by Debra Webb
“Let’s go,” he said tiredly, and took a step back, out of her personal space.
“Where are we going?” she murmured, her voice weak with relief.
Raine turned from her. “We need a doctor,” he said, then started toward the house he couldn’t yet see.
Kate grabbed his arm and pulled him back around to face her. Concern had replaced the fear. Her gaze moved frantically over him and then landed back on his. “Are you hurt?”
Guilt stabbed like a knife deep into the center of his chest. “Don’t ask questions, Kate,” he said tightly.
She glanced around, and frowned. “But where are we going to find a doctor at this time of night around here?”
“Trust me, I have a plan.”
Chapter Eight
“Just stay calm, Doc, and there won’t be a problem.”
Kate glared, agog, first at Raine and then at the elderly man staring into the business end of Raine’s Beretta.
This was his plan?
“What are you doing?” she demanded. “This is your idea of a plan?”
Raine looked at her for a long, charged moment, then smiled. It wasn’t pleasant. Turning his attention back to the doctor, he shoved the unmarked prescription bottle Kate had completely forgotten about into the man’s hand. “I’m told this is Inderal. I need you to tell me if my friend here has a bum ticker.”
Kate drew in an audible breath. Was he talking about her? On cue, her chest ached and her heart fluttered. Oh, God! Was it possible that she could have some sort of heart problem and not remember? What other horrible things had she forgotten? Panic surged through her veins, urging her possibly faulty heart into an erratic rhythm.
His eyes huge behind the bifocal lenses, the doctor nodded his understanding of the question. “I’ll…” He cleared his throat. “I’ll need some background information on the patient.”
Raine shook his head slowly from side to side. “No questions, Doc, just answers.”
Still somewhat reluctant, the doctor opened the door wider and allowed them entrance into his home. “This way,” he said as he started down the long, dimly lit hall.
Pressing his hand to the small of her back, Raine urged Kate forward. “This is insane,” she hissed, and shot him an irritated glare. She was young. How could she have a heart condition? The poor old doctor, on the other hand, could very well drop dead of fright, considering his age and the weapon Raine was waving around.
Raine ignored her. “You live here alone, Doc?” he asked as if he’d just commented on the lovely country decorating of the man’s home.
Kate gaped at Raine’s audacity. “Why don’t you just ask him where he keeps his life’s savings buried while you’re at it?” she huffed in a stage whisper.
“I stopped burying my money years ago, missy,” the doctor called over one stooped shoulder.
Heat flooded Kate’s face as humiliation dropped around her like a black cloud. Raine coughed in an obvious attempt to cover a chuckle, which earned him the nastiest look Kate could marshal. How did she get mixed up in all this? Though she still couldn’t remember anything, she knew in the farthest reaches of her soul that she was not a criminal. Except, she grimaced, for the fact that she had participated in using two stolen vehicles and now, in holding a poor, innocent old man at gunpoint.
The doctor opened a door at the end of the hall and flipped on a light. “To answer your question, young fella—” he stood aside so Kate could pass “—yes, I live alone. Does that make a difference in the services you require of me?”
“No.” Raine shrugged, a faint smile playing on his lips. “I just don’t like surprises.”
“You won’t find any surprises here. I’m fresh out.” The doctor eyed him speculatively. “You won’t need that fire-arm either. The only one I own is upstairs behind the bedroom door. Hasn’t been fired in more than twenty years, so I doubt that it would even work.”
“That’s good to know.” Raine angled his head toward the open door. “After you, Doc.”
The doctor appraised Raine a moment longer before he relented. Kate released the breath she had been holding when the two men seemed to reach some sort of unspoken understanding. The doctor shuffled over to an examination table. Raine, perpetually wary, settled into a chair near the door. At least clean shaven he didn’t look quite so dangerous. Her eyes had feasted on the sight of him when he’d walked through that door to rescue her. Freshly showered and wearing the new clothes he had bought earlier that day, he took her breath away.
