Only Her (A K2 Team Novel)

by Sandra Owens

  Over the loudspeakers, the air show commentator announced the finale, which was a precision parachute team, and Riley was as impressed with them as she had been with the stunt planes. As they were leaving, Ryan asked what she thought.

  “It was awesome. I’d love to come to one again.”

  Ryan glanced at the planes coming in for a landing. “Great. I’ll let you know the next time Charlie has one. I’m going to go meet up with her now, so I’ll catch you later.”

  “Want to get some dinner?” Maria asked.

  “I’m going home, taking off my shoes, and putting my feet up while my husband makes me a big fat cheeseburger,” Sugar said. She laughed, patting her stomach. “It’s what baby wants.”

  Jamie snorted. “This morning, baby wanted peanut butter pancakes with banana slices and whipped cream, and a slab of bacon.”

  Sugar grinned. “I love being pregnant. I can blame everything on baby.”

  She and Jamie headed off to their car, their arms wrapped around each other, and Riley walked toward the parking lot with Jake and Maria.

  “You coming to eat with us?” Maria asked.

  “I’ll pass, but thanks for the invite.” While she’d been with the group, she hadn’t felt like a fifth wheel, but now she did. And what if they started asking questions about Cody? She wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing him with his friends.

  “Oh, come on. We’ll go someplace quick and casual.”

  Riley’s phone buzzed with a sound she’d never heard before. Puzzled, she fished it out of her purse, frowning at the screen as she read the text message from her new alarm company.

  “What the . . . My house is on fire?”

  “What?” Jake grabbed her phone, his eyes darting over the screen. “Let’s go.”

  He started running, and Maria grabbed Riley’s hand as the two of them chased after him. They piled into his car, and he tossed Maria his phone. “See if you can get ahold of Cody and your brother.”

  “My cats,” Riley whispered as Jake used the grass shoulder to pass cars leaving the airport, ignoring the blaring horns. She estimated they were at least an hour from her house, and she choked down a sob at what she feared she would find when she got home. One hope that she held on to was the small sign at her front door for this very reason, stating that there were three cats inside. She knew that firemen paid attention to those notices.

  “Cody’s not answering, so I left a message,” Maria said, peering around her headrest at Riley. “Logan’s on his way to your house. You have cats, right?”

  “There are two in the house. If they’re scared, they hide under my bed in the front bedroom.” She listened as Maria passed the information on.

  If Cody was still with his doctor, he probably had his phone turned off. God, she wished he were home. Even if things were over for them, he would do everything in his power to save Arthur and Merlin. There was someone, though, she could call for help. She found Mike’s number in her contact list and called him.

  “My house is on fire,” she said as soon as he answered.

  “I know. Recognized the address as yours when it came over the radio. I’m here now.”

  “There’re two cats inside. Have they found them?” Riley squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of the answer.

  “No. They saw the posted notice, and they’re inside looking for them.”

  “There are only two cats, not three, and tell them to look under my bed.”

  “Will do.”

  “I should be there in about . . .”

  “Thirty minutes,” Jake said. “Tell him I’m going way over the speed limit and to call the cops off me.” He spouted off a license plate number. “In fact, if there’s a cop near the I-10 eastbound lane from Alabama into Florida, an escort wouldn’t hurt.”

  Riley passed the information on to Mike, along with a description of Jake’s Jeep.

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “If they find my cats, will you call me back so I can breathe again.”

  “Promise. Gotta go.” He hung up.

  Riley stared at her phone as panic swelled like a giant tidal wave, threatening to drag her under. Why did he have to go right then? What was happening?

  Please, God, I beg you. Let them find Arthur and Merlin.

  Cody turned his phone back on as soon as he walked outside. The session had been grueling, and he felt as if he’d been flayed alive. Tom hadn’t lied. They’d rehashed Cody’s nightmare until he could speak about it without thinking he was going to come out of his skin. The process had left him raw, yet in a strange way, cleansed. Desensitized. They’d done that all right. Now that he’d had a breakthrough, Tom wanted to see him again tomorrow afternoon.

