Apprehension (6 page)

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The tears started burning in her eyes again. She knew that if she didn't leave soon they would spill over. This time not in soul-wrenching passion, but in pain. "You know what,
Thor
, while your face was buried between me
sweet thighs
you should have kissed my ass." With that said, she pushed the door open and exited the Dirty Dozen, not looking back as she got into her car and drove off spitting gravel.

* * * *

Thor felt like shit. He knew he'd hurt her. It had been his intention. Being inside of Liza had been an earth-shattering experience. If it had just been great sex, he wouldn't have thought anything about it outside of it being gratifying pleasure.

But, it had been more than that and when he'd looked at her and seen the tears shimmering in her eyes under the lights, he knew she'd experienced something, too.

He had to get his head on straight. Brad Zeller was the last person she'd probably be looking for to have a serious relationship with. Women like Liza Wright married men with more than just a badge pinned to their chest.

Yeah, he'd done the right thing. Keeping the sex that happened between them in perspective was the best for both of them. It had been a long time for him. That was the only reason the world had seemed as if it had tilted when he entered her and the sole reason why his heart felt as if it beat in tune with the pulse leaping at the side of her neck.

Then why did it feel as if a part of you walked out the door
with her?

"A long time." He repeated the words aloud hoping to silence his internal voice.

Tidying the area, Thor grabbed the foil wrappers from the floor and collected Liza's white cotton panties. Sliding them in his pocket, he grabbed the pool stick from where it had rolled under a table and placed it back in an empty clamp.

Glancing around the room, he verified that there was no further evidence of what had happened between them.

Reassured, he turned toward the door, switched off the lights and left. Locking up the bar behind him, he got into his car and pulled away.

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Chapter Five

Two weeks later, Thor sped down Gridston Road. He was trailing a 2006 burgundy Monte Carlo. It was two o'clock in the morning and he'd gotten a tip from the Tallahassee police department that the vehicle had crossed the state line into Georgia. The Florida authorities suspected them of drug running.

Fifteen minutes ago, he'd caught up with the car. He had waited until locating the perpetrators before he switched on his sirens, not wanting to alert them. Calling in to the station, he let them know he was on the suspect's tail. A quarter of a mile down Gridston Road he saw several lights and cars lining the side of the road.

"Damn, a drag race," Thor said, reasoning why all the cars were gathered together.

The Monte Carlo continued on, not slowing down. Spotting his patrol car and hearing the sirens, the teenagers scattered quickly into cars and peeled away. Thor was thankful that no accident had happened. Still in hot pursuit of the burgundy car, he witnessed it taking a bend in the road. Finally, leaving the teen crowd behind, Thor began to exhale a sigh of relief as his car rounded the curve and two other vehicles came careening toward him. Apparently, they had been swerving to miss the Monte Carlo.

Shifting into defensive driving mode, Thor attempted to veer around them, but since both drivers were moving at reckless speeds around the turn, it was impossible to anticipate their moves. Within seconds, he was hit by one car, then the other. His car was shoved in multiple directions and began to spin and flip.

Everything went black.

* * * *

"Let's start over…" Liza's voice sang out along with Chris Daughtry as his song
It's Not Over
played on the radio. It was 42

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almost two-thirty in the morning and she was on her way home from Sacred Heart children's home. She'd pulled an evening shift with them. In her final semester of school, Liza was at the beginning phase of her internship. Even though her degree was in school guidance counseling, she'd asked her advising professor permission to do her internship at a children's home.

She wanted the experience of working with children who were misfortunate. Do something different from working in the schoolhouse in Claremont County. Thankfully, her internship professor had thought it a good idea as well and had approved it.

Excitement cruised through her veins as she hit Gridston from I-75. She was almost home. When several cars zoomed passed her, she wondered what was going on. Seeing all of the small decorated cars, she assumed the teens in town were finishing a drag racing event. Glad that she missed it, she continued in the opposite direction. As she moved around a sharp curve, her heart dropped. A few yards in front of her was a patrol car, smashed into the hill on the side of the road.