“On the table, missy. But first you’ll need to shed some of those clothes.”
Kate shrugged out of her coat and purse, then pulled the sweatshirt over her head, leaving just the T-shirt. She tossed them aside, then braced her hands on the examination table and hoisted herself onto it. Thankfully, Raine had put his gun away, or at least it was no longer in sight. The doctor placed his stethoscope around his neck.
Kate took her first good look at the old man. He had on flannel pajamas and well-worn house slippers. She had to clamp down on her lower lip to prevent a smile at his bedtime attire.
“It is the middle of the night,” he offered, one shaggy gray eyebrow arched as if he’d just read her mind and taken good-hearted offense. “Besides—” he scrutinized her face, then angled her head to get a better look at her bruised temple “—you look a fright yourself.”
Kate smiled then, warming to the old man’s fatherly nature. “I’ve been through a lot lately.”
“This,” he said quietly as he touched the fading bruise on her temple, “doesn’t have anything to do with your companion, does it?”
Kate shook her head. Her gaze flitted to Raine, who didn’t seem to be paying any attention to their conversation. “I was in an automobile accident.”
He nodded. “I see. Are you in trouble?” he asked quietly, his gaze searching hers.
“No.” Kate hoped he couldn’t read the truth in her eyes.
“Are you afraid of him?” He inclined his head in Raine’s direction. This time Raine’s jaw tightened and he shot the doctor’s back an impatient look.
Kate moistened her wind-chapped lips. She summoned the small amount of strength she had left to keep her voice steady. “He saved my life.”
“Who prescribed the heart medication for you?”
Before Kate could answer, Raine broke in. “No questions, Doc. That was our agreement.” His tone left no room for bartering.
The doctor released a breath, then nodded. “Let’s see what we can find then,” he suggested. He settled the stethoscope into place, then warmed the contact piece in the palm of his hand before reaching beneath Kate’s T-shirt to press it to her chest.
Kate tried to smile kindly for the old doctor, but Raine’s words kept replaying in her ears. I need you to tell me if my friend here has a bum ticker.
“WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE, Doc?” Raine asked over his second cup of coffee.
Kate couldn’t finish her first cup. She’d managed to swallow the little blue pill, but nothing else wanted to go down. She didn’t want to hear any of this. This whole heart thing made her want to run away and hide her head in the sand. The feeling wasn’t new. Kate recognized the familiarity of the old pain, but the recognition gave her no comfort. This was something she didn’t want to know. Maybe that’s why she had forgotten it.
“Mitral valve prolapse is a fairly common heart disorder and isn’t usually much of a problem.” The doctor glanced meaningfully at Kate. “Some patients have more severe symptoms, which require medication and can affect daily living. Of course, I can’t be completely sure since there are other more precise tests required to give an accurate diagnosis. But I would hazard to guess that Kate falls into that category.”
Kate swallowed tightly. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. She wanted out of here. Away from this—she didn’t want to know. She knotted her hands in her lap and forced her body to stay put. She couldn’t just up and run out the door. Raine would only drag her back to fa
ce this ugly reality anyway. She stole a glance in his direction. He listened quietly while the doctor spoke, his face wiped clean of emotion.
“She is physically fit. There’s no reason to think she can’t live a normal life as long as she takes her medication and doesn’t overextend herself physically. It would be best, however, for a cardiologist to do a full evaluation.”
Something indiscernible flickered across Raine’s face, but he quickly banished it. “What’s the medication dosage?”
“Without more in-depth testing, I would suggest one tablet per day. And rest,” he added quickly. “She needs rest. From the look of her, I’d say that she is already seriously overextended physically, and possibly otherwise.” The doctor eyed Raine for a long moment before he spoke again. “I won’t ask why she doesn’t remember all this or where you got the Inderal.”
Raine met his gaze. “It would be better if you didn’t.”
