Chapter 2
Fear burrowed into Katherine like a tick. She recalled all the tricks her therapist had taught her over the past year to keep her emotions from swallowing her whole. She couldn’t get sucked into anything that would take her away from her number one focus.
Getting home safely to Ollie.
She sat in the break room, a space she’d been in a brief ten minutes before. She’d been tired and overwhelmed and on the brink of insanity, but that was her new normal. Now, her knee bounced up and down and her heart rate had to be triple it’s normal speed.
“Katherine?”
Cody Hogan’s gentle voice guided her back to the conversation. He sat in a chair across from her with a small notebook on the white table, a pen in hand.
“I’m sorry. I spaced out for a second. Did you ask me another question?”
He offered her a patient smile. “Did the man who attacked you look or sound familiar?”
She shook her head and circled her hands around the paper cup in front of her. Coffee was the last thing she’d needed earlier, but now she sipped the hot liquid like it was the answer to her prayers.
“Did he say anything to you?”
“Just not to do anything stupid.” The reminder of his warm breath on her neck as he spoke shot bile up her throat.
Cody’s smile morphed into a lopsided smirk that highlighted his chiseled jawline and made weird things happen to her stomach. “It’s a good thing you didn’t listen.”
She dropped her gaze to her cup. What the hell was wrong with her? Must be the flood of emotions whipping around inside of her because any kind of reaction to the man sitting in front of her was completely inappropriate.
Especially when that man was former bad boy Cody Hogan.
“I’ve never liked people telling me what to do.” She gave a casual shrug and tightened her mouth in a firm line so she wouldn’t match his smile with a grin of her own.
The door to the break room banged open and both of her brothers barged inside. Tommy wore his well pressed deputy uniform and his face was clean-shaven while Owen sported jeans and a T-shirt, dark scruff covering his face.
Owen marched straight to her and pulled her into a fierce hug. “Holy shit, are you okay?”
She melted against him, grateful for his presence. “I’m fine, just a little shaken.”
“Did he hurt you?” The hard edge of Tommy’s voice would have knocked her off balance, but she understood his fear.
Hell, their family had been dealt their fair share of hard knocks. First with losing their mother to a hit and run driver when they were younger, then Theo’s accident the year before. Her and her siblings knew how precious life was and how quickly it could be taken away.
She pulled away from Owen and squeezed Tommy’s arm. “No, he didn’t hurt me. Luckily Cody showed up in time to scare him off before things took a turn for the worse.”
Standing, Cody nodded. “Evening.”
“You get a good look at this asshole?” Owen barked.
“Not enough for an ID,” Cody said. “He was wearing a ski mask, hiding any distinguishing facial features. He was about four inches taller than Katherine, solid build, but couldn’t gauge a good read on what was under his jacket. He ran off after shoving Katherine.”
Tommy clenched his jaw. “You said you weren’t hurt.”
“I wasn’t,” she said. “Cody caught me before I hit the ground.” The memory of his hard body under hers and the way he’d wrapped her in his strong arms brought heat clashing against her cheeks. She really had to get a grip, especially in front of her brothers.
“I wanted to go after the attacker but thought it best to stay with Katherine. By the time I was able to get off the pavement, he was long gone. Disappeared into the woods.”
“Have you checked the security footage yet?” Owen asked.
“Not yet,” Cody said.
“And why the hell not?” Owen asked.
“Katherine just finished her statement. I wanted to get that first so she could get home to her son.” Not an ounce of disrespect dripped from Cody’s words, but it was clear he wouldn’t stand for being pushed around by anyone.
Not even his boss.
The color drained from Owen’s face, and he scrubbed a palm over his whiskers. “Christ. Ollie. Yeah, you should get home, Katherine. Tommy, can you take her?”
If she wasn’t sure of her brother’s good intentions, she would have bristled at the suggestion. “That’s very sweet, but I have my car in the lot. I can drive myself.”
“I’ll walk you to your car then follow you home.” Tommy folded his arms over his broad chest as if his word were law, no discussion needed.
She bit back the frustration that came with having two overprotective brothers. Even before Theo’s death, both Owen and Tommy always thought they knew what was best for her. Always hovered a little too close.
But they’d learned the hard way over and over again that bad things still happened, no matter how much was done to keep it away.
Not wanting to upset Tommy, she rested a hand on his arm. “I’ll take the escort across the parking lot but there’s no need to follow me home.”
Cody frowned, and she couldn’t help but wonder what went through his mind watching her and her siblings negotiate. He had siblings of his own, but it was no secret they preferred to use their fists over their words.
Clearing his throat, he gained all their attention.
“This guy’s still out there, Katherine. We don’t know if it was a targeted attack or a case of you being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It might be safer for Tommy to make sure you get inside your home without further incident, and that no one follows you through town to your house.
No need bringing more danger to your doorstep. ”
“I never thought about it like that,” she said, the fear from earlier coming back in full force.
A pulse in Cody’s jaw made her think he wanted to say more—do more—but he stood quietly, his blue eyes intense and focused.
“So a full escort it is,” Tommy said, adding a false note of enthusiasm to his voice.
She appreciated the effort, especially since Tommy was usually the more jovial of the brothers, but a weird flash of disappointment had her focusing way too much on Cody.
Still silent.
She forced her attention to Tommy. “Sounds good. Thanks.”
She might not like the idea of her little brother acting as her babysitter for the moment, but it was the smartest move.
Besides, she didn’t want to waste time arguing.
