by Angi Morgan
She turned into his hand, still holding her shoulder. She caught a clean, musky scent before letting her heavy eyelids close and stay that way. “Can’t think of a better place to do it.”
* * *
THE SHERIFF WHO’D taken Andrea’s statement stood outside the door, which was open just a crack. The person he spoke to was in scrubs. Maybe the nurse who’d checked her out earlier, maybe someone new. Shoot, it could be the doctor there to discharge her. She didn’t know. She grabbed the side of the bed and began pushing herself upright, jerking to a stop as a hiss of pain whistled between her teeth.
“Wow, that really hurts.” Her wrist was bandaged. Funny, she could remember everything except that her wrist was sprained.
“I’m headed back to the scene,” Pete said. “I’m waiting on the local PD who are going to stay with Miss Allen until we have a few more facts.”
“What if we need the room?”
“Mrs. Yardly, it might be a Friday night in downtown Alpine, but when was the last time the ER filled up?”
The casual stance and charm disappeared quickly as a balding man approached, flipping open a flat wallet. The kind she’d seen many times before.
The Suit Man seemed to have no personality. He wasn’t attempting to make friends. His straight, thin lips never curved into an approachable welcome. “Steven Manny, Department of Homeland Security. I’m here for Andrea Allen.”
“I was told local police would be here to escort her to the observatory,” the sheriff answered, shifting his right hand near the top of his gun.
“I have a few questions and will make certain she gets returned to her residence. You’re relieved.” A light knuckle tap on the door and Suit Man walked inside. “Miss Allen, are you ready?”
She nodded but locked eyes with Pete, silently imploring the sheriff not to leave her alone. Before she verbalized the words, he stepped into the room behind the new guy and closed the door.
“She passed out a few minutes ago and they’re not ready to discharge her.”
“We understand your concern, but we’re moving. Now. Miss Allen.” He gestured for her to head to the door.
As anxious as she was to escape the hospital before landing in Pete’s arms, she was scared to leave without him. The guy demanding she put on her shoes wasn’t the average government-issued suit.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“That’s classified.”
“I won’t tell anyone.” Pete seemed taller, firmer. He waved his hand for her to stay put. “Think you can give me another look at your badge?”
When Pete took another step, ready to do battle, the Suit shoved his forearm across the sheriff’s windpipe. Andrea jumped to her feet to help but received a backhand with the Suit’s free arm, knocking her across the small emergency room bed.
Pete was no slouch. He was younger, three or four inches taller and in really good shape. His strength kicked in and he shoved Suit Man straight into the path of her hospital-socked feet. Without shoes she couldn’t do much damage, but she did put a heel in Suit Man’s gut, hurtling him into the supply cabinet.
Pete was there, swung his left fist and connected with Suit Man’s jaw, sending him flying backward into the door. Her rescuer swung again, connected a second time. She recognized the panic in Suit Man’s eyes. He knew he’d failed.
Suit Man had something in one hand and the other hand on the door handle.
“Watch out!” she yelled.
Pete ducked, but she couldn’t get out of the path. The metal hit her square in the ear, and she tumbled to the linoleum.
There was some yelling, really close to her ear, but the world was spinning sufficiently enough that it didn’t register. She saw the blur of black dress shoes running from the room. It was all she could do to focus on not passing out. Then the strong arms she admired lifted her to the table.
“Everything okay in here, Pete?” the voice she’d heard earlier from the hall asked through the intercom.
“Yardly, I need a doctor, and where’s security?”
“It’s just a bump. My ears are ringing. That’s all.” She’d seen double for a few seconds, but that had already passed. “What are you waiting for?”
A nurse and then a doctor entered. Pete slipped out, but she could hear his raised voice in the hall. She saw his phone to his ear. Watched him pace in front of the rectangle of a window and then speak with the doctor before coming back in the room.
“Why aren’t you chasing Suit Man?” she asked between the blood pressure cuff and insisting she was fine.
