Heal Me

by Grady, D. R.

  “Something that’s been bothering me about this serial rapist,” Jenna commented, staring at the ceiling, thinking about another woman who had stared at a ceiling, trying to remember what atrocities had been done to her.

  “What?” Owen asked.

  “Well, this guy is a serial rapist. Aren’t all women in danger, including McCully and Coulihan and the other female police officers?” Jenna asked, gazing anxiously across Owen to McCully, hoping she didn’t take offense.

  McCully sat up so quickly her cot rocked. “In danger,” she repeated. She and Owen stared at each other briefly before both turning to stare at her. Jenna stared back calmly.

  “All the victims I interviewed said they didn’t have time to defend themselves. This creep just grabbed them.”

  “And injected them with a drug so they’d have some idea what was going on, but not enough to know who was doing the raping,” Owen finished bluntly.

  “But I’m trained...” McCully protested.

  “So was Marie Hostettler. She has a black belt in the martial arts. Her training didn’t help her,” Jenna replied.

  “Luanne Good also had martial arts training, and he got her,” Owen added.

  “You might have enough time to go for your gun, but what if you don’t?” Jenna asked tautly.

  “You and Coulihan are both small, so if this guy is fast and big, you wouldn’t stand a chance,” Owen said grimly.

  “Even if he’s not big, he’s still fast and sporting nasty drugs, that should be enough,” Jenna added.

  “I hadn’t thought of all this.” McCully’s voice sounded weak.

  “I should have,” Owen replied soberly.

  “Not necessarily.” Jenna reached out to place a hand on his arm. “There’s a very good chance he won’t touch any of the female cops. It’s just something that should be taken into consideration. By now he may know there’s a female detective on the case. I’m worried McCully might be in his sights right now, just like me.”

  “You’re right. And Coulihan will be helping with guard duty.”

  “Why don’t we talk to the Chief tomorrow?”

  “That’s a good idea,” Owen agreed. “In the meantime, the two of you should stay together. I’ll try to see if Coulihan can stay here too, if that’s okay?” Owen asked Jenna.

  “That’s fine with me, but she’s engaged, and there’s no way Mark is going to let her stay here without him.”

  “That’s actually perfect. To have a man here.” At the women’s stormy expressions, Owen raised a hand. “Not because you can’t protect yourselves, but have you noticed that all the women who were attacked either lived alone or are alone a lot?”

  She and McCully both quieted as they thought about that. “That’s true.”

  “I guess that would make sense.” Jenna hadn’t known that, so it made her heart lurch.

  “I’m thinking if there’s a man here with you ladies, whether it’s me, Matthews, and I’m going to call Fred in,” he said and she watched McCully bristle. Apparently Owen noticed too, because he repeated, “Yes, Fred is getting a call because he has skills like none I’ve ever seen. He’s a good one to help and his work is mobile. All he needs is a couple of laptops and he’ll be fine.”

  “Why do we need a man here again?” Jenna inquired.

  “This guy doesn’t seem very brave so I’m thinking if there’s a man here... He’s going after women who are easy targets. Just having other women here might help, but I’m also thinking this guy won’t touch any of you if there’s a man around. I don’t think this creep wants that type of trouble. Jenna, your brother,” he started, but Jenna shook her head.

  “No, I don’t want Damon coming. He’s got Emmy to worry about, and Jared and Jonathan also have wives. Max, the man who helps Damon and Emmy would be willing. He’s a good friend. And he’d be amused by all the women.” Jenna grinned.

  “I remember Max, he’s a war veteran, right?” Owen asked.

  “That’s correct.”

  “He’d be great then if we need him.”

  “Is this really necessary?” McCully demanded.

  “For now. We’ll talk to the chief, and see about what to do to warn the other female cops. He’ll probably pair them up.”

  “I’ve got room,” Jenna murmured.

  “How do you feel about being inundated with people?” Owen asked with a grin.

