by Laura Scott
Gabby closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to soothe the pounding in her head. She’d purposefully used her career to avoid her stepfather, mostly because she hadn’t been able to forgive him for sending her to boarding school on her ninth birthday. Oh, he claimed it was for her own good, to allow her keen intelligence to flourish, but she knew the real truth.
Richard had wanted her mother all to himself.
And her mother hadn’t seemed to want to keep Gabby home with them, either.
Tears burned behind her eyelids and she fought them back with an effort. Crying wasn’t going to change the past. Tears wouldn’t bring her mother back or help Richard now. She needed to take action. She had to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
She wiped her damp eyes and turned to look for Shane. He wasn’t in the living room or kitchen, so she headed down the hall to Richard’s office.
“Oh, no,” she whispered when she saw the mess. “Here, too?”
Shane turned and offered a lopsided smile. “Yeah, but we need to dust for prints before we can see if there’s anything missing.”
She shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. “I won’t be any help here,” she told him in a plaintive voice. “I’ve never lived in this house, and haven’t been here in years, either.”
Shane gestured to the papers lying on top of the desk. “So you didn’t know your stepfather was in financial trouble?”
He was? Her stomach churned and Gabby thrust an impatient hand through her hair. “No, how would I know that? I pay his mortgage and that’s all. We...haven’t spoken to each other in two years. Since the day of my mother’s funeral.”
Shane’s gaze filled with compassion and she turned away, uncomfortable with his scrutiny. “I need a ride back to the hospital. Are you willing to take me—or should I call a cab?”
“I’ll take you,” he said. “But sometime this afternoon, we’ll need you to come down to the station to give a statement. Both on the break-in at your house and for what transpired here.”
“Okay, but I don’t know much. And I’d like to stop back by my house to pack an overnight bag, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, that’s no problem.” Shane held out his hand and she surprised herself by accepting it.
His hand was warm and strong, his fingers gently cradling hers. Gabby sucked in a quick breath. She shouldn’t be this affected by a simple touch...maybe her long shift was still impacting her ability to think clearly.
Although the usual anxiety she experienced around men wasn’t as noticeable with Shane, she was different from the naive resident she was back when she’d gone out with Damon. She was strong and independent. She took pride in what she’d accomplished so far in her career. And she had more milestones to achieve.
Letting down her guard to become close to a man again wasn’t one of them.
Besides, she told herself that Shane was just being a gentleman, that she shouldn’t take his protectiveness as an indication that he thought she was weak. It occurred to her that dealing with violence and crime was Shane’s world, far different from working in the hospital where she had everything she needed at her fingertips.
Gabby stole a glance at him, then quickly looked away. She was just another civilian Shane wanted to keep safe, nothing more. Their paths had only crossed in the first place because he needed medical care. And then because she’d needed to be rescued.
Pure circumstance.
She walked with Shane outside, inwardly sighing when she noticed several neighbors standing outside on their porches blatantly watching. Shane informed the other deputy where they were headed.
Nate grimaced. “Griff isn’t going to like it that you didn’t stick around.”
“Tell Griff I’m bringing Gabby in to give her statement, after she checks on her stepfather.”
“Okay, but he’s still not going to be happy,” Nate muttered darkly.
Gabby tugged at her hand, trying to break free, but Shane simply looked at her questioningly. “I think it’s better if I take a cab,” she said. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Don’t worry, Griff’s bark is worse than his bite,” Shane said. “I’m not letting you go back to your place alone.”
Truthfully, she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of doing that, either. She had her cedar box in Shane’s car—did she really need anything else? Wearing something besides scrubs would be nice, but not at the expense of Shane’s career.
“Gabby, let’s go,” Shane urged. “The sooner we pick up your things and check on Richard, the sooner we can get to the station.”
“All right,” she agreed.
The trip to her house didn’t take long and Gabby worked quickly, packing comfortable clothes, toiletries and a blow-dryer into a duffel bag. Suddenly, she hesitated. She normally didn’t wear makeup, mostly because she didn’t want to draw unwanted male attention to herself.
So why was she suddenly wishing for girlie cosmetics now?
For Shane? Absolutely not.
“I’m ready.” She entered the living room, her duffel bag slung over one shoulder.
“Here, let me take that for you,” Shane said, reaching for the bag.
Gabby wasn’t used to being with someone like Shane, chivalrously opening doors for her, offering to carry her things. Damon had certainly never done any of that. And in the years since, the men she worked with expected her to carry her own weight, no matter what the circumstance. As a result, she’d learned that the only way to be accepted was to be the best.
“Thanks,” she said, wondering if she was losing her mind. Focus. She needed to focus. And not on Shane.
They walked back outside and Gabby checked to make sure she had her spare set of keys, including her car keys, before locking up.
“I’ll drop you off at the entrance to the ER and then find a place to park,” Shane said as he drove the short distance to the hospital. “Then I’ll meet you inside, okay?”
“Sure.” She jammed the cedar box into her duffel before climbing out of the car.
“I’ll bring that in for you,” Shane protested. “Just check on your stepdad, okay?”
