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But she was back, for the time being. And that had just made his entire day.
* * *
Zoey had always beena bit creeped out by the old medical complex. She kept that thought to herself as Murdoch drove.
Him, again.
She’d had to brace herself before going into the office they’d once shared.
He was just asMurdochas he’d always been.
Murdoch pushed every button she had.
She was going to focus on what she was doing there—and not on the man beside her.
"It looks so sad." The Garrity Medical Clinic was barely large enough to be called a medical practice building at all. Zoey had driven patrols around the clinic that was located on the northern side of downtown Garrity, but she had never been inside. There had been no need. It had closed a good dozen years before she and Pen had ever moved to the county.
Her sisterPenhad been one of the last babies born there.
She’d thought they had both been born in Dallas. It had taken a hunt through their records to learn the truth. They’d both been born—right here.
Maybe.
Nothingthey had found yet had turned out to be real.
She didn’t even know if their last namewas genuine or not. Or their birthdays—or anything about where they had come from.
“It always has. And like everything else around here, it’s old, dated, and just…waiting.” Murdoch pulled in to the parking lot, avoiding the potholes in the asphalt.
She rode in the passenger seat of the same SUV thatsheonce drove around every single day. Only...it smelled like him now.
Wild and masculine and good.
Even when they’d been shouting practically in each other’s faces—she’d beenawareof him. She wasn’t stupid. She knew what physical attraction was. He’d doubted her capabilities from day one—that had made her build a wall, fast.She’dnot been happy about Garrity and his former region merging, but she’d been determined to make it work.
Murdoch hadn’t.
He'd had a bad attitude about it from the start. They’d snarled at each other almost hourly at first. Eventually, after about a year, they’d mellowed—a bit—but then, just a few months later, she’d nearly died in a targeted mass shooting at a theater after a choir concert. Zoey had nearly died from two bullets. She’d always have the scars.
Everythinghad changed then.
Including her desire to go back to Wichita Falls and work IA eventually. She and Pen had lived in Wichita Falls after Dallas. Before Garrity. She’d taken the extremely small Garrity position to keep her sister safe from the world when the teenager had needed it most.
One problem with Pen being so incredibly smart and ahead of her age-mates meant the crowd of friends Pen found had always been two or three years older than her sister. At twelve and thirteen and dealing with traumatic memories from foster care—her sister had been extra vulnerable. She’d been making some not-so-smart choices that had terrified Zoey.
Pen had just wanted someplace to reallybelong.
Zoey had just always been trying to get Pen someplacesafe.
It was better now. Pen had goodfriends who were just as smart as she was. Driven, responsible, loving, and loyal. Future-focused.
Thank God Pen was going to be oknow.
Even if sometimes Zoey wasn’t sureshewas.
The theater shooting had changed Zoey. She’d had direction before. Now, she wasn’t sure if she had any direction at all.
"I heard someone mentioned Carrington buying it and starting up an urgent care center. It would probably come in handy out here." Murdoch parked, then turned to her. It wasn’t fair that the ass looked…that pretty. So many women turned stupid when he looked at them with those eyes somewhere between blue and green. Well, nother. "And it's just sitting here. Useless. You might put in a good word with him. Rumor has it he finds you fascinating. Or is it that son of his that thinks you are a goddess amongst goddesses? Saw your picture in theSnotty Garlicrecently. WithJordan Dearest. I’m starting a Zoey scrapbook of my favorite clippings.”