“I’m going to assume that the bruise on her temple explains her lack of knowledge about her health history, and warn you again that she needs rest.” He held Raine’s gaze for a beat before continuing. “You’re welcome to stay here for the night,” he offered hesitantly, as if he knew the answer before he spoke.
“Thanks, but we have some ground to cover before morning.” Raine stood and reached for his wallet. “What do I owe you, Doc?”
Kate took her cue from Raine. She shot to her feet, anxious to do anything but sit and listen to more gory details about her physical limitations. A sickening sense of dread welled inside her, making her heart flutter. Anxiety pressed down on her like a load of bricks.
The doctor pushed to his feet and extended his hand, which Raine hesitantly accepted. “This one’s on me.” His cheeks flushed a bit. “I haven’t had this much excitement since Josh Miller shot his best friend in the foot for taking his girlfriend to the Fourth of July barn dance.”
A few minutes later, Kate exchanged goodbyes with the doctor and followed Raine into the darkness. She had a bad feeling that her heart condition played a strong role in her life. A negative role. A sob twisted deep in her throat. She didn’t want to have to take these stupid blue pills. She didn’t want some doctor to listen to her insides and hear unacceptable sounds. She wanted to be normal. To be a cop like her brother!
Kate jerked to a stop. She struggled to suck a breath into her seemingly too-tight chest. Her brother? She had a brother and he was a cop? The memory was there, on the tip of her consciousness but she couldn’t quite grasp it.
Raine turned back to her. “You okay?”
She felt as if she might explode at any moment. An overwhelming sense of doom settled over her, pushing away rational thought. She felt the urge to run, run as fast as she could. The need consumed all other thought.
“Kate?” This time he was right beside her. “We have to go.”
All but catatonic, Kate allowed Raine to guide her the rest of the way to the car. He had insisted on leaving the damn thing parked what felt like a mile from the house. So the old doc couldn’t see the make and model in case he decided to call the police later. Her savior, she mused. He didn’t miss a detail when it came to covering his tracks.
Kate opened the passenger-side door and plopped onto the bucket seat. She shoved her fingers through her hair and willed herself to calm, to think rationally. But it did no good. Raine worked his magic under the dash to start the engine.
The interior of the car suddenly seemed too confining for Kate to breathe. She had to get out. Now. Kate opened the door and bolted out. She sucked in breath after breath, but she just couldn’t get enough oxygen to her lungs. Her heart pounded harder and harder. Oh, God. She was going to die. In the dark, in the middle of nowhere. Realization slammed into her like a blow to her midsection.
Panic. She was having a panic attack. She used to have them all the time.
How did she know that? She didn’t want to know it! She didn’t want to feel any of this.
Kate paced back and forth, alternately hugging her arms around herself and threading her fingers through her hair. She wanted to run. Run fast. Run off all the extra adrenaline. Run until she collapsed in a pathetic heap.
Raine rounded the rear end of the car and moved toward her. “Kate.”
He came too close. She felt crowded. Kate backed away, but he kept coming. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Her hands were clammy. God, she needed to run. But she couldn’t. She had nowhere to go. She couldn’t escape this reality. It was hers. She was defective, less than acceptable.
“Kate, it’s okay,” he said in a soothing voice.
“It’s not okay!” she shouted, backing up another step. Kate closed her eyes and let the uncontrollable emotion have its way with her. “It’s definitely not okay,” she muttered. The open car door halted her backward movement. Frustrated and very near tears, she snapped her eyes open and banged her chest with her fist. “I don’t want to have this.” She surveyed her dark surroundings. “I don’t want to be here.” God, she needed more air. “And I don’t want to know anything else about my past.”
Raine braced one arm on top of the car and the other on the open door, then leaned in close, forcing her to look at him, to listen to him, crowding her with his nearness. “Kate, it’s not the end of the world.”
