To her relief, she heard the sound of a siren and glanced up. It hadn’t occurred to her what she might have done had help not arrived. Fortunately, a patrol car braked to a stop and two deputies charged from the car. With effort, she climbed off the man and stood back as cops approached, guns drawn.
“Stay down,” a cop ordered the perp, as his partner patted him down and checked him for weapons. Kellie saw him pull something from the man’s jacket pocket, but couldn’t quite discern what it was.
“Miss Sanders?” a young cop called to her. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him, still feeling high on adrenaline. She pointed at the bad guy. “I found him breaking into my car.”
“And you … chased him?”
She nodded. “Yes, but I called for help too.”
“Uh, Miss, in the future, call us first.”
“Oh, okay. Got it. Call first and then chase.”
He shook his head ruefully, biting back a chuckle. “No, Miss. Call us and wait for us to handle the bad guy.” He looked down at her knees and winced. “You’ve injured yourself.”
She glanced down, noting the trails of blood dripping down both shins. She waved off the severity of the wounds. “Road rash,” she said dismissively. “No biggie.”
The man bit back a chuckle. “Just the same…”
Suddenly, another patrol car arrived on scene, pulling up and coming to a sharp stop. A door slammed and Miles charged out of the car, assessing the scene as the thief was cuffed and pulled to his feet.
“What happened?” he demanded, glancing from Kellie to the arresting deputy.
The young man explained what had transpired, having difficulty suppressing the smile on his face as he told him about seeing Kellie tackle the bad guy.
Miles swung his head around to Kellie, his eyes as wide as saucers. “You did what?”
She simply nodded her head. “Yes, I caught him. I knew if he managed to get across the street and duck into those trees, we’d never find him.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “We?” He stood stone still then, his expression stupefied. He seemed to have lost the power of speech.
“Miss Sanders needs to have those wounds tended to,” the younger deputy said, pointing to her knees. “She’s pretty scraped up.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him, feeling as if she’d just finished a good day’s work. “That was invigorating,” she declared, as if the reality was an epiphany. “I think I get why you guys do what you do.”
Suddenly, Miles shook his head as if to clear it, took an abrupt step forward, pulled his flashlight, and shined it on her legs. He gasped. “You are hurt!”
“It’s nothing,” she assured him with a dismissive wave.
“We need to get you cleaned up,” he said curtly.
“It can wait. I need to give a statement. I’ll meet you at the precinct.” She turned to walk back to the mall, but he took a hold of her arm.
“The statement can wait,” he said through gritted teeth, and turned to the deputy. “I’m taking her home. I’ll … check in with you later.”
The man nodded, noting his commander seemed angry. He rarely saw Miles upset. He gave a speculative glance, passing his eyes between him and Kellie. So the rumors he’d heard were true, he thought. His commander had feelings for this woman.
Kellie gave Miles a befuddled glance. “Taking me home? Why? And I can drive myself when the time comes.”
He didn’t respond, but simply propelled her to the passenger seat of his patrol car. She watched him with surprise as he urged her inside, closed the door, and strode purposefully around the front of the car. Wordlessly, he climbed in and turned the key. She felt the big V-8 engine surge to life.
As he drove away from the mall and toward her house, she reminded him that her car was still in the mall lot. “It’s been broken into once today. I’d really hate to leave it overnight.”
He turned toward her, opened his mouth, and then promptly clamped it shut. She noticed he white-knuckled the steering wheel.
“Is there something wrong, Miles?” she asked.
He fixed her with a brief gaze but turned away, focusing on the road instead. Within minutes, they were at the condo. He parked the car in her space and climbed out. She began to exit the car, surprised to discover her legs had stiffened up quite a bit. “I guess I’m not as young as I used to be,” she joked, as he took her arm.
Still, he remained silent as he escorted her to her door. There, she paused before inserting the key. “Well, thanks for the ride home. Will you call me when I can have my car? I presume you’re going to be checking it for damage.” Her eyes widened. “Will you let me know if anything seems to be missing?” She gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I mean, it’s not as if you know what was in my car—nothing of value,” she added hastily, with a flash of a grin, “but just the same, I hope he hasn’t damaged the lock or anything.”
He didn’t speak, but to her surprise, covered her hand with his own, turned the key to open the door, and pushed it open. He ushered her inside. “Medicine cabinet,” he commanded.
“Oh, in the second bath, but I’ve got it covered. Thanks again.” She turned to the door, to let him out, but he simply strode down the hallway to the bathroom, returning a moment later with disinfectant, antibiotic cream, and bandages.
“Sit,” he ordered, fixing her with a gaze.
“Really, I’ve got it,” she said. “I know you have to get back to the mall. You have a perp to interrogate. I wonder if this guy is part of your kiddie crime ring?” She frowned. “Well, he’s actually a bit old for that. Maybe he works alone,” she mused.
“Kellie, sit down.”
His tone of voice left no room for argument, and caused her to give him a perplexed glance as she sat down at the dinette table in her kitchen. He pulled several paper towels off the roll beside the sink, soaked them in water, and then began dabbing at her knees and shins. It turned out the wounds were a bit deeper than a superficial road rash.
