Only Her (A K2 Team Novel)(43)

“You care, too,” she said, softly. As she had before, she wondered why she wasn’t attracted to him instead of Cody, who by his own admission was a hot mess.

He studied her for a moment. “I’m feeling kind of weird about this, but if I ask Brooke out, is that a problem? I mean since we’re just going to be friends. That is all we’re going to be, right?”

What she wanted to do was talk about the lab report and how the police planned to catch the bastard hurting animals. But this was a conversation they needed to have. “Yes.” She gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too. Is it because of the guy across the street from you?”

“How do you—”

“Because when I picked you up for our date, you kept looking over there, and when I brought you home, same thing. Like you were afraid he was watching, and you didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. I saw him standing on his porch when I came down your street to get you.”

“Wow, you’re good.”

He laughed. “I’m trained to observe. So no reason we can’t be friends?”

She really did like him. “No reason at all, and I think you and Brooke are perfect for each other.”

The grin spreading across his face was cute. “Thanks. Now, what does this say?”

She stayed silent as he read the report.

“Strychnine,” he muttered, looking up at her.

“Found in gopher bait. Mix it into raw meat, leave it where you know an animal will get to it, and walk away.”

“That’s going to be almost impossible to trace.”

She scrubbed her hands over her face. This whole business infuriated her. “I know. I did an Internet search. It’s as easy to buy as candy.”

“All we can do at this point is what we’re already doing. We’ve put the department on notice to keep an eye out, and we’ve beefed up patrols in this area. I wish there was more we could do.”

“Yeah, me, too.” They’d saved Rascal this morning, but would the next dog or cat be brought in fast enough to save? “Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s time to close. Go ask Brooke out before she leaves.”

Mike shot her a grin. “Yes, ma’am. I’m on it.”

After he left, she completed the notes on her last patient. Brooke came bouncing in, followed by Michelle.

“Oh my God. Stud Two asked me out.” Brooke grabbed Michelle’s hands, dancing them in a circle. “He’s so freaking hot. We’re going to dinner tonight. Tell Michelle she has to come home with me and help me decide what to wear.”

Riley watched them, smiling at Brooke’s excitement. “Michelle, go home with Brooke and help her.”

Brooke came to a sudden halt and turned to Riley. “Is that okay? I mean, he wouldn’t have asked me out if he was going out with you, too, would he?”

“No, Mike wouldn’t do that. Michelle, get her out of here before she explodes all over my desk from giddiness.”

Brooke grinned. “Thank you.”

“You bet. Enjoy your date.”

“Oh, I’m gonna. See you Monday.”

Riley spent a few more minutes organizing her office, then made the rounds before leaving. Denny wouldn’t come until later that night, so she made sure the one cat and three dogs being boarded had water. If Rascal hadn’t recovered enough to be sent home, she would have waited for Denny to arrive. But because she was seeing Cody, she was glad she could leave. She had just enough time to go home, take a shower, shave her legs, and dress.

With her purse over her shoulder and her phone in hand, she headed for her car. Her long sex drought was going to end tonight. The hottest bad boy on the planet was going to see to it. Her toes tingled just thinking about it.

She clicked her remote a few feet from her car, and at the sound of footsteps behind her, she started to turn, her heart sinking at the thought of someone rushing their sick pet to her. Before she could see who it was, pain exploded in the back of her skull, and her world faded to black.





CHAPTER TWELVE




The plate of assorted cheeses, paper-thin shaved ham, grapes, strawberries, and blackberries looked good if Cody did say so himself. He visualized feeding those berries to Riley with his fingers. Because he’d noticed that she liked her beer slushy, he had a bottle in the freezer. For dessert, he had the makings for ice cream sundaes. A fun meal, and one he wouldn’t have to spend time in the kitchen making.

His plan was for them to eat their dinner on the porch, then watch the sunset while he played for her. She seemed to like that, and other than for his teammates when they had been on deployment, he only played his guitar for his dogs. Until Riley.