers. Why don’t you go home? I’ll make sure someone calls you when she comes to.”
That sounded like Mike.
“I’m not leaving this room, officer.”
Definitely Cody. Someone took her hand, and she knew it was Cody because she immediately felt safe. “Head hurts.”
“Christ, darlin’, you scared the life out of me.”
She tried to smile but the effort hurt too much, so she settled for forcing her eyes open. “Why?”
“We’ll talk about that later. Right now you need to rest.”
“Why?” Nothing made sense.
“Riley, can you tell me what happened? Who hurt you?”
Someone hurt her?
“Leave her be, Kilpatrick. Better yet, come back tomorrow. She should be able to answer your questions by then.”
She still didn’t understand why both Mike and Cody were in her bedroom, but she was too tired to care. With Cody’s hand still protectively covering hers, she drifted off.
Riley opened her eyes and surveyed the room. This wasn’t her bedroom and she didn’t think it was Cody’s. Not that she’d ever seen his, so maybe he went for sterile white. She turned her head to the left, wincing when a bolt of pain shot from the back of her skull down her neck.
Dark brown hair was the first thing she saw. She squinted, recognizing that military haircut. Why was Cody sitting in a chair with his face pressed to the bed? As she listened, she recognized the steady breathing of a man asleep. Next to his face, he held her hand in his. Her gaze searched the room. Why was she in a hospital bed?
The door opened, and a nurse padded in on rubber-soled, silent shoes. “Ah, good, you’re awake.”
Cody’s head shot up, and he scrubbed at his face. He yawned, and then turned an intense stare at her. “How do you feel?”
Stubble covered his cheeks and chin, and she reached up and trailed her palm over the bristly hairs. He leaned into her hand the way Arthur did when he needed a pet.
“How about you wait outside for a few minutes, Mr. Roberts, while I check on Miss Austin.”
“Dr. Austin,” Cody said.
“Actually, Riley works for me.” She waved her hand. “Go on.”
“I’ll be right outside.” He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before leaving.
“Good-looking man,” the nurse said.
“He sure is. Why am I in the hospital?”
“You don’t know?”
“If I did I wouldn’t be asking, would I?” Riley sighed. “I’m sorry. My head’s killing me. It feels like someone took a baseball bat to it. What happened to me?” Was it an aneurysm, or dear God, a brain tumor?
“The doctor’s on his way and he’ll talk to you about your head. After that, there’s a police officer waiting to ask you some questions.”
“Why?” Had she done something wrong? She tried to remember when the headache had started, but her last memory was of locking her clinic doors, wanting to hurry home so she could get ready to see Cody.
“Mr. Roberts said you’re a doctor, but I’ve never seen you around,” the nurse said, not answering Riley’s question.
“I’m a veterinarian. I want someone to tell me what happened.”
“You have a nasty bump on your head,” a man wearing crisp, blue scrubs said, walking up to the bed. “Dr. Austin, I’m Dr. Garrett. Let’s take a look. Turn your head to the side, please.”
Riley did as requested. Although she was an animal doctor, she was still a doctor, and that was no mere bump on her head. At least it wasn’t a bra
in tumor. “It hurts.”
“I’m sure it does. You have a concussion and five stitches. We had to cut your hair around the wound, but you can easily hide the bald spot until it grows back out. We’re going to keep you under observation at least one more night. Depending on how you are tomorrow, we’ll talk about whether you can go home or not.”
“One more night? How long have I been here?” As for her missing hair, she’d deal with that when her head didn’t feel like it was going to explode.
“You came in yesterday evening.”
She’d lost a whole night? One she was supposed to have spent with Cody? That sucked. “Will someone please tell me what happened?” She was irritated that no one would explain anything to her.
“Officer Kilpatrick is here with a detective. They’ll explain everything. I’ll be back in the morning, and we’ll see how you’re doing.”
The doctor was all business, no real bedside manner, but all she cared about was seeing Cody and finding out why her head was split open. As soon as he left, Mike and a man she didn’t know came in, closely followed by Cody.
“You need to wait outside, Mr. Roberts,” the unknown man said.
Cody headed straight for her. “Not happening.”
“I want him here.” She needed him even though she was only now getting to know him, and why that was she’d think about later. After her head stopped hurting. He took her hand in his large one, and she gave him a squeeze in thanks.
“I’m Detective Margolis. I understand you already know Officer Kilpatrick?”
Riley nodded, immediately regretting it. “Hi, Mike.”
He glanced at her hand entwined in Cody’s. “Hey. How’s the head?”
“Feels like it’s twice the size it should be and hurts like crazy.”
“You scared us, Riley. What do you remember?”
“Not a thing. I still don’t know what happened.”
The detective put his little notepad back into his pocket. “We know very little. We found a rock not far from you that had blood on it. We’ve sent it to the lab to see if it’s yours, and fully expect that to be the case. It appears someone came up behind you and hit you on the head with it.”