  “I like the idea. But if there are more than two female police officers here, do you really think we’ll need a man? It seems like overkill. With two police officers, and me, I doubt this guy is going to give us trouble.”

  “I agree,” McCully added her two cents. “If Coulihan and I are both here, I doubt we’ll need male companionship.”

  Owen’s grin made an intriguing dimple peek out. “You’re just afraid of Fred,” he taunted.

  “No, I’m afraid of having to deal with Fred.”

  “Uuummm,” he replied with a knowing smile. He turned to Jenna, the devil in his eyes. “I don’t know, you think she protests a bit much?”

  “I think you’re trying to pick a fight,” Jenna said with a laugh. A raspy, throaty laugh, but one nonetheless.

  “He always does this,” McCully complained. “I am not living in the same house as Fred Savage, forget it.”

  His grin upped another notch. “Why not? Think he’ll chase you around the place, trying to steal a kiss?”

  McCully’s countenance took on an interesting similarity to an active volcano.

  Owen stroked his chin. “Of course, I wouldn’t put it past him. He does like to tease you.”

  McCully erupted. “Tease me? He harasses me, he mocks me, he infuriates me.”

  “Have you ever tried ignoring him?” Jenna asked.

  “Ignore him? You can’t ignore Fred Savage when he’s not interested in being ignored.”

  “But didn’t you just meet him this week?”

  “In person, yes. But I’ve had the displeasure of speaking with him several times on the phone and I receive email and texts from him constantly,” McCully spewed.

  “He sends you emails and texts?” Owen asked, eyebrows raised. He looked like that was new information.

  “Yes,” she spat.

  Owen shot a look at Jenna, which she caught. She could tell he was trying very hard not to laugh outright. She sent him a don’t-do-it-look. He already had enough to recover from. Jenna didn’t want to also see him in traction.

  “What kind of emails and texts?” he asked McCully instead, in a strangled voice.

  She huffed out another breath and rolled from her cot. “I need to go to the bathroom,” she muttered, still spewing comments about one Mr. Fredren Savage.

  When she closed the bathroom door, Jenna looked at Owen with narrowed eyes. “Okay, spill it. What is Fred sending her?”

  He finally gave in to the brewing laughter. “I didn’t think he had it in him, but apparently he really is a poet. I’m guessing he sends her odes to her green eyes and red hair and wondrous figure.”

  “And she’s mad about this?” Jenna felt like something vital to this conversation had whizzed right by her.

  “Of course she’s mad. She’s only ever talked to him on the phone, and he baits her. Like saying how he thought she was bigger. He knows she’s petite. He’s seen her plenty of times before this past week.”

  “Oh?”

  “Sure. We had some trouble with a rogue cop who was going after female police officers. So Fred helped me watch her. Of course, we didn’t tell her. But it gave him plenty of time to fall for her.”

  “Fred’s got a thing for McCully?”

  “Oh yeah,” Owen assured her as they heard the shower come on.

  “How in the world do you know this?”

  “I know Fred. He’s never acted like this about a woman before.”

  “Does McCully know Fred’s got a thing for her?” Jenna asked in bemusement.

  “Of course not. He probably doesn’t know he’s got a thing for her. She h
ates him, or thinks she does. He knows exactly which buttons to push,” Owen said complacently.

  “How can he not know he has a thing for her?”

  Owen shrugged. “He’s Fred.”

  Jenna raised an eyebrow. “So?”

  “Simple. Fred’s a genius. But every once in a while, he doesn’t have enough common sense to come in out of the rain. She has so left him in the dust, he’s still back on the turnpike,” Owen concluded decisively.

  Jenna choked on her laughter. “He doesn’t know he’s got a thing for her, but he’s sending her poetry?”

  “McCully hates poetry, so he’s probably making certain she gets a poem a day.”

  “He’s torturing her, from the sound of it.”

  “Yeah. He knows he doesn’t want her to forget him, but he also finds her attractive, so he’s probably just as confused as she is. I doubt she understands either,” Owen said.

