Only Her (A K2 Team Novel) (4 page)

A lunch date set up for the next day with her friend, Riley dug into her yogurt and cheese. She’d just finished when there was banging at the door. She glanced at the clock to see there was another thirty minutes until the clinic opened again, but if a pet owner had an emergency, she couldn’t ignore whoever wanted in.

Someday, she would be able to afford security cameras, but until then, the only way to see who was on the other side was to open the door, which she did. Janie Forester, with a cat wrapped in a towel, and her young daughter, Kellie, at her side, rushed into the waiting room.

“Please, Max is dying,” Kellie said, tears falling down her cheeks.

Riley took the bundle from Janie’s arms. The poor cat was seizing and bleeding from the nose, both signs of poisoning. Riley’s heart fell at knowing the cat was too far gone to save, but she would try, dammit.

“Stay here,” she said, taking Max and running to her exam room. At the moment she set the cat down on the table, he took his last breath. “I’m so sorry, baby.” As tears fell down her cheeks, she stroked the still animal’s fur. “I swear I’ll find out who did this to you. I swear it.” She wet a cloth, and after tidying the cat as well as she could, she went to a storage closet and removed one of the small pine boxes. Little caskets.

When she had been fourteen, the foster family where she lived at the time had had a small terrier. The dog had been the only thing in the world she’d been sure actually loved her. When it got sick and had to be euthanized, the veterinarian had handed her the dead animal to take home and bury. Remembering how callously Cricket had been treated, she had bought a supply of the velvet-lined boxes for small animals shortly after opening her practice. She didn’t charge anything for them. It was her way of trying to ease the pain of losing a beloved pet. Someday, maybe she could afford some bigger ones for the larger animals.

Or maybe the owners were so grieved that it didn’t matter to them. She didn’t know, only knew this was the part of her practice that she hated to the depths of her soul. After putting the cat inside, she returned to the waiting room. The little girl was tucked up under her mother’s arm, and they both gave Riley hopeful looks when she entered the room.

Riley shook her head, and Kellie burst into tears. “I’m so sorry.” Such inadequate words. Taking a seat next to Janie, she said, “I know this is a sad time for you both, but I need to ask you some questions. Would you rather stop back by later?”

“Do you . . . do you know what happened to him?” Kellie asked.

“I think so.” Riley took the girl’s hand.

Kellie hiccupped. “Can-can I see h-him?”

Brooke and Michelle returned from lunch, and when they saw the obviously upset family, they quietly headed for the back. “Brooke,” Riley said to her assistant. “Kellie has the hiccups. Would you take her to the kitchen and get her a glass of water?” She turned to Janie. “Is that all right? I’d like to speak to you privately.”

“Of course.” After Kellie left, Janie brushed her fingers across her cheeks, wiping away her tears. “You said you knew what killed Max. He was perfectly fine this morning.”

Riley went to the counter, leaned over it, and snatched a few tissues, bringing them to Janie. “I think he was poisoned.”

“Oh my God! I can’t imagine what he could’ve gotten into.”

After a short debate with herself, she decided not to say that she suspected someone was poisoning pets. “That’s why I’d like permission to do an autopsy.” At Janie’s hesitation, Riley added, “At no charge. It’s professional curiosity on my part.”

“It might upset Kellie.”

“She doesn’t have to know. In fact, I think it would be better not to tell her what I suspect. Afterward, I’ll call you to come get him. I’ve found that it helps children if they can have some kind of ceremony, and for the first week or two, they like to put flowers on their pet’s grave.”

“Do you think an autopsy’s necessary? I hate to think of any more being done to him. He was such a good cat.”

“I really do. Was Max an outside cat?”

Janie shook her head. “No, but he escaped sometimes. Usually when Kellie left for school. He’d go looking for her, which he did early this morning. I left soon after her to run some errands and didn’t even notice he had gotten out. I feel so bad. If only I’d searched for him.”

“Cats are the best of escape artists. You can’t blame yourself. Did you notice anything unusual? Anyone in your neighborhood that you didn’t recognize?”

“No, nothing. After Kellie came home from school, she found Max in the bushes. I have no idea where he spent his day.”

Although she hadn’t expected Janie to be able to point a finger at the bastard killing pets, she’d hoped for a clue of some kind.

“Look, Mama, isn’t she cute?” Kellie skipped to her mother, holding the three-month-old black-and-white kitten that had been left in a box at the clinic’s door a few days before. “Can I have her? Please? Please? Please?”

“I’m sorry. She heard the kitten meow and wanted to see it,” Brooke said, following Kellie back to the waiting room.

After a few minutes of begging by her daughter, Janie gave in. “Has she had her shots?”

Riley assured her that the kitten had all the vaccinations needed at that point.

“I’m going to name her Princess. Can I show her to Max so he’ll know I’m not crying too much?” Kellie turned to Riley. “Max hates it when I cry.”

“If your mother says it’s okay. Just so you know, I need to keep Max with me for a day or two, then your mom’s going to come get him so you can—”

“Max has to have a funeral like Grandpa had.”

Riley smiled. Kids were so resilient. “I think Max would like that very much.”

