Forgotten Memories (SWAT: Top Cops Book 4) (9 page)

Shane was silent for a long moment. “Okay, that information does change things a bit. Let’s just say that Eric hired Creighton to find this so-called evidence. Evidence that he doesn’t want uncovered to be used against him in a lawsuit. He kidnaps you and when that doesn’t work, he searches your house and your stepfather’s, too. But he’s also basically killed four people. Which makes him a sociopath.”

Gabby swallowed hard. “Sociopath is a good way to describe him. But keep in mind, that’s just my opinion. And since I was his main target, my word isn’t exactly unbiased.”

“Your opinion is good enough for me,” Shane said, jaw muscles flexing. “Nate’s working on getting his vehicle information. Once we have that, we’ll put out an APB to bring him in as a person of interest.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Anything else I need to know?” Shane asked. “Is there other pertinent information you’re not telling me?”

Gabby inwardly winced and dropped her gaze. She didn’t really want to tell Shane about Damon’s attempted assault. But she didn’t want to lie to him, either.

Her pager went off, and she pounced on it like a lifeline. “Excuse me, I need to take this.”

She rose to her feet and hurried over to the house phone hanging on the lounge wall to return the call.

But this reprieve wouldn’t last long. Shane would be waiting when she was finished.

And she was very much afraid that the handsome detective would look at her differently, once he knew the truth.

NINE

S
hane watched Gabby as she spoke on the phone, mentally kicking himself for crossing the line and kissing her. For a moment her lips had clung to his, before she came to her senses and abruptly pulled away. Obviously he’d gone too far, despite her claim to the contrary.

He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to focus on the issue of keeping Gabby safe rather than ruminating on his blunder. After everything Gabby had told him about Eric Ambrose, he was forced to admit that the physician could be the guy they were after.

Especially if he really was a sociopath.

Still, Shane couldn’t get the image of those three dead men in the clearing out of his mind. The way they had been shot execution-style reminded him of an organized-crime hit. But what if that’s what Ambrose wanted them to think? What if that was his way of throwing suspicion off himself?

He couldn’t believe Gabby had kept notes related to the things the two residents had done to discredit her. He frowned, wondering just where those notes were. Must not have been at her house, since she hadn’t said anything about them.

His phone rang and when he saw Nate’s name, he quickly answered. “Hey, buddy, what’s up?”

“I can’t get anyone to confirm Gabby and her mother were in witness protection. Not that I really expected to. Those marshals are beyond secretive.”

“I know,” Shane concurred. “But still, the fact that Gabby’s mother had a different last name verifies Gabby’s claim. Anything else crop up?”

“I was able to pull some financial information on Richard Strawn. It’s pretty clear the guy had a big-time gambling problem. Lots of cash going out at very high levels. Some smaller amounts spent at casinos, too.”

“Really?” Shane straightened in his seat, wondering if his first theory had been right all along. “Any idea who he was in debt to?”

“Not yet, but from what I can see he’s in for at least fifty grand.”

Fifty grand? Far from chump change. Enough to kill for? Maybe.

“Interesting,” Shane murmured. “So maybe Creighton is a loan shark and was ticked that Richard didn’t pay up?”

“Could be,” Nate agreed. “I haven’t found any indication that he owes a casino money—those debts seem to be paid—so it seems logical that he used a loan shark for some private poker games or something along those lines. We can ask him about it once he recovers from his head injury.”

Shane winced. “Unfortunately not. Richard just passed away.”

“He’s...dead?” Nate asked in surprise. “What happened? I thought he wasn’t hurt that bad.”

“Yeah, that’s what we thought, too.” Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “The doctor isn’t sure what happened. The current theory is that he threw a blood clot. Gabby agreed to an autopsy, but so far there’s no indication of foul play.”

“Yet,”
Nate muttered.

“Yeah, yet. Although it seems odd that Creighton would try to finish him off, since dead men can’t pay their debts. And there’s no sign he was worked over.”

“No, but it could be that killing Strawn was Creighton’s way of sending a message,” Nate said slowly.

A message? To Gabby? A chill snaked down his spine. “Do you think Creighton grabbed Gabby to force her to pay her stepfather’s debts? After all, she was paying his mortgage.”

“I hadn’t considered that possibility,” Nate answered. “But it makes sense.”

Shane watched as Gabby hung up the phone and wearily ran her fingers through her pretty red curls. How frustrating to have so many suspects and not enough information on any of them. “Any hits on Ambrose’s car?” he asked as she crossed back over to where he stood.