  He hit the remote to unlock his truck, and as he climbed in, his phone beeped, telling him he had a message. The hell? Riley’s house was on fire? Was she back from the air show? He had to get to her. With a heart that felt like it might explode, he raced out of the parking lot, tires squealing.

  Smoke was visible as soon as he turned onto their street, but a cop, who had his patrol car parked across the road, blocking traffic, stopped him. Instead of arguing that he should be let through, Cody pulled over, parking on the shoulder of the road. He got out, and ignoring the order to stop, ran past the officer. No one was going to stop him from getting to her.

  Coming to a halt in her yard, he stared in horror as part of the roof collapsed just as two firemen ran out, each with one of Riley’s cats draped lifelessly over his arm. Jesus, this was going to kill her. She loved those cats. He scanned the yard, looking for her. When he saw Mike Kilpatrick, Cody ran over to him, yanking on the cop’s arm. “Where is she?”

  “She should be here any minute. Highway Patrol’s escorting her and her friends.”

  At that news, he inhaled air back into his lungs. She was safe. The firemen carrying her cats were kneeling under the tree in her front yard, and Cody headed toward them. Before he reached them, a Highway Patrol car came around the corner, his siren piercing the air. Close behind was Jake’s Jeep, and Cody changed direction.

  The back door flew open, and Riley tumbled out. “Oh God, Cody.” She ran straight into his arms.

  “Darlin’, I’m so sorry.” He pulled her tight against him. This is where she belongs, Dog. You get that, right?

  She burst into tears. “They didn’t . . . they didn’t find my c-cats?”

  “I meant about your house.” The cats hadn’t appeared to be alive, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell her.

  “My cats are safe?”

  She peered up at him with such hope in her eyes, and he held onto her when she tried to pull away. “I don’t know. They found them, but . . . but, I just don’t know.”

  “Where are they?” Her eyes frantically scanned around them, pausing on the two firemen kneeling under the tree. When Cody tried to block her view, she jerked away from him. “Dammit, I’m a vet. Let me go do my job.”

  She was right. If anyone could save her cats, she could. He followed her, stopping next to her when she knelt. “I’m their owner and a veterinarian,” she said to the fireman.

  Cody was awed at how she’d put aside her grief to become what was needed, a doctor to her animals. Oxygen masks covered the cats’ faces, and she placed her middle and index fingers on the inside of Arthur’s leg.

  “Why there?” one of the firemen asked. “I’m Dave, by the way, and this is Brent.”

  “I’m Riley. Wish we were meeting under better circumstances. To answer your question, the best place to check a cat’s pulse rate is on the femoral artery, located right here inside the thigh, near the groin.” She closed her eyes for some seconds before saying, “Thank God. He’s got a pulse. Keep the oxygen on him.”

  Cody was pretty sure he was the only one who noticed the tremor in her voice.

  She moved her fingers to Merlin. “His pulse isn’t as strong, but it’s there. I need to get them to my clinic,” she said, looking up at Cody.
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  He could take her in his truck, but he wanted to stick around and find out what had happened here, because vacant houses didn’t just burn themselves down. But he wasn’t about to let her take off on her own. He glanced around to see who was here that he trusted could keep her safe.

  “Be right back.” The ones he wanted were standing next to Kincaid. “Jake, Maria, can you take Riley and her cats to her clinic? I’d do it, but I want to stay and get some answers. Tell her I’ll come get her later. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

  “You got it,” Jake said.

  “Thanks, man. You’ll stay with them until I get there?”

  Jake nodded. “Count on it.”

  A fireman came around from the back of the house, carrying two gas cans. Cody fisted his hands. “Arson. When we find whoever’s doing this, might be a good idea to keep me away from them.”

  “Duly noted,” Kincaid said. “Not that I blame you. Let’s go talk to the fire chief.”

