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Mitch shrugged. “I’m not a doctor, but I’m a better option for a couple of stitches than having her travel to the nearest hospital with a scared kid.”
They patched up Rachel with Owen watching the whole process with interest. They might just have a future doctor or paramedic in the making. Rachel was happy to have Mitch stitch her up and Lia was impressed with the paramedic’s skill and manner once again.
Ginny and Nimii arrived and announced they were going to take Rachel and Owen home with them. Ginny smiled. “We’ve got a couple of spare rooms in our farmhouse. What do you say to staying with us for a few days while you rest up? We’ve got a couple of dogs and cats we could use some help with. You think you’re up for that, Owen?”
Owen was completely on board with the plan and it wasn’t long before the group was on their way. Once they were gone, Mitch stretched fresh paper on her exam table. “Sit.”
Mitch’s efficiency helped balance out Joe’s nerves that were bouncing around the room.
Does she need stitches?
Are you sure you cleaned them well enough?
Be careful. Don’t hurt her.
Are you sure she’s okay?
Mitch answered all of Joe’s questions as well as he’d handled Owen’s and soon she was cleaned and steri-strips covered her neck. Thankfully, nothing was deep enough to require stitches. Mitch had done a great job on Rachel’s torso, but he said he wasn’t ready to try anything that was on such a delicate area of her body.
When Mitch had cleaned everything up, he left them alone. Joe closed the door and moved to stand in front of her. She widened her legs and he stepped into the space and enveloped her with his warmth and strength. “How you feeling?”
She tried to laugh, but it was shaky. “I don’t know. I’m sure the nightmares and aches will come later, but right now, I’m coasting on love and adrenaline. How about you?”
He chuckled into her hair. “Sounds about right. How about we just hang on here for a minute before we have to go see Marcus?”
Hanging on to this man sounded right about perfect.
Chapter 19
Take The Law Into His Own Hands
Joe was completely worn down. The emotions of the day had wiped him out. He wasn’t sure he would ever get over the fear of seeing Lia being held at knifepoint.
It had taken hours to straighten up the mess. Both literally and figuratively. After Marcus had collected all the evidence and photographed the area, several people had cleaned up Rachel’s kitchen. They’d also covered up the window Isaac had broken to enter the home.
Marcus had taken statements from everyone involved and Joe had spoken to his boss and team back in Sacramento along with Shanice Williams, who was the closest lead FBI agent out in Bedford, New Hampshire.
He’d also spoken with the police chief in Ann Arbor and at least a dozen other people.
Lia had been strong while giving her statement. She might not be good at remembering faces, but she was a fantastic witness despite that. He wished he’d recorded the interaction between her and Isaac and then him, because he was pretty sure she’d recited it word for word.
She was incredible.
A bunch of people had heard about what happened and had shown up to finish unpacking her delivery. Of course, Lia had refused to leave Doc’s while others were working.
Now, they were all finally headed home and Joe could almost relax. Sure, the danger was gone, they’d caught the bad guy, but he hadn’t quite got that through his brain yet. He needed some time to let it sink in.
Lia was safe.
They were all safe.
Even Moose, who lumbered along beside them, alternating between sighing about the length of the walk and excitedly bounding into the trees to chase squirrels and chipmunks.
Lia’s hand snuck into his as they walked along the trail and he looked down to find her frowning up at him. “Are you okay?”
He nodded but she didn’t look convinced. He sighed and shrugged. “I think I’m crashing after everything over the last couple of weeks.”
She nodded and they walked along with the others in mostly silence. Everyone seemed contemplative but as Joe looked around, he realized each couple was hanging on to each other. They were probably all remembering not only the events of this day, but other days when their partner had been in danger.