She winced when he carefully extracted bits of broken asphalt from her right knee, and then sprayed the disinfectant medicine on both legs. Next, he applied the antibiotic ointment, and then used several adhesive bandages to cover up both wounds. “You’re going to need bigger bandages,” he told her, rising to his feet.
She waved off the advice. “It’s nothing. I heal fast. One time, my brother pushed me off the roof of the garage and…”
He winced and raised a silencing hand. “Oh, sure, hearing about you falling off a garage roof is going to make me feel much better.”
“The good news is that, like today, I lived,” she said with a cheerful shrug.
Chapter Thirteen
Miles crossed the room and sat down heavily on the couch. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes. He remained in that position for several moments, until Kellie cleared her throat and asked, “Uh, are you … all right?”
“I’m fine!” he declared crisply, snapping his head forward and fixing her with his gaze. “Yeah, I’m fine. And thank God, you’re fine too!”
“Well, of course, I’m fine,” she said confusedly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He abruptly rose from the couch and began pacing. Finally, he stopped and met her eyes again. “Why wouldn’t you be? I’ll tell you why! You just tackled a known felon, that’s why.” He shook his head. “You tackled someone. You just chased a real bad guy—a criminal, because….”
“Because I didn’t want him to get to the trees across the street,” she interjected. “I figured we’d never catch him then.”
“What is this ‘we’ business?” he demanded, staring at her as if she’d taken leave of her senses.
“I’m the mall director,” she told him, lifting her chin slightly. “I have a vested interest in catching the bad guys who prowl the lots. Do you disagree?”
He sighed and returned to the couch, dropping heavily onto the plump cushions. “I have a headache,” he declared.
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“I’ll get you something.” She dashed to the medicine cabinet and pulled out a couple aspirins. She filled a cup with water in the kitchen, and then crossed the open concept room and passed the tablets to him. He tossed back the pills and she shoved the water at him. “Drink it all.”
He complied and she reached for the empty cup. He shook his head. “I need to hold onto it.”
“Why?”
“I need to keep my hands busy.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve never taken a woman by the shoulders and shaken her, and I’m not about to start now.”
“Miles, what are you talking about?” she inquired, watching him with a frown. “Why would you want to shake me?”
“Now?” He gave a humorless laugh. “Or before? Now, because you just asked that question. How could you even ask me that question? Before, because you…” He enunciated carefully, as if speaking to someone who was slow on the uptake. “Because you tackled a man in the mall parking lot.”
She shrugged, still clearly perplexed.
“You … could … have … been … killed!” he cried, jumping from the couch and taking her by the shoulders. Rather than shake her, he startled her when he pulled her against him, holding her tight.
The action was so sudden—she certainly hadn’t anticipated it, but she found herself surrendering to his warmth. Suddenly, the adrenaline that had fueled her the last twenty minutes or so seemed to drain from her body, and she was left feeling shaky. With his strong arms around her, she realized with a start what he was trying to tell her. She had just rushed headlong into a dangerous situation and could have been badly hurt or even killed.
She pulled back, met his eyes, and gave a wan smile. “I think I get it now.”
He only nodded and pulled her close again. “I can’t stand to think about what might have happened,” he said softly, his breath against her ear. “What if…?”
He held her for another long moment or two, and giving her a final squeeze, stepped back and took her hand, leading her to the couch. He pulled her down beside him.
“I want your promise,” he said, snaring her gaze, “that you’ll never chase after anyone again.” Suddenly, his eyes widened. “You promised before!”
“What?” she said, perplexed.
“The day I met you, you promised…”
“What?” she said with a shrug.
“No more heroics!”
“But…”
“But what? Kellie, this is becoming a habit.”
“Oh, it is not,” she said with a huff. “Would you have preferred I let the bad guy get away?”
“Absolutely. I would have preferred exactly that. Next time, let … the … bad … guy… get away.”
“But … what if there are extenuating circumstances? I mean, how can I promise I’ll never chase anyone again? What if the situation warrants…?”
He shook his head, giving her a warning stare. “No.” Suddenly, he pressed his eyelids shut for several seconds, and then shook himself, before opening his eyes. “Promise me.”
She gave a loud, resigned sigh. “Okay, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Okay, I promise,” she said, feeling chastened. She gave a defeated shrug. “I’ll leave the police work to the police, er, deputies.”
“No more heroics,” he said, pinning her with a look.
“Okay, if you say so.”
***
“Rumor around the mall is Miles is sick with dread about you chasing that criminal,” Jill declared. “Kellie, how could you do something so reckless?”
She glanced up from her desk, her features set in a puzzled frown. “What?”
“Kellie Sanders, what were you thinking? You could have been hurt. Or worse, killed!”
She sighed. She’d heard this all before. From Miles. From Jill earlier. Apparently the folks who manned the mall’s rumor mill had filled Jill in on additional details during her lunch hour, and she was all fired up again.
