Love's Taming (The Love's Series) (12 page)

“I’ve been workin’ vice for several years, gettin’ more and more frustrated, ‘cause no matter how many dealers we would get, we couldn’t get the top. Two and a half years ago, a good friend’s woman was kidnapped and hurt by these fuckers. We got her out, but I saw what that did. Fuckin’ almost lost his woman and thought for sure we were gonna fuckin’ lose him too.”

Annie lay quiet, listening to his story, unable to look away. Unable to turn it off. Unable to shut it down.
Oh my God. He’s witnessed this and been hurt by it.
Softly she asked, “Was the woman all right?”

He looked down at her face that had gentled, seeing her brow wrinkle in concern. Placing his hand on her cheek, he smoothed his fingers over her brow, willing her to relax. “Yeah, baby. She was fine. Drugged and hurt, but she came out all right, with a good man by her side to make sure she would stay all right.

“I decided then that a big play needed to be made. I thought that goin’ undercover would work for me. So I volunteered.”

“Your eyes,” she whispered.

“Yeah. I been wearing dark contacts ‘cause my eyes give me away.”

“I didn’t like the dark eyes. They didn’t tell me anything when I looked at you.”

Shane smiled, relieved that Annie was talking, giving him a chance.

“So I went in. Two years, baby. No contact with family.” At this, her eyes widened, but he continued. “My family knew. They get it, ‘cause this job is who I am. But it sucked all the same. I thought maybe six months, but it fuckin’ kept draggin’ out. And livin’ in that world for two years was fuckin’ killin’ me.”

The room was quiet for a moment until Leon spoke. “So what about doc? Where did she fit into your world?”

Annie’s eyes shifted to Leon and Suzanne in the corner, having forgotten they were still there. Suzanne was no longer sniffling, but eyes wide, attentively listening.

Shane glanced to the corner also, taking in the two friends. Rubbing his hand over his face, he continued. “Been watchin’ them torture dogs to get the shit in and around the country. Finally got a tip that a vet in the area was helpin’ them. Didn’t know how. Findin’ easier ways for the dogs to ingest the drug packets. Started watchin’ some of the vets. I ended up with you,” he said as he leaned back over the bed, placing his fists on either side of her.

“Annie baby, you were the first ray of sunshine I had in almost two years. It wasn’t hard followin’ you, watchin’ you. I’d been buried deep in the belly of the beast. Forgot what clean livin’ looked like. Smelled like. Felt like. But you, you lived that clean every fuckin’ day. I had the urge to make contact just so I could have a little of that clean back. It didn’t take long to figure out you weren’t the vet we were lookin’ for. But baby, couldn’t give you up.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, peering into his sky blue eyes, looking for understanding.

“I kept followin’ you. Just to see you. Just to have that sunshine, even from a distance. Not too close. Not enough to get burned. But just enough to feel the warmth.”

The room was silent. No one spoke. No one moved. The only sounds came from the heart monitor that Annie could swear was beating faster.

“We were gettin’ close to havin’ the evidence we needed, when one of the fuckers decided to test some of us by havin’ us use our own personal dogs. I’d rescued one not long after takin’ this assignment. It fuckin’ killed me to have them get Sarge to swallow that shit, but I knew that would give us the evidence.”

Shaking his head at the memory, he continued, “So I let them do that, but only ‘cause I knew I could get him out and get him to you. I wasn’t testin’ you. I wasn’t settin’ you up. I already knew you were clean. Annie baby, I came to you ‘cause I knew you would save his life. Without thinkin’. Without askin’ for the moon. Without throwin’ a shitfit ‘cause it was late and I might not have money. I came to you ‘cause I knew you were the only one I wanted to trust with my dog.”

Shane finished by bending his elbows and leaning the rest of the way down, placing his lips gently on hers. It wasn’t a kiss of passion. But one of promise.

“I hate to interrupt this touchin’ scene, but I gotta witness I need to interview,” came a voice from the doorway.

Growling, Shane stood up, recognizing Matt’s voice. “You got shit timing friend.”

“Yeah well, add it to my list of other transgressions.” Matt’s eyes cut over to Leon and Suzanne. “You Leon?” Receiving a nod, he added, “I gotta interview you too, since you were at the crime scene.”

