Dangerous Curves Ahead: A Perfect Fit Novel (13 page)

“Mike,” Ellis said, her voice shaky.

His whole body went on alert. “What’s wrong, Ellis?”

“I-I. Can you come down here? I’ve been robbed.”

*   *   *

It only took Mike four minutes to get to St. Lucy Street. He didn’t remember the drive over or Lester’s complaints about their safety.

Ellis.
Her face flashed through his mind; her soft shaky voice stayed in his ears.

I’ve been robbed.

He never expected it to happen to her. Not on St. Lucy Street again. They still had no leads on the last robbery. Not a clue as to who the perp was. No pattern to follow. Mike didn’t think they would ever find the guy. But now they would.

He threw the car into park as soon as he saw the sign to Ellis’s store, ignoring Lester’s shouting that the car was parked diagonally.

“Ellis!” Mike ran up to the entrance of the store. Before he couldn’t enter Ellis came rushing out.

“Mike.”

She rushed into his arms and hung on to him for a moment before looking up at him. He wished she hadn’t. His stomach clenched, his throat tightened, and his eyes burned all at once. The left side of her face was battered. The skin beneath her eye was slashed, blood slowly seeping from it. Little scratches marked the rest of her face. She’d been through hell.

“Don’t look at me like that, Mike,” she said in a quiet voice. “You’re going to give me a complex.”

“Oh, honey,” he said as he softly cupped her face in his hands. “You look awful. What happened?”

“I got the sass slapped out of me and then I got robbed, but don’t worry, I took it like a champ.”

“Like a champ?” He gave her a soft smile, not wanting to upset her. He could tell she was in shock. Whoever did this to her really did a number on her face. It was already starting to bruise.

“Yup, like Tyson.” Her grip on him suddenly tightened, her fingers biting into his shoulders. “Mike?”

“Yes?”

“I feel a little woozy.”

“Okay, honey. Let’s find you a place to sit.”

Before he could move her she slumped in his arms, completely passing out.

*   *   *

Ellis opened her eyes nearly ten minutes later. Mike had never been more relieved.

“Elle, are you okay?” He brushed the hair off her pale, rapidly bruising face.

“Yeah.” She attempted to lift her head but quickly settled back into his arms. “Ouch. No. Why are you holding me? Did you drug me?”

“Not funny.” Mike frowned. Ellis was the only person who could be robbed, assaulted, and a pain in the ass. “Would you like me to let you go?”

“No.” She frowned and then winced. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”

“Okay then.” He brought her body closer. In the fifteen minutes since he arrived half of Durant PD had shown up, an ambulance had been called, and Belinda had showed up for her shift. It was absolute insanity outside. Once again a crowd had formed on St. Lucy Street. Another robbery, this one worse. The people of Durant were beginning to get afraid.

That’s why Mike took Ellis to her office, her curvy body sprawled against his as he sat on her sofa. When she collapsed his heart stopped beating. He had been scared, really scared, and stopped thinking rationally for a moment.

“What happened?” She blinked up at him. “How did I get here?”

“You were robbed. Don’t you remember?”

She shook her head as if trying to clear it, then nodded. “Yes, but how did I get here? Last thing I remember was talking to you.”

“You fainted, Ellis,” Mike responded softly.

“I did not! I’ve never fainted in my life.”

She had the nerve to be outraged by this. It made him smile. “You did today.”

“Really?” She looked into his eyes, searching for the truth.

“Why would I lie about that?”

“Bummer,” she sighed. “So much for taking it like a champ.”

Mike noticed his boss and Lester hovering just outside the door. It was all going to begin soon. The questions, the visit to the sketch artist, the evaluation by the paramedics, the crime scene investigation. It was a rough process for anyone to go through and since Ellis’s robbery had been violent, it was going to be even more involved. He wanted to spare her from it. He wanted to make it all go away before it began.

“Can you tell me what happened?” he whispered so that only Ellis could hear him. “You are going to have to tell your story a dozen times.”

“Oh Mikey, do you want to be my first?” She gave him half of her naughty grin, and his heart pounded.

“Yeah, this time I do.”