“All right.” She shut the door and hurried inside, her stomach knotting with anxiety. One glance at the large ER census board told her that Richard was listed as a patient in trauma bay number four, which meant he was still being examined. Had his scans been completed yet? She hurried over to see for herself what was going on.
“Cut back on his IV fluids,” Bill Mullen was saying as she entered. “And I want a bed for him on the neuro step-down unit.”
Gabby frowned. “Not the ICU?” she asked, coming over to stand beside the tall, lean neurosurgeon.
“You can see the results of the CT scan yourself,” Bill said in a reassuring voice. “His subdural bleed is very small...he should recover just fine.” The knot in her stomach relaxed a bit. “Has he woken up yet?”
“No, but he’s moving all his extremities, so I’m sure he’ll come around soon.”
“He’s been assigned bed five on the neuro step-down unit,” one of the nurses informed her. “Do you need anything else before we send him upstairs?”
“Give me a minute to talk to him,” Gabby said.
Bill nodded his agreement, so she walked over to Richard’s bedside and took his frail hand in hers. “Richard? It’s me, Gabby. You’re at the hospital and you’re going to be just fine. I have the best doctors and nurses taking care of you. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.”
For a moment nothing happened, but then her stepfather’s fingers weakly squeezed her hand.
A wave of relief washed over her. Richard wasn’t hurt as badly as she’d thought. Bill was an excellent neurosurgeon and she trusted his judgment.
But even though she knew Richard would likely pull through this, she wasn’t at all sure that his memory would be intact when he woke up. She knew from other patients she’d cared for that it was rare that they retained any
memory of the events preceding a head injury.
Had Richard known his attacker? Did Creighton go over to Richard’s house himself or hire someone else to do it? And what was he looking for?
She had no idea. All she could do was to cooperate with the police investigation. Shane was a good cop, and she believed that he’d figure out who was behind all this and why.
“Hey, are you all right?” Shane asked softly, coming up to stand beside her.
She turned toward him and forced a smile. “Yes, I’m fine. Richard’s condition is stable at the moment, and they’re getting ready to send him up to the neuro intermediate-care unit. That’s a step down from intensive care.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it. I’ll need to talk to him once he wakes up.”
Gabby swallowed a lump in her throat. “I know.”
“Dr. Gabby? We’re ready to move him upstairs,” the nurse said.
She stepped back, giving the nurses room to maneuver Richard’s gurney out from the trauma bay.
“Do you need anything from your bag before we leave?” Shane asked. “I put it in the call room you were in last night.”
She wouldn’t have minded changing her clothes but shook her head. “No, that’s fine. Let’s go.”
Shane took her arm and once again they walked outside to his police vehicle. Oddly enough, she was getting used to driving around beside him.
Don’t go there, she told herself sternly. This entire interlude was just a blip in her routine existence. Soon, everything would be back to normal.
“I’m glad your stepfather is going to be okay,” Shane said as he pulled out of the parking structure.
“Me, too. Although, as I mentioned before, I don’t know how much help I’ll be when it comes to going through his office. You’d be better off waiting for him to wake up so he can tell you what, if anything, is missing.”
Shane nodded brusquely. “I don’t like the idea of waiting, but it’s going to take time for the crime scene techs to get through there anyway, so maybe the delay won’t matter.”
Gabby hoped they’d find something useful, too. She fell silent as Shane drove to the sheriff’s department headquarters, located just a few miles from the hospital.
She followed him inside, glancing around curiously. She’d never been inside a police station or sheriff’s department before.
Nate was there, waiting for them. He jerked his thumb behind him. “Griff is waiting for you in his office,” he said.
If Shane was worried about getting yelled at, he didn’t show it. “Gabby, Nate is going to take your statement, okay? I’ll come find you when I’m finished.”
She felt nervous but pushed the useless emotion aside since she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. Nate took her into a sterile room that contained metal chairs and a long metal table. He set down a tape recorder and then took a seat across from her.
“I need to record this interview,” he said, turning on the machine.
Gabby scowled. “You need my permission,” she reminded him, well aware of the Wisconsin state law that protected citizens from being recorded without their consent.
Nate lifted a bow. “Why wouldn’t you agree, unless you have something to hide?”
She took another deep breath. “I don’t have anything to hide, but you still need to ask for my permission.”
Nate stared at her for a long minute. “Okay, do I have your permission to record this interview?”
“Yes.” Gabby knew she was being stubborn, but for some reason, Nate’s attitude toward her was anything but warm and fuzzy. She didn’t understand why he didn’t like her, not that it mattered. He was probably just following standard police protocol. And, for all she knew, the only reason Shane treated her better was because of the medical care she’d provided while he was undercover.
Nate’s questions started innocuously enough, basic facts about how long she’d lived here in Milwaukee, when she’d graduated from college and then medical school. But then his inquiries became pointed.
“When did you first meet Creighton?”
She stared at him for a long moment. “I’ve never met Creighton and I don’t know who he is.”
“You never borrowed any money from him, say, to attend medical school?” the deputy pressed.