  Cody sat on his couch in his living room, as Riley stood at the window, staring at what used to be her house. She had been quiet ever since he picked her up at the clinic and brought her home. He wanted to hold her, somehow give her comfort, but when he’d tried, she had pushed him away. Not that he blamed her, considering he’d done the same to her that very morning when he had shut her out. The way her shoulders were slumped in defeat made him feel helpless.

  “It was arson?”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry, darlin’. You don’t deserve this.”

  “You didn’t do it, so why should you be sorry?”

  Because he hadn’t protected her, nor had he been there for her when she’d needed him. Those were his regrets, but he’d had a much-needed breakthrough during his session with Tom, and the goo in his head didn’t seem as thick as it had before. So where should he have been? With her or with his head doc? He didn’t know.

  Although he still thought she deserved better than what he had to offer, he’d left Tom’s office believing that if he worked hard at it, he could dig himself out of the black hole he’d been existing in. And by working really hard, doing everything his doctor said, he could become a man who deserved the love of an amazing woman.

  When he’d read the message that her house was on fire, and didn’t know if she was home or not, the thought of losing her made him feel like his chest had been cut open with a dull knife. Maybe he didn’t deserve her, but he sure as hell needed her. From the beginning, he’d known he’d find a way to screw things up with her, and now, he just had to figure out how to fix everything.

  He glanced over at their animals. The cats were resting on a large towel, awake and in the process of getting a bath—Arthur from Pretty Girl, and Merlin from Sally. The dogs didn’t like the smell of smoke on their friends, and the cats didn’t seem to mind getting washed. Both appeared to still be dazed, though.

  “Are they going to be okay?” He lifted his chin toward the cats.

  “I think so. I ran complete blood profiles and urinalyses, and the results aren’t great, but they’re not life-threatening numbers either.” She bowed her head, as if in prayer. “I gave them both antibiotics to fight off any infection,” she said, glancing at him. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad Pelli was taken. He never would have survived the fire as little as he is.”

  Desperation and sadness dulled her eyes, and although he couldn’t promise her cats would be okay, he could hold her, something he thought she needed. He opened his arms. “Come here, darlin’.” For a few seconds, he thought she was going to refuse, then she came toward him.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she crawled onto his lap. “I don’t have a house, or clothes, or a car. The few photos I had of my parents are gone. Everything’s gone, gone, gone. Up in smoke. What if she . . . he, whatever, burns my clinic down? Then I really won’t have anything.”

  She had him, but that was something he’d have to prove to her. “As we speak, Kincaid is arranging around-the-clock security for your clinic. That’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.”

  “I don’t know how I would have gotten through this without you and your friends. I’ll pay all of you back somehow.”

  “Hush. That’s a worry for another day. Jake said you came up with a name, Ziegler?”

  She toyed with the hem of his T-shirt sleeve. “Yes. He owned the dog that was accidently cremated. I was going to drive by the Zieglers’ house this morning, but realized that was a stupid move. Jake drove us by there on the way to the air show, but there was nothing to see.”

  “Don’t ever go off someplace on your own like that without me . . . or at least, someone. But preferably me.”

  She leaned back and stared at him. “From the day my parents died, I’ve only been able to depend on myself. Then you came along and I thought . . .” She shook her head as she pushed off him. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. When you left this morning, the way you left, it hurt. When you needed me the most, you wouldn’t let me in. You walked away, Cody. How do I know you won’t do it again?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Two days had passed, and she and Cody still hadn’t talked. Not that he hadn’t tried, but she’d put him off. So much crap was stuffed into her head that Riley thought it might explode. Worry about Pelli, no home, no car, meetings with her insurance company, an arson investigation . . . the list was endless, and there was just no room left for dealing with what was going on between her and Cody.

