Laura Scott - Primary Suspect

“So are you,” she murmured. She subtly wiped her temple on the sleeve of her scrub jacket, wishing there was a way to do this without hurting him. There wasn’t, so she resolutely picked up the needle again and went back to work. This time, she tried to keep going steadily along, figuring that the sooner she repaired the wound, the sooner she could stop hurting him and the sooner he’d feel better.

“There! All finished,” she said, clipping the thread to the last suture. “Just let me clean it up one more time, okay?”

“You’re the boss.”

That brought forth a rusty chuckle. “Not hardly. No one has ever called me that before.”

When she finished cleaning the area around the incision, she stepped back and surveyed her handiwork. It wouldn’t win any prizes for being pretty; her sutures were big and clumsy next to the neat ones that Dr. Crowley had placed.

But they’d hold, which was all that mattered. Now, if only she had some oral antibiotics to give him...

“Thank you,” Mitch said in a low, husky voice. “I appreciate your expertise.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, surprised at the lump that had risen in the back of her throat. Why was she getting all emotional about this? She looked into Mitch’s blue eyes and tension shimmered between them, making her hyperaware of him.

What was wrong with her? She broke away from his mesmerizing gaze and reached out to begin cleaning up the mess. But Mitch reached out and captured her hands in his.

“I mean it, Dana,” he said. “I feel terrible about how you’ve been dragged into this. I wish there was something I could do to make it up to you.”

She stared at their joined hands. His grasp was warm, his skin tanned by the summer sun a striking contrast to her pale fingers.

“I—I have to go.” She pulled her hands from his and turned so quickly she almost plowed face-first into the television perched on the top of a low dresser. “Good night,” she managed, as she rushed through the doorway of their connecting rooms, closing her side and locking it behind her.

Safe at last, she leaned back against the door and put a hand over her racing heart. She felt breathless and dizzy, as if she’d run a marathon rather than briefly holding hands with Mitch Callahan.

No, they hadn’t been holding hands. She tipped her head back, thudding it against the door as if to knock some sense into her brain. He’d been thanking her, that’s all. Apologizing for her being attacked at the hospital.

She needed to pull herself together. She’d loved and lost Kent and their baby. She was not going down that path again.

And especially not with a guy like Mitch, with ties to the firefighting community. Loving people who put their lives on the line each day wasn’t for her.

With resolute determination, she pushed herself away from the door and made her way into the bathroom. First thing tomorrow, she was going home.

Mitch was a threat to her emotional equilibrium. She needed to return to the mundane routine of her life.

And stay far, far away from Mitch Callahan.

THREE

Mitch groaned when he heard Dana’s side of the connecting door slam shut followed by the unmistakable click of the dead bolt shooting into place.

What was the matter with him? Dana might have come over to his ER room to thank him, but that didn’t mean she liked him.

In fact, dragging her into his mess likely made her dislike him even more. And it was understandable. He had failed her husband and placed her in danger. He absolutely needed to ensure her safety.

But how?

The throbbing in his temples pulsed along with the ache in his neck. He pushed himself upright and went into the bathroom to wash up. His reflection in the mirror made him grimace.

His skin was streaked with black soot mixed with blood. His looks alone could have scared her away. Craning his head to the right, he checked out the incision. It looked good, although he would have given a lot for a bottle of ibuprofen.

After washing away the grime while steering clear of the incision, he went over to stretch out on the bed. He needed some sort of action plan because clearly Dana wasn’t going to stick around for long.

The thought of her driving away tonight had him lunging back to his feet. He crossed over and parted the curtains over the window so he could look out at the parking lot. Her car was still there, but for how long?

He was tempted to go out and remove the distributor cap so she couldn’t leave. The thought of her heading home and being found by the knife-wielding man made him feel sick.

Yet there was also the possibility that they might need to leave here in a hurry.

No, disabling the car was out of the question. He’d just have to trust that Dana would stay until morning, the way she’d promised.

He let the drapes fall back into place and moved away. Unfortunately, women didn’t necessarily keep their promises. At least, Janice hadn’t. When he had caught her with Simon, he’d been shocked, appalled and hurt. The only good news about the whole thing was that he had found out the truth before he’d asked her to marry him.

Old news, he reminded himself. He might not understand why she had bothered stringing him along, but it didn’t matter. Just because his brothers and his sister seemed to have been bitten by the lovebug didn’t mean he had to follow in their footsteps.

Although the idea of being a loner like his brother Mike didn’t sit well, either. Regardless, he had bigger issues to worry about. Janice might not have been faithful, but she certainly hadn’t deserved to die.

And how on earth could his attacker have gotten into his boss’s office to use his phone? He just couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that Rick Nelson had set him up deliberately. With Jeff gone, Mitch was the only fire investigator on staff, at least until Rick found a replacement. Word on the street was that several former firefighters had applied for the job, Mitch’s old buddy Paul Roscoe being one of them. In fact, Paul had asked him for a reference, which he’d gladly given.

Questions whirled around in his mind until he fell into a troubled doze. Every creak and muffled thump from other motel guests woke him up, making him go still while staring through the darkness.

By the time morning had dawned, he had given up trying to sleep and dragged himself upright. He went over to see if Dana’s car was still there and was relieved when he saw the compact vehicle.

She hadn’t left yet. He wanted a shower, but knew he couldn’t get the stitches wet. Instead, he made a cup of coffee in the small coffee maker.

As he sipped from the cup, he tried to think of a way to assure that Dana would be safe returning to her home. He’d rather she didn’t go back there, at least not right away. Could he convince her to go to her in-laws? Maybe. He remembered how Kent’s parents had stood by her during the funeral. Surely they’d stayed close over the years.

If not her in-laws, then maybe some other friend. Someone who wouldn’t mind a houseguest for a couple of days.

A male friend? He inwardly grimaced, then realized he was being ridiculous. Why wouldn’t she be dating? She hadn’t mentioned having a boyfriend, but it wouldn’t be surprising if she was seeing someone. Kent had been gone three years.

Yet the way she’d gone pale when he’d taken her hands in his gave him the impression that she hadn’t moved on with her life. The idea that she might have shut herself off from men made him feel guilty all over again.

If only he could go back to that fateful night. He had had his doubts about Kent Petrie coming along on the call so soon after his training. Mitch had asked Paul for his opinion, and his buddy had thought Kent would be okay. Mitch had tried one last time to convince Kent to stay with the truck and man the hose, but the rookie hadn’t wanted to be kept out of the action. So Mitch had reluctantly agreed to let him take a flanker position, thinking if he kept the rookie close, he’d be able to keep an eye on him.