She told him what she remembered, giving him the most detailed description of a perp he had ever heard. He recalled the sketches he had found around her office the day he had tidied up. Some were of elaborate dresses, others were of people. She had an eye for detail, an ability to pick up on the smallest facet.

“I can draw him for you.” Her eyes filled with tears but she quickly blinked them back. She was unable to even allow herself the luxury of shedding a tear. “This is my fault, Mike. I should have kept my mouth shut and given him what he wanted. But there was no money in the register and I couldn’t believe I was getting robbed. We’re barely making it as it is; I couldn’t let him take away what I worked so hard to get.”

“Shh, honey.” He ran his fingers through her thick hair. “This was not your fault. I don’t want you blaming yourself.”

“I was going to hit him with the baton but he snatched it from me.” She took in a deep breath. “My mother gave it to me. I wish I could have hit him.”

“You were brave,” Mike assured her.

“I was stupid.”

“That too.”

He was glad she realized it. Mike stopped himself from shaking her for trying to defend her store. Didn’t she know that people died that way? How many store owners had he seen sprawled lifeless on the floor because they tried and failed to defend what was theirs? If that criminal had had a gun, if he had shot … Mike stopped himself from thinking. She was here, awake, alive, and only bruised.

“I look like a prizefighter, don’t I?”

“Yes, but a beautiful prizefighter. Much better than Ali.”

Her lips curled into a smile, causing her to wince once again. “Don’t make me laugh, dummy. My face hurts like hell.”

“I’m sorry.” He rested his hand on her uninjured cheek and pulled her face closer to his. He couldn’t help himself. He needed to kiss her. Just before his lips met hers two EMTs entered the room, followed by his boss, followed by Lester. That didn’t stop him. He knew what the consequences for kissing her would be but he didn’t care.

Chapter Nine

Life Is Like …

Life’s a bowl of cherries? I hate the saying. Pour some sugar on it, wrap it in crust, and serve it to me on a plate. Mmm, cherry pie … What was my point?

Ellis noted the line of people entering her office just before Mike kissed her. She thought it was going to stop him but instead he pressed his lips to hers and let them linger, making the kiss sweet and unhurried. When it was over he looked down at her with his dark blue eyes and gave her a soft reassuring smile.

“I have to talk to my boss. The paramedics are going to clean up your face.” He gestured toward a tall African American man in a gray suit. “That’s my partner, Lester. He’ll take good care of you. I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Okay,” Ellis said even though she didn’t want him to leave her. It was a foolish thought. He had a job to do.

She watched him nod at Lester then follow his boss.

“Hello, Ellis,” Lester said as the paramedics hurried toward her.

She absently returned the greeting as a funny feeling settled in her belly.

Lester was quiet for a moment, as if he was unsure how to behave around her. “Are you related to Walter Garret?”

“Yes,” she said wincing as the male paramedic poked at her face. “He’s my father.”

“He works with my son Cameron at the university.” Lester paused. “My son says he’s brilliant.”

“He is.” Ellis hissed as some kind of antibacterial solution touched her face.

“Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it?”

“Mike is getting in trouble, isn’t he?” She could tell something wasn’t right by the uneasy look on Lester’s face, by the awkward way he was treating her. If Lester was as seasoned as he looked he should be much more comfortable around robbery victims. It made her realize that she probably shouldn’t have called Mike. She didn’t know why she called him instead of 911 like she was supposed to. After her thief had left it was the only thing she could think to do. His name was the only one that came to mind.

“Uh.” Lester hesitated and Ellis had her answer. “Not too much. We’re probably off this case, though. The captain shouldn’t be too mad at him for coming to help his girlfriend.”

“But I’m not his—”

Lester gave her a pointed look. “It’s better for him if you are. Do you get my drift?”

She nodded. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“Nobody is blaming you for this. Don’t worry about him. Mike did what he had to do.”

*   *   *

Ellis needed stitches to close the cut on her cheek. The paramedics wanted to take her to the hospital but she balked. She balked again when the doctor at the clinic across the street took out a needle to sew up her face. Mike watched her go pale and then asked the doctor if they had any liquid stitches available. She would be really mad if she fainted twice in one day.

