Checkmate (18 page)

Raking her hands through her hair, she rushed into the bathroom and thrust her deodorant under the shirt, swiping it across her underarms for the barest amount of coverage to get her through the day. Perfect.

“I still don’t want to put you in any danger. Trust me,” Tieran murmured. “You don’t want to put your faith in the wrong person.”

“You saying I can’t trust you, woman?”

That earned Nikki a semblance of a smile, even though she knew exactly what Tieran was referring to. A certain cop who had turned on the pack and betrayed every one of them, ultimately landing Eli under arrest for a large list of felonies including murder. The whole thing still made Nikki see red and she hadn’t even been around then except as a friend.

“Eli is gonna be pissed,” Tieran said with a sniff.

“Yeah, well Eli should be here then, shouldn’t he? Tieran, look, if he’s mad, I’ll deal with him. Morales said I was safe, I have to believe that right now. I hardly think Eli or Caelan would want anything to happen to you or the baby. Now, if your water broke already, isn’t it like really close to time?” Nikki reached out and took hold of one of Tieran’s hands. “I don’t know nothin’ about birthin’ no babies, Tieran, and I really don’t want to.”

Tieran nodded. “Okay.”

“Besides, we’ll be at a hospital. What could possibly happen there?”

“You don’t really want me to answer that do you?” Tieran asked, coming to a stop as Nikki pulled her out the door.

“No.” She didn’t need to answer. Nikki remembered all too well what could happen. But they’d caught the guy, right? “And besides, no one will know I’m there today, will they?” She hoped. “I’ll put a hat on if that makes you feel any better.” She’d have to try and convince herself she had nothing to worry about.

Tieran’s gaze searched Nikki’s face and she held on to the stoic look, wanting to convince her they would be all right. After a brief pause, Tieran agreed and they were off.

“I’ll call Eli on the way and have them meet us there. Since they’re at the same place, they can come together,” Nikki said over her shoulder.

Chapter Fifteen

Eli snatched the phone from the console. Two more minutes and he’d be home. His chest was tight with anticipation, that’s all. Not something else. Certainly not a feeling of dread like the shit was about to hit the fan. Nikki was safe at home and the pack business had been handled smoothly. An issue over a boundary line had turned into a squabble that had taken both Caelan’s Prime abilities as well as Eli’s Second.

He could taste Nikki already. The feel of her firm, budded nipples on his tongue, the velvety softness of her skin, and he was hard as a rock beneath the button-fly of his jeans.

The caller ID window displayed “one message”. His eyebrows came together. How the fuck had he missed a phone call? When he’d been pumping gas? He was just about to flip the phone open to see who’d called when its shrill ring filled the car. The message was replaced with a number he recognized and the feeling of apprehension slammed into him full force.

There were only two reasons Morales would be calling and one of them sucked.

“Morales, what’s up?”

“We’ve found our leak.”

Make that both of them sucked. Eli sat up straighter from his slouched driving position. “And?”

“And he admitted to tipping off the press about Ms. Taylor being at the station. His ass is about to be fried, trust me.”

“You better hope you get to him before I do.”

“He’s already been gotten to, Mr. Graham. Caught red-handed. That’s not all.”

Eli’s heart slammed against his ribs, threatening to break them at the implied threat. “What the fuck’s going on?”

He heard Morales’ sigh. “This cop had a bit of a gambling problem. We discovered he’s done this sort of thing more than once to make a little money on the side. Apparently he’s been a go-to mole for a while. Somebody needs something covered up, he’s the man. Need some info, he’ll be there for you.”

“So?” Eli asked when Morales paused for a second too long. He wanted to strangle the detective for being obtuse.

“He was contacted Saturday, looking for information on Nicole Taylor.”

“Son of a bitch.” The car swerved wildly to the side. Eli fought to control it, taking the phone off his ear so he could steer with both hands. If that cop was a shifter, he was a dead one.

Eli heard Morales repeating his name as he pulled onto the shoulder and brought the car to a shuddering halt.

“You there?”

“I’m here.”
Seeing a red haze, but I’m here.

