LITMIR.BIZ

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informed him. “You’re going with me.”

      Shocked, Andi watched as Gabe helped Dal to his feet. When he began guiding the man to his truck, she quickly fell in behind them.

      “Who did this to you?” she heard Gabe asked Dal.

      “Whitey. A guy on my crew. Had to fire him today. Can’t have a man on the payroll who thinks he can come and go whenever he pleases.”

      Andi stifled a groan. Gabe didn’t so much as glance her way, but she heard his “I told you so” as clearly as if he’d shouted it at the top of his lungs.

      Three

      Andi didn’t question Gabe’s decision to personally escort Dal to the hospital. And she didn’t question him when he gave his own mailing address to the nurse on duty and told her to send him Dal’s bill. But by the time they were back in his truck and headed for her house, the questions were burning holes in her tongue.

      “Taking a victim to the hospital isn’t part of the job,” she said, seeking a noncombative opening.

      “I know.”

      “So why did you do it?”

      He stopped at a stop sign, waited for a car to cross the intersection, then drove on. “You heard him. He couldn’t afford an ambulance ride.”

      “That’s not your fault, nor your responsibility.”

      “No,” he agreed. “But I wasn’t about to let him sit there and bleed to death while he waited for his brother. I doubt you would’ve, either.”

      “No,” she agreed, “but I sure as heck wouldn’t have offered to pay for his medical care.”

      “He’ll make good the debt.”

      She gave him a doubtful look. “Come on, Gabe. If he couldn’t afford to ride in an ambulance, do you really think he can come up with the money to pay a hospital bill?”

      “Dal might not have the cash on hand, but he’s an honest man and a damn good framer. I’ve been wanting to build a storage shed behind the cabin.” He lifted a shoulder. “He can work off the loan.”

      She stared, unable to associate this kind gesture with the Gabe Thunderhawk she knew. Or, rather, the Gabe Thunderhawk she thought she knew. His rep around the station was that of a tough cop, one who didn’t have to ask a perp twice for his cooperation. Most of them took one look at him and fell to the pavement, offering their wrists for the cuffs.

      “Do you have a boyfriend?”

      She blinked, startled by the unexpected question, then frowned. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. Why?”

      He glanced at the rearview mirror. “Someone’s following us. Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t your boyfriend, before I tried to lose him.”

      She whipped her head around to look out the rear window but couldn’t see anything but the glare of headlights from the car behind. “Are you sure he’s following us? He could be just headed in the same direction.”

      “He’s been on our tail ever since we left the hospital. Hold on,” he warned. “We’re going to see how badly he wants us.”

      She grabbed for the chicken bar as he spun the wheel to the right and took a corner on two wheels. When the truck leveled out to all four tires, he glanced at the rearview mirror again. “Must not want us too badly.”

      He sped up and took the next left, doubling back to the street they’d originally been traveling on. He stopped at the intersection and looked both ways. “Lost him. He must’ve realized we’d made him.” He turned right and raced down the street, but whoever had been tailing them had disappeared from sight.

      “Do you have any enemies?” he asked.

      She frowned, remembering the bent screen she’d discovered at her house earlier that evening. “None that I’m aware of.” She glanced his way. “But why assume he was after me? He could’ve been following you. We’re in your truck, after all.”

      “Maybe. Cops have more enemies than friends. Detectives even more. Has anyone you’ve put behind bars been released lately?”

      She searched her mind and could come up with only one name. “Dudley Harris was released three months ago.”

      “The wife beater?”

      She flattened her lips as she recalled the details of the case. “One and the same. Served six months of a two-year sentence. Got out on good behavior.”

      “Do you know where he lives?”

      “I know where he used to live. His wife sold their house and moved away not long after he went to prison.”

      “Smart lady.”

      “Not always. She let him use her for a punching bag for years before we finally persuaded her to press charges.” She shook her head sadly. “She was scared to death of him. Made excuses for him all the time. Claimed it was her fault he knocked her around.”

      “That’s not unusual in cases of abuse. Once the cops arrive, the wife usually changes her story and ends up taking the blame for what happened.”

      “Yeah,” she agreed bitterly. “Because she knows if she doesn’t, she’ll get a worse beating after the cops leave.”

      “Harris probably holds you responsible for him losing his wife and home. Could be he’s looking to even the score.” He pulled up in front of her house and shoved the gearshift into Park. “I’ll go inside and take a look around.”

      She reached for the door handle. “If you think I’m afraid to go into my own house alone, you’re wrong. Dudley Harris doesn’t scare me.”

      She climbed down, but when she rounded the front of the truck, she found Gabe waiting for her at the end of the sidewalk. “I don’t need your protection,” she informed him. “I can take care of myself.”

      He opened his hands. “Who said anything about protecting you? My mother would skin my hide if she knew I’d dumped a lady on the side of the street without properly seeing her to her door.”

      Scowling, she pushed past him. “Tell her you did. I’ll back up your story if she questions your honesty.”

      He fell into step behind her. “I’d never lie to my mother.”

      She shot him a frown over her shoulder.

      He lifted his hands. “Even if I tried, she’d see right through the lie. I swear, the woman is a living and breathing lie detector machine. Growing up, she knew I was fibbing before I ever spun the yarn.”

      In spite of her frustration with him, Andi had to bite back a smile as she dug in her shoulder bag for her key, imagining Gabe as a young boy. “I’ll bet you were a handful.”

      “No more so than my brothers.”

      She inserted the key in the lock, then glanced his way. “Brothers? As in plural?”

      “Yeah. Five, to be exact.”

      Her eyes opened wide. “Five?” At his nod, she released a long breath. “Wow. I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up with that many kids in one house.”

      “How many brothers and sisters do you have?”

      “None. I’m an only child.” She turned the key and pushed open the door. When he would have followed her in, she shifted to block his way. “You’ve seen me to my door. Your mother will be proud.”

      “Did I mention that she expected me to go inside and check all the windows and doors, and look under the bed?”

      She folded her arms across her chest. “Nice try, but if there are any bogeymen waiting for me, I’ll take care of them myself.”

      He

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