“No, it’s going to take time. And we don’t even know for sure he’s in the state of Wisconsin. He could be anywhere.”

Yeah. Like Chicago, where Ambrose’s sidekick was currently living. Hadn’t Gabby said the two residents worked together to set her up? “Check in with the Illinois state troopers,” he directed. “I think it’s a strong possibility Ambrose might be hanging out in the Chicago area.”

“Near his old buddy Joe Chasco? Yeah, you have a point. Sounds good.”

“Thanks Nate,” Shane said before disconnecting from the call and turning toward Gabby. “Everything all right?” he asked.

She nodded, looking dead on her feet. “Yes, for the most part. Our surgical patient is having some complications, but a change in antibiotic coverage should help.” She paused and then asked, “No news on Eric Ambrose?”

“No, but we’ll find him,” he said, infusing confidence in his tone. He didn’t like the shadow of fear that lingered in her eyes and had to resist the urge to give her a hug. “You look like you could use something to eat. Should we go back down to the cafeteria?”

“I’m not hungry and it’s getting late. I’d rather get some sleep.”

“Okay, that works,” Shane agreed. “We can head over to your call room.”

Gabby walked toward the stairwell, and Shane followed, having gone this route long enough with her now that he was familiar with the path she liked to take to get from one side of the hospital to the other.

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Aren’t you heading home soon?” she asked. “You’ve been here over twenty-four hours.”

“So have you.” He couldn’t deny wishing for a soft bed and a shower, but not at the expense of Gabby’s safety. “And no, I’m not heading home.”

“Shane.” The husky note in Gabby’s voice as she said his name made him catch his breath, wishing he had the right to hold her close. She stopped on the landing and turned to face him. “You can’t keep sleeping on the floor outside my call room. For one thing, it can’t be at all comfortable. And for another, I’m safe here inside the hospital. Safer than I’d be anywhere else.”

Shane wasn’t sure he agreed; he believed an anonymous hotel room might be better. But maybe she didn’t feel safe in a hotel room, even if he was staying right next door. And was that different than him staying in a call room next to her? Maybe not.

There was something to be said for being surrounded by people. And security guards, some of whom carried Tasers.

“I’m staying,” he repeated firmly. “If there’s a spare call room right next to yours, I’d consider that, but if not, the floor will do. I’ve slept in worse places.”

“I’m sure there’s an empty call room.” Gabby took the stairs the rest of the way down, and as they walked past the cafeteria, she slowed and then turned in to the doorway. “I guess I will pick up something to eat.”

Shane strode alongside her, glad she was taking care of herself. At least she seemed to have recovered from the shock of her stepfather’s unexpected demise. Maybe being a physician helped her keep things in perspective. She made herself a large salad from the salad bar before walking over to the cashier. When he pulled out his wallet to pay for her meal, Gabby looked as if she might argue, but then allowed him to pay without a protest.

He knew he was going a bit overboard with Gabby. As much as he told himself that he just wanted to protect her, and to keep her safe, he was forced to admit his feelings were much more complicated than that.

He admired her. And was beginning to care about her. Far too much.

Hadn’t he learned his lesson with Linda? He’d been totally devastated when he’d found out she was cheating on him. With a detective from their same district, no less.

He’d loved Linda more than she’d loved him. She’d only felt gratitude towards him, nothing more. No way was he going to make the same mistake again.

So despite how much he liked and respected her, Gabby was off-limits. For her sake, as much as his own.

* * *

Gabby walked to the suite of on-call rooms, wishing there was a way to convince Shane that he didn’t need to stay the night playing bodyguard.

But she knew she’d have more luck talking to a rock. She suspected
stubborn
was Shane Hawkins’s middle name.

She paused outside the call room where she’d left her duffel bag earlier that afternoon. The pain in her head was better, although there was still a lingering ache. Nothing she couldn’t handle. Still, it seemed as if days had passed since she’d been back here to get her meds, rather than mere hours.

“Is one of the rooms on either side of you open?” Shane asked from behind her.

“I’ll call Security to find out.” She punched the code into the keypad on the door handle.

“I really need to be right next door,” Shane insisted. “If that’s not possible, the floor will work fine.”

She ground her teeth together in frustration as she pushed the door open. “The floor is
not
fine. Just give me a minute, okay?” Leaving the door ajar, she crossed over to the small bedside table. She turned on the lamp and then picked up the phone.