After Kellie visited with Max, talking to him, telling him about her new kitten, Janie left with her daughter.

“This one makes five,” Brooke said, as she and Riley stared at poor Max.

“I know. Somehow I’m going to find out who’s doing this. I’m doing an autopsy after we close, see what kind of poison they’re using.” She’d wanted to perform one on the last animal, the little terrier, but the owner had refused.

“I’ll stay and help.”

Riley gave her assistant a tired smile. “Thanks. I’d appreciate it.”

CHAPTER FOUR

R
iley Austin was late coming home. Cody checked his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time. A last-minute operation to track down a runaway teenage couple had popped up that afternoon. Some high government dude’s daughter and her boyfriend had taken off when the man had forbidden her to see the boy. Although the boss hadn’t said so, Cody would bet that Kincaid had agreed to find her because once they did, the man would owe Kincaid. The boss was very good at collecting favors.

Where was his beautiful neighbor? He and Doc would be leaving the next day, and Cody needed to make arrangements to board his dogs. Some thirty minutes later, she arrived home, and he headed over.

“Stay,” he said, when his dogs reached the edge of the sidewalk. “Hey, long day?” he asked when he came up next to Riley on the lighted porch. The first thing he noticed when she glanced at him was that she looked tired. The second thing was the sadness in her eyes.

“Very,” she answered as she fumbled with her keys.

He took them from her. “You okay?”

“Sure.”

At the tears pooling in her eyes, he tsked. “Little liar. Wanna talk about it?” What was he doing? The last thing he needed or wanted was to take on someone else’s problems. He was already keeping an eye out for the car that had tried to run her over. That right there was beyond how involved he wanted to get with her. Now who was the liar? He’d like very much to be involved with her, just in a different way.

“Some . . . someone’s kil-killing my patients.”

The tears she’d been trying to blink away began to roll down her cheeks. As if his arms had stopped taking instructions from his brain, they slid around her even though he’d ordered them not to. And damn, did she ever feel good there.

“I-I stayed late to au-autopsy a little girl’s prec-precious p-pet.”

Well, hell. It was her trembling lips as she tried hard not to cry that gut punched him. He got her door open, then scooped her up. As he stepped inside, she pushed the door closed behind them.

“Cats,” she mumbled against his neck.

At first he wasn’t sure what she meant, but a chorus of meows had him glancing down to see three of the little beasties running toward them. The smallest one, a kitten, ran right up his leg, and Cody felt its claws digging in all the way up.

With Riley in his arms, a baby monster halfway up his body, and one adult cat winding around his legs, he shuffled his way to the sofa. The third feline, a sleek, shorthaired black cat, had jumped onto the back of the couch and was watching him through narrowed eyes. Considering the animal obstacles, he congratulated himself for being able to lower Riley down without falling on top of her. Although said obstacles would have made for the perfect excuse for losing his balance. Finding himself on top of her would work for him.

“You got any wine?” he asked. “I’ll pour you a glass.” The way she was hurting, it was either find something non-touching to do or pull her back into his arms and kiss her tears away.

“Hate wine. There’s beer in the fridge. Put a lime slice in it, then put it in the freezer.”

She reached up, pulled the black—still glaring at him—cat down, curling herself around it. The kitten and orange-stripped cat followed him into the kitchen. He found the beer and a baggie of lime slices to the tune of cat-kitten whining. He recognized that sound. It was the same begging his dogs gave him when they were hungry and he was late coming home. After opening a few cabinets he found the cans of cat food. The kitten had made its way to Cody’s shoulder and was sucking on his ear lobe.

“Damn cats,” he muttered. The benefit of having dogs was they’d still be sitting at his feet, not nibbling on him after leaving a trail of puncture holes on his skin. The tiny thing didn’t seem to be offended by his curse on them, just kept suckling. It tickled and a laugh escaped.

“You’re an idiot,” he said, pulling the little demon away and setting him down. At the sight of the three bowls of food he put on the floor, two of Riley’s creatures hurried over and busied themselves eating. The one she cuddled in her arms ignored him and the food.

Cody walked to the sofa and, ignoring the hiss from the sleek animal, carried him to the third bowl, which the wicked little monster had already moved to.

“Eat,” he said, setting the black cat down. He scooped up the kitten and took it with him to the living room. “We’ve come to keep you company.” He dropped the kitten into her arms. Riley buried her face in its fur, and hearing her quietly weep, he eyed the door with longing, but his feet refused to move.

Unable to leave her alone while she was hurting, he heaved a sigh. Although he knew half his body would hang over the side, he toed off his shoes, and then scooted up behind her, spooning her. She tensed for a few seconds before relaxing against him, and miracle of miracles, stopped crying.

As he held a woman he barely knew, her body curled against his while she clutched her kitten, he let the peacefulness of the moment take him away. She snuggled into him, and he sighed from the pleasure of having her in his arms.

Cody jerked awake to the feel of soft fingers caressing his cheek. It was so familiar that a fuzzy picture hovered at the edge of his mind, one from his past. As he stared—somewhat disoriented—at Riley’s face as she leaned over him, he tried to recapture the memory. It seemed important that he do so, but it slipped away.