“How do you know what constitutes the beginning or the end of my world?” She glared at him, wishing with all her might that she could make him feel what she felt at this moment. He was perfect. What would he know about not measuring up? “Just go away and leave me alone!”
“Look,” he said more sternly. “We don’t have time for you to fall apart right now. We have to get the hell out of here. In case you’ve forgotten, we both almost met our maker tonight. Dillon and his men are out there right now trying to figure out which way we went. So if you’re through feeling sorry for yourself, I’d like to get on the road.”
Anger flared inside Kate, devouring her anxiety in one hot flash. “Don’t you preach to me about feeling sorry for myself, you—you bastard. You’re the one who got me into this mess. If anyone should be sorry it’s you!” Kate punctuated her statement by shoving against his chest. She needed some space. He was too close. Why wouldn’t he just leave her alone?
Even in the waning moonlight, Kate didn’t miss the irritation that flickered in Raine’s eyes. “Don’t think I haven’t been sorry since day one,” he said hotly. “But now that I’m stuck with you, I am trying to make the best of it.”
Kate crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin a notch. “Ha! You call dragging me around like a rag doll and almost getting me killed making the best of it?”
“I haven’t gotten you killed yet,” he pointed out. He leaned a tad closer, close enough that his breath fanned her face. Kate shivered. “I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, and I’ve kept my word.”
Kate trembled then, as much with awareness of the man towering over her as with delayed fear from the night’s events. “Why did you come for me?”
Raine frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Why didn’t you just take off? Why risk your life to save mine?” She had to know. The answer was suddenly the most important bit of knowledge in the universe. If she never knew anything else, she needed to know this. Why didn’t he just let her die? What good was she?
Confusion claimed his features briefly before he contained the outward display. “When I said I would keep you safe, I meant it. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Kate hugged her arms more tightly around herself as a softer emotion crowded out all others. “You don’t even know me, why would you die for me?”
“I’ve risked my life for a lot less in the past.” The truth of his words burned in his eyes like an eternal flame of tribute to a past he’d just as soon not discuss.
She had to touch him. Kate lifted her hand to his face, to caress his tense jaw. The warmth of his skin felt devastatingly erotic beneath her palm. “You confuse me, Raine. I can’t decide if you’r
e a good guy or a bad guy.”
He moistened his lips, placed his hand over hers, then kissed her palm. “I stopped wondering that myself a long time ago.”
Kate pushed her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. She held him close. Somehow, this man, this stranger, cared about her. He might be a murderer, and he might be the worst of the bad guys, but he cared about her. Right now that’s all that mattered. His lips felt firm and hot against her neck. She tilted her head and gave him full access to her throat. Heat and desire churned, warming her from the inside out. Kate tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his mouth to hers. She wanted to taste him, to feel his lips against hers.
She gasped at the shock of his hard body pressing into hers. Instinct took control. Instead of pushing him away, she melted into the kiss, allowing him to mold her fully to him. His tongue pushed into her mouth, caressing hers. She tightened her hold, needing him closer when he was already practically a part of her. She demanded more and he gave it. His kiss deepened. He delved beneath the bulky layers of clothing with one long-fingered hand and found her breast. Kate groaned with need and arched into the thick arousal already straining against the front of his jeans.
Raine squeezed and caressed her breast. Kate’s heart pounded frantically beneath his touch. Raine suddenly tensed, then broke the kiss, but kept her body trapped with his.
He slowly removed the hand that covered her breast and softly touched her cheek with his fingertips as he smiled, but the surface convention was strained. “We have to go.”
Before she could protest, he stepped away and waited for her to get back into the car. Kate took a deep breath to steady herself and climbed inside without looking back. If she’d had any doubts about what was happening between them, none existed now. This relationship was no longer one of captor and hostage. And he didn’t seem to mind at all that she wasn’t perfect. Of course, he probably didn’t have his mind on her heart, she admitted ruefully.
“Where are we going?” she asked when Raine had gotten behind the wheel and started down the long, rutted side road.