Part 19 (1/2)

Her stomach rolled and her hands shook.

Dante took the evidence bag with his gloved hands and laid it on the table, slipped the card back into the envelope with the tweezers and sealed it up.

All she could do was stare at it as her breathing increased.

Not for me. He didnat do it for me.

She closed her eyes and her fatheras smiling face swam before her. She felt the dizziness and pushed it away.

Not now. She wasnat going to wallow in grief anymore. This son of a b.i.t.c.h was going down. aAnna.a She opened her eyes and glared at Dante, her teeth clenched so tightly it made her jaw hurt.

aDonat let him get to you. This is exactly the kind of reaction he wants from you.a aIam fine. Heas getting no reaction from me.a He didnat believe her and she knew it. aIall take this in and drop it off, see if maybe this time he left a print.a aWhatever.a She wanted to explode. At Dante. Wrong person to take it out on, but he was the only one here.

He reached for her, but she slapped his hand away. He walked out to finish getting ready to leave.

Shead hurt him, just as shead been hurting him since her father died.

Shead been brutal to him the past couple weeks, had hardly said anything to him. And when she did speak to him it was in short, clipped replies, or she was a downright b.i.t.c.h.

Yet he was still here. Head stayed with her, held her hand even when she didnat want him to. Despite cursing at him, screaming at him and telling him over and over again she wanted him out of her house and out of her life, head been a rock-solid presence, not once raising his voice to her in retaliation.

Maybe he liked abuse. Or maybe he realized she was grieving and he was letting her get it all out of her system at him.

He came back and filled one of the go cups with coffee.

aYouare leaving?a she asked in that same angry tone shead used on him every time she talked to him.

aYeah. Going to follow up a lead.a Making a decision, she stood. aIam going with you.a He arched a brow. aYouare not cleared to go back to work.a aThatas just a formality. Pohanski will clear me.a aYou think so?a aOf course.a She picked up the phone and dialed Pohanskias desk. He picked up on the second ring, said he was happy to hear from her, asked her how she was doing.

aIam ready to come back to work, sir.a aAre you sure? We can spare you if you need some extra time.a aYou canat spare me. Roman told me youare working everyone on double s.h.i.+fts. You need me.a aThatas true. We do. We need you to work some of the other cases while we have people on your fatheras case, and the related killings.a She paused. aCaptain, I want back on this case.a He didnat pause. aNot gonna happen, Pallino. Youare not going to work your fatheras murder, and itas directly related to the alley killings. Youare off that case.a aSira”a aThis isnat open to discussion. You want to come back to work, I have a s.h.i.+tload of it for you. But it wonat be that case. Are we clear?a aYes, sir.a She hung up and turned to face Dante. His expression remained impa.s.sive.

aYou canat work your fatheras case.a She grabbed her gun and holster. aAnd since when are you a stickler for the rules?a He shrugged. aFine with me. I donat report to your captain.a If glares could shoot bullets head be dead on the floor right now. af.u.c.k you, Dante. Iave been ready since the day we buried my dad.a He turned and walked out the front door to his car. She followed, fuming silently as she slid into the pa.s.senger side.

as.h.i.+t. Give me a minute,a she said, then hurried back into the house, ruffling her fingers over Rustyas fur as she let him out the back door and filled his water bowl out there.

aIall be back later, Rusty. You be a good boy.a When she came back out and buckled her seat belt, Danteas lips quirked.

aWhat?a she asked.

aForget you have a kid to take care of now?a aYou are so funny. Just drive.a He didnat say anything as they drove, which was probably a good thing considering she was teetering on the edge of another unreasonable outburst.

Then again, it wasnat his fault that shead wandered around in a fog the first week after her dad died. And shead had to get some papers from her fatheras house, and start figuring out what she was going to do with all his furniture, and then the house, too. So maybe she did have some stuff to deal with, and jumping right back into work wouldnat have been a great idea.

And now she couldnat work the case shead been on since the beginning?

d.a.m.n Pohanski anyway. She was going to work it, even if she did it under the table.