“You’re stuck with me while I ensure your safety. That’s your best option.” He didn’t seem at all satisfied being saddled with the position of her protector.
“I can wait for the police. There are plenty of people here. So go.”
“You’re serious?” He followed the nurse to the door, looked down the hall and slammed it shut. “Someone’s trying to kill you and you want me to leave you here, defenseless?”
“And I appreciate your saving me. Twice. But I can’t tell you anything else, so isn’t it more important to catch that creep and find clues at the accident?”
“The scene and Suit Man aren’t my priority. You are.”
She watched his Adam’s apple bob nicely as he swallowed hard. His blue eyes searched hers. If she’d known what he needed to hear, she would have said it. But she was a little frightened or worried or maybe just confused from the blow to her ear.
What was she thinking? These men had rammed her car off the road trying to kill her. Okay, technically, it was Sharon’s car. And in all probability, they had killed the man she’d been trying to help. She’d been knocked silly-unconscious by a complete stranger with really good counterfeit DHS credentials who also wasn’t afraid to show his face and try to kill her with security cameras everywhere.
“I’ll concede that you don’t know me, but I’m not defenseless.” The soreness in her jaw screamed otherwise. “He caught me off guard. That’s all. I can take care of myself.”
“Not tonight.” He stepped back, one hand going to his hip and the other pushing through a thick head of short, light brown hair. “I’m escorting you home until someone decides what to do with you. The local authorities will find Suit Man.”
“Are you sure about that?”
She’d lost her chance. He’d made his decision. And it was probably best. The only personal possessions she still had were her earphones. They’d hooked around her neck and somehow not fallen off. If she’d been alone when the Suit attacked, she would have been dead before she could press the nurse call button.
Or maybe worse. She might have actually been woozy enough to leave with him. Then what?
The sheriff opened the door. “Yardly!” The nurse he’d been speaking to came running. “We’re not waiting to give an incident report. We’re leaving. Do what you have to do to get us out of here. Now.”
“Well then...it isn’t just another boring Friday night, after all.”
Chapter Four
Pete kept Andrea Allen in sight through the sliver of an opening in the door. There weren’t any windows in the exam room, and he needed to keep an eye on her. Victim or perpetrator. He didn’t know if that was an unsuccessful rescue attempt or an averted abduction.
Whichever, something didn’t sit right and he wanted to know what she was doing. She was the prime suspect or witness in a man’s death.
“I’ve got things under control, Dad. I don’t need backup at the hospital. I’ll be gone before anyone can get here. We’re just waiting on a prescription. There’s nothing you can do. I know you’re already at the office. Just stay there and handle that end of things. When exactly did Peach call you?”
“Now, son, it’s no reflection on your abilities that she called. We’ve been working together for a couple of decades.”
When were any of his instructions going to be followed?
He’d been at the hospital almost three hours waiting on Andrea to be tre
ated and discharged before Suit Man—it was as good a description as any—had shown up. And to get the okay for her to leave was taking a lot longer than he’d anticipated. The murderers seemed to be a lot more organized than the hospital staff, who couldn’t get them out the door.
“Who am I kidding? Peach called the real sheriff as soon as I reported the dead body. Right?” A guy who went missing by the time the ambulance showed up twenty minutes later.
“You are the sheriff now and never mind how long I’ve been here,” his father said, sounding wide-awake and probably on his third cup of coffee. He’d dodged answering like he usually did. “The picture you sent popped a red flag. I’m waiting on a call from the DEA and DHS.”
“You think this guy was working undercover?” His charge was lying on an ER bed, ice bag on her ear.
“Could be, Pete. They’re waking up some top-dog bureaucrat to get instructions. I don’t want the call to drop on my way out to the Viewing Area. But I want to take a look at that car before it disappears, too.”
