Engaging Sam

by Ingrid Weaver

  Her hand shook, and the painting wavered in front of her eyes. A silencer. Why was she thinking about that? And who cared how shiny the gun might be?

  But it had glinted in the shadows. She remembered. Two men standing. One man crumpling to the ground. Hard to make sense of it through the pain...

  It wasn’t a book cover she was seeing. It was a memory.

  Oh, God. The man that Bergstrom had kept asking her about...she had seen him. She’d seen him shot. Murdered.

  The collection of get-well cards that was taped to the door flapped suddenly as Geraldine emerged from the bathroom. “Twenty-two months,” she was muttering. “Can you imagine? No wonder elephants are so gray and wrinkled. I’m never going to look at one the same agai—Oh, my God! What’s wrong, Audra?”

  The book tumbled to the floor as Audra raised her hand to her forehead. Her skin was slick with a cold sweat.

  “You’re white as a sheet,” Geraldine exclaimed. “Hang on, I’m getting the nurse.” Bypassing the call button that dangled from the side of the bed, she yanked open the door to the corridor and called for help.

  Audra’s head spun. She’d honestly thought she hadn’t seen anything. Her memory must have been blocked. Maybe it was from the pain, or the drugs they’d given her for it. Maybe it was from her own unwillingness to examine that evening in any more detail. But now there was no stopping it. The images were tumbling over each other in a frenzied rush to be seen.

  Brisk footsteps sounded from outside. A nurse appeared, bustling to her side. Cool fingers touched her arm, then pressed over the pulse in her wrist.

  “I’m okay,” Audra said, her voice unsteady. “Really.”

  More footsteps pounded up the hall, these ones heavier than the nurse’s. Seconds later, Sam burst into the room. “What happened? What’s going on?”

  “Sir, I’d like you to wait outside,” the nurse said.

  “Like hell I will.” He strode to the other side of the bed without hesitation, his tall frame rigid with tension. “What’s wrong?”

  Audra’s eyes widened when she saw him. His hair stood in ragged furrows, as if he’d been raking it with his fingers. Dark shadows smudged the skin beneath his eyes and the hollows in his cheeks looked downright gaunt. His crumpled shirt and jeans looked as if he’d been sleeping in them.

  Geraldine was right. He was a wreck.

  “Please, sir. I can’t allow—”

  “It’s okay, he’s family,” Geraldine said, returning to stand at the foot of the bed. “Is she having a relapse?”

  “I’m all right,” Audra managed to say. “Just dizzy.”

  The nurse slipped a blood pressure cuff around her arm while she pressed the disc of a stethoscope inside her elbow. She went on to check her temperature, then ordered Sam to turn his back before she rolled Audra to her side and pulled her gown aside to inspect the dressing over her wound. “No sign of infection and your vitals are fine,” she said, moving to pick up the chart at the end of the bed. “You’re not due for more medication for another two hours. If you’d like me to get you something for the breakthrough pain—”

  “I don’t want any more painkillers. My sister-in-law shouldn’t have called you.”

  “No problem. You probably just overexerted yourself.” She hung up the chart and moved briskly to the door. “Don’t stay too long,” she said, fixing Sam and Geraldine with a stern look. “Your sister needs rest more than she needs visitors.”

  As soon as she was gone, Geraldine heaved herself around to the other side of the bed and squeezed Audra’s hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tire you out. You were sounding so much like your old self earlier, I guess I forgot you still have a long way to go.” She smiled ruefully. “Hormones again. I tend to overreact.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “I’d better go,” she said, turning toward the door. “See you later, Sam.”

  Audra moved her head to look at Sam. “You don’t have to stay, either.”

  He stepped closer, then bent down to pick up her book and set it on the table beside the telephone. He looked down again, his face drawn. Without a word, he stooped over, gathered the shredded rose and dropped it into the wastebasket.

  Her heart did a painful thump. She hadn’t wanted to see him again, she reminded herself. But she didn’t want to hurt him. Or have him suffer.

  I’ve missed you.

  No. She couldn’t miss something she’d never really had. She couldn’t miss a lie, a role.

  “What happened?” he asked. “I don’t care what that nurse said, I can see something’s wrong.”

  “I was remembering that night,” she said. “After the wedding.”

  The lines bracketing his mouth deepened. It didn’t seem possible, but his expression turned even grimmer. “You have no idea how sorry I am, Audra. I’ve been hoping you’d give me a chance to apologize for my behavior and the ham-handed way I—”

  “No, that’s not what I meant. I don’t want to talk about...our personal relationship.”

  “I am sorry, Audra.”

  “It’s over now. I...” She cleared her throat. “It’s about something else. I remember seeing a gun.”

  “What?”

  “After I was shot. After you pulled me down.”

  “You saw a gun? Where?”

  “Behind you.” As she spoke, the memory strengthened, as if seeing Sam again had released something she’d been doing her best to keep bottled up inside. “You were lying on top of me, but I lifted my head to look past your shoulder. There were two men at the corner of the garage.”

  “Audra,” he said, gripping the rail of the bed to lean closer. “What else did you see?”