He dropped off the evidence at Forensics first, then came back to the car. She was sitting there with her arms folded, still stewing.

aDone pouting over there yet?a She shot him a look that he paid no attention to. aIam not pouting.a aGood. When youare done not pouting we can strategize.a It was a good thing his b.a.l.l.s werenat in kickable range. aAbout what?a aDr. Crey Robinson.a Robinson, the doctor they had been heading over to talk to the night they made the detour to her fatheras house firsta”the night her father had died. aDid you meet with him while I was off duty?a aNo. Afteraafter that night he left town to attend a medical conference, then on vacation out of the country.a How convenient. And suspicious. aIs he back now?a aYeah. Got back two days ago and is working today. Thatas where weare headed.a aOkay.a Dante motioned with his head to the folder lying on the seat between them. aThatas his file if you want to refresh.a She grabbed it, reviewed Robinsonas school history and talked it over with Dante while they were driving. By the time they parked at the medical center, she was ready.

More than ready.

She didnat think shead have to walk into a hospital again so soon after losing her dad. The stark whiteness of everything was so incongruous to the blackness of death shead experienced within the walls of the hospital where she lost her father.

Her throat tightened and she stopped in the middle of the hall. Something wasnat right. The walls were moving. She blinked a couple times, then reached out for Dante as the overwhelming dizziness. .h.i.t her.

s.h.i.+t.

She vaguely heard the sound of Danteas voice, felt his arm around her as he led her to a nearby chair and gently pushed her head down. She rested her forearms on her knees.

aAnna, breathe. You forgot to breathe. Slow and easy.a His hand was cold and so was the corridor they sat in. She needed that. It helped.

aYou can stop this before it starts. Remember, we have work to do.a She couldnat do it. She had to go home, wanted to forget all about hospitals and death and losing people she loved.

Sweat beaded and slid down her back. aItas hot in here. I canat breathe.a aItas not hot in here. Itas cold. And you can breathe. You control it. Slow. Breathe slow. We have work to do, Anna. Stop this and letas get to work.a His words penetrated. Work. They had to talk to Dr. Robinson. If she went home and crawled into the fetal position, theyad never find out who killed her dad. And George and Jeff.

She wouldnat allow her weakness to win. She closed her mouth and controlled her breath.

aShe okay?a she heard a female voice ask.

aSheas fine. Just a panic attack. She hates hospitals.a Whoever it was laughed. aMe, too, and I work here.a aYouare doing it. Bring yourself out of it,a Dante said, not coddling her, his voice firm.

The haze began to clear and she finally began to feel the cool air surrounding her. The tightness in her chest loosened and the dizziness lifted enough that she could raise her head. She met Danteas gaze.

aYou okay now?a She nodded.

aSit right here. Iall go get a bottle of water.a By the time Dante came back she felt in control again.

aIam okay.a aSit here a minute anyway and take a couple sips.a She did, and then she stood, her legs not even wobbly. She capped the bottle and shoved it in her bag, then turned to Dante. aThanks.a aNo problem. Letas go find Robinson.a He never treated her as if she was weak or a hindrance. And shead treated him like s.h.i.+t for almost two weeks.

She didnat deserve having someone like him in her life.

She grabbed his hand, pulled on it. aDante, wait.a He stopped, frowned. aWhat?a She drew him to her, wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. She tilted her head back and stared into his most gorgeous face. aIave been a b.i.t.c.h. Youave been patient. Sorry seems like such an inept word. I canat thank you enough for being there for me.a He dragged his thumb over her jaw, then her bottom lip, making her quiver.

aYou lost your dad. You were ent.i.tled to be as big a b.i.t.c.h as you wanted to be. You donat have to apologize for that.a He bent and brushed his lips over hers.

She sighed against him, leaning her body into his chest.

He broke the kiss and stared down at her with a deeply sensual look. aYou keep kissing me like that and Iam going to find a supply closet and weall end up playing doctor instead of interviewing one.a Feeling better than she had in a long time, she said, aI like this playing-doctor idea.a He c.o.c.ked her a grin. aCome on.a They found the neurology department, showed their badges and asked a woman at the desk to page Crey Robinson. She informed them he had just finished up a surgery, so there might be a short delay.

Short delay her a.s.s. They waited two hours with no word on how soon it would be until Dr. Robinson would show.

And she really hated hospitals.

aYou know Iam going to have to take the lead on this because youare not supposed to be on this case,a Dante said.