Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
MAX
Long black hair falling around almost-bare shoulders, big dark eyes, and a slender throat that rippled as she threw her head back and laughed. Was it really any surprise that I’d woken up with a hard-on when Bailey looked like that?
I tore my gaze away from the bar—and the beautiful bartender—and mentally smacked myself upside the head for my errant thoughts.
No matter how stunning she was, or how wonderful she’d felt wrapped in my arms last night, I shouldn’t get turned on by a scared, injured woman who only wanted comfort and considered me a safe place to get it.
Setting aside the memories of last night and this morning was easier said than done. Bailey had fit against my chest as if she belonged there and I’d wanted nothing more than to snuggle into her and never let her go. Fortunately, I’d managed to get a hold of myself before she stirred.
Connor and Nate claimed the chairs beside and across from me and flopped into them, each carrying their own drink. I sipped my Coke. I rarely drank alcohol, and I definitely wouldn’t tonight because I’d be driving Bailey home when her shift ended.
Technically, she was well enough to return to her own home, but I hadn’t mentioned that, and nor had she.
We were just both pretending that she needed to stay.
I liked having her there, and she didn’t want to be alone, so for now, it worked.
She couldn’t stay with me indefinitely, but until the matter was pressed, I suspected we’d keep on as we were.
“How is Bailey doing?” Connor asked, swigging his beer straight from the bottle. “She seems all right.”
I put my Coke down. “She’s healing well. She’s still achy—especially her ribs—and bright lights or too much screen time makes her nauseous, but in a couple of months, she should be mostly back to normal.”
The mental wounds would take longer to heal, but I wasn’t qualified to treat those.
She ought to make an appointment with a therapist, but I wanted to wait until she’d recovered a little more before bringing it up.
Besides, she was savvy enough that she was probably well aware she’d need help dealing with the trauma.
Connor clasped his hands around the beer bottle. “Good. We’ve found two more sites that were vandalized. Both were outdoors and both were dug over. One had a hole nearly four feet deep.”
Nate whistled. “It’s lucky no one fell in.”
Connor nodded. “We’ve filled it in now, but I emailed you the coordinates in case you want to check out the sites. It’s probably the same person who attacked Bailey.”
“Or people,” Nate muttered, pushing his chair out and extending his legs in front of himself.
I shook my head but couldn’t suppress a smile. The bar was bustling, and I’d never dream of taking up so much room, but I doubted it had even occurred to Nate that his position might inconvenience someone else.
“Do you think they might be looking for something?” Nate went on.
Connor snorted. “What would they be looking for in the middle of the forest?”
Nate shrugged. “Drugs?”
“Who the hell would bury drugs?” Connor asked.
Nate rolled his eyes. “Do you have a better suggestion?”
“A body.” Connor’s eyes gleamed. “Although if it was me, I’d have buried it in a more remote area or just tossed it down a ravine. The vandals seem to be sticking to locations within a few miles of town.”
“A body,” Nate scoffed. “This isn’t the set of Midsomer Murders.”
“We have had more than our fair share of violent crime in the past couple of years,” I reminded him.
“Not murder, though.”
“Attempted murder is pretty close.” And both Grace and Summer had gone through that. Hell, Kennedy had been shot, so she could probably be included, even if the bullet hadn’t hit anything particularly important.
Nate grimaced and rubbed his jaw. “My job used to be so boring. I miss those days.”
Connor slapped his shoulder. “Quit complaining. It keeps you busy, and we all know you hate to be bored. Hey, it could be stolen goods.”
“Probably the most reasonable suggestion so far,” Nate allowed. “It’s strange, though. You think they’d know where to look if they were the ones that buried it.”
“Who buried what?” Toby asked, dragging over a chair from another table and offering it to Mum. He dropped onto another and leaned forward, his forearms resting on the tabletop.
“We’re not sure,” I said, smiling at Mum in greeting.
Connor grunted and raised an eyebrow at her. “You put poor Bailey back to work quickly.”
Mum sighed and crossed her legs. “She insisted. She said she was going crazy cooped up inside all the time and needed a change of scene. Speaking of, don’t forget brunch on Sunday.”
“We’ll be there,” Nate said.
Connor and I just nodded because she knew we would be, but she liked to remind us anyway.
Toby turned to me with a shit-eating grin. “What’s this I hear about you and Bailey playing house?”
My gut flipped over. “It isn’t a big deal.” No matter how much I might want it to be. “She’s still healing, and I’m a doctor. It makes sense for her to stay nearby.”
Toby’s grin hitched up on one side, making him look slightly unhinged. “When Summer was shot, you didn’t move her in.”
My cheeks began to warm, and I wished I could blame it on the alcohol, but unfortunately it was obvious I wasn’t drinking any. “Summer had Asher to look after her.”
Not to mention that she stayed in the hospital for longer than Bailey had.
Toby cocked his head. “Asher could take care of Bailey, too, if she stayed with him and Summer.”
“He could,” I admitted, drinking more Coke to give myself a moment to think. “When she first came home, she needed to be watched by someone with more medical training than he has. And I suppose we didn’t see any need to move her when things are working just fine as they are.”
“I’m sure they are.” He winked. “If someone as pretty as her moved in with me, I’d sure as hell never want her to leave.”
“That’s not…” I huffed. “Don’t you have better things to do than tease your boring older brother?”
I focused on him, but I couldn’t help noticing that everyone at the table was watching our exchange with fascination. My cheeks burned even hotter, and I fought the urge to look down and hide my face.
Toby downed his drink in a couple of mouthfuls and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “Nah. I hardly ever get to tease you about anything. It’s great. Honestly, man, you know if you—”
“Who’s that?” I cut in, distracted by the man in jeans and a black hoodie that had just walked through the door and seemed to be staring at Bailey. He was average height with brown hair and broad shoulders. I didn’t think I’d seen him before, and I didn’t like the way he was looking at her.
Everyone turned toward the man, and I winced, expecting him to notice the attention. By some stroke of luck, he didn’t.
“Could that be one of them?” I prompted.
Nate discreetly took a photograph on his phone. “Could be, but Bailey is a stunner. People look.”
I narrowed my eyes. They might look, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. I didn’t trust that guy.