Ollie waited for her at home, and she needed to get the hell away from Cody and whatever weird feelings he stirred in the pit of her stomach.
Because if being held captive by a dangerous stranger was scary, the idea of feeling anything beyond gratitude for Cody Hogan was downright terrifying.
A knot of tension at the back of Cody’s neck eased a fraction once Katherine was gone.
He may have known her for most of his life, but that didn’t mean they were friends.
If anything, she’d barely tolerated him in high school, opting to stare past him instead of commenting on his troublesome family.
Which, in a way, had been worse.
Any attention from her would have been better than none.
But that was years ago. He’d learned a long time ago that a woman like Katherine Wells—now Milton—was never meant for him.
Earning the respect of her father and brothers better served him as he carved out a spot for himself in the sheriff’s department.
And now one of those brothers was his boss and stood in front of him with a look of concern rippling across his forehead.
Owen stared at the closed door, as if trying to see beyond the barrier to watch his sister make it home in one piece.
Cody understood the other man’s worry but didn’t want to stand around twiddling his thumbs. “Now that I have Katherine’s statement, I’m going to take a look at the security footage. I already asked the guard to set it up. He said to come to his office when I was ready.”
“Okay.” Owen blew out a long breath and scrubbed a palm down his face. “I’ll come with you. This is an all hands-on deck situation. Katherine doesn’t need to worry about some asshat coming after her again. Especially after everything she’s been through.”
He could argue no one in Cooper County should have to worry about being attacked regardless of who they were, but he was smart enough to keep that comment to himself. Besides, he agreed. The more deputies working to track down the man who threatened Katherine, the better.
Without a word, he led the way to the well-lit hallway that wound around the nurses’ station to the security office. Even in the administrative area of the hospital, the scents of strong disinfectant and an undertone of sickness stung his nostrils.
He pushed it out of his mind as he knocked twice on the doorframe and peeked his head inside. “You ready for us, Gus?”
“Come on in.” Gus, a seventy-something man with a headful of gray hair and a wrinkled uniform that hung on his lanky frame, sat behind a trio of screens at a large desk that took up most of the room.
Each screen was split into different quadrants, showing areas of the hospital.
The largest screen in the center had a paused scene from the parking lot.
“Figured I’d start the tape right before Katherine came outside, just in case we can see anything. ”
“Good thinking.” Owen stepped behind Gus and leaned forward, gaze fixed on the screen.
Cody stood to the side. This was his case, but he wasn’t about to have a pissing match with the sheriff about who got the better view. Besides, the only thing that mattered was finding the culprit. He crossed his arms over his chest and kept his eyes on the monitor. “Go ahead.”
Gus guided the cursor to the start button then swiveled his chair out of the way.
A few seconds passed before Katherine appeared. Gus chose to display the camera that focused on the area closest to Katherine’s vehicle. From this angle, she was almost unrecognizable as she made her way out of the hospital.
At least to most people.
But Cody would recognize her the second she came into view, no matter how far away she was.
She had a certain walk, always had. Shoulders straight and chin tilted slightly toward the sky.
Her long strides matched her long legs, and she carried a confidence most people never found.
Not in a snobbish way, but in a way that let everyone know she was sure of who she was and what she wanted.
And it was sexy as hell.
A flash of movement at the corner of the screen caught his attention and ripped him away from his inappropriate thoughts. “Did you see that?” He pointed at the corner of the screen.
Owen nodded. “Someone’s there. Waiting.”
A fresh wave of anger tapped his booted toe against the hard floor. “She’s walking straight toward him and has no idea. Son of a bitch.”
“Must be hiding behind the lamp post. There’s a wide cement base that raises a good two feet. Bet he’s crouched behind it. Katherine pays attention to her surroundings. No way she’d keep strolling to her car in a dark, empty lot if she saw a man standing there.”
“In her statement, she says he came out of nowhere,” Cody said.
He kept watching as Katherine got closer, grabbing her keys to unlock her door seconds before the man sprang up and grabbed her from behind.
“I saw her headlights,” Cody said, his anger thrashing around inside him like a tsunami. “That’s why I checked the back of the lot.” He didn’t tear his eyes away from the struggle, but he could feel Owen’s fury as clear as if it was his own.
Neither spoke as the video played. By the time the man shoved her, Cody thought he’d burst through his skin.
The man ran away as Cody comforted Katherine. Watching the scene play out brought back a memory of feeling her in his arms, the pulse of desire in his veins at holding her close. Shit. What the hell was wrong with him?
“You did good, Hogan,” Owen said. “If you hadn’t shown up…”
He didn’t have to finish the thought for Cody to understand where his thoughts wandered. “No need to go there, man. Besides, if she hadn’t been smart enough to press her panic button, I’m not sure how it would have played out.”
“You would have figured out how to get her out of harm’s way.
Thank you.” Owen faced him and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
He gave a small squeeze before dropping his arm to his side and spinning toward Gus.
“Can you send this footage to the station? I doubt there’s more we can get from it, but we’ll damn well try. ”
“No problem,” Gus said.
“Cody, you’re the lead on this. I don’t want to step on toes but be prepared for a lot of extra hands. Tommy and I both will be involved, and if I know my dad, he won’t want to sit on the sidelines. No one rests until this bastard’s found. Let’s head outside and see if anyone’s uncovered anything.”
He kept what he hoped was a blank expression on his face as he walked beside the sheriff and back outside. He could handle the Wells men—it was their sister he had to keep his distance from.