Liam approached the officer, speaking with Addy.
“Do you know the last name of this person, Paul?” Officer Clemmons asked.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. She crossed her arms and hissed, reminding him of her arm.
Liam held it up to the light, examining it. She bit her lower lip as he turned her limb to see the other side.
“I’m fine, Liam,” she assured him. “I’ll clean it up once I finish talking with the officer.”
“How much longer will you be?” he asked Officer Clemmons.
“Only a few more questions. When did you realize he was inside the house?”
“Liam dropped me off, and I closed my garage door. When I walked through the living room to retrieve Zeus from the bedroom, I noticed the lamp. I went upstairs and thought it weird he locked himself in Sam’s room. He usually only does it with my bedroom door. When I went to let him out, Benny jumped out from my office and held a gun to my head,” she said, swallowing. “Then he ransacked my kitchen and he returned with the knife to slash my pillows and cushions.”
“Did he harm you during this time?” he asked.
“He went into a frenzy when he didn’t find the drugs and stabbed the cushions beside me, and I got in the way.”
“Here’s my card. I think this is all we need for now. I’ll head to the hospital and get this sorted out. I’m sorry this happened to you, Ms. Parker. My guess is, this man got turned around and ended up here by mistake. Don’t let it give you a bad impression of our little town. It’s nice having Leo and his team here. You men did a great job,” he said, facing Liam.
“Thanks. May I take her to the hospital now?” he asked, urging the police officer to finish.
“Yes, I can request a report of your injuries later,” Officer Clemmons replied, tipping his hat.
“Let’s take Leo’s SUV,” Liam urged. “I don’t want to get blood in your brand new one.”
She nodded and accepted his arm around her back as he led her to a vehicle, which Cole left for him.
He turned on the heat when he saw her shiver. “Damn it, I didn’t think to grab a blanket.”
“It’s all right. We’re almost up the mountain,” she murmured. “Thank you for coming. I was scared if I dialed 911, he might lose it.”
“You did the right thing, Addy.”
“The team works fast. I’ve never seen them in action,” she murmured, watching him.
“It’s my first time working with them as a team. Cole and I tend to work with the dogs because Apollo recently finished his training. We’re supposed to start working with them as a team this coming week across different scenarios. It’ll allow them to see the dogs in action.”
“Haven’t they seen them before when they deployed?” she asked curiously.
“Of course, but seeing them doesn’t allow the team to work with the animals. If we’re all on the same page, we can utilize their strengths to our advantage,” he explained as he parked in the ER lot and helped her from his vehicle.
The staff raced to care for Ragu and the police handcuffed the drug addict, Benny, to the bed. The man continued to shout, asking for his drugs.
Liam put his arm around her back, giving her some comfort when Kassie approached. “How are you, Addyson?”
“I’m fine, really,” she insisted. “It needs a little cleanup and a bandage.”
“Let me be the judge,” Kassie said, taking her into a room instead of the cubicle beside her intruder.
Addyson sat on the bed while Kassie cleaned the wound and inspected it.
“You’ll need a few stitches.”
Addy only nodded. Kassie sent a worried glance Liam’s way.
“When do you think Jake will let me see Zeus?” she asked as Kassie stitched her arm.