“Hi,” Riley said, her voice soft as if they were lovers and she’d just awakened him on a normal morning day.

As he grew aware of his surroundings, heard the low hum of a refrigerator that wasn’t his, he pushed away and sat up. “What time is it?”

“One in the morning. I’m really sorry. I guess I fell asleep.”

He blinked his eyes, trying to clear the dewy haze in them. “Guess I did, too. Sorry. I only came over to ask if you could board my dogs for a few days. Got sidetracked, apparently.”

At her smile, his heart skipped a beat. He had to get away from her while he still could. She was damn sexy all mussed up. The long hair that reminded him of a German shepherd’s coat with all its colors was a tangled mess, putting him in mind of a woman just made love to. Too bad that wasn’t the reason, but better that he’d not gone that far. He would only hurt her in the end.

“Stay,” she whispered just before she kissed him.

If he’d been a better man, he would get up and leave. Cody Roberts was a bad man, though, and he cradled the back of her neck with his hand, angled his head, and took control of the kiss. Her mouth was hot and sweet, and when he slipped his tongue inside, and she gave a throaty little moan, he flipped their bodies so that she was under him.

He wanted her like he’d never wanted a woman before. But as they stared at each other, both breathless, he looked into those hazel eyes flecked with gold, and knew he couldn’t dump his shit on her. If he thought he could make love to her, then disappear from her life, nothing would stop him from taking her right then. But she lived across the street, so there could be no disappearing, and he had the uneasy feeling that if they did make love, he’d never be able to walk away.

She was a good person, a woman who cried over an animal she couldn’t save. To Cody, that made her a true hero, and she deserved a man with a mind that wasn’t on the brink of insanity. He had to have one more kiss, though. Had to memorize her taste and the warm softness of her lips touching his.

“Riley,” he said, covering her mouth with his. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing her pelvis against his raging erection. Christ. Before he lost the will to leave her, he levered up and onto his feet.

“Can I drop my dogs off at your clinic tomorrow?” he said as he backed away. Her eyes filled with hurt. He was a bastard, no doubt about it. With any other woman, he would have walked away right then. With Riley, he just couldn’t do it.

He forced himself not to look away from those wounded eyes. “If you’re wondering if I want you, you have no idea how much I do. I’m not in a good place right now, and I find myself not wanting to hurt you. That right there is new for me. Normally, I don’t much care.”

No answer. All three of the cats had snuggled up to her after he had left her side, and she turned her back to him, a clear message that she wanted him gone. Before he walked out, he couldn’t resist running his gaze over her one last time. She was beautiful and pure of heart. Maybe he’d taken a step toward forgiveness for his sins when he had refused to contaminate her with his black soul.

“Bring your dogs tomorrow. My receptionist will take care of you.”

He hated how broken she sounded, but he couldn’t help her. “Thank you,” he said to the back of her head. Weary of everything—his life, the nightmares, an uncertain future, disappointing a beautiful woman—he trudged home and went straight to the scotch bottle.

His music had never sounded so depressing before. There had always been sadness in the notes he played, but tonight, he was killing her. As she sat at her bedroom window a few hours after he left, listening to Cody play his guitar, Riley swiped at the tears running down her cheeks. She thought she’d cried herself out, but apparently not. Now with Cody’s mournful songs tugging at her heart, the tears were flowing again. He wasn’t a happy man, couldn’t be to play music that made her heart ache for him.

Maybe she should be embarrassed that she’d fallen apart in front of him, but she didn’t have the energy for it. When he had wrapped his big body around her, it had seemed as if he were shielding her from the ugliness going on in her world. The last time she had fallen asleep in a man’s arms had been in college, and she had forgotten how good that kind of intimacy felt.

She was, however, embarrassed that she’d practically attacked him, and even worse, had begged him to stay. But he had awakened that part of her that had lain dormant since she had broken up with her college boyfriend, and she was afraid it was going to be impossible to stuff that particular genie back into the bottle. Lifting the blinds, she peeked out. Even though he was sitting on his porch playing his guitar, it was too dark to see him.

It was late, and she moved to her bed, but left the window open so she could fall asleep listening to Cody play. After her earlier nap wrapped in his arms, she missed the cocoon of his body surrounding her. That was strange, since she hardly knew him.

The next morning, she blinked her eyes open and stretched. Arthur and Pelli pounced on her as soon as she moved, while Merlin sat at the end of the bed looking on with disdain, clearly not approving of their meows as they begged for breakfast. More refreshed than she’d been in days, Riley picked up Pelli and held him above her head.

“Morning, rotten.” He tried to squirm out of her hands. “Right. We want our breakfast, don’t we?” She made a quick detour to the bathroom, all three of her furry friends following her, then headed for the kitchen.

With a peek out the window, she saw Cody standing on his porch, a cup in his hand while he watched his dogs. Like the first time she’d seen him, he wore only a pair of sweat pants. The man must be immune to the early morning chill. If he would appear like that every morning, it would give her a fabulous kick-start to her days.