“It was only a four-inch curved needle, Elle. I thought you were tougher than that.”

“Bite me,” she grumped.

“Just tell me where.” Mike looked her up and down, feeling the need to tease her when what he really wanted to do was haul her into his arms and kiss her.

She frowned at him and then winced, making him feel bad for bothering her. Ellis had been a trouper through it all. She remained calm, answered all the questions thoroughly, and drew a very good sketch of the perpetrator. She was a model victim and now she had every right to be cranky.

“Don’t tease me. My face hurts.”

“You should have taken the pain meds.” He grabbed her hand as they left the clinic. “Come on, let’s get your prescription filled and go get something to eat.”

She pulled away. “I don’t take pain meds. They make me all fuzzy and I can’t go to lunch, I have to get back to my store. I have three dresses to finish and I need to start cleaning up.”

She was so damn determined. He admired that about her, but this time she would have to put herself before work. He wanted to flat-out tell her no but he could see she was ready to fight him and this time he wanted as little argument as possible.

“I’m sorry, Ellis. You can’t go back to your store yet. It’s still a crime scene.”

“But you’re a cop. You can let me back in there so I can get some of my things.”

“I can’t.” He wasn’t supposed to but he could. She needed the night off and if a couple of dresses hung in limbo, so be it.

She looked at him, her eyes searching his face. “Would you get in trouble if you did?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” He was ready for an argument but she didn’t give one. “No smart-ass remark?”

“I don’t have the energy.”

He grabbed her hand and this time she didn’t pull away. “You must really be hurting if you don’t have the energy to be a pain in my ass.”

“I am. You are going to find me an ice pack and buy me a big bag of chocolate.” She shut her eyes for a moment, and the urge to tuck her into bed nearly overwhelmed him. “Scratch that. I need something I don’t have to chew.”

“How about some ice cream?”

She opened her eyes. “With hot fudge?”

“Anything you want.”

Just as he was leading her to the nearest scoop shop Ellis’s cell phone rang. “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley played.

“Shit. It’s my mother.” Ellis pinched the bridge of her nose, looking more pained than he had seen her all day. “I’m never going to hear the end of this.”

“She’s probably just checking to see if you’re okay. Answer the phone.”

“I don’t wanna,” she pouted.

“Do it anyway.”

She relented and slowly pulled the phone out of her bag. “Hello, Mother.”

“Ellis, are you okay?” Mike clearly heard Phillipa’s loud voice pour from the phone. “I just heard about the robbery. And on the radio! Why didn’t you call me? The DJ said that the owner had been assaulted. What happened? How badly are you hurt? I’m on my way.”

Ellis looked at Mike helplessly. He took the phone. Dr. Greg could be a steamroller. “Dr. Greg? It’s Mike. You don’t have to worry. I’m here with Ellis.”

“You are? Thank God! She never tells me anything. How is she?”

“She’s fine,” he lied. Once Phillipa saw Ellis’s face she was going to have the proverbial cow.

“I’m coming down there.”

“Don’t!” he said. The store didn’t look much better: Besides the smashed display case, there were still cops around. “I’ll bring her to your house.”

*   *   *

Twenty minutes later Mike had pulled up to the house. It was a cute little bungalow, with flower boxes in front of the windows. It wasn’t what he expected from Dr. Gregory. When he took her class ten years ago he didn’t think of her as a real person with a family. He only saw this little woman with a bigger-than-life presence. But today, speaking to her on the phone, hearing the worry in her voice, he realized that before she was a professor and a feminist she was a mother.

“How do I look?” Ellis asked him. They had been parked for a few moments now, neither one of them in a hurry to get out of the car.

“I’d date you,” he said with a shrug. The truth was she looked battered but he didn’t want to tell her that. Before they left, Ellis tried to cover most of her bruising with makeup, but Mike refused to let her put any near her stitches. No amount of makeup would hide the state of her face. The only thing she managed to do was look like she’d tried to cover it up.

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” she mumbled.

She tried to arrange her hair in front of her face in vain. He already knew that her parents would see through it. They were parents, after all, and just hearing that their youngest child had been robbed was enough to keep them worried about her for a year.