Read A Case of the Heart Online
Authors: Beth Shriver
Chapter Seven
“Come on Nuggets!” Alex’s exuberance for the game roused Liz from sleep. He sat next to her on the couch glued to the TV.
Liz opened one eye, trying to decide if it was worth the effort to open both. Alex turned her way and set a glass on the coffee table. “How do you feel?” He touched her cheek.
The heat from his touch seared her skin and she held a hand to her head. “Like I was in a bar room brawl.”
He chuckled lightly. “You were. Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving. But I need a shower first.”
Liz sat up slowly and headed straight to her bathroom. She shut the door and stood behind it glancing across the room.
The greenish-gray colored walls complimented the faint green in the tan tiles covering the floor. The brushed silver sink was built into an antique chest of drawers. A white shower curtain covered with tiny green and yellow daisies surrounded the freestanding oversized bathtub. She wanted to sink down into the huge, deep tub and soak in lilac scented bubbles, but Alex was in the next room, so she needed to be quick.
As she turned on the taps, the events of the last two days became fresh in her mind, and she realized she had no direction in her life. Not just in her job but whether she was ready for a relationship. She was so used to fighting it, was it possible she’d missed someone along her solo journey over the last year?
She stepped into the shower and let the warm water flow over her as her thoughts continued. She needed Christ’s guidance and strength with the challenges of her work and with Alex. Although he claimed he was just doing his job, she knew better. She also knew there was something happening between them, and it scared her more than Harris or Sanders ever would.
Feeling refreshed, she climbed out of the shower smelling like a flower garden. She put on some sweats and walked into the kitchen toward the smell of chicken soup swirling in the air.
****
Alex could smell her before he saw her, the fragrance fresh and clean. He looked her way and teased, “You must be as wrinkled as an old woman. I thought you drowned.”
But she looked beautiful. Her hair was pulled up into a clip with wisps falling down around her neck. Bright eyes shone from her freshly scrubbed face.
She gave him a weary smile and sat down at the old oak table. “I feel much better, just really hungry.”
He ladled soup out of a saucepan. “I’ll give you more noodles since you fought with bad guys.” He grinned as he handed her a ceramic bowl and set the other on the table examining her as he inspected her injuries. “I hope you don’t mind my making us something to eat.”
He brushed the hair from her face, feeling the silky length of it before it fell back against the other auburn strands. What a great excuse to do all the things he had always wanted to. But he felt guilty at the same time, like he was using her hardships to his advantage.
She eyed him with a half grin as he took two bowls of salad out of the fridge. He loved to make her smile, and she had a great laugh. She was too tired tonight to laugh, so he would settle for a smile.
“You didn’t have any crackers, so this will have to do.” He pulled out some bread from the refrigerator and laid it on the table.
“I’m surprised you found this,” she said, gesturing to the food on the table.
“Let’s go over this afternoon, one more time,” Alex suggested as they ate.
“Sanders really panicked. Thank God you came when you did.”
When she looked at him, he almost thought he saw her eyes mist.
“You did pretty well on your own.” Amusement filled Alex when he thought back to the moment. “He hadn’t gotten up off the floor yet when I got inside.”
There was the smile again, the one that sent his inside whirling.
“Do you think this has anything to do with Scotty Harris or Rich Pirelli?”
“Sanders claims he was a first-time customer of a frequent visitor that comes by the Harris place.”
“Pirelli.” She mused.
“We, I mean I, need do some more investigating. I’ll check with narcotics and make a visit to Carl’s.”
“What’s going to happen to Sanders?”
He could see her replaying the events again in her mind. Liz had close calls before but never had been physically hurt. If Sanders hadn’t been so drugged up, things might not have gone so far. But once again they had, and now Alex wished he had been there. “He’ll be out of commission for a while. Oh, and by the way, don’t do my job when you go on calls from now on.”
“I didn’t mean to. It just sort of happened.” She cringed.
She had the curiosity-of-the-cat-thing, and Alex knew it. He shook his head, glad to just be here with her. He only wished it were under different circumstances. “So this is a night out with Liz Adams.”
“Yeah, I’m a great date, huh?” She crinkled her nose and held her palm to her cheek, elbow on the table, and almost looked embarrassed.
He knew her evenings usually consisted of working long hours, just not to this extreme. “If you’re a guy who likes excitement, yes.”
He continued to do more for her the more she got into these predicaments, but he didn’t want her to feel badly that he had spent the evening taking care of her—especially when it gave him a valid excuse to be with her.
“I’ll make it up to you and take you out tomorrow night.” She scooped up a spoonful of soup and blew off the steam.
He knew it, she felt guilty. He leaned back. “I like it here. You have a nice place, makes me feel at home.”
Her smile broadened. The place was small, but she’d made it her own, and it had a warm and cozy feel to it.
“I’ve enjoyed fixing this old house,” she beamed.
“It fits you.” Feeling tranquil and relaxed, he put his hands behind his head and leaned back into a stretch.
“You’re quite the knight in shining armor, coming to my rescue, nursing me back to health. I’m impressed.” Her gaze searched his face for a response.
He smiled as he took their bowls back to the stove and ladled them both more soup. “It’s not hard to come to your rescue when you always need rescuing.” He placed their bowls on the table and refilled the glasses. “You make me look good though.”
Liz stirred her spoon around in her soup. “This isn’t cramping your style is it?”
He sat down and looked at her, wondering where he would be tonight if Sanders hadn’t gone off on her. Truth is, there wasn’t any place he’d rather be. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t even think to ask you if you’re dating anyone.” She looked away, still stirring.