  The gun jerking. One man falling. Red hair in the light from. the driveway...

  “I saw him put the gun under his jacket and turn away. The end was thick. It must have been a silencer—” Bile rose in her throat. She felt her palms grow damp as the full impact of what she was remembering finally registered.

  “Take it easy,” Sam said, touching her hand. “It’s over. No one’s going to hurt you now.”

  “Sam, I saw a murder. Right there, in front of my eyes, a man died.”

  His fingers were warm and soothing as he stroked her skin. “Focus on the man left standing. What do you see?”

  “I was scared he was going to shoot us too, but he didn’t. He didn’t see us. He put the gun away and walked into the shadows beside the garage.”

  “Was he short? Tall? Do you remember what he was wearing?”

  “He had a light gray suit. You remember, don’t you?”

  “I didn’t see—”

  “You saw him all evening. It was Fitzpatrick.”

  “Are you sure? It was dark, and you were lying on the ground.”

  “Of course, I’m sure. It was Fitzpatrick.”

  Sam’s hand tightened over hers. For a moment, he simply stood there watching her. Then a slow, glorious smile spread across his face. “We’ve got him,” he murmured.

  Oh, God. All it took was one of those endearingly boyish, lopsided smiles and all the old confusion came right back. She didn’t want to send him away anymore. She wanted to pull him into her arms and hold him until that haunted look faded from his eyes. She wanted to apologize for mangling that flower he’d given her and for making him miserable and for...

  What was wrong with her? Hadn’t she learned anything?

  Sam marveled at the strength that lay beneath Audra’s delicate features. Despite the trauma she’d suffered, despite the way he’d mishandled the personal side of their relationship, she was going to give them exactly what they needed to put Fitzpatrick away for good.

  Murder. It was more than he could have dared hope for. They didn’t have to wait around to reel the man in for money laundering and tax evasion. With Audra’s eyewitness testimony, they’d be able to get him for murder.

  With Audra’s eyewitness testimony...

  Gradually Sam’s smile faded into uneasiness. She had
just confirmed Xavier’s theory that her own shooting had been accidental. Fitzpatrick hadn’t seen her watching him. So he’d had no reason to deliberately want to harm her.

  Until now.

  Protectiveness, and a renewed burst of the ever-present guilt, surged over him as he looked at the way Audra lay propped up in the hospital bed. She was still too pale. Her prognosis was good, but she had a long recovery in front of her. And even after the wound healed, she would always carry the scar from that bullet.

  His gaze dropped to their joined hands. He’d let his emotions interfere with his duty before, and this was the result. For Audra’s sake, he wasn’t going to screw this up again. He had to concentrate on his job. He had to ignore the way he wanted to climb on that bed with her and cradle her in his arms and promise her he’d never let anyone or anything hurt her again...

  “When are you scheduled to be discharged?” he asked finally.

  “Tomorrow or the day after.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “It’s not necessary. My family’s already set up a round-robin schedule of monitoring visits.”

  “I’ll be there,” he repeated. “I won’t leave you.”

  Her fingers trembled beneath his. “Sam, I don’t need your guilt or your pity. What happened to me was an accident. I don’t want you to feel obligated to keep up this...whatever it is you’re doing.”

  “What I want to do is move into your place. Or you can move in with me, whichever you’re more comfortable with.”

  “You...” She hesitated. “You want to move in with me?”

  He glanced around the room, noting the cards and flowers that packed every available surface. “I’ll explain the situation to your family for you. Your brothers will probably object, but I’m sure Xavier will back me up on this.”

  “Xavier?”

  “We’ll try to keep this under wraps as long as possible, but we have to be prepared in case Fitzpatrick decides to try something—”

  “Sam, what are you talking about?”

  He returned his gaze to hers. “You’re an eyewitness. Your testimony is going to be crucial to convicting Fitzpatrick, so we can’t afford to take any chances with your safety. I want to stay with you to ensure your protection.”

  For a moment she stared at him, her eyes stark and vulnerable in her too-pale face. Then she tugged her hand from his and looked away. “No.”

  “But you need—”

  “No. I definitely don’t need someone else who wants to run my life for my own good.”

  “Audra, for God’s sake, I’m only trying to do my job.”

  “Of course. Why else would you do anything?”

  Chapter 12

  Audra glanced out the front window of the restaurant and felt her heart thud with the combination of pleasure and pain that was becoming all too familiar. Through the drizzle that darkened the street, she could clearly see the flash of yellow, blue and green from Sam’s shirt. He was standing under the awning of a fruit market, his hands in his pockets, his ankles crossed, his gaze fixed on the restaurant door.

  He had become her shadow, and it was tearing her apart. Every time she turned around, there he was, the stubborn, macho cop who refused to listen to reason or admit he was overreacting. In the weeks since she’d left the hospital, there hadn’t been so much as a hint of a threat from Fitzpatrick. Yet Sam had appointed himself her bodyguard, and nothing she could say seemed to have any effect on his decision.