Veering off to the side, she pulled up behind the car.

Jumping out, she ran over to it. The car was upside down and smashed badly. She dropped to her knees as she approached the driver's side of the car. Dirt scattered as her knees made impact and oblivious to the pain, bent down to she peer into the window.

The officer was hanging upside down, suspended in place by his seatbelt. The beating of her heart sped up as she reached into the car and pulled the head back so she could see who it was. Dirt and blood were smeared all over his face, but she had no doubt of the identity of the unconscious officer. It was Thor.

"No…" Her voice was faint. Praying he was still alive, she slid her hand up until she could locate the pulse as the side of his neck. It was faint, but he was still alive. Relief flooded her body like summer rain. Scooting away from the car, she looked around to find someone to help. A few yards away from her, two tall gangly boys stood staring at the car in shock.

"Get help!" she screamed out to them. When they didn't move and still stood there in horror of the accident they most likely caused, Liza yelled, "Get help, dammit! Before he dies!"

Snapping out of their zombie mode, they scrambled back toward one of the two other cars on the other side of the road.

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She didn't trust the two of them to be able to get someone out here before Thor got worse.

"Hold on, Thor," Liza told him as she got to her feet and returned to her car. She grabbed her purse and pulled the cell phone out, then tossed the bag back into the car, not caring where it ended up. Moving back to the patrol car where Thor's life was in danger, she called the 911 dispatch.

When Bonnie Tucker's familiar voice answered the line, Liza began speaking, not waiting for the operator to finish her speech.

"Bonnie, this is Liza Wright. Officer Zeller is hurt. His car is at the Gridston curve toward I-75. He's unconscious and bleeding."

"Got it. Everyone is out in pursuit of a suspect but I'll call them back and get help out there. The EMT's have already been dispatched and should arrive shortly. Does he have a pulse?"

"Yes. It's weak." The tightness in the back of her throat as she peered up at Thor still hanging there motionless was painful.

"Tell them to hurry, Bonnie. Please." Liza didn't care if the other woman heard the begging tone in her voice, she only cared about Thor.

"I will. I promise."

"Thanks," Liza said before she disconnected her phone.

Lying down in the dirt, Liza grasped one of Thor's hands in hers. It was warm, swollen and slightly purplish from the blood pooling in it. She began to speak softly to him, consoling words about help being on its way and how he was going to be all right.

She wasn't sure if he could hear her or not, she just needed to talk to him. It had been over two weeks since she'd last seen him in the bar and she'd purposely not gone into town in an attempt to avoid him. He had said a lot of hurtful words to her, but at that moment she would have given anything to hear his voice or see his piercing blue eyes.

* * * *

Throbbing pain drummed a beat through Thor's body. He laid on the bed motionless, afraid to move a single muscle in fear it would rebel and cause him to hurt even more. One of the last things he could recall was the horror in the teenage boy's eyes as his car spun out of control and headed for his police car. Finally, 44

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the last view he saw as his vehicle began to flip and before everything went black was the taillights of the Monte Carlo as it sped away.

Hell, had those kids not been racing, he'd have caught up with the drug runners.

For a moment, he struggled to become conscious of his surroundings without opening his eyes. Even with the full body ache, he became aware that he was lying flat on something soft but firm. His ears noticed a steady beeping sound in tune with his own heartbeat. It didn't take a genius to realize he was hulled up in a hospital. One of his least favorite places to be trapped falling a close second to staring down the barrel of a gun in the hands of an enemy.

But, if he was in a hospital, the thing that didn't make sense was why he smelled a light sweet scent reminding him of honeysuckles instead of antiseptic.

Expecting to see a petite-sized blonde-haired person with hazel eyes, he was shocked to discover Jack. However, reality set in past all of the drugs they may have given him to minimize his pain. The princess had reason to be many places, but after how he'd treated her at the bar, this wasn't one of them. He'd be lucky if she threw a handful of dirt on his casket at his burial.