Security answered and informed her that call rooms ten and eleven were open. The rooms on either side of hers were not. “Please take me out of room five and assign me to rooms ten and eleven, thanks.”

She expected the security guard to give her a hard time over needing two rooms, but he didn’t object. Had Shane already put the security team on notice about the potential danger? The thought didn’t sit well with her, but there wasn’t much she could do about it, either.

After hanging up the phone, she picked up her duffel bag and walked back out into the corridor where Shane waited. “We have rooms located at the end of this hall.”

“Okay,” Shane agreed.

“The doors all have keypad combination locks, and the codes are the full room number located up on the door frame punched in backward.” Gabby demonstrated outside room ten, which was listed on the upper-right door frame as 1010. She put the numbers in backward and the door clicked open. “Do you want this room or the one closest to the stairwell?”

“I’ll take the one near the stairwell,” Shane said, frowning at the push-button locks. “I’m not sure I like the fact that anyone here could easily find out the code to your room.”

Gabby suppressed a sigh. “Only people who work here, the ER staff and the doctors who use the call rooms. These rooms are exclusively reserved for attending physicians—the residents are located closer to the ICU. And we can request the codes to be changed if needed.”

“You don’t know how to do that yourself?”

“No, why would I? I’d have to call one of the maintenance guys to do that.” When she sensed he was about to ask her to go ahead and do just that, her temper flared. “Come on, Shane, this isn’t a high-risk area. The only way to get back here is through a back stairwell or through the ER itself. Neither place is easily accessible to the public. Can you honestly say that this is less safe than some random hotel?”

“I guess not,” he agreed with apparent reluctance. “But I’m not going to apologize for worrying about your safety. Less than twenty-four hours ago, you were kidnapped at gunpoint from right outside this hospital. I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

The somber note in Shane’s tone caused her brief flash of anger to fizzle. “I know,” she admitted softly. “Trust me, I’d prefer to be safe, too. And I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.” She gestured to the room he intended to stay in. “This is going above and beyond the call of duty.”

His crooked smile made her tummy do another backflip. “No, it’s not. I owe you for saving my life, remember? I doubt I’d be alive if it wasn’t for you.”

She blushed and shrugged. “You never mentioned who shot you and why.”

Shane’s expression clouded over. “I was working undercover on an illegal arms case. Unfortunately I eventually found out my boss was dirty. I’m lucky I was only shot and not killed outright.”

His boss?
“Lieutenant Vaughn?”

“No, my former boss, Lieutenant Nash, from the Milwaukee Police Department. I just recently joined the sheriff’s department because I didn’t trust anyone at my old district.”

“That must have been terrible,” she said with a frown.

“Not really. After all, going through all of that is how I met you.”

She felt her cheeks growing warm again, but resisted the urge to cover them with her hands. She couldn’t help but be impressed by how Shane was able to put a positive spin on everything he’d endured. And oddly enough, knowing he’d had to overcome adversity, just like she had, gave them something in common.

“Try to get some sleep, Gabby,” Shane said, interrupting her thoughts. “We’ll talk more in the morning.”

She nodded and turned away, feeling the intensity of Shane’s gaze on her back as she went into her newly assigned call room and quietly shut the door.

For a moment she stood there, aching for something she didn’t dare name. Why was she so attracted to him? Shane wasn’t like any of the men she worked with. And not just because he believed in God and prayer, although that was certainly a rarity in her experience.

He was different in the way he treated her, as if she was special. And not supersmart special, either. She wished so much that she hadn’t pulled away from his kiss.

Because she wanted a chance to repeat that kiss. And soon.

Stop it,
she told herself sternly. Didn’t she have bigger issues to worry about right now than thinking about what it might be like to be with Shane on a personal level? She had patients who needed her care and a funeral to plan for her stepfather. Not to mention trying to figure out who had tried to kidnap her and why.

Yeah, more than enough going on in her life at the moment. She pushed away from the door and quickly washed up before sitting on the bed to eat her salad. When she finished, she crawled into bed, despite the fact that it was barely nine o’clock at night.

It seemed as if she fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

All too soon, the nightmare that had plagued her as a child returned. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she knew it was just a dream, but she couldn’t seem to break loose.

Her father was working from home that day, sunshine streaming through his office windows. He hadn’t minded her being there as long as she was quiet and didn’t interrupt. Since she loved to read, that wasn’t a problem and she was reading one of her old favorites,
The Black Stallion
, when the doorbell rang. Her father stood up and walked across the study just as there was a loud banging noise as someone burst in through the front door.