  It wasn’t as if he actually wanted to spend all this time with her. His feelings weren’t in the least confused. She was certain that his pulse didn’t jump and his stomach didn’t do that ticklish little lurch each time he saw her. No, she wasn’t going to delude herself into thinking there was anything personal here. He was just doing his job.

  Of course, Audra had refused to go along with his initial plan of sharing an apartment, but she was unable to stop him from turning up wherever she went. And for that, he had help. Her mother and sisters-in-law were only too happy to make it easier for him by telling him Audra’s plans as soon as she made them—hopeless romantics that they were, they found the whole bodyguard idea appealing.

  Naturally, her brothers still didn’t like to see Sam anywhere near her—they bristled and postured like alpha males defending their territory. But their protests had lost steam when Xavier had confirmed the potential risk faced by any witness to a major crime. It seemed like a remote possibility that Fitzpatrick might try to coerce her into not testifying, and so far there was no evidence to back it up, but that was enough for the McPherson males. Not only did they want her to stay away from work, they wanted her to drop her plans for a business of her own.

  Men. They were all alike. They might pay lip service to women’s rights and the equality of the sexes but scratch the surface and there was the protective, possessive attitude of a caveman. Maybe she’d have more hope of getting through to them if she tried grunting instead of arguing.

  “The exhaust fans were replaced three months ago.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “The fans. They’re top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art equipment as you’ll see.”

  Audra gave herself a mental shake to get her thoughts back on track as she followed the restaurant owner through the swinging doors into the kitchen. This was the third place she’d checked out this morning. She should have stopped at two, since she could feel her energy flagging, but she was determined to narrow down the locations by the end of the week. “Why were they replaced, Mr. Worsley?” she asked.

  “Oh, routine maintenance. Nothing to worry about.” The man smiled widely and ushered her toward the walk-in freezer. “Now, let me show you the storage capacity...”

  “I see the area behind the fans has been replastered,” she said, stopping as she viewed the wall from a different angle.

  “Ah, yes. We had some minor repairs.”

  She looked at the notes she’d made on her clipboard, then tapped her pen against the page. “Was all the wiring- replaced after the fire, or was it only the fans?”

  “Who told you about—” He coughed. “What makes you think we had a fire?”

  “It’s a matter of record.”

  “Oh, it was nothing, really. Just some overheated grease.”

  “Ignited by a short in some faulty wiring. You were ordered to have it upgraded.”

  “The preliminary work has all been. taken care of,” he said, his tone dismissing the issue as unimportant. “Did I mention the custom-made tablecloths would be included...”

  Suppressing a sigh, Audra drew a diagonal line across the page and tucked her clipboard and pen into her purse. She should have known there was a catch. The location was great, but the work that would be needed to bring the wiring up to standard would put this place beyond her budget. “Thanks for taking the time to see me, Mr. Worsley,” she said; extending her hand.

  “Oh, it was my pleasure, Ms. McPherson. I hope to hear from you soon.” He leaned toward her with the air of someone imparting a confidence. “I think I should tell you that there are several other people who have expressed an interest in my place, so you might not want to wait too long.”

  The only other person who’d be interested would be the Fire Marshall, she thought, heading for the door. She paused on the threshold to open her umbrella, then started along the sidewalk.

  Ten seconds later, Sam fell into step beside her. “Hi.”

  The sound of his voice sent a pleasant vibration down her spine. As it always did. And along with the pleasure came an echo of pain and humiliation. As it always did. Frowning, she focused on her feet and concentrated on avoiding the puddles. “I’m meeting Judy in the coffee shop on the corner. From there, I’m going straight home, so you can go off duty now.”

  “Judy left twenty minutes ago. She asked me to pass along her apologies.”

  “What? How would you know?”

  “She called me on my cell phone. Said she had forgotten about a dentist’s appointment and asked m
e to make sure you got home.”

  “It figures,” she muttered. She should have known this would happen when Judy had insisted they drive downtown together. This was the third “accidental” encounter with Sam Judy had engineered in four days. Resigned, she lifted the umbrella so he could share it. “Where are you parked?”

  “In the lot just past the lights. Thanks,” he said, stepping closer. “How are you doing? Are you okay to walk that far?”

  She wasn’t going to let his concerned tone deceive her. It was from guilt, not affection. She’d figured that out in the hospital. “I’m fine.”

  “No luck, huh?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “With those places you visited. You look discouraged.”

  She shook her head. “Someone had already beat me to the first one. The second one is a bad location and the last place is a fire hazard.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me. I recognized Worsley through the window. He owns two apartment buildings on the south side that are a lot worse.”

  “He tried to downplay the problems.”

  “Yeah, but he couldn’t put anything over on you.”

  His confidence in her was a welcome change from the attitude of her brothers. Then again, Sam had always respected her business sense, even if he was a stubborn, macho, caveman cop.

  “Have you thought about developing a site instead of buying into a preexisting business?” he asked.

  “That’s my next choice. It’s going to be more of a hassle; since I’ll have to deal with the zoning regulations and take care of the necessary permits, and without an established clientele it would take longer to get the business up and running.”

  “The initial investment would be lower.”