“He rolled on a lot of information he’d given out in exchange for a plea bargain for a lesser sentence. He says he feels guilty for getting Nicole’s picture on the news and figured with the timing of this guy’s request, it had to have something to do with the news report.”

“You think?” Eli yelled into the phone.

“You know, I’m not happy about this situation myself. It’s my witness he’s dipping in the grease.”

“I don’t give a shit about your witness, she’s my mate.”

There was a silent pause he could have cut with a knife and Eli realized his mistake.

“Mate?”

“Yes, mate,” Eli growled, “as in I love her and she’s stuck with me forever.” Hopefully his quick thinking would divert the detective’s attention.

“Ah. I see. I didn’t realize you two were that close.”

Damn. Eli blew out a silent breath and hung his head, wiping the sweat from his brow. Not in his entire life had he slipped about what he was until now.

“We are,” he said wearily. “I would give my life to save hers.”

“I see. Then keep her away from doctors.”

Eli jerked his head up. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“It wasn’t the boyfriend,” Morales said gravely.

Motherfucker. He knew he shouldn’t have left her alone this morning. He wanted to scream. He wanted to shift and tear something apart. “How do you know?”

“The reason he was out of town was because he was meeting with his parole officer in another state. He shouldn’t be anywhere near here but it seems as long as he showed up for his scheduled meetings, no one thought to check up on him.”

Morales continued, “We’ve learned some things through the profiler involved in the case.” Eli heard the shuffling of papers. “He thinks the killer does have some sort of medical background.”

Eli straightened in his seat. “Then he could still be an employee at the hospital.”

The detective audibly sucked in a breath. “That’s a hell of a leap, Mr. Graham.”

Eli shook his head. “How can you say that? He knew we were at that hospital.”

“So did the rest of the world,” Morales said dryly.

“He knew enough about her to find her there.”

“Probably wouldn’t have been hard.”

“And he knew when she was leaving. He fucking waited for her,” Eli insisted.

A sigh was his only reply.

“We didn’t tell anyone we were leaving and were, in fact, very careful in getting her out of there. So you tell me. How in the hell could he have been there waiting in that wing without having been there all along and watching us? If he worked there, he would have blended right in and not caused suspicion in anyone.”

“You’re right. I totally agree with your assessment, however, do you know how many medical employees work at that hospital? Do you know how many hospitals are in this area?”

Eli sat forward. “It’s your job to look into each and every one of them.”

“Don’t tell me how to do my job.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Eli snarled.

“Look, our profiler has tagged him as being in the medical field. This idiot contacted our leak on his cell phone. We’re in the process right now of triangulating the signal. When we find out where he called from, we’ll have a better idea of where to start looking. All I’m saying is keep Ms. Taylor close for a little while longer until we find this guy.”

“I won’t let her out of my sight.”
Again.
“Let me know when you get something.” Damn this would kill Nikki. This morning he had a strong suspicion she was ready for freedom. From her confines and her fear.

“I will,” Morales answered.

Eli slapped the flip closed. “Fuck,” he shouted and willed his heart into a normal rhythm. He was about to throw the phone into the passenger seat when he remembered there was a message he needed to check.

He opened it again and followed the commands to retrieve the message. According to the time stamp he’d missed the call almost thirty minutes ago. Tieran’s harried voice hit him like a sledgehammer between the eyes and made his heart pound.

“Tieran’s in labor. Had to take her to the hospital. We called Derek to meet us there. Tell you more later. Love you. Oh, and we’re fine. I’ll make sure to stay with Der at all times just for you. Bye.”

Eli’s gaze flitted between the phone and the road, disbelief making his blood run cold.

Surely she had not just said what he thought she said. Please God, tell him she wasn’t on her way to the hospital.

He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, his entire desolate future without Nikki-Raine passing in front of him. Bile rose and he forced it back. Spots swam in his vision. He’d never make it there in time.

* * *

He dropped his chin to his chest the minute he saw the bitch. She stood next to one of the curtained-off ER cubicles. His heart thumped and he nearly spilled the black sludge some of his co-workers referred to as coffee. Next to him, the first-year resident he’d been walking with droned on. He tuned the kid out.