“So you believe our Sleeping Beauty’s story about the flashing lights?” His dad would take over the crime scene while Pete babysat the witness. This night just kept getting better and better.
“Well, something’s not right. Dead bodies don’t just walk away. The paramedics are sure there was no sign of animal involvement?” his dad asked.
“They actually accused me of yanking their chain when they returned to the hospital.” A quick look into the room confirmed Andrea was still asleep, secure and safe.
“Then whoever was in the chopper chasing our witness didn’t want the body found.”
“Did Peach get anyone at the observatory to verify her ID?”
“Yeah, the director confirmed everything. She’s lucky you got there as soon as you did or she’d be dead twice over now. Don’t let her out of your sight until we get this thing figured out.”
“I hadn’t planned to. I know my job, Dad.” He wasn’t normally a pacer, but he couldn’t lean against the wall much longer. He looked at the nurses’ station, where there was still no sign of activity.
“You’ll make a fine replacement. I’m looking forward to sleeping in,” his dad said.
“That’ll never happen. You’ll just be at the café for breakfast earlier.” He left the replacement statement hanging. He couldn’t get into a conversation they’d been avoiding for almost six weeks while in the middle of what was becoming a major mess. “Listen, you know you’re supposed to take it easy. I’ll stop by the crash site on my way back.”
“I’m not an invalid.”
“You should be after a quadruple bypass.”
Andrea yanked the door open.
“He’s dead?” She was obviously panicked, more upset than she’d been earlier after the Suit had backhanded her jaw. “The man who stumbled out of the desert is dead? Did he die in the crash? Did I kill him?”
“Gotta run, Dad. Get a deputy there to pick you up. You shouldn’t be driving.” He slid the cell into his pocket and faced her. “I’m sorry you had to hear like that. How he died wasn’t clear when I viewed the body, so I don’t have the answer to your question.”
“I need another shirt. Now.”
He witnessed her realization she still wore the man’s blood. Her chest began rising and falling more rapidly, and she was about to completely lose it. Good or bad? He didn’t know. They didn’t get too many cases like this bizarre situation in Jeff Davis County.
One second he was sticking his head out the door calling for clean scrubs and the next he saw Andrea tug the back of her shirt over her head.
“What are you doing?”
She threw the shirt across the room. “I think that’s self-explanatory. What? You’ve never seen a woman in a bra before?”
“Here.” He shifted the pillow from the bed to block the view of her breasts.
“I’m not claiming harassment, if you’re worried—”
“This is a small town and people will talk no matter what you claim.”
“Someone’s trying to kill me. I have no idea why. And you’re worried about seeing me in my bra.” She stared at him, hugging the pillow to her stomach.
She wanted a logical explanation. There wasn’t one. “They’re covering their bases.”
“But I don’t know anything,” she whispered.
“They don’t know that.”
The door swung open, and Ginny held a pair of pink scrubs. She handed them to him without a word and turned to leave.
“Wait.” He stopped the nurse after the disapproving look she shot his way. “I’ll leave and you help Miss Allen get cleaned up and changed. Bag all her clothes, will ya?”
“Sure, Pete.” Ginny smiled, raising an eyebrow to match the questions in her voice.
He stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind him, leaning against the wall and refusing to beat his head against the drywall. He was attracted to Andrea Allen in a major way and needed to set it aside until this mess was cleared up.
It didn’t matter that her belly had been faintly stained with blood. He’d barely been able to think like a sheriff while admiring her other...assets. His red-hot American boy shouted at him to take notice.
The woman he’d been watching closely was completely in shape, sleek muscles in spite of being a scholar. That is, they still needed to verify her identity. They hadn’t found any ID at the scene. Nothing on the viewing platform the way she claimed. And if he hadn’t seen the dead man himself, they’d be questioning her story about that, too.
Maybe that’s what she’d intended? Get him distracted so she could slip out of the hospital. Andrea Allen might just be a legitimate name she acquired so she could pretend to be someone from the university.
