Devil's Playground

by Arianna Hart

  “Sure. Thank you.” Caitlyn’s thoughts chased themselves around her brain, scattering in a million directions.

  Did someone spot Mac? Could he be hurt? What if he heard the kid at the window and tried to run away?

  “Maggie?” Caitlyn called to her friend who was still flirting with Jim.

  Oh crap. Jim. If she mentioned the break-in around him he’d insist on coming with her. Hell, he’d know about it soon enough anyway. She was sure Liam had already heard about it. News traveled fast when family was involved.

  “What’s up?” The redhead flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and winked at Caitlyn.

  “Can you cover for me? Someone tried to break into my place and I need to go check everything out and fill out some paperwork.”

  “Someone tried to break in? I knew you should have gotten an apartment on the second floor,” Jim railed.

  “Shut up, Jim.” She waved him off. “Can you do it?”

  “Sure, no problem. Go on home, I’ll be fine here. Let me know what happens, okay?” Maggie pulled her in for a quick hug. “Give me a call in the morning.”

  “I will, thanks.” Caitlyn headed for the locker room to grab her coat but Jim grabbed her arm and stopped her.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  Oh great. Just what she needed, cops and an over-protective brother.

  “You can’t, you’re still on duty. Besides, an officer is waiting for me, he’ll go in before I do.”

  Jim opened his mouth to argue, but before he could get a word out, his pager went off, sending him out on another call.

  “At least call Liam, will you?” Jim shouted over his shoulder as he headed back to the ambulance.

  Caitlyn smiled and waved without promising anything. Once he was out of sight, she grabbed her jacket, signed out, and bolted for the parking garage. She needed to get to her apartment before Liam did.

  It didn’t matter that it was late and he’d been working all day, as soon as Liam found out about the break-in attempt, he’d be on his way to her place.

  And he had a key.

  She ran faster.

  * * *

  Liam had just pulled up to the curb as Caitlyn made it into her driveway. His hair was mussed as if he’d been sleeping—or doing something else in bed. Maybe she didn’t have to find him a girl to chase after all.

  “Hi, Mark,” she called, recognizing the officer walking towards her.

  Mark was one of Liam’s buddies from the police academy and a regular visitor to the O’Toole family get-togethers.

  “Hey, Caitlyn. I was just doing a drive-by when I saw someone trying to wiggle his way through the window. I tried to chase him but the kid was too fast.”

  Caitlyn shot a warning glance at Liam when he opened his mouth to berate her. “I’m glad you were here. The officer who called me said you needed me to check some things out and fill out some paperwork?”

  “Yup. If you’d open the door, I’ll take a look around to make sure it’s safe. You can tell me if anything is missing, then we’ll do some paperwork.”

  “Sure. Hold on.”

  Her hands shook as she undid the dead bolt. She tried to peek through the lace curtain covering the window on the door but couldn’t see anything.

  “Just wait out here with me while Mark checks the place out.” Liam grabbed her wrist and kept her from going into the house.

  Great. Now she’d have to listen to Liam nag her too.

  “What the hell is going on, Cat?”

  “What do you mean? Someone tried to break into my apartment. What does it look like?” She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. She was a terrible liar. Lying made her flustered and nervous.

  “Yeah, today someone tried to break into your place, and yesterday someone called your plates into dispatch. And last night Jim said you asked for enough medical supplies to patch up a horse. Spill it.”

  “What? Are the two of you having conferences about me now? I’m twenty-seven years old, if you haven’t noticed.”

  “We aren’t talking about you behind your back. It’s just that I was talking to Jim about tomorrow’s dinner and when I said you might not make it, he asked if it was because of the stray. Don’t get so defensive.”

  “How can I not get defensive when you question my every move?” The best defense was a good offense, right? Maybe if she attacked him, he’d forget about all the weird things happening lately.

  “We don’t question your every move. We just…just worry. You’re the only little sister we have.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and scuffed his feet on the ground. Talking about feelings other than anger was not an O’Toole male strong point.