  At least she had new clothes, having gone shopping with Cody trailing alongside her, his eyes constantly scanning the mall for a monster that burned down houses and stole kittens. It had been nerve racking, and she hadn’t bothered to try anything on, only wanting to get what she needed and return to the safety of Cody’s house.

  The problem that she couldn’t get past—trusting him to not shut her out the next time he fell into his black hole. Each time she put him off when he tried to talk about their relationship, she was hurting him, could see it in his eyes. But she would be the first to admit she had trust issues.

  Almost everyone in her life had let her down. Her parents by dying before she even had any memories of them, her grandmother for resenting her, an endless line of foster parents who didn’t give a shit about the kids they brought into their homes. And then there was Reed, the one person she’d thought would stand by her side forever. Instead, he’d chosen drugs over her.

  Cody had walked out on her Sunday morning, and who was to say he wouldn’t do it again? Like everyone else in her life, he had left her, and it hurt. A nagging voice said she was punishing him for the crimes of others, and maybe she was. Had she overreacted to his leaving the way he had? Everything was just so confusing right now.

  He had spent the morning at K2 presumably to begin planning the operation his boss had mentioned last Saturday night. What if something bad happened and he had a relapse of some kind? Would he walk out again? This afternoon, he was meeting with his doctor, getting Tom’s opinion on how ready he was to go back to active status. In her opinion, Cody wasn’t ready, but she kept that to herself.

  They’d slept in the same bed the last two nights, but other than hold her, nothing else had happened between them. That was at her request, and it was killing her. She wanted him so badly that there had been a constant ache in her heart. But until they worked things out—if that was possible—she didn’t want to fall in love with him. She huffed a breath. As if she had control over her heart.

  “Stupid heart,” she muttered.

  “Your first afternoon patient’s in room one,” Brooke said, stepping into Riley’s office.

  “Thanks. Be there in a sec.” She scooped the last bite of yogurt out of the cup as she glanced at the day’s schedule, which showed that it was a new patient. Before she went to the exam room, she made a detour to check on Pretty Girl and her cats. Unwilling to leave them alone and vulnerable to a madman, or madwoman, as the case might be, she’d brought the entire crew to work with her. The K2 man sitting in he
r lobby, pretending to wait for his appointment, was using Sally as a prop. Because they got along so well, Riley had let her cats and Pretty Girl stay together in one of the large dog kennels.

  Her phone vibrated, and she pulled it out of her lab coat pocket to see Cody’s name on the screen. She debated answering, but she had a new patient waiting, so she let it go to voice mail. After a minute, it beeped a message. She peeked around the corner to see that Pretty Girl and the cats were curled up together, napping. Not wanting to disturb them, she headed down the hallway, listening to Cody’s message.

  So Mr. Ziegler had been married. Cody also said that he had died a year ago, and that Mrs. Ziegler fit some of the points on the profile. He ended the message by telling her he’d come straight to the clinic after his session with Tom.

  Was it possible they had found the person making her life miserable? Being afraid all the time was exhausting. Hope blossomed that she would have Pelli back soon, but would an honest mistake in cremating the wrong dog send someone over the edge? Somehow, it didn’t seem likely, but if the woman was already unbalanced, maybe the death of her husband had contributed to her mental state.

  There was no way of knowing until someone talked to Mrs. Ziegler, and since she had a full afternoon ahead, Riley shelved her questions. Just as she put her hand on the doorknob to enter the exam room, a ping sounded that she had a text, and she paused to read it.

  I’m missing us darlin’.

  So was she. How long was she going to hold on to her hurt feelings? It was time to trust her heart, and tonight when they got home, she was ready to have that talk. She texted him back.

  I’m missing us too.

  A heart and a smiley face appeared, and she grinned as she dropped her phone back into her pocket.

  With a smile on her face, and a new bounce in her step, she entered exam room one. She glanced at the new patient form for the owner’s name. “Mrs. Napier, I’m Dr. Austin.” A tall, thin-as-a-rail, somewhat disheveled woman turned from the cat carrier she was leaning over.