She was either the most carefree, speak-her-mind woman he’d ever met or the best con artist he’d ever witnessed. Being a looker helped. Spirited. Easily embarrassed on one hand and then contradicting it by stripping her shirt off without blinking an eye. Dark brown hair, skin that hadn’t seen sun in a while and at least five necklaces, varying in length, drawing his stare to a pair of perfectly shaped breasts.
Ginny closed the door behind her. “She sure is upset that mystery guy is dead. You better watch her, Pete. No tellin’ what you’ve stumbled across now. Guess that’s the breaks when you’re the sheriff.” She dragged a finger across his nameplate. “Give me a call the next time you’re in Alpine.”
That ship had sailed a long time ago. “Thanks. Got an estimate on that prescription?”
“I’ll go check for you.”
He knocked on the door. Andrea sat on the bed, tapping the nails of her right hand on those of her left.
“So they think I’m crazy or lying. What do you think?” She had a pretty pout.
He shrugged and leaned on the wall again. “Maybe the man isn’t dead after all. Maybe he came to and wandered into the desert. Search party will find him or evidence. They’re usually good at that.”
He cleared his throat, shifted his stance and forced his thoughts back to this case. A real case. A case that would prove he could be sheriff on his own merit. Not just because his dad had to step down after his heart attack. A case that would cinch an election.
He could hear questions being asked in the hall and no answers given to Ginny. But as much as the nurse kept her mouth shut here, he knew from firsthand experience she’d be sharing that he hadn’t left the room. It would be all over the county as soon as she got on her social media devices.
So be it. Her gossiping was one of the reasons they’d stopped dating. Among other things.
If the woman he’d found had been caught in the wrong place, she needed protection. She could be a witness to a mysterious crime. Or part of it. He didn’t know, but he would be discovering the truth soon.
Whatever was going on, until he figured it out, Andrea Allen was stuck with him.
* * *
BEING LOOPY IN the same room with a handsome man in uniform was humiliating enough. Then
Andrea had taken her shirt off. Oh, my gosh. And he was handsome. She melted a bit when he put his hat on while leaving the hospital. A cowboy? Really? She was a rock ’n’ roll girl all the way. Classic rock and definitely not country. This guy wore boots. Real boots. Still, she wanted to find out what kissing him was like.
She absolutely adored cleft chins. Especially this one. Then there were his eyes—kind and serious, or embarrassed and sweet.
“In case you’re curious, we’re heading down Highway 90 to Marfa instead of directly back 118 to Fort Davis. Just in case Suit Man is waiting with friends. There are plenty of cops on 90 tonight.”
“Thanks.”
She refused to further embarrass herself by making small talk. Her mouth had a habit of saying exactly what she was thinking, and the more time she thought about a subject, the more she’d end up blurting out trivia about herself.
“You warm enough?” he asked.
An innocent question. Small talk. She nodded, refusing to verbalize anything. It would open a floodgate of words that would inspire an entire conversation. And what if she ended up really liking him? How could he think of her as anything but a lunatic after what had happened?
“Sorry, is that an affirmative?”
“Yes.” Keep your cool. Maybe pretend to fall asleep and he won’t ask anything. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cool glass of the window, trying to see the stars and constellations.
“It’s okay to talk, you know. Why don’t you tell me about why you’re in West Texas.”
Was he just making conversation? Being polite? Or pumping her for information? Did it really matter? “I don’t think I should say anything. You’re treating me like a suspect.”
“Do you feel like a suspect? I thought I was treating you like someone who needed a lift home. I do that. It’s part of my job.”
“I don’t know why I’m being so paranoid.”
“Maybe it has something to do with a dying man falling into your arms in the middle of nowhere or being chased by unknown assailants?” He scratched between his eyebrows for a brief second. He’d done that several times as he’d dipped his chin. “Or maybe it was the guy posing as Homeland Security who attacked you.”