  “And you don’t think I worry? I’ve got three brothers and all three of them risk their lives every time they go to work. Do I nag you to quit your job? Do I call you all the time to see if you made it home from work safely? Do I follow you when you go on dates to make sure no one takes advantage of you?”

  “It was only that one time! And you were only sixteen. Would you get over it already?”

  “That’s not the point.” She took his face into her hands. The tirade had started as a way to distract him, but if a little of what she was saying sunk into his thick skull it was worth it. “You’ve taught me well, no man is going to take advantage of me. I know every dirty street-fighting trick in the book and then some. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll sic the three of you on him. You have to let go sometime.”

  “Says who?”

  Caitlyn rolled her eyes. “Stupid, stubborn, Irish—”

  “Hey, you’re just as Irish, and just as stubborn.” He mock-punched her in the arm. “I hear you, I hear you. I’ll lay off. But I’m still going to worry.”

  “Fine. Just do it quietly. Now go back home. Maybe if you hurry you can finish what you started before Mark tattled to you.”

  Liam had the grace to blush, confirming her suspicions.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. And have Mark board up the window before he leaves. I’ll have Jim come over and fix it before he goes to work.”

  Great. So much for her reprieve. “Good night.” She waved him off.

  He pulled her in for a quick hug, then tickled her.

  “Coast is clear, you can come in now,” Mark called from the kitchen, his silhouette outlined by the overhead light.

  “Coming.” She waited until she was sure Liam was really going before climbing the steps. If Mark had found Mac, he would have come running out, so that must mean he hadn’t found anything. Right?

  But if he hadn’t found anything, where the hell was Mac?

  “I don’t think he got in but you might want to take a look around.” Mark had a sly grin on his face.

  “Okay.” What was so amusing? Had he found Mac?

  The gnawing in her stomach got worse as she walked through the kitchen. One chair was askew but she could have bumped it on her way out. Butterflies the size of jet planes swarmed in her stomach as she moved into the living room. She smiled over her shoulder at Mark to hide her nervousness.

  The room was empty. Some of the clothes she’d bought Mac were strewn about on the floor but there was no sign of him.

  “I’ll, ah, go check my bedroom.” Caitlyn scampered to her room, looking under her bed and in the closet but he wasn’t there either.

  “Everything check out okay?” Mark asked from the doorway.

  “Yup. Doesn’t look like anything’s missing. Why don’t we go to the kitchen and I’ll give you the info for the report.” Where was he?

  Mark sat at the kitchen table and pulled a worn notebook out of his chest pocket.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Caitlyn forced her hands to stay still and not fidget with her necklace. It wasn’t easy.

  “Nah, I’ll pass. Once I get done here, I’m off duty and headed for bed.”

  “Well then, I won’t hold you. What do you need to know?” Caitlyn sat across from Mark and folded her hands in her lap. Her gaze darted nervously around
the room. Where the hell had Mac disappeared?

  A tiny slash of red on the white pantry door caught her attention. Where did that come from? Could it be blood? Mac’s blood?

  “Full name?”

  Her attention snapped back to Mark. “Caitlyn Rose O’Toole.”

  “Date of birth?”

  “October 12, 1981.”

  “I’ve got your address and telephone number.” Mark scribbled away on the pad, filling in the information.

  Caitlyn’s mind spun in circles. Could Mac fit in the closet? The pantry was an old-fashioned one and pretty big but so was Mac. Oh crap, was he in there, bleeding to death while she sat here with Mark?

  “You’ll have to come down to the station to sign the report when I’m all done, but that can wait until tomorrow. If you give me your work number, I should be all set with this for now.”

  “Sure.” Caitlyn rattled off her work number and tried to focus on Mark and not the door behind him.

  “That should do it.” He pushed the chair back and stretched before putting the notebook back in his pocket. “Oh, and I’ll keep quiet about you having a guy staying here, don’t worry.”

  Panic! “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Caitlyn tried to sound innocent, but she knew she must look like a spooked horse. Damn it, she had to learn to lie better.