"Jack, you using your wife's body wash again? I can smell you all the way over here." He turned his head, eyeing his friend.

"Well, you should smell shit." Jack moved from his stance by the window and stood next to the bed. "Because I about crapped in my pants when I heard you were injured and in the hospital."

Thor chuckled and wished he hadn't. Grabbing his ribs, he groaned.

"Don't worry, they're not broken, just bruised," Jack confirmed.

Exhaling a breath as the pain subsided, Thor smiled as he said, "Well, I guess my shield is gone."

"Maybe." His friend pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. "All heroes take a tumble. Next thing you know they come out stronger than before. Soon as your leg heals, you'll be up and runnin' in no time."

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"If you say so, Jack." Moving each leg slowly, Thor discovered quickly by the shot of pain his right leg was injured.

He sucked in air between clenched teeth.

"I say so, Thor."

He eyed his friend. "Then say you can get me out of this sickbed."

"Don't doubt me, man." Jack shook his head. "I already asked. The doctor said as long as you woke up tonight and had no complications…you could be sprung in the morning."

Holding his hand out to Jack with a grimace of pain, Thor said, "That's why you were on the intelligence side of the team, you always know the right questions to ask."

Slapping Thor's awaiting hand, Jack gave him a large grin.

"A cop never forgets his training."

"Never."

* * * *

"Hand me the suntan lotion, Steph." Liza situated herself on the terrycloth material covering the lounger on the side of the pool at the Claremont Wright Country Club.

Snapping the lotion shut after pouring a liberal amount into her hands, Stephanie gave it to Liza, then asked, "So, you goin'

to tell me what's up with you and Mister Law and Order?"

Stephanie eyed Liza with a questioning look.

Distracting herself with the lotion, Liza averted her gaze away from her friends. "What do you mean? There's nothing going on with the new cop and me, I barely know the guy."

"Ha! That's not what everyone in town is saying," Stephanie giggled and relaxed back in her chair.

Liza glanced around at the other pool attendees. She was glad it was still early and only a few people sprinkled the pool area and most of them were middle aged men more interested in their morning laps than conversation.

"Steph, you know you can't believe everything you hear in this town," she punctuated her words with a giggle. "Hell, they've been convinced that Robert is gay for years since he's in a successful law practice but no marriage."

Stephanie wiggled dramatically and shook her fake breast for effect. "Well, any man who turns Stephanie Maxwell down repeatedly has got to be batting for the other team. But I haven't 46

APPREHENSION

given up on your brother yet. You and I are destined to truly be sisters." Stephanie winked.

"Well, that's good to know." Liza rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend. It would've never dawned on Stephanie that maybe she wasn't Robert's type. Maybe her brother was like her, nobody in Claremont County seemed to grab her attention and excite her like…

Quickly, Liza shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts. She was not going to spend this day thinking about Thor. Not at all.

"Well, Liza, if nothing is going on between you and mister sexy cuff me and spank me, then why were you at the hospital all…night…long."

Damn
. She'd forgotten how fast gossip spread in her town.

"It wasn't all night. Besides, since I found him near death on the side of the road, I kinda felt responsible for him. Once I discovered he was okay, I left. Plain and simple." Too bad the same couldn't be said for the state of her legs. In the agitation brought about by her friend's prying question, Liza had applied an extremely liberal amount of suntan lotion to her them.

"Plain and simple my ass. If that's what you want me to believe then have no worries. Just like your legs don't look like grandma's southern fried chicken." Stephanie laughed and slipped her sunshades on and settled against her lounger.

Vaulting up from the seat, Liza said, "I'm going to the bathroom to wash some of this off. When I get back, try not to be close to the pool. I'd hate for you to fall into all that chlorine just hours before your hair-coloring appointment."

Liza headed toward the bungalow style bathrooms and smiled as she heard Stephanie call out.

"That's real low, Liza."