Sweat drips down my brow and my tee is soaked. My brown BDUs are damp too. I need water, so I walk back to Sally for my water bottle. It was completely frozen when I left the apartment earlier. It's lukewarm now. I take a healthy swallow.I search for Mama Kane for an hour, but I can't find her. A homeless man I'm unfamiliar with tells me she's at Veterans hospital. Her goat went with animal control. I head to the hospital and receive bad news. Someone assaulted Mama Kane and she's in critical condition. A nurse tells me that no one has visited her and that I'm the first to ask how she's doing.It's so incredibly sad. As a cop, I was limited in what I could do. The homeless are considered a problem. It was my job to keep them in line. Don't get me wrong, I helped where I could. It's never enough, though.The nurse tells me that the cops want to know when she dies. This should make me angry, but I know it means the detectives have a suspect. If Mama Kane dies, the charges will change
Moon has pulled me so close that his face is inches from mine. "I locked it after I opened the door so it auto locks and I don't have a key," I say on a slow breath."I have a key. Christ, you smell so good," he murmurs and runs his nose across my cheek.I would tell him the same thing, but the information about him having my key stops me cold. "You made copies of my keys?" I knew he must have, I just didn't expect him to admit it.His hand glides down my body until he cups my ass. He ignores my question. "I just needed to see you for a moment and do this..."His lips crash down on mine. He isn't gentle. I forget about the keys. Hell, I forget that I'm outside in my short shorts. The kiss is hungry and wet, dominating and sexual. He tastes so damn good.He backs off and runs his tongue across my lips. "I've fantasized for the past two nights about you, like this." He deepens the kiss. His tongue slips around mine and I moan. He pulls me closer and presses his erection into my lowe
I don't recognize the voice right away."Mak, please."It's Penny Dandridge. "What's wrong, Penny?" I ask her softly. She sounds desperate and it helps clear my foggy thoughts."I need you to pick me up," she says between tears while gasping for breath.This isn't good, and I'm rethinking a cement foundation for her soon-to-be ex-husband. "Okay, have you called the police?""No police." Pure distress is clear in her answer. "Don't call them, please. I just need you to pick me up."Well, hell. I will most likely change my mind and call the police after I discover what condition she's in. "Are you safe?""Ye...yes. I'm safe. I'm in Heber. At the cabin in Heber. I need, just need a ride.""Okay," I get up and head to my desk. "Give me your address. It'll take about two hours to get there." I scribble the address."Thank you, Mak... I'm so sorry." She hangs up. Her voice sounded incredibly sad. I, on the other hand, am pissed off. If I had my hands on Harry Dandridge right now,
"Madison?" Moon asks groggily.Relief swamps me and I try not to cry. This does no good and tears of relief fall from my eyes. "I'm hurt," is all I can manage to say and even that's shaky."Shh," Moon whispers. His voice is my lifeline and I only cry harder. "Where are you?"Another round of trembling hits me. I suck air into my lungs and try to control myself enough to speak. "Between Payson and Heber..." My teeth continue to chatter and once again, I breathe. "I'm about a hundred yards down the side of the mountain.""Jesus." I hear movement and then my eyes jump left and right in case whoever did this has decided to come after me."How bad are you hurt?" he finally asks. The words are filled with concern, though I can hear the suppressed anger behind them.I concentrate on Moon's question and manage to speak coherently. "Bleeding. It's a head wound. I went over right after the second s-turn about fifteen minutes or so outside of Payson."His voice changes from concern to dead
I wait until I actually hear him. At the sound of his voice, my body goes lax. I need to stand, but I'm unable to send the message to my legs. "Moon," I groan. Flashlights are fanned out in four directions and they zero in on the sound of my croaky voice. Moon gets to me first and goes to his knees beside me. I wince when the flashlights blind me."Move the lights off her," Moon snaps. All but the one he's holding move away. He tips his down. Bad cop, I want to tell him. Always limit their vision. I'm not a cop, though, and Moon most definitely isn't either."Speak to me, baby." He pushes the hair from my face.I feel nauseated and I only manage to mumble this information. He must understand because he wraps his arm around my chest and keeps me from falling face first into vomit as my guts heave onto the ground beside me. He offers a soothing chorus of words until he calls me "baby" again. "Don't call me that," I say stupidly. It's the shame of him holding me while I toss my cooki
Moon steps back and a middle-aged man with compassionate brown eyes bends over me. I try to look around him to Moon. The man smiles and I forget about Moon. The doctor's hair is mostly gray and his smile is genuine."Miss Kinlock, I'm Dr. Santos. Please call me Carlo." He begins explaining what he needs to do. I'm only half following. The sound of his voice is putting me to sleep. He performs each part of his exam and repeats what and why he's doing what he's doing. He shines a light in my eyes and I close them. "I need you to look into the light, Miss Kinlock." His voice is soft and coaxing.I squint trying to do what he says. I want to please him. It's an odd sensation because I'm not fond of doctors. I put up with their curt bedside manner through multiple surgeries on my shoulder. I've had enough of doctors to last me a lifetime. He puts the light down and has me roll to my side facing away from him. He places his fingers on the base of my skull and manipulates the vertebrae down
Moon is sitting on the side of the bed where Dr. Santos was seated. His fingers slide across my cheek. The caress feels wonderful on the lower half of my face but the upper half is numb. "Before you answer, you aren't up for anything more than a bath. You're on heavy drugs, and I won't take advantage nor will I allow you to drown. I can stand over you and watch or you can sit in my lap and rest while your muscles get some much needed attention."Moon watching me in the bath naked seems worse than resting against his body. I'm too drugged and I'm too worn out to think beyond this. "You can be my floaty," I tell him and giggle. Drugs are such a wonderful invention.Even with my head swirling, I refuse to be carried. Moon protests and tries to lift me, but I bat his hands away. He gives in with a shake of his head. He's accustomed to getting his way, and I have a feeling he's not sure how to handle me. We slowly manage our way to the bathroom, which has a separate door for the toilet ar
Moon grabs my arms at the elbows and his eyes drill mine. "It's too late. You're already a part of it. You're injured and have had two concussions in less than a week. You need to heal and stay hidden until I know what's happening. Penny Dandridge is dead, Madison. The next body will not be yours."I lower my eyes so he can't see how angry I am. I'm sitting up, half twisted between his legs. I suddenly realize his erection is poking me. How could I miss it against my back? It's huge and partially sticking out of the water. I go from pissed off to turned on. I don't understand the sexual pull he has on me. It makes no sense.He notices where I'm looking and his lips tilt into a semi-grin. "Come here, baby." He pulls me against his chest so my breasts slide across his skin. "I told you you're in no condition. You're beautiful and some things can't be controlled."I shouldn't laugh. It's the drugs-must be. "I guess it would be worse if this didn't affect you," I say with a giggle."Im