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Chapter Five
Leigh tried to ignore the adrenaline crash that was coursing through every inch of her body. Especially her head. She’d known it would happen, but she didn’t have time to come down right now. She also didn’t have time to process that someone had just tried to murder Cullen and her. She had to focus on talking to Jamie.
Because he might be able to ID a killer.
First though, Cullen and she had to get to the hospital, and that wasn’t an easy task. As predicted, the roads were an icy mess and were giving even Cullen’s huge truck some trouble. She felt the tires shimmy more than a couple of times, but Leigh consoled herself with the reminder that the road conditions might prevent the driver of that SUV from trying to come after them again. Or going after Jamie.
Leigh had beefed up security as best she could by arranging to have the hospital’s lone security guard posted with Jamie. That wouldn’t necessarily stop someone from coming in with guns blazing, but so far this particular killer hadn’t used a gun. The bronze horse statue had been a weapon of opportunity. Maybe the SUV had, too, if the driver had stolen it. But if this guy got desperate to cover his tracks by eliminating Jamie, then there was no telling what he’d do. The security guard was armed, but she didn’t know how he’d react in an actual crisis. There weren’t many crisis tests at the Dark River Hospital.
There were other pieces of the investigation that she needed to put together, too. She had to get into Alexa’s house and her workplace to see if the woman had left any clues as to who’d killed her. That meant Leigh would likely need warrants since she would have to access emails, phone records and such.
“Thinking?” Cullen asked, his question jarring her from her thoughts. “Or trying not to think?”
She considered that a moment. “Both, I guess. I need to go over the details of the investigation, but I’d rather not relive the SUV crashing into us.” Leigh looked out the window, hoping that Cullen wouldn’t see her shudder when she got a flash image of that crash.
“First time anyone’s tried to kill you?” he asked.
“Yes.” Leigh glanced at him. “You?”
“Second. A guy in a bar once drew a gun on me. He pulled the trigger, too, but it jammed.”
He’d said it almost flippantly, as if it weren’t a big deal, but the muscle that tightened in his jaw told her that it had indeed been big. Of course, she doubted anyone could ever get accustomed to having someone try to kill them.
Leigh motioned to the back waist of his pants. “Is that why you always carry a gun, even to a party? At least I’m guessing you had it at the party. Or maybe you holstered it afterward?”
The tightened jaw muscle relaxed into a quick smile. Not one of humor, either. “Always trying to get details that might or might not apply to the case. You’re a cop to the bone, Leigh,” he remarked.
“So many people would argue with that,” she disagreed, and she wanted to kick herself for opening this particular can of worms.
“So many people would be wrong.” Cullen smiled when she tossed him a scowl, and this time there was some humor in it. “No, I’m not saying that to get on your good side so you won’t arrest me.” He paused. “And yes, I always carry a weapon. Or two.”
That last remark had a dangerous edge to it. Like the man himself. Leigh was attracted to that danger. To that edge. To the part of him that she thought might never fall into the “tame” category.
And that made her an idiot.
She needed an untamed, dangerous man about as much as she needed more criticism about her having the badge or living up to the lofty standards Jeb had set. Still, her body wasn’t giving her a break when it came to Cullen. Hopefully though, once the adrenaline crash was done, her head would stay steady, and she would remember that he could complicate her life in the worst kind of way. There were people who were looking for a chance to oust her as sheriff, and those people would use Cullen as ammunition to get rid of her.
Leigh checked the hospital parking lot when Cullen pulled into it. He did the same, and she knew they were both looking for that SUV. Or any signs they were about to be attacked again. But the parking lot was practically empty. She considered that to be a small blessing but continued to keep watch as he parked right by the ER doors.
Another small blessing was the police department was just up the street. Less than two blocks away. Three of her eight deputies were already tied up at the Triple R, but that left one, Kerry Yancy, on duty to man the police station and back up the security guard on Jamie. Still, Kerry could respond in just a couple of minutes if she needed help, and if things went from bad to worse, Leigh could call in the day-shift deputies. Most of them lived just a few miles from town.
Ducking their heads against the sleet and cold, Cullen and she hurried into the hospital, heading straight to the room where she saw the security guard. “Jamie’s in there,” the guard said.
Leigh knew him, of course. He was Harry Harbin, and when he’d been in his prime, he’d been one of her father’s deputies. That explained the cool look he aimed at Cullen. And the dismissive one he gave her. She made a mental note to have Vance schedule a reserve deputy to do security detail. Guarding Jamie was critical, and Leigh didn’t want any misplaced righteousness playing into this.
She knocked once on the door but didn’t wait for a response before she entered, and she immediately spotted Jamie in the bed. He was indeed conscious, with his gaze zooming straight to Cullen and her.
“Thank you for coming,” Jamie muttered, his voice hoarse and weak. He was hooked up to some machines and an IV.
Dr. Denton nodded a greeting to them. So did the nurse, Amber Murdock. Amber’s silent greeting, however, warmed up considerably when her attention shifted to Cullen. Leigh didn’t know if Amber had been one of Cullen’s bedmates or if Amber was just hoping to become one. Women in Dark River generally fell into one of those two categories.
Sadly, Leigh was both.
Well, a confirmed former lover, whose body wanted theformerlabel to switch tocurrent. She was going to do everything in her power to disappoint her body about that.
“Is it true?” Jamie asked right off. “Is Alexa really dead?”
Leigh glanced at the doctor and the nurse, and it only took her one look to figure out the news of Alexa’s death had come from Amber.
