Detective Partners (26 page)

"You two should get checked out by one of the medics. Please, excuse me." He turned and walked away.

Galen placed his hands on Nicole's arms and studied her. Her hair was disheveled, her
eyes held a haunted look, her face was
still pale and blood was slowly oozing from her lip. She was a mess. He took the handkerchief from her and gently dabbed at her lip. She winced. "I'm sorry. I know it hurts." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for handling you so roughly. Did I hurt you when I threw you to the ground?"

"When I was falling I threw out my hands to catch myself and I scraped my palms," she said. "Other than that I'm fine." She glanced at his bloody shirt. "You need to have your arm taken care of."

"It's a superficial wound," he told her. "The bullet just grazed me. I'll be fine."

"Please, honey," Nicole said hoarsely. "Let a medic take care of you. Do it for me."

"All right," he sighed. "Come with me. I want someone to clean the scrapes on your hands."

"I don't-"

"Do it for me," he repeated.

"Fine," Nicole mumbled.

Her hands cleaned and the scrapes bandaged, Nicole stood quietly by the door of the ambulance and watched as a medic wrapped a bandage around Galen's left bicep. Occasionally her eyes would stray to his naked and chiseled chest and a blush would stain her cheeks. There was no denying that he had a beautiful body and that she was extremely attracted to him.

Pulse racing, Nicole stepped away from the ambulance and trudged up the driveway. She paused near the car, picked up her purse and keys from the ground, and then headed toward the porch. Climbing the steps, she unlocked the door and let herself into the house. She deactivated the alarm and dropped her things on the small entry hall table. She turned on the porch light for Galen before leaving the room.

Nicole stepped into the living room, turning on the end table lamp via the switch on the wall. She crossed to the couch and sank down onto it. Propping her feet on the coffee table, she laid her head back against the cushion and closed her eyes. The silence engulfed her and was heavenly after the chaos she had just endured. Her mind wandered and just like that she was reliving the moment she heard the gunshot. She thought of Galen. If he had died her life would not have been worth living. The realization of what almost happened hit her like a ton of bricks. Her heart began to beat frantically and her body started to shake.

"Everybody's gone," Galen said, appearing in the doorway, a few minutes later. He joined her on the couch and laid his hand on her knee. "Honey, what's wrong?" he asked, feeling her tremble. "What is it?"

"H-hold me p-please," she croaked.

Galen gathered her close. "I think I know what's wrong," he whispered. "Everything's catching up with you. You're having a delayed reaction."

Nicole buried her face against his chest and willed the shaking to stop. She hated how easily her body betrayed her. "Y-you c-could've d-died."

"But I didn't." He stroked her back. "I'm fine."

She took several deep breaths and felt the knots in her stomach ease. "I'm sorry for falling apart on you. It's just that every person I've ever cared for has died. I don't want to lose you too." She raised her head and gazed at him. "I guess I'm going to have to start paying more attention to our surroundings. Next time someone shoots at you I'll tackle you to the ground and cover you."

His eyes sparkling with laughter, Galen said, "Sweetheart, I doubt you could knock me down much less act as a shield. You wouldn't cover much." He ran his hand through her hair. "Besides, I don't like the idea of you taking a bullet for me."

"
It's
part of the job," Nicole pointed out. "I'm your partner. If I have to take a bullet for you then I will." She shook her head sadly. "I failed you tonight. I'm
sor
-"

"Don't apologize." He kissed her temple. "You didn't fail me. We didn't know we were in a dangerous situation. If we had known I know you would have had my back." He traced her jaw with the tip of his finger. "Do me a favor. Promise me you won't let what your Father did bother you."

"He hired someone to kill you," she whispered. "How can I not let that bother me?"

"His actions are his own," Galen said. "You have no control over what he does. I don't want you to let this eat you up. Now promise me you won't let it bother you."

Nicole sighed heavily. "I'm starting to realize something, Maxwell. You make me promise you things an awful lot.
All right.
I promise I won't let it bother me." She leaned in close, her lips mere inches from his. "Kiss me, Galen. Make me forget everything but you."

With a groan, he covered her mouth with his.

Chapter 26

He was out of Tylenol and his arm was throbbing. Swearing beneath his breath, Galen tossed the empty pill bottle in the trash bin next to the desk and closed the desk drawer. He turned his chair to ask Nicole for a few Tylenol and found her standing there. Without saying a word, she held out a plastic bottle. He thanked her with a smile, took the bottle, and removed the cap. He shook two tablets into the palm of his hand and downed them with a drink of water.

"Have you changed the bandage on your arm?" Nicole inquired.

"No," he answered.