  “Apparently feisty women appeal to Fred?”

  “Wait’ll you meet his mom. He couldn’t go for any other type. It’d just be wrong.”

  “I see,” Jenna said, even though she didn’t.

  The bathroom door burst open and McCully stalked back into the room to snatch up her brush and snarl, “Savage is not staying here.” Snapping around on a heel she re-entered the bathroom, robe swishing angrily around her ankles.

  Owen grinned. “Time to call Fred I think.”

  “Troublemaker,” Jenna said from her side of the bed.

  Chapter 6

  Five minutes later, he got off the phone with his friend, and plans for Fred to help out if needed were complete. Fortunately, McCully had been blow-drying her hair in the bathroom and hadn’t heard the call.

  “You’re going to get into so much trouble when she finds out,” Jenna warned him.

  He turned to look at her, enjoying the light dancing in her blue eyes. “Yeah, but it’ll be worth the trouble. Fred really likes her, he just doesn’t know how much.”

  Jenna’s forehead furrowed. “Owen O’Maley, are you matchmaking?”

  His eyebrows soared into his hairline as he contemplated that statement. “Yes, I think I am. I’ve always wondered what type of woman could possibly handle Fred. And I’ve been wondering who would want to put up with her. They’re made for each other. I don’t think anyone else could stand to live with either of them.”

  Looking bemused, Jenna asked, “What if they don’t work out?”

  “They will. But if they don’t, s’kay. I’m just arranging for them to spend some time together, they’ll have to take things further, or not.”

  “What if they kill each other?”

  Owen smiled at her. “Fred can be very persuasive. And McCully isn’t exactly indifferent to him.”

  Jenna sat up in the bed and stared at him. “How on earth do you know that?”

  “Easy. If I sent her those poems, she’d just roll her eyes and delete them like she does the letters and notes from some of the guys on the squad. And old Bert does still have a crush on her, but she handles him very kindly.”

  He chuckled. “But Fred, on the other hand – Fred gets castigated, manipulated, harassed, and insulted every chance she gets. Now I know why she surfs the internet for the foulest cartoons and poems and etcetera she can find. I’m guessing she promptly sends them to him.”

  “She sends him disgusting stuff?” Jenna asked, as though she couldn’t help herself.

  “That’s my guess. She puts a lot of time into the project. A lot of time.”

  “Okay, so she’s not indifferent to him,” Jenna conceded. “But it sounds like he goes out of his way to harass her. He’s going to have to change his methodology if he wants to impress her.”

  “Probably. He’ll figure this out as soon as he stays here,” Owen agreed.

  “Oh no.”

  “What?” he yelped, sitting up in the bed and taking her arms.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “That means I have to keep them from killing each other until Fred changes his tactics.”

  Owen shook his head. “Nope, you just need to allow things to happen. If you think things are going to get really bad, just call me.”

  “I don’t think so. You can bunk with Savage in the basement and be close at hand. I’ll put Mark down there as well,” Jenna said decisively.

  His heart beat an unsteady tattoo. In the back of his mind he was hoping for this very invitation. “Hhmmm. That might work. Maybe Fred’ll get some ideas if he sees Matthews and Coulihan in a clinch often enough.”

  “From what I hear, they spend an awful lot of time that way,” Jenna said with a smile.

  “Of course they do,” came McCully’s tart comment and they turned to see her whisk out of the bathroom. “They thought they’d nearly lost each other, so now they aren’t wasting any time.”

  Owen caught Jenna’s raised brow and wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was. If he stressed to Fred that McCully was in danger, chances were quite good Fred’s courtship tactics would drastically change. A smile tugged at his lips that he managed to cover up with a cough that sent him into an actual coughing spell.

  Jenna retrieved water and some pills and pushed them into his hand. He took them gratefully and managed to swallow the tablets without choking. He flopped back on the bed after setting the bottle beside him.

  “This might work,” he muttered and Jenna sent him another dubious look.

  “What might work?” McCully asked suspiciously.

