Jacked (54 page)

He started to speak; his words garbled and incoherent at first. Fighting with a hulking teenager was not on my agenda. Hands and arms mixed in, trying to free me. Jamal pulled me right to his face, his eyes wild with primal fight or flight survival instinct.

“Cah, cuh, Carter…,” he stuttered in between moans of pain, begging me with his eyes to listen.

“Carter?” I said and Jamal nodded.

“Muh…” He shook his head, wincing in pain. “Man… Mancuso…,”

“Carter Mancuso,” I repeated, fighting the arms and hands that were trying to break me free. “Let me go,” I ordered over my shoulder.

Jamal’s nods were short and quick jerks. His other arm waved weakly in the air. That’s when I noticed he had his hand shaped like a gun.

My eyes flew back to Jamal. “Carter Mancuso shot you?”

Jamal nodded and then visibly relaxed, relieved.

“Jamal, we’re going to put a tube in your chest because your lung is collapsed, okay? I know it hurts but you have to try and stay still for me. You’re going to feel a little pinch and burn, but that’s the numbing medicine going in.”

Within nine minutes, we had him stabilized, prepped, and ready for surgery.

IT DIDN’T SINK
in at first, the name my patient had conveyed to me. We’d been so busy that non-essential details like names didn’t register. Vitals, CT scans, central lines, and knowing which came first dominated. It wasn’t until I briefed the detective assigned to the case that it dawned on me why that name sounded so familiar. I called Adam right afterward.

“Erin, got a minute?”

No, I didn’t, but there was Randy Mason, ex-asshole boyfriend, standing three feet away, shoulders hunched with the expectant look of a ten-year-old boy who wants something.

Shit.

It had been almost two weeks since his girlfriend Mandy messed with my head, telling me I’d lost my opportunity for the fellowship, and in that time I strategically ignored and avoided him. There was nothing Randy could say that would make a difference, and it was easier to hate him than feel defeated.

I stopped in front of him, not even bothering to ask what he wanted. He had six seconds, and that was being generous.

“Look, I know you’re pissed at me.” He scratched his head and glanced around. A med student brushed my back as he rushed past. Two nurses hurried in the opposite direction. “Can we go somewhere private to talk?”

I held my ground. “Say what you need to say.”

Randy scowled at me and snagged my elbow, towing me along reluctantly. We stopped outside of a utility closet tucked beside a large steel rack of starched, white linens. I pulled my arm out of his grasp. “What?”

“Listen for a second, all right? Jees. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t like being this close to him, nor did I like being cornered. I opted for appeasement to speed this along. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. Mandy had no right to say that stuff to you. We, uh, actually got into a huge fight about it and, well,” he tugged his hair, “we split up.”

I wanted to feel happy about that but the truth was that I didn’t feel anything at all. It was rather liberating, and quite surprising. I actually didn’t care one bit.
Huh!
Randy actually looked quite pathetic. “Sorry to hear that.”

He leaned one hand up on the wall, creating a barrier with his body. My hand brushed over the cold metal rack pressing into my shoulder. I was trapped.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and, well, I miss you.”

“Oh, God.” I needed to run—fast. Or throw up. Or throw up and then run.

He leaned closer; so close that I could smell that familiar cologne he wore. That scent once made me stupid. Now it just made me sick. I folded my arms across my chest, creating a barrier between us, thankful for the pungent smell of bleached linens behind me. Did he actually think I’d jump back in his arms and be grateful for leftover scraps? “You’re kidding, right? You’ve got some nerve—”

“Am I interrupting something?”

My head snapped up at the deep rumble, seeing a wall of black uniform and Adam glaring like he wanted to tear Randy’s head off. A tinge of panic flooded my nerves, hoping Adam wouldn’t think he caught me doing something wrong. The second Randy eased up from the wall I made my break for it, shouldering him out of my way.

Adam pulled me into his side, tucked me under his left arm, and faced off with Randy.