  “Whatever you say, Cat. You just suddenly decided to start wearing men’s clothes and sneakers. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Liam. Your secret’s safe with me.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled weakly. He must have spotted the clothes she’d bought for Mac. Well, having him think she had a boyfriend was probably better than him thinking she was hiding an undercover FBI agent.

  She walked him to the door and waved as he left. Come on, come on hurry up. He seemed to take forever to get in the stupid car and leave. When he was finally gone, Caitlyn yanked down the shades and bolted to the pantry door.

  “Mac? Are you in here?” If he wasn’t, she was going to feel like a real idiot.

  “Is he gone?” Mac squinted at her from behind the garbage can and under a pile of grocery bags. Caitlyn helped him to crawl out of the closet. His hand was held to his side and blood leaked out between his fingers.

  “Yeah, he’s gone. Come on, I’ll help you back to bed. Let’s hope you didn’t pull any stitches.”

  Mac grunted but didn’t say anything. His shirt was sticky with blood and he leaned on her heavily. Caitlyn tried to take as much of his weight on her shoulders as she could, but he was heavy. Sweat dripped down his face and he was pale again.

  “Come on, just a little farther.”

  Mac stumbled the last few steps to the futon and collapsed on it.

  “What happened?” Caitlyn asked as she inspected the wound. He hadn’t ripped the stitches but they were red and puffy and blood leaked from the site. “Where’s the IV?” He’d ripped out the IV, and she was going to have to put it back in.

  “Under the bed somewhere. I took it out when I got dressed.”

  “And why were you getting dressed? I thought you were going to go to sleep while I was at work?” She knew he’d try to leave, just knew it. Stubborn man.

  “I’ve put you in enough danger. I can’t allow you to get hurt because of me.”

  “Allow? You don’t allow me anything. I’m an adult and I make my own choices. I choose to help you, and I don’t appreciate all the work I went through to patch you back together getting destroyed. Now tell me what happened.”

  “I was in the kitchen, working up the energy to leave when I heard the window in the bathroom break. I didn’t have time to do anything more than hide behind the garbage can in the pantry closet. I take it whoever tried to get in got scared off before they made it inside?” Mac winced as she inserted the needle under his skin.

  “Yeah, Mark was driving by and saw someone trying to climb through the bathroom window. He said it was a kid. You want to tell me why a kid is after you?”

  “He’s no kid. At least not inside where it matters. I can’t tell you any more but be on your guard. Just because someone looks sixteen doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t kill you. I’ve seen thirteen-year olds shoot people for their shoes. They wouldn’t hesitate to shoot you either.”

  Caitlyn frowned in concentration as she restrung the IV bag and added a dose of antibiotics to the line. “I work in the ER, remember? I’ve seen plenty of thirteen-year old gunshot victims. We get patients from drive-bys every night. I’m careful.”

  Mac grabbed her hand, preventing her from getting up. “Be even more careful. Don’t trust anyone. Anyone.”

  He stared at her intently. What was he trying to tell her?

  She nodded once and moved to get away from the disturbing feelings he created in her. His hand was warm and sent flutters through her body, yet his words scared her. Surely he didn’t mean she couldn’t trust her brothers? Did this have something to do with them?

  “You need to get some sleep. Rest now, I’ll be right in the next room.” At least one of them would get some sleep tonight. Caitlyn knew it wasn’t going to be her.

  Chapter Six

  Caitlyn bolted upright from a nightmare. Cold sweat dripped down her back and her heart raced like she’d run a marathon. For a minute she felt like she was still being chased and her legs felt weak from the adrenaline rush.

  “Just a dream, a nightmare.” Her voice was weak and breathy and sounded absurdly loud in the pre-dawn darkness.

  There was no way she was going back to sleep now. Hell, she’d probably only gotten a few hours of good sleep anyway. She’d tossed and turned for what seemed like days before settling down.

  Something about having Mac in the next room kept her from relaxing. It was more than worry about his injury, although that was on her mind. She was just hyper aware of having such a virile male mere feet away.

