"So much for you not being able to stay away from me," Jo muttered, and then added, "I don't know what took them so long. I expected them to come running the minute Gina ran outside screaming."
Nicholas glanced at her uncertainly. "Gina?"
Her eyebrows rose at his confusion, and she prompted, "Blond… half naked… no doubt screaming her head off?"
Nicholas shook his head. "There was nothing like that. I knew Ernie was in there because I saw him go in, and the only reason Bricker and Anders came running was because I made sure they saw me climb up onto the garage roof to get to your door."
Jo frowned. "I wonder where the hell Gina went then."
"If she was half naked, she probably went to one of the other apartments rather than outside," he suggested quietly. "Her first instinct would be to get somewhere safe and probably call the police."
"Probably," Jo agreed with a sigh. "It should have been my first suggestion to her too."
Nicholas merely grunted. The mortal police wouldn't have been of much use against Ernie. He would have been long gone, taking Jo with him before they could even get there. Still, he asked curiously, "Why didn't you call the police?"
Jo was silent for a minute and then rather than answer, said, "It was pretty impressive the way you jumped over the balcony rail to the truck like you did."
"I used to be a high-jump champ in high school," Nicholas lied blandly.
"And I suppose Ernie, Bricker, and Anders were as well?"
Nicholas grimaced but merely said, "I wouldn't know."
"Right," she drawled dryly. "And Ernie managed to get through both of my apartment doors with little enough effort. No one I know could have done that."
"It's an old building," Nicholas said with a shrug.
"Yes it is," she agreed, but then added, "However, those weren't old or flimsy doors. I made sure they were solid oak doors and had the locks put on myself when I moved in. Ernie shouldn't have been able to break through as he did, and he certainly shouldn't have been able to send the deck chair flying either. It was heavy as hell and you jammed it in good, yet it hardly slowed him down."
Nicholas's mouth tightened, but he didn't comment. He'd pulled into the veterinary clinic parking lot and now sandwiched the van in a spot marked "reserved" between two clinic vans, hoping it would be enough to hide their vehicle. Turning off the engine, he opened his door, saying, "Sit tight. I'll come around and get Charlie."
He caught the startled way Jo glanced around and the suspicion that immediately lit her face when she saw where they were.
"How did you know where the clinic was?" she asked the moment he opened her door, and he noted the way her grip tightened on her dog when he reached for Charlie.
Nicholas raised one eyebrow and pointed out, "You said it was on this road."
"Yes, but—"
"And the big sign on the front lawn that says Hillsdale Veterinary Clinic was a help," he interrupted dryly. "I presume this is the right one and there isn't another clinic further up the road?"
"No," she admitted on a sigh and relaxed.
Nicholas leaned in to scoop up the dog and this time she let him. He then waited just long enough for her to slip out of the van and close the door before heading toward the clinic entrance. He walked at a good clip, just enough to keep her jogging to keep up with him so that she didn't have the time or breath to ask further questions. When he reached the door, he shifted the dog to open it himself and stepped inside, only to pause at the sight of the packed waiting room.
The cacophony of barking dogs, mewling cats, squawking birds, and yipping people that rolled over them as they entered seemed to put some life back in Charlie. He barked with excitement, body twisting and legs kicking in a demand to be set down, but Nicholas ignored him, ground his teeth, and walked straight up to the counter, his eyes zeroing in on the older of the two women behind it. By the time Jo caught up with him, the woman's face was blank and she was moving around the counter to meet them.
"What did you tell her?" Jo asked in an amazed whisper as they followed the woman to an examination room.
Nicholas caught the guilty look she was casting to those waiting with their pets, but wasn't sorry he'd taken control of the woman to speed the process along. They had a rogue and two enforcers after them, and the longer they were here, the more chance there was they'd be trailed and caught. He'd done what he had to do. Rather than answer her question, he set Charlie on the examination table, and then said, "I need to make a phone call," before slipping out of the room.