His lifted his gaze to meet hers. “No. As a matter of fact I haven’t dated anyone for a while now.”
Liz dropped her spoon in the bowl with a clatter. “I’m surprised.”
“Why?” He drew his brows together as he watched her pick up the spoon.
“I just thought you were always involved with someone.” She looked straight at him in disbelief.
He lowered his head weighing his words and then returned his gaze to her. Her unblinking eyes meant business. He decided right then and there that he wasn’t going to hold back. This was finally his chance with her, and if he ended up making a fool of himself, so be it.
“I decided awhile ago that something was missing from my relationships. I haven’t figured out exactly what it is, but until I do, I haven’t had much interest.”
Liz stared, and opened her mouth but nothing came out for a couple of beats. “That’s interesting. I wonder what it is.”
He knew he had intrigued her and was quiet for a moment, studying her. He wasn’t sure he should say what he was thinking. “Maybe it’s not something, but someone.”
They held each other’s gaze until the roar of the basketball game flooded into the kitchen. Alex jumped up and then stopped himself. “Do you mind?” Like an idiot he’d lost the moment.
“Are you kidding?” She sidestepped him and beat him to the couch to see what the excitement was about. But she didn’t last long.
A bath and a full stomach only meant one thing...sleep.
Chapter Eight
Liz woke up on the couch with a very large headache. She took a couple of Tylenol and then made her way into the kitchen. She vaguely remembered Alex saying he was leaving, and feeling a light kiss on the cheek—or maybe that part was a dream.
No, she thought as she touched her cheek. That was real. Her heart fluttered at the thought.
Reaching for a mug, she saw a note attached to the coffeepot.
Coffee’s ready. Just flip the switch. Meet me at the station—10:00.
Liz turned on the coffee pot and opened the kitchen curtain to let the sunshine in. The icicles slowly shrank as drops of water collected and fell from their tips.
Why did Alex want her to come in again? Maybe they needed more information on Sanders, or he wanted her to go to Carl’s with him. She called the office to let them know she wouldn’t be in until that afternoon and took her time getting ready. During the drive to the station she checked the messages on her cell, one from Brenda and another from her parents. The last message made her go numb.
“Hide and Seek. I’m seeking what you’re hiding.”
The raspy voice from the other end of the line reached out, grabbed her around the throat and made her gasp. She checked the ID but no number was shown. It could have just been a prank, but what if they knew she was hiding Scotty?
She parked and sat in the car for a moment and replayed the message. She racked her brain trying to find any distinctions in what was said, any familiarities in the voice. Nothing. She knew a lot of jokesters who would fit this kind of mischief, and if it were something more she was sure she’d hear from him again.
She did her best to shake it off and walked through the double doors into the station, making her way to the huge bull pen that held cubicles and a large front desk for check-in. As she turned the corner to enter, Liz felt as if a hundred eyes scrutinized her.
“Well if it isn’t our newest recruit,” Lt. Charles Miller yelled out from behind the front desk. The florescent light reflected off his bald head and moved with him as he did. He raised his bushy, black eyebrows at her.
Liz stopped in front of him. “Hey, Charles, how are you?”
Charles grinned. “I’m just putting in my time. I only have a few more months.”
He’d been with the department for over twenty-five years and was considered everyone’s “dad.”
“You’re down to counting the months? That’s too close for my comfort. I’m going to miss you.”
“Oh, I’ll still come around. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” He leaned in closer to her. “So, I hear you’ve had a bit of excitement lately.”
Liz didn’t want to go into to it and politely skirted the issue. “I’m here to see Officer...”
“Demas?”
Liz snapped her head back in surprise.
Charles’s bald head turned a shade of pink, showing his embarrassment for being so presumptuous. He looked behind him and yelled to Alex. “Demas, Miss Adams is here to see you.”
He looked at Liz again. “You’re in good hands with Demas. And all the talk...” He waved a hand toward her. “Don’t listen to it.”
Liz gave Charles an awkward smile, then turned to see Jake walking toward her. He stood only a couple inches above her. Short and sweet was how she’d always thought of him.
“You okay?” he inquired, placing his hands on his hips.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
He nodded. “You and Alex have been on a lot of calls together with this drug ring developing.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, the poor guy.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s bothered with it. He knows what he’s doing.”
She narrowed her eyes, wondering where he was going with this. “What are you referring to, Jake?”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Nothing, just glad you two are working so well together.”
“Don’t give me a hard time, Jake, or I’ll request you next time,” she teased.
He shook his head with a grin. “Oh no, you finish the case with whoever you started it.”
“I’m starting to feel like I have the plague when I come in here.” She scanned the room.
He chuckled. “I guess you do in a way.”
She gave him a swift hit to the arm. “So what’s the latest news on Sanders?”
“He’s being charged with possession and assault.”
The news put her mind at ease. Whatever was going on between the Harrises, Pirelli and Sanders was being investigated, and it might be easier with Sanders out of the picture.
She saw Alex start to walk over and stop when he passed Charles. They conversed briefly and both glanced over at Liz and continued talking.
Jake turned to where she was looking. “He gets a little over-protective.”
“It’s sort of nice to have a dad around.” Liz put a fist to one hip.
Jake arched a brow. “I’m talking about Alex.”
Liz smiled her surprise. Between Charles and Alex she’d be well taken care of. It was a good thing Alex was always the one on her calls. The other cops were apparently glad they hadn’t been with her. After talking with Jake, she was starting to wonder if it was more than the close calls keeping them away.