Only Her (A K2 Team Novel)(52)

“I have an appointment this afternoon, and Maria Buchanan’s going to stay with you while I’m gone. I’ll stop by the store on the way back and pick up something for dinner.”

She scowled. “I can stay by myself for a while.”

“No, you can’t. You can’t be trusted. Have you forgotten already I caught you trying to sneak out? Besides, I understand you and Maria are friends. How’d that come about?”

“Maria’s cool. I met her when she brought in her cat, and we hit it off. If I have to be babysat, I’d choose her.”

“What am I? Chopped liver?”

“Oh, no! I didn’t mean . . .” She tilted her head and eyed him when he cracked a grin. “You were teasing me.”

“I was.” And wasn’t that interesting? He wasn’t the teasing sort, but Riley brought out a side of him he hadn’t known existed. He stacked the cards and set them on the coffee table.

“I’ve waited for you to feel better to talk about this. Have you given any thought to who might want to hurt you?”

“Maybe someone planned to mug me but something scared them off before they could grab my purse.”

“Would that be the same person who tried to run you over?” Why was she being so stubborn about accepting someone was targeting her?

“I lived most of my life in fear, Cody. I thought once I was on my own, I would be safe. If what you believe is true, then I need time to process it all because it means I’ll never really be safe.” Her eyes misted, and she turned her face away, hiding her tears. “It means there’ll always be monsters under the bed, and I don’t want that to be true.”

The woman was breaking his heart. “C’mere.” He wrapped his arms around her, where he wished he could always keep her, safe from the monsters.

“Just give it some thought, okay? See if any names pop into your head.” He heard a car pull up. “Maria’s here. Give me a kiss before I go.”

“Thought you’d never ask.”

Without hesitating, she slid onto his lap, facing him, and gave him a smile that made his heart feel like someone had clamped a pair of jumper cables on it. The charge that sped through him was like nothing he’d ever felt before.

She lowered her mouth to his, and he cradled her neck with his hand, careful not to touch the bump on her head. Her lips were warm and lush, and he swept his tongue into her mouth, loving the taste of her. All too soon, the doorbell rang, and he lingered for a few more seconds before pulling away and staring down at her. Her eyes were dark with desire, and the last thing he wanted to do was leave. He wished to God that he were in a better place in his life, because he was going to find a way to mess up whatever this was between them. That was a fact.



The head doc’s waiting room wasn’t typical of any doctor’s office that Cody had ever been in. The chairs were soft leather and comfortable, the assortment of magazines varied and some were even interesting, and jazz music played softy through ceiling speakers. The receptionist had offered him a choice of coffee, tea, or soda. He’d almost asked if she had any scotch, and he would have only been half kidding.

“Mr. Roberts.”

Cody jumped up, eyeing the front door, wondering how fast he could get out. Pretty damn fast if he wanted. Man up, dude. You’ve been through worse than this. He wasn’t so sure about that, but his job depended on doing this. He followed the woman who’d introduced herself as Norma when he’d checked in. She reminded him of the kind of grandmother you could tell all your troubles to, and then she’d feed you cookies and milk. Probably intentional on the doc’s part. Trick you into liking it here, then sneak up on you when you weren’t paying attention.

She led him to an office, and then backed out without a word, closing the door behind her. There was a damn couch against the wall. He so fucking didn’t want to be here.

“I’m Tom Bledsoe,” said a tall man maybe ten years older than Cody. He had black hair peppered with gray, and piercing blue eyes.

“Cody Roberts.” He shook the man’s hand.

“Have a seat.” The doctor returned to his desk. When Cody hesitated, he chuckled. “The chair is fine. We’re not at the couch stage yet.”

“Not sure I ever want to be.”

“Almost everyone says that. Do you prefer Mr. Roberts or Cody?” he asked after Cody was seated in front of the chrome and glass desk.

“Cody’s fine.”

“Good, because I prefer Tom.” He steepled his hands and fixed on Cody with those all-too-seeing eyes. “Tell me why you’re here.”