“Look,” Kellie said, “I wasn’t thinking, okay? As I told you before, I saw the guy apparently breaking into my car and the adrenaline kicked in—probably fueled by anger—but I got him. As we speak, he’s lodged in the county jail, and from what I understand, he’s probably headed back to the big house for breaking his probation.”
Jill sat down in the chair across the desk from her and pinned her with a look. She shook her head. “When I think about what could have happened…”
“I won’t ever chase after anyone again,” she said mechanically, and then sighed ruefully. “Here’s hoping I never need to.” She frowned again. “Hey, you said before that Miles is—what did you say? Oh, I remember. You said he’s ‘sick with dread.’ How could you know this?”
“Everybody’s talking about what you did,” Jill declared. “I did some shopping during my lunch hour and Kendra over at the candy store told me that Miles has spent the morning moping over what might have happened to you.”
Kellie raised a hand. “Wait a minute! She couldn’t know that! Once again, it’s sheer speculation on the part of someone who works in this mall, and who thinks she understands the inner workings of the commander’s mind. She doesn’t know anything,” she said with a snort. “Besides, I heard Kendra has a crush on him.”
“Who doesn’t?” Jill clucked her tongue. “Besides, I talked to Meagan too,” she noted in a sing-song voice.
“Who’s Meagan?”
“Meagan is the receptionist who works at the precinct. She told me…”
“What?” Kellie said wearily.
“She told me he was testy as a hungry Grizzly Bear all morning. She said when she had to discuss something with him, he only growled in response. So unlike him,” she added.
“Maybe he has a lot on his mind,” Kellie said. “I mean, who doesn’t? With all this Santa’s Posse business, and Thanksgiving a couple days away, not to mention his workload and all the petty crime happening in the mall lots…” She gave a crisp nod of her head. “Of course the man is beginning to show signs of fatigue. Who isn’t?”
“I know I’m exhausted,” Jill admitted, and then her eye’s widened as if she’d just remembered something of importance. She dashed out of the office briefly, returning with a large envelope in her hand.
Kellie groaned. “Is that what I think it is?”
She nodded. “Dolores dropped it off after you’d gone to your meeting earlier. She says it’s ‘critical’ you read this.”
“I don’t have time to read it!”
“Don’t have time to read what?” a deep, male voice inquired from the doorway.
“Oh, hi, Miles,” the women said in unison.
He gave his typical friendly hello to both women, but turned to Jill. “Did you hear what this one did?” he said, aiming a finger at Kellie.
“Oh, I heard,” she said. “Don’t worry. I gave her a piece of my mind.”
“Can you believe she did that?” he inquired. “Did you see what she did to her knees?”
“She refuses to show me her injuries. She knows it’ll upset me, probably. What was she thinking?” she demanded, incredulous.
“Hey, over here!” Kellie said. “I’m in the room and you’re talking about me as if I wasn’t here.”
“I’m just glad you are here,” Miles said, and no one misunderstood his meaning.
“You’re making it sound much worse than it was,” she said in her defense. “I was only doing my civic duty…”
“Your civic duty!” he exclaimed. “So you’re a cop now!” He took a deep breath and took his voice down a notch. “It’s okay,” he said, seemingly to himself as much as her. “We’ve discussed this.” He turned to Jill. “She has promised never to run headlong into a dangerous situation again. She promised me she’ll call for law enforcement if she ever comes upon a situation like the one in the parking lot again.”
“Do you believe her? I don’t know if I’d believe here, if I were you.”
“Jill!”
Kellie cried. “Whose side are you on?”
“His,” she said without hesitation, pointing at Miles. “I’m not going to sleep tonight, thinking about you chasing after that bad guy.”
“Try not to think about it then,” she said dismally, and glanced at Miles. “Did you need something?”
“I have to leave the mall and head to the station downtown.”
“Okaaay?”
“I’ll be back later this afternoon. What time are you getting off work today?”
She shrugged. “Not sure. As always these days, it depends on the workload.”
“Don’t leave until I get back, okay?”
She gave him a puzzled glance. “Why?”
“Because I’m going to walk you to your car,” he told her.
“You are not!” She laughed. “As if you don’t have enough to do around here!”
He took a deep, steadying breath, as if counting to ten. He turned to Jill. “I think it would be a good idea for you and Kellie to arrange to park close by one another each morning. That way, you can walk in together, and then out together each evening—escorted by me, or another officer in this mall.”
Kellie harrumphed with impatience. “I don’t need an escort.”
Miles appeared to take another deep, steadying breath. He turned to Jill again. “We’re—law enforcement, that is— We’re encouraging all female employees of the mall to buddy up while in the lots. We’re putting out a memo today alerting women that Kellie had an encounter last evening and…”
“Oh, everybody already knows,” Jill interrupted. “She’s the talk of the mall.”
He nodded resignedly. “Anyway, we’re encouraging all female employees to notify either the precinct or mall security when they’re ready to leave for the day—or evening, as the case may be. Either a deputy or a mall security officer will escort them to their cars.”
Kellie emitted a sigh. “That’s fine, if someone wants an escort, but I really don’t…”
“Really don’t what?” Miles interjected, watching her with a challenging glint in his eyes.
She shrugged. “Forget it.”
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