LITMIR.BIZ

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to her that this was the first time she’d seen him smile.

      “Probably not,” she admitted, hoping her fair skin didn’t betray her embarrassment. “I’ve learned to eat fast or skip meals.”

      “I understand—trust me, it’s the same thing for us. Seems that the minute we sit down to eat, we get called out for one thing or another.”

      She nodded, pushed her empty tray aside and leaned forward. “Okay, so tell me what happened last night,” she said in a hushed voice. “How do you know my house was broken into?”

      “I was there,” he said, his expression turning serious. “But I’d rather not talk here, it’s too crowded. Give me a few minutes to finish up and then we’ll head over to your place. I need to know what, if anything, is missing.”

      Patience wasn’t one of her strengths, but Gabby nodded and tried not to tap her fingers restlessly on the table while he finished eating. The thought of someone going through her personal things bothered her deeply.

      Had he stayed here at the hospital all night because of the break-in at her home? She was oddly touched that Shane had felt it necessary to sleep on the floor in front of her room. She couldn’t imagine what the staff had thought about that. He couldn’t have been very comfortable, and she hoped he wasn’t putting his job in jeopardy by spending so much time with her. After all, his boss, Lieutenant Vaughn, hadn’t seemed too happy with Shane last night.

      “Do you want anything else?” he asked, rising to his feet.

      “No, I’m fine, thanks.”

      He took her tray and stacked it on top of his before making his way over to the conveyor belt near the exit.

      “I’m parked in the structure,” he said as she led the way back to the ER.

      “Me, too,” she admitted. “I’ll meet you at my place.”

      “No, we’ll drive together,” Shane said, an underlying edge of steel lacing his tone. “You can’t stay there, Gabby.”

      She had to tamp down a flash of temper. Of course she knew that staying at her house wasn’t an option. “Thanks, I appreciate your advice.”

      “This isn’t advice, it’s nonnegotiable,” Shane said bluntly as he held the door open for her.

      She scowled but then ducked her head as they walked into the bright, blinding sunlight. She paused and blinked, giving her eyes a chance to adjust.

      Shane waited at her side, keeping pace as she began to walk. As they approached the parking structure, she remembered that her car keys, cell phone and driver’s license had been in the pocket of her lab coat, which was buried in the dirt and leaves somewhere in the middle of the woods. With a sigh, she acknowledged she couldn’t drive her car right now, even if she wanted to.

      “This way,” he said, lightly touching her arm to steer her to the right.

      The deputy-issue vehicle wasn’t exactly inconspicuous, and as they approached the car, she winced when one of her colleagues strode past them, acknowledging her with a brief yet curious nod.

      Personal news tended to ripple through the hospital grapevine at an alarming rate, and back when things had exploded between her and Damon, it seemed as if everyone had looked at her differently. In the years since, she’d tried to fade into the background, unwilling to jeopardize what she’d worked so hard to achieve. Healing patients was her calling. Her mission. Her life.

      Shane, with his dark brown hair, broad shoulders and strong jaw, was far too big, muscular and attractive for her peace of mind. The sooner she figured out what Creighton wanted, or who he was really after, the better.

      Because Deputy Shane Hawkins was a dangerous distraction she couldn’t afford.

      * * *

      Shane hoped that once Gabby saw the mess left behind in her home, she’d realize that she couldn’t stay there. He’d been forced to bite his tongue several times in the face of her stubbornness.

      Yet, oddly enough, he was glad her feistiness had returned. He’d enjoyed the way she’d curled up beside him in the back of Nate’s car, and carrying her into the hospital hadn’t exactly been a hardship. But he liked how she stood up for herself and imagined that she’d had to do that often in her role as a trauma surgeon.

      Shane pulled the passenger door open and waited as she slid into the seat. After shutting the door behind her, he rounded the car to climb in. Gabby didn’t say anything but twisted her hands in her lap as he backed up the vehicle and left the parking structure.

      Once they were out on the road, she broke the tense silence. “Tell me what happened.”

      He nodded, knowing she deserved the truth. “I went to your house after you fell asleep in the call room.”

      “How did you know my address?” she asked.

      “The nurse at the triage desk told me, which, by the way, isn’t good. I appreciate that I’m a cop so she no doubt felt I was trustworthy, but your coworkers shouldn’t be sharing your personal information with anyone else, and it’s better if you don’t confide in them, too.”

      “I didn’t,” she protested. “You must have talked to Stacy Mueller—she lives close by and I’ve seen her around the neighborhood.”

      “Yeah, Stacy.” Shane made a mental note to talk to the triage nurse again, to reinforce the need to keep Gabby’s information private. “Anyway, I went over to watch your place for a bit and saw a flicker of light inside. I made my way over to the neighbor’s house so I could keep an eye on your front and back doors. Sure enough, a tall guy dressed in black came out the front door. When I confronted him and identified myself as a cop, he took a shot at me and then ran off.”

      “He shot at you?” Gabby asked, her voice rising in alarm. She reached out and lightly grasped his arm. “Were you hit? Are you all right?”

      Once again, he was touched by her concern. He reminded himself that her worry over an injury wasn’t personal, she clearly took patient care very seriously. After all, she’d taken the risk of driving out to an isolated cabin to remove a bullet lodged in his shoulder. The IV antibiotics and fluids she’d given him had certainly saved his life. He wanted to believe the earnest determination in her eyes was only for him, but more likely the way she was with all her patients.

      He needed to remember that she was someone he was trying to protect. Getting emotionally involved would only backfire, in a big way.

      “I’m fine, but his shot was close enough that I hit the ground, which gave him the time he needed to get away. And since he had been wearing gloves, we don’t expect to get any fingerprints.”

      “I can’t believe this,” she moaned. “What is going on? Why is this happening?”

      He had the same questions, so he glanced over at her. “Are you sure you don’t know what this is all about?” he asked, trying to keep his tone nonthreatening. “You must have some idea what this guy wants from you.”

      “I don’t,” Gabby insisted, clearly exasperated. “Why would I put my career, or more important, my life, on the line? This is crazy, my only hobbies are reading mysteries and running, my career is too demanding for anything more.”

      Shane pulled into her driveway, letting the car idle as he turned in his seat to face her. “Gabby, listen, I can protect you if you tell me the truth,” he said in a gruff tone. “But if you lie to me and the truth comes out later, there won’t be anything I can do to help you.”

      Gabby lifted her wide green eyes to his and he could clearly see the anguish reflected there. “I promise you that I have no idea what’s going on.”

      Shane desperately wanted to believe her. “What about old boyfriends or maybe a former fiancé?” he pressed. “Surely you must have made some enemies over the past ten years.”

      Gabby

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