"Then let's change it." She headed back to her desk, where she retrieved a first aid kit from the bottom drawer. "Let's go into the conference room where there's more privacy."

"All right."
Galen followed her to the conference room. Once there, he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Okay, Superman," Nicole said, placing the kit on the table. "Off with the shirt."

"Detective Goodwin," he said, pretending to sound shocked. "Are you suggesting that I take my shirt off? That's sexual harassment."

She snorted. "You wish. Take it off, Maxwell."

"Yes, ma'am."
Galen made quick work of taking off his tie and his dress shirt. The cool air hit his warm skin and caused goose bumps to erupt on his flesh. He shivered. "Ready when you are."

Nicole tugged on a pair of latex gloves and set to work unwinding the bandage from around his bicep. "Let me know if I cause you any pain."

He gazed up at her and found it slightly amusing that she was blushing. The urge to tease her came over him and he resisted it. The last thing he wanted to do was
embarrass
her or make her feel even more uncomfortable. He tried to think of something to say to help take her mind off the fact that he was sitting in front of her without a shirt on. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"No." She carefully peeled the bandage away from his wound. "Can't you tell?"

"You look beautiful as always." Galen watched as her blush deepened. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Bad dreams."
Nicole dropped the soiled bandage on the table and took a tube of antiseptic

ointment
out of the kit. Gently, she applied the cream to the wound with her fingers. "I suppose you slept fine."

"Not really," he said. "I was restless and my arm was bothering me."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Am I causing you pain now?"

"You're doing fine," Galen assured her.

Finished applying the ointment, Nicole reached for the gauze and adhesive tape. Quickly, she folded a piece of gauze into a thick square and tenderly laid it over the wound. She then wrapped more gauze around his bicep and secured it with strips of tape she had cut with a pair of scissors from the kit. "All right," she said, stripping off the gloves. "You're good to go for now."

He pulled her close and kissed her. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"You're welcome." She stepped away from him, picking up the first aid kit and used bandages and gloves. "I'll see-"

"What's going on in here?" Parker demanded to know as he entered the room.

Startled, Nicole jumped and spun around. "S-sir, you scared me."

"It's not what it looks like." Galen put on his shirt and began to button it up. "Goodwin was just changing the bandage on my arm. Last night I was shot at. A bullet grazed my bicep."

"Why were you being shot at?"

Nicole lowered her gaze to the floor. "It was because of my Father. He - well he - I mean-" She sighed heavily. "My Father has been abusing me for years. When Detective Maxwell learned of the abuse, he helped me get away from it. My Father wasn't too thrilled about that since it meant he wouldn't be able to control me anymore. Anyway, to make a long story short, my Father wants Detective Maxwell out of my life so he hired someone to kill him." She cleared her throat. "I should get back to my desk. Please, excuse me."

"Is she all right?" Parker asked, after Nicole left.

"She has her moments, but for the most part she's fine." Turning his back to his boss, he unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants and tucked his shirt in. "She's tougher than she looks."

"I know she is." Parker crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Her Father beat her up, didn't he? He's the one that put her in the hospital."

Galen zipped up his pants and buckled his belt. He turned back around and grabbed his tie from the back of a chair. "It's not my place to say, sir."

"Fair enough."

When Nicole walked into the bullpen she found Galen's mother passing out cookies to the team. "Hello, Olivia," she said.

The elderly woman turned at the sound of her name and smiled.
"Hello, dear.
Would you like a cookie? It's chocolate chip."

"They're amazing," Renfro moaned. "Mrs. M makes the best cookies."

"You're too kind, Amanda," she said to Renfro.

Nicole selected a cookie with many chips and took a bite. The cookie was chewy, just the way she liked them. "She's right. It is amazing."

"Thank you." Olivia beamed. "Before I forget there's something I want to show you." She put the container of cookies on the desk and dug through her purse. Bringing out a photograph, she handed it to Nicole. It was of Galen at age six. He was wearing a Superman costume and was standing next to a golden retriever. "The dog belonged to Galen. Her name was Lois Lane."

Nicole smiled. "Of course it was. He was so adorable."

"Mom," Galen said, striding into the room. "What are you doing here? Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine, dear heart," she told him. "I just brought some cookies for the team."

Nicole smirked at him. "And she wanted to show me a picture of you in your Superman costume with Lois Lane. You were so adorable."

Galen rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just show her baby pictures of me without any clothes on, Mom?"

"I can do that," Olivia said, her eyes shining with laughter.

"I don't think so." He embraced her and kissed her cheek. "Leave me some dignity."

Nicole sighed. "And I was looking forward to seeing your cute little bottom."