That was the moment it all hit me.

Randy meant nothing to me. The feelings of loss that once consumed me were gone. It was as if they never affected me to begin with. There was no gaping hole in my heart. There was no harbored resentment or even a hint of longing. He was nothing more than a stepping stone, a piece of history to be filed and forgotten.

And I was falling in love with Adam.

Adam’s body was rigid and tensed, like a panther poised to strike.

He switched between gazing down at me with concern and glaring warnings at Randy. “You okay?”

Correct that. Not falling. I’d already fallen into that scary phase of relationship newness, where being unsure, petrified, and humming with renewed excitement wrapped itself around blind hope.

I nodded, putting an inch of breathing space between us, though Adam didn’t let me separate that far. I was at work after all. I needed to keep public displays of affection to a respectable limit, though my body was craving every ounce of his attention.

Adam didn’t give a shit. He leaned down, cupped my face, and kissed me anyway. Even though he had never met Randy before, he made sure whoever he was got the message. I felt woozy.

“He’s still standing there. You going to introduce me?” Adam muttered privately.

I wished Randy would just disappear into thin air but much to my chagrin, he was still behind me, appearing quite nonplussed, I might add.

Whatever.

I waved a hand between them, trying not to make the side-by-side comparison, although my loyalties and attraction to Adam were unquestionable
.
“Adam, this is Doctor Randy Mason. Randy, Detective Adam Trent.”

Adam reached to shake Randy’s hand. His smile turned very predatory. “I ever see you caging my woman in like that again, I won’t be this nice. We clear?”

“Your woman?” Randy’s forced smile fell into a deep scowl. He yanked his hand back and shook out his fingers. “Relax. We were just talking.”

Adam was much more astute than that. “Then please, continue.”

Randy cut his eyes to me. “I think we were done. For now.”

Adam’s fingers flexed on my shoulder and then he let go and captured my hand in his. “That’s what I thought. Word of advice? You need to talk to her you can do your talking out there where it doesn’t look like you’re trying to make a move on her. Erin may be forgiving, but I’m not.”

Randy took a step back, stammering. “Yeah, okay. We’ll talk later, Erin.”

Numerous replies to that swirled around my tongue, none of them being anything that could be delivered without screaming. My teeth locked together. “I don’t think that’s necessary. There’s nothing left to be said.” I didn’t wait for him to utter another word. I led Adam in the opposite direction.

“Was that the ex?”

“Yes.”

Adam tugged my hand. “Do I need to be worried?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Good. Where we headed?”

“Away from him.”

Adam’s deep rumble was sexy. “So you’re positive the vic said ‘Carter Mancuso’?”

“Shh.” I hoped none of the people rushing around us would overhear. The conference room at the end of the hall was vacant. I flicked the light on. “Yes, I’m positive.”

“Where’s the vic now?”

“Patient.”

Adam rolled his eyes.

I pulled him deeper into the conference room. “Look, I don’t want to get into trouble with this. I’ve already told the other detective what my patient said to me. But I didn’t tell him about your case or that I recognized the name.”

“Where is your patient now?”

I glanced over Adam’s shoulder quickly to assure our conversation was still private. “He’s in surgery. The way the two slugs expanded and slowed upon entry, I’m guessing they were nine millimeter hollow points. Neither shot was a through-and-through.” I ran a hand over my side. “One bullet deflected off a rib.”

His eyebrows rose right before the wolfish grin of pride spread across his face. That was all followed up with a very distinct glimmer of lust.

“Quit looking at me like that.” I crossed my arms to let him know I was serious.

Adam stalked closer and seized my upper arms. “I want to do you on this table right now.”

“Why? Because I know what a bullet slug looks like?”

He raked his teeth over his bottom lip, nodding at me.

My palms landed on the wall of his chest. “Focus!”

“Oh, I’m
very
focused.”

“Adam.”