“Crime scene?” Suzanne asked in confusion.

“The clinic,” came the terse answer.

She slid back into Leon’s embrace unnerved to hear the clinic being called a crime scene.

Annie looked up at Detective Dixon, suddenly fearful of reliving the events of last night, while hearing the heart monitor speed up again. Shane caught that look and slid his hand down to hers, holding it tightly.

“It’s gonna be all right, baby. I’m right here,” he said.

Her eyes cut over to his expressive blue ones and she gave a quick nod. Linking her fingers with his, she turned her attention back to the detective.

“Okay, Detective Dixon. I’m ready,” she said, trying to not show that she was shaking.

Matt’s face gentled as he said, “Considerin’ you’re holdin’ my friend’s hand, how about you call me Matt?” Seeing a small smile cross her face, he continued his questions.

She answered everything, giving as detailed a description as she could. Occasionally she saw a glance between Matt and Shane, but didn’t know how to interpret it. Several times she heard her voice waver, met each time with a squeeze to her hand. Shane was willing his strength to her and she gladly accepted it.

“Det…I mean Matt. What happens now? I mean they know me. They know where I work. Where I live.”

Before Matt could answer, Shane swung back around planting himself firmly in her line of vision as he leaned over the bed again. “Baby, that shit does not touch you again.”

“But…”

“No fuckin’ buts. That shit does not touch you.”

Pulling her lips in, she wanted to know more, but Shane didn’t seem to be in a mood to share.

Matt spoke and she looked around Shane’s body so that she could see his face. Realizing that Shane was holding on by a thread he moved to the other side of her bed so that she could see him easier.

“Doc, with your statement and Leon’s, we are already picking those three up. The main man with you last night was higher up than we have gotten and we’ve been after him. I know it doesn’t feel good right now and it wasn’t planned, but you have just helped us close the loop tighter around the top of the chain.”

“But she’s still in danger,” Suzanne bit out from the corner. “You all don’t seem to get that she is now in the middle of this mess!”

Shane swung around, piercing her with his glare. “Suzanne, I get that you’re her friend and you care, but what you don’t get is that I’m sayin’ this shit doesn’t touch her again.” Seeing that Suzanne was about to argue, he cut her off. “I’m out now, back on the force as vice. We got police protection for the clinic and she will have it ‘round the clock. When she’s not with me, then she’s got someone on her.”

At that, Suzanne mouth dropped open, but not before Annie looked up sharply. “What do you mean I’ve got someone on me?”

Shane’s eyes penetrated hers as she heard Matt chuckle in the background. “Baby, you’re with me,” he explained. “I got outta this shit life by takin’ them down. Now I’m livin’ for me, not goin’ back under, and I’m doin’ it with the sunshine that I found. This shit wasn’t supposed to blow back on you. It did and they’re gonna pay for that and pay big. And until that happens, I’m callin’ in all my markers and you got protection when I’m not around and all of me when I am.”

Suddenly exhausted, Annie slid back into the pillows, all the fight gone out of her. Shane’s blue eyes warmed and he pushed her hair back away from her face. “You need to rest, baby, and I’m gonna be right here. You can rest easy, ‘cause I’m not leavin’.”

The nurse walked in, checking her vitals and giving her another dose of pain meds. Eyeing the group, she announced that she thought the patient needed more rest and less visitors, before marching out of the door.

Leon and Suzanne walked over to the side of the bed where Matt had been standing. Suzanne kissed her cheek and whispered, “Be safe, doc.”

Leon followed suit as he kissed her too, but whispered, “You’ve hooked a wild one, doc. But I think he’s all right. If you can hold on to his wild ride and tame him at the same time, you’re gonna find what you been looking for.”

At this, Annie closed her eyes, letting the pain meds place her back on her float on the water in the warm sun.

T
he next morning
Annie woke groggy, but as she turned the stitches in her side were a stark reminder of what had happened. She lay on her uninjured side, but felt something at her back. It was too hard to be pillows. As she twisted her head around to look, she saw a large arm come around carefully and pull her back into his embrace.
Shane?

“Mornin’, Annie baby,” came his sleepy voice. “Do you need some more pain medicine now before they discharge you?”

