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Cross That Line

Page 31

by Barbara Freethy

"Bathroom cabinet."

She walked down the hall to the bedroom, noting the king-size bed that was actually made, which impressed her. The room was neat, too, no sign of clutter. The adjoining bathroom was just as well organized. She located the Tylenol in the cabinet and took it back to the kitchen. She handed it to him, then filled a glass of water from the filtered dispenser on the outside of the fridge and brought it over.

He took the tablets with a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"I hope that helps the pain." She sat back down on the stool next to him. "You need to take it easy for the rest of the day and night."

"I need to find out who hit me and where the hell Jack is," he corrected.

"How will you do that?"

"I'm going to look for security cameras around Jack's building."

"Can you do that from here?"

"No. I'll need to go to my office." He started to get up, then immediately sank back down. "Maybe after the medication has a chance to work."

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow, Tyler. You're in no condition to review video on your computer or on your phone. You need to rest for the next hour to make sure your symptoms don't progress."

"Rachel, I'm fine."

"Do you know how many times I've heard men, especially military men, tell me that? I'm going to be the judge of whether you're fine or not. Which means I'm going to watch over you for the next few hours."

"Don't you have anything better to do than to babysit me?"

She actually didn't, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone without having gotten a clear CT scan. Since you won't go to the hospital, this is what we're doing." She paused. "Should I call Detective Androtti? Maybe he can check video cameras."

"Let's just take a break."

"Why don't we go into the living room?" she suggested. "I'll get you something frozen to put on the back of your head."

"You're not going to leave, are you?"

"Nope." She got up from the stool and went to the freezer. "Let's see what we can use for a cold compress."

He left her to that, making his way to the living room. He sat on the couch, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. She grabbed a bag of frozen peas and brought it to the couch, putting it gently behind his head. Then she sat next to him.

"That feels good," he murmured.

"I'm glad. I'm sorry you got hurt, Tyler. That apartment building is definitely a danger zone for us."

"How's your wrist?"

She held up her hand as his gaze moved to her wrist. Her skin was slightly bruised, but there was no sign of anything more serious. "It's okay."

"You should go home, Rachel, forget about Jack, about everything. This is the second time you've almost been hurt. You need to be done."

She met his gaze, seeing the pain and weariness in his eyes. She didn't want to get into a fight with him, but she also knew she wasn't going to quit. "Let's not argue about my involvement now. Is the ice helping at all?"

"It's better. I'm going to be fine, Rachel."

"I know, but I'm still not going anywhere."

"Then let's talk about something else."

"You could tell me more about Iowa."

"Or you could tell me more about you," he suggested. "What do you like besides medicine?"