Fuck her for being here and disrupting his inner sanctum, his world. Stupid, stupid female. Since the moment he’d seen her face on the TV he’d searched for her and gotten nothing. Not even his mole had been able to track her down. He cursed the day he’d missed his golden opportunity. The sun, the angle, the back windshield had all prevented him from severing her head from her neck with a well-placed, high-caliber bullet. He wouldn’t even think about the fact he’d missed her the first time either.

He curled his lip in disgust. Slicked over by the fucking cops. He still couldn’t believe it. They’d put one past him, big time, and here she stood, plain as day, her gaze traveling apprehensively over his ER.

Bitch.

His hand cramped around the ceramic mug, making him realize how tightly he gripped it. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself.

Nicole Taylor was nervous. With good reason. The last time she’d graced the halls of his hospital, she’d been shot. And then he’d shot at her again. Maybe what he needed was a day at the shooting range. His skills were a mite rusty, it seemed. Of course he’d never really practiced on a moving target.

Her hands twisted in front of her abdomen and she continued to search the area with wild eyes.

Had she seen him? Could she identify him somehow?

No. Not possible, and even if she thought she could, no one would ever convict a respected doctor. Plus, if she’d been able to identify him, he wouldn’t still be standing here.

An agonized scream split the usual hubbub of the ER. Nicole jumped and disappeared behind the curtain. Safe for the moment. He lifted his head and turned once again to the arrogant young resident.

He nodded in the direction where Nicole had been. “What’s going on in three?” he asked, and took a sip of the quickly cooling bitter shit in his cup. Forcing himself to swallow, he tried to act nonchalant. His throat burned with the acidic aftertaste, making him remember why he always stuck with soda.

“Hmm?”

Prick.

“Oh.” The dickwad newbie waved it off as inconsequential. “A woman in labor. We’re just waiting on L and D to come and get her.”

He wanted to take the kid by the throat and squeeze until his eyes bulged. “Fine,” he said instead. Nicole stepped back into the hall. “I’ve got to do a follow-up on a patient. You’re in charge until I return.” He backed away, making sure to keep one eye on Nicole.

“Dr. Emerson, there’s a call for you on line one.”

He whipped around at the petite voice behind him. One of the nurses. She smiled and batted her eyelashes.

“Take a message.” He turned on his heel and hurried off. Slipping into a mostly unused stairwell, he stood where he could look out the tiny window and clearly see the ER. Nicole’s back was to him now but every few seconds she glanced over her shoulder with a nervous twitch.

She scampered around the curtain once more right before a nurse he recognized from L and D arrived and followed her.

Stupid little cunt. What the hell was she doing here? His cock hardened. She was a cute thing. Be even cuter when he had his hands wrapped around her throat. The fabric of his green scrubs tented over his erection just like it had the other day and he reached down to stroke it. Coming down her throat while she struggled to breathe would stay with him for a long time. Now was not the fucking time though. He ripped his hand away from his weeping cock and slapped at the wall.

Minutes later, the trio of women exited the cubicle. A heavily pregnant woman gripped the wheelchair arms with tight fists. He smiled as she grimaced in pain and doubled over as much as her fat belly would allow.

“Hopefully it’s a fucking boy,” he sneered.

Nicole reached over and patted the woman’s shoulder and then they were gone from sight.

“I’ve got you cornered, sweetheart. My hospital, my ER.” He straightened the white lab coat and stethoscope around his neck before running his fingers through his hair.

He took a deep breath and stepped out of the stairwell to the familiar sounds of his space. Missy was the nurse on duty in triage and with a confident glide he strode into the small unit where patients were first monitored before being seen by a physician. Since she spread her legs for him whenever he wanted her to, he wasn’t worried that she’d question him about what he was about to do. He’d have to take care of her soon though. There were only so many times he could fuck her before the impulse drove him to draw blood from her exquisite little body.

“Missy,” he murmured, sliding his hand over her Snoopy and Woodstock covered ass.

“Dr. Emerson.” Even the purring of her voice couldn’t override the boner he sported over Nicole and the images of her in his mind.