“Why are you in bed with me?” she asked, a blush firing across her face.

“You kept moving in your sleep and when you did, you would whimper in pain. If I lay here beside you, it would keep you from moving to your injured side.”

Annie warmed, not because of the blush, but because she liked his explanation. A lot. She still had not had time to process everything that he told her yesterday, but she understood his motives.

Dealing with the uncomfortable feeling of a full bladder, she tried to move herself to a sitting position, but found herself pinned down.

“Baby, you need to keep resting.”

“Um, I um…need…,” the blush came back as she tried to figure out how to get to the bathroom without telling him she needed to go to the bathroom.

Before she could decide how to get him to leave, she felt him leave the bed and walk around to her side of the bed. Leaning down he scooped her gently and set her feet on the floor, steadying her until he was sure she could stand, and then started walking with her toward the bathroom.

Looking up sharply, she asked, “How did you know what I needed?”

Smiling, Shane answered, “Baby, you’ve been hooked up to an IV since yesterday, and they took the catheter out last night, so it only figures you gotta go.” By the time he finished, they were at the door. “You need help?”

“No. But thanks,” she said softly as she let go of his arm, and hobbled into the bathroom.

A couple of minutes later, Shane knocked on the door. “Annie? The nurse is bringing in your discharge papers so I’ve got your clothes here for you. I’m gonna just set them inside,” he said as he barely opened the door and laid her clothes on the sink. Shutting the door quickly, he hovered in case she needed something.

After a moment, she cracked open the door and peered out. “Shane?”

“Right here, baby.”

“I…need…”

“Annie baby, let me in,” he said gently as he carefully pushed her back and slid into the bathroom. She was holding onto the sink for balance and had managed to get the hospital gown off, but was clutching it in front of her, blushing furiously once again. Bruises covered her arms.

Shane stepped up to her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. One hand cupped the back of her head as he pressed her into his chest. The other wrapped around her body, holding her protectively. They stood this way for a moment, Shane offering comfort. Annie taking it.

She finally pulled back slightly and looked up to say, “I can’t get my clothes on.”

He peered into her tear filled eyes. “I’ll take care of you, baby. In all ways. Promise.”

Sucking air in through her nose to still the threatening tears, she nodded. She stepped back, still clutching the hospital gown to her front. “I can’t twist my body to even get my bra on and I can’t bend to get my pants on.”

Nodding, Shane reached over and snagged her bra off the counter, then turned her so that her back was to him. He held the bra out in front of her as she dropped the gown to slide her arms in so that he could pull the back pieces and hook them in place. It was not lost on her that he did all of this while preserving her modesty at the same time.

Grateful, she glanced over her shoulder, seeing his blue eyes full of concern. “I’m okay. Really.”

Growling, he replied, “No, you’re fuckin’ not okay. You’re strong. You’ll survive. You’ll get through this. But baby, what you aren’t, is fuckin’ okay.”

Pulling her lips in as she saw anger in his intense look, she just nodded and said nothing.

Shane took her scrub bottoms and helped her slide them on as well. Holding up her scrub top, he just shook his head. The material was shredded and bloodied. Tossing it in the trash, he left the bathroom and shortly returned with a white t-shirt. Seeing her questioning gaze, he explained, “Had Matt bring over a change of shirts for me early this morning. It’ll be big, but you’ll be covered.”

Nodding her gratitude, she allowed him to slip it over her head and work her arms through it, being careful of the stitches in her side.

“Thank you Shane. I don’t know what I would have done…” her voice trailed off as her eyes slid to the side and her mind wandered.

Shane, not wanting to lose the connection, placed his large hand on her face, pulling it gently back to his. “Don’t be thanking me baby. I brought this shit to your door and I’m fuckin’ pissed at myself about that.” Shaking his head as he looked down toward his feet, “I was fuckin’ stupid to bring Sarge to you. I just…”

Annie reached up and mimicked his actions by cupping his strong jaw in her hand, pulling his face back up to hers. “I would have never wanted anything to have happened to Sarge. Or you.” At that, she saw Shane’s face gentle as he looked deeply into her eyes.

Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Let’s get you home, baby.”

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