That almost made her laugh. “I was given a full scholarship to attend college and took out loans for medical school. I’m still paying off the loans, and if you need proof, I’m happy to provide the paperwork.”
“So you did borrow money,” Nate said, leaning forward and pinning her with a look. “Maybe you found yourself in over your head and needed a way out? So you took money from Creighton and now he wants it back? Is that it?”
“No, that’s not it,” Gabby said firmly, although she twisted her fingers together at the clear disbelief in the lawman’s steely gaze.
She was shocked and horrified to realize that Nate didn’t trust in her innocence. He didn’t think she was a victim. He actually believed that she knew who Creighton was and what he wanted. And if Nate didn’t trust her, Shane probably didn’t, either.
Once again, she was on her own.
SIX
Shane approached his boss, trying hard not to let his trepidation show. “Griff.”
“Hawk. Sit down.” The lieutenant waved a hand at his computer. “I’ve reviewed your report and I have a couple of follow-up questions.”
Shane nodded and took the empty chair. He’d written the report in the wee hours of the morning, could be he forgot a few things. “Okay. Like what?”
“You mentioned you saw Dr. Fielding walking away from the hospital toward the parking structure and you decided to follow her. Why?”
Shane mentally kicked himself for not covering up that detail better, but there was nothing to do now but to tell the truth. “I recognized her because she saved my life six months ago when I was wounded and undercover. I was trying to catch up to her so I could thank her.”
Griff scowled. “That’s my next question. Do you have a personal relationship with the doc?”
“No!” His instinctive denial came out stronger than he intended. He tried to scale it back. “Trust me, I’m not personally involved with Dr. Fielding. But I do think she’s in danger.”
“Yeah, I figured that out when she was kidnapped from the hospital parking garage,” Griff said in a droll tone.
“And after her house was broken into, and her stepfather was attacked,” Shane added. “His house was searched, too, but we don’t have any way of knowing if the intruder found what he was looking for.”
“So what’s your gut telling you?” That was part of the problem. Shane wasn’t willing to trust his gut instincts at the risk of being wrong and exposing Gabby to danger. But he’d told Griff he wasn’t personally involved with her, so he had to tell his boss something.
“There are two highly likely scenarios,” he said slowly. “One is that her stepfather was the real target all along and he’s the one involved, either having something Creighton wants or maybe because he’s involved in something illegal. The other theory is that the stepfather was just collateral damage and Dr. Fielding is still the intended target. And if that’s the case, she remains in danger.”
“And you don’t think she’s involved in something illegal?” Griff prodded. “Or that she knows what this Creighton guy wants?”
“No, sir, I don’t.” Shane tried to think of a way to convince the lieutenant to believe in Gabby’s innocence. “I was there at the scene. She stabbed the gunman and ran into the woods. When I came up behind her, she was terrified. Afterward, she kept trying to tell us that she was kidnapped by mistake.”
“Is that so?” Griff leaned his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers in front of him. “Did you buy her story?”
Shane shook his head. “Obviously, that’s not the case since this guy searched her house. But she truly seemed perplexed as to why she was grabbed. I think we have to take a step back, looking at all possibilitie
s.” He cleared his throat. “When I questioned her further about her past, she mentioned an old boyfriend that she broke up with and two residents who bitterly resented her intelligence and success. None of the three are named Creighton, but I’d like to do background checks on these guys, at least then we can rule them out as being involved.”
Griff stared at him for a long moment, to the point Shane grew restless. It was always hard to tell what his boss was thinking. Shane knew it was a stretch to think that one of these guys from Gabby’s past had hired someone named Creighton, who then in turn hired thugs to kidnap her. But he’d feel better if he covered every possibility.
Bottom line: He wasn’t going to make any assumptions when it came to her safety.
“Okay, fine,” Griff said gruffly. “I’ll let you do the background checks, but you’d better include the stepfather, too, just in case your first theory is correct. Sounds to me like the old man could be the ultimate target.”
Maybe, but he wasn’t ready to go there, because he needed to make sure Gabby was safe. And the wave of relief that Griff had given him the go-ahead to continue the investigation shouldn’t have been so overwhelming. “Thank you, sir.”
“By the way, we got a hit off the fingerprints from one of the three dead gunmen. The one who you identified as the driver is a guy by the name of Curt Wilkens. Did time about five years ago for armed robbery.” He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “We don’t have much intel yet about what he was doing in the nine months that he’s been out on parole—or how Creighton found him—but so far, he’s the only solid lead we have.”
Shane nodded slowly. “I’ll see if Gab—er—Dr. Fielding recognizes that name.”
“Her memory should come in handy, if she’s telling the truth.”
Shane clenched his jaw but didn’t argue. “Interesting that we didn’t get a hit on the other two. Where do you think Creighton found them?”
“Good question for you to figure out.”
“Will do.”
Shane started to rise to his feet, but Griff pinned him with a narrow gaze. “Hawk, before you go, write up your statement about the sequence of events that occurred when you arrived at the stepfather’s house.”