His grip moved to my hips, one hand sliding to cup my ass. “Okay, I’ll give you a pass, this time, but you better be pulling into my driveway by eight or I’ll put an APB out on your ass.”

“On my ass?”

He grinned and squeezed. “For starters. Besides, you don’t want to miss breakfast.”

“I don’t?”

His eyes narrowed on my mouth. “No. You don’t. I need you to butter my toast.”

He was so freaking cute. And a wiseass. “I’ll butter your toast, anytime.”

“I
was
having a shitty night,” he growled. “Until now.”

“Ditto. Shitty?”

Adam downplayed it. “More like frustrating. I haven’t been able to get a hold of one of my informants. Oh, and I did a background check on your sister’s boyfriend. He had one prior for drunk and disorderly, but that’s it.”

“That’s it?”

He drew back and nodded.

“I thought there’d be more.”

Adam moved a lock of my hair. “I’ll keep an eye on it. You have enough on your plate dealing with punks with gunshot wounds.”

“It’s a daily occurrence.”

“Well then, when I get home I need to know you’ll be naked in my kitchen or I might just lose my mind. You’ve got to give me something to look forward to.”

I felt the conference table press into my legs. “Will you be naked too?”

Adam nodded, his features all set with his determined smolder. “Most definitely.”

“Good. Then
I
have something to look forward to.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he whispered on my lips, and then he pulled away just as quickly, studying me with the keen, discerning eye of a seasoned detective. “Something else is wrong, though. I’ll ask one more time. Do I need to be concerned about your ex?”

My want was instantly doused. “No. Oh, God, no. That’s… it’s been over a long time.”

Adam slid his teeth over his bottom lip, measuring my reply. “Good, though it didn’t look over for him.”

“Well it’s over for
me
and that’s all that matters.”

His eyes settled on my mouth. “You say it’s true, then I trust you.”

I raised my chin. “It is.”

Adam wasted no time closing the distance. Tasting his mouth was both hypnotic and addictive, as though his essence was made of pure sweetness combined with the flavor of recently chewed spearmint gum. His tongue caressed mine, swirling as if the two had known each other their whole lives. For a moment, I completely forgot I was at work or that I broke down earlier over my neurotic fears. A random page over the central communications system was a bitter reminder to simmer down. I released my grip on the back of his neck and pressed his chest, just enough to sober us both before we got too carried away.

“
Fuck me
,” he muttered low. “Your mouth drives me crazy.” He had the greatest smile; gleaming white teeth with that total affect of a hungry predator masked behind the charm of an innocent boy. “I can’t wait to be inside you.” His grip tightened on my hair with just enough meaning to kiss me softly once more. “
But,
” he drawled, “back to the shooter.”

“Yes, back to um…”

Adam brushed his thumb over my jaw. “If it
was
Carter Mancuso, then your patient was supposed to end up dead. You talk to any other officers, besides the one you told me about?”

I touched my tingling lips and then shoved my hands into my lab coat pockets to keep myself from grabbing him again. “No. Just that Detective Holihan.”

“I need to go find him before he fucks up my investigation.”

I pulled out the paper in my pocket. “He gave me his contact info.”

Adam glanced at it, his brows furrowing. “I don’t know this guy.”

“So who is Carter Mancuso?”

He leveled his eyes on me, no trace of humor or playfulness left in them. “Salvador Mancuso’s son.”

“Shit.” A shiver ran the length of my spine. “There were three.”

Adam retrieved his cell from his pocket. “Three?”

I nodded. “Three victims, er, patients. One expired in transport. We lost the second one soon after he arrived. They were all from the same shooting. Am I allowed to tell you all of this?”

“Call it
purging
.” Adam blew out a breath. “This kid—anyone else hear what he told you?”

My mind reeled. For some reason, Randy’s pathetic pouty face kept ghosting through, clouding things. “I’m not sure. Maybe? Several of my team tried to free me when the patient grabbed me.”