  It was ridiculous. He was injured. She should be looking at him like a patient, more concerned about his injuries than about his body. But man, just one touch of his hand on hers and her pulse quickened and her mouth went dry.

  Caitlyn sighed and got out of bed. She sure knew how to pick ‘em. Was she attracted to Mark? No. Nice safe Mark who was friends with her brother, had a good job, went to dinner at his mother’s every Sunday after church. No, she couldn’t be attracted to him. That would be too easy.

  Instead, she had to get all hot and bothered by an undercover FBI agent who kept secrets from her and traveled all over the country doing God only knew what. Figures. The only guy her brothers couldn’t scare off, that she liked, and he was doing his damnedest to get away from her to keep her “safe”.

  Would she ever have a man in her life that wouldn’t try to wrap her in bubble wrap?

  Okay, deep breath. There was nothing wrong with being safe. Mac was obviously in a bad situation. A deadly situation, and he didn’t want her killed. That wasn’t going overboard. She’d just have to prove to him that she’d be okay until he was healed enough to go back and do whatever it was he needed to do.

  Fear formed a cold knot in her stomach at the thought of him going back out on the streets. How could he do his job with a hole in his side? There was someone after him and they suspected he was here. It was only a matter of time before they caught him. Then what?

  She needed to get some help. But how? He didn’t want her to get involved, and he didn’t want her telling her brothers about it either. Where else could she turn?

  A thump jolted her out of her whirlwind thoughts. Caitlyn hurried out of her bedroom and into the darkened living room.

  “Mac?” The futon was empty. More banging came from the bathroom. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Mac stood on a chair, trying to nail up the board she’d set in front of the window last night.

  “I wanted to secure this board so no one could get in.”

  “I could handle it. Get off that chair before you kill yourself.” He had his IV bag propped on the shelf near the window and hammered with his free
hand. At least he hadn’t ripped that out again. Idiot.

  “It’s almost done, hold on.” His face was white with pain and he was hunched over, protecting his side.

  “Get down now and back into bed.” Caitlyn’s temper was ready to shoot through the roof. “What is wrong with you? Do you have a death wish? Or do you just delight in tearing apart all the work I’ve done?” Exasperation colored her words. It was like dealing with a two-year-old.

  He pounded the last nail in and got slowly off the chair, stumbling a bit. “I feel much better today and I wanted to do something. Laying in bed was killing me.”

  “It’s called recuperating, you should try it some time.” She was going to kill him herself if he didn’t stop trying to pull out his stitches with his stupid antics.

  When Mac stumbled again, Caitlyn automatically slipped his arm over her shoulder and helped him back to bed. He’d taken off his shirt, and his naked chest felt warm under her hands. For the first time it hit her that she wore a thin tank top and a pair of boxer shorts, and he was in nothing more than a pair of sweat pants.

  Her nipples tightened in reaction to his nearness, which annoyed her more. If he’d stayed in bed like he was supposed to, she wouldn’t be touching all this glorious naked skin and wouldn’t be getting hot and bothered over someone she could never have.

  She dropped his arm a bit more roughly than was absolutely necessary and Mac practically fell into the bed.

  “I’m going to grab a shower and get dressed. Stay. Here. I’ll get you some breakfast when I’m done.”

  She stalked off to her bedroom to grab some more clothes. She’d need to wear a winter parka and ski suit if she was going to hide her reaction to him.

  * * *

  Mac watched Caitlyn through half closed eyes as she stalked to the bathroom. He knew she was pissed at him for getting out of bed again but he’d had to. Lying in bed while the city went to hell in a hand basket was enough to drive him insane.

  First he’d stood to see how much mobility he had. When the room only spun a few times, he’d crossed to the bathroom to take a leak like a man, not an invalid. He was smart enough to take the IV bag with him instead of ripping it out of his arm again. If he’d taken it out, Caitlyn probably would have throttled him instead of just stabbing him with verbal barbs.