  “Getting protection for you females.” Fighting laughter was a lot harder than he had ever suspected.

  “If Savage is part of that ‘protection’ count me out.”

  “If I can’t get counted out, I don’t believe you should, either,” Jenna murmured quietly, with a soft smile. His heart clenched. How easy it would be to lose his heart to this woman.

  His conscience derisively mocked, “How easy? Afraid the damage is already done there, doofus!” He swallowed, not wanting to go there right now. He had an open invitation to stay with Jenna Fields, and he’d definitely take her up on that invite. Her safety was the most important issue here. As were McCully and Coulihan’s. All three women might not believe they needed protection, but he wasn’t interested in gambling on this, no matter how they felt. He figured their men would feel exactly the same way.

  The three of them rose early the next morning and she and TJ sent Owen down the hall while they commandeered the master suite bathroom. He went willingly enough. They were all quiet at breakfast as Jenna passed around more cold tablets, and then handed more to both detectives. “You need to remember to take these throughout the day. The entire day. If you forget, you’re going to feel miserable, got it?”

  They both solemnly nodded, and followed her to work after breakfast. Owen waited until she waved from the safety of the building before he drove off. Jenna liked the warmth that passed through her at his insistence of keeping her safe. The man hadn’t even kissed her yet.

  Even without a single kiss, she felt like she belonged to him. She felt like he belonged to her. Like they had made a commitment to one another. How could that be, she wondered? She knew she adored the man. She realized she wanted to spend quite a lot more time with him. She wanted to receive a kiss from him. She wanted to lay a few kisses on him.

  As though privy to her thoughts, her phone rang and when she looked at the screen, saw his name and number there. She needed to snap a picture of him. Preferably one where his dimple showed.

  “Hello,” she answered, aware that her lips were drawn wide in a welcoming smile.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine, how are you?”

  “Doing well. Except that McCully just stole my coffee,” he said in disgust.

  Jenna easily pictured the scene. “I see.”

  He sighed. “I’m definitely calling Fred. I’m going to have him stop by tonight to check out your place.”

  “Is she there right now?”

  “Of course.”

>   “Taunting her already this morning?”

  “Yes. Ah, she went to get something out of the vending machine, good. Now we can talk.”

  “What are we going to talk about?”

  “How about going to dinner with me tonight, since we didn’t get a chance Tuesday night?”

  Jenna blinked. “I’d love to,” she answered, as warmth spread happily through her body.

  “Good. I’ll follow you home from work.”

  “How am I supposed to get ready with you in the way?” she asked brattily and enjoyed his very masculine chuckle.

  “You’re a smart woman, you’ll figure something out.”

  “Right. I did call the man who’s been doing the work in the basement and he says the rest of the fixtures are in, so he’ll finish the bathroom today.”

  “I’m being banished to the basement already?”

  “Afraid so. I can’t let you stay upstairs when the other men will have to live downstairs.”

  “Okay. Fred’s going to watch the place, though he won’t spend the night. I’ve got a call in to Matthews. McCully, Coulihan and I are all scheduled to see the Chief in about ten minutes. I think he’ll go for all of us bunking up at your place because resources are short.”

  “It does make sense if I have to have police protection at all. I’m still not convinced this guy is after me though.”

  “He might not be, but I’m not willing to take the chance. We can keep you and McCully and Coulihan safe with a few precautions.”

  “I know. I’ve just been taking care of myself for so long it galls me that I need to rely on men,” Jenna stated emphatically.

  “I’m sure. You’ll just have to make due,” Owen replied, and Jenna caught the smile in his words.

  “Apparently.”

  She heard her name being paged over the intercom system and they said goodbye. Jenna slipped her phone into a pocket, anticipating the evening. He’d called to ask her to dinner, and then flirted with her. This should prove to be a promising weekend. She really, really liked Owen O’Maley and wanted every moment she could have with him. She wondered idly if she could get out of the bridal shower she was supposed to attend tomorrow.