Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #2 (56 page)

When his fascinating, dark gaze locked with her green eyes she could barely force herself to look away. “Seven years. Why?”

“Because you're acting awfully nervous. You aren't afraid of dogs, are you?”

“Don't be silly. I love animals.”

“Then what's wrong? If you had already examined my leg I'd think I was hurt worse than I'd imagined.”

“I'm sure you'll be fine, Mr.—I mean Officer—Black.”

“May as well call me Isaac. It solves lots of problems.”

“Fine. Can you put the dog on a chair long enough for you to be treated?”

“Of course. If I'd been able to drive myself over here I'd have left her at headquarters. Unfortunately, I was overruled.”

“A wise decision,” Daniella said. She laid the tablet aside while her patient pointed to a chair and the beagle obediently jumped into it.

“I'm impressed,” she said. “My cat barely comes when I call him for supper.”

“Not surprising. Cats have devious minds.”

If he hadn't been smiling at her, Daniella might have thought he was serious. “That's debatable.”

The resulting twinkle in his dark eyes was so appealing she had to force herself to look away. He was taller than most of the men she knew, and far more muscular. His smile was amiable enough, yet there was an aura about him that made her think of danger. Either that or she was simply being influenced by the disquieting thoughts that had begun the moment she'd heard the news of an explosion.

Once she had recorded Isaac's necessary preliminary information, she slit the leg of his uniform pants the rest of the way to his knee, folded back the fabric and carefully removed his boot.

“Well? How bad is it?” he asked.

“The doctor will make that assessment when he gets here.”

“Let me put it this way.” Isaac reached for her wrist and clasped it, gently but firmly, sending another shiver zinging up her spine. “If I just bandage it up and go back to work, will I be sorry?”

“I would certainly think so.”

He heaved a telling sigh. “That's what I was afraid of.”

“You got hurt at the monument, like the others, right?”

“Right. Abby and I were there to do a safety inspection of the area. She couldn't have missed detecting the bomb. It had to be placed there
after
we made our sweep. There's no other possible explanation.”

Her brain absorbed very little more after he said
bomb
. That word had been a trigger for a surge of negative emotions for many years, and this instance was no different. Latent fear gripped her heart, stilled her movements and turned her fingers to stone. It wasn't until she felt his warm touch on her forearm that she snapped out of it. Sort of.

“You okay?” The dark, dancing eyes had narrowed and he was studying her as if she were a specimen under a microscope.

“I'm fine.”

“You keep telling me that but every now and then I see something else.”

“Must be your imagination,” Daniella assured him.

The expression on the police officer's face was clear. He didn't believe her. And little wonder since she was anything but fine. Matter of fact, at this moment, all she wanted to do was run out the door, disappear into the night, leave everything behind and never look back.

Copyright © 2015 by Harlequin Books S.A.

ISBN-13: 9781460385043

Headline: Murder

Copyright © 2015 by Mags Storey

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