Harrier's Healer (3 page)

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Aliyah Burke

What are they up to now?
Alexis hurried towards the group of

guys that seemed to be kicking or at least prodding something. Her hair

bounced in time with her steps; she’d just left the corner bar from her

date and wasn’t in the mood for Jay and his gang. They knew better.

Last week she’d found them beating a helpless puppy in a bag; their

behavior was getting old. “Hey!” she shouted, getting their attention.

“Back off,” she ordered.

The ringleader looked up and rolled his eyes. “Lex, go home,”

he yelled back as her steps brought her closer. “It ain’t got nuttin’ to do

with you.”

She ignored him and shoved her way through only to stop and

gasp. The form on the ground was a man. “What the hell are you

doing?” Instantly, she placed herself over the man who was lying face

down and began to check him for injuries, each one she found making

her angrier. The Caucasian male was either unconscious or very close to

it. Checking for a pulse, she breathed a bit easier when she found it,

faint but steady. Her body trembled as she touched him.

“Leave him alone! He shouldn’t be down here! And we found

him like this” the oldest boy protested.

Rising to her full height, she glared back at him, totally uninti-

midated. “What the hell do you think you were doing? The puppy was

bad enough, but damn it, Jay, this is a man.”

“He was trespassing. We were just looking to see if he were

dead. We didn’t beat him up.”

Trespassing?
The man on the ground moaned. “I suppose he got

these injuries by himself? Get out of here,” she hissed as she knelt back

down beside him. “Easy now.” Her voice dropped into her soothing

bedside manner voice.

“Alexis?”

Her heart froze.
No, it couldn’t be. Not here.
Carefully, she rolled

the man over so she could see his face.
Oh, dear Lord. It was
. “Com-

mander?” she asked softly.

“You know him?” Jay asked.

“Get over here, Jay, you and the rest of your friends who seem

to think I am not serious. Pick him up and take him to my car.” She

stood quickly. “Hang in there, Commander.” Her eyes snapped with

impatience. “Now! Damnit, move!”

The five remaining men struggled to carry him to her sport utili-

ty vehicle, before they climbed in at her glare to ride with her to her

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small, three-bedroom rambler. She led the way to her spare room as the

boys carried Scott laid him on the bed.

“Where do you know Casper from, Lex?” Jay asked her.

“He is a Commander in the US Navy and a SEAL, so if you guys

weren’t getting the shit kicked out of you, then he has another injury

somewhere.”

“Alexis?” The slur came again.

“I’m here, Commander. Right here.” Instantly she was beside

him, touching his face. “I have to check you out. Can you tell me where

you are injured?”

Those eyes opened and settled on her face. A quirky smile

tugged the side of his mouth. “Still so beautiful, I like your hair down. I

have a gunshot wound in the side.” He looked around the room at the

men. “Is it safe here?”

Jay stepped forward. “We’ll be the ones asking questions, Cas-

per. Where did you get shot at?”

Alexis waved him away, her insides trembling at Scott’s words.

“You’re fine. You are at my house.”

“Them?”

“They helped bring you here. Close your eyes, Commander,”

she ordered as she moved towards her doctor’s bag. “I have to get you

stabilized and to a hospital.”

“No!” He grabbed her arm, sending shivers through them both.

“No hospital.”

She removed his hand carefully, ignoring his comment, and got

her bag. “Quiet. Conserve your energy.”

Scott did, slipping into unconsciousness.

“You gonna call the police, Lex?” Jay asked as he watched her

skillfully remove Scott’s shirt to expose the gunshot wound. It sat about

an inch lower than the scar left from when she’d sewn him up on the

Endeavor
the last time they’d met.

Alexis disinfected her hands with a towelette. “You better pray I

don’t. You boys would be in serious trouble, attacking a man just

because. Don’t tell me you are trying to join that damn gang.”

Jay turned away from the man’s scarred body. There were dark

bruises forming from where he and his boys had kicked him. “I swear

we didn’t shoot him, Lex.”

“Quiet, Jay, let me concentrate.” There was silence in the room

as her now-clean fingers probed into the wound, then she stuck in some

clamps and pulled out the bullet. Correction, bullets. There were two

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Aliyah Burke

inside his flesh. Holding the second one up, she frowned. “Hmmm. It’s

a .38. Interesting.” She dropped it into the metal dish with a loud clang.

Her arresting gaze took in each and every one of the young men

in her room. “Think about the choices you make, ’cause I don’t want to

be doing this to you one day.” Her lean hand shook the container

holding the bullets. “Now, go on, get some sleep.”

“It started to rain, guys…it’s gonna be a wet night,” Jay told his

crew.

“Guys,” Lex interrupted. “I meant go crash in the living room.

You know you are welcome to stay here. Just make sure you don’t

disturb him.” Five young men smiled at her as they went to grab their

usual sleeping gear from her hall closet to make up their beds.

The whispering grew louder. Scott opened his eyes and found

two men in the room going through the closet. His body tried to react

but he felt almost paralyzed.

“He’s awake, go get Lex,” one of the guys said. The other one

disappeared out the door. Dark, distrustful eyes fell onto him.

Scott didn’t move, just stared back. Movement at the door

caught his attention. It was Alexis. She wore a cream-colored, short-

sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans that should have been declared illegal,

they fit her so tightly. Even hurt and feeling like this his body reacted to

her.

“Morning, Commander, I see you made it through the night.”

Her eyes flashed with humor.

“You didn’t take me to a hospital,” he stated the obvious.

“Nope, you didn’t want me to and so, against my better judg-

ment…I treated you here.” She moved to the bed and her scent filled

the deep breath he took. Her hands were professional and steady as she

checked the wound. “Gonna tell me how you got this, Commander?”

“Thank you,” he murmured as his hand reached for hers.

She froze at his touch. “For what?”

“Finding me.”

It was as if there were no one else in the room with them, the

tension grew so thick. “About that wound, Commander,” she insisted,

removing her hand from his. Her gaze was direct.

“We aren’t on the ship, Alexis; you can call me Scott,” he said.

“I’m afraid that doesn’t change who we are
or
protocol, sir.”

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With an energy he didn’t know he had, Scott sat up in the bed,

oblivious to the fact he was shirtless. His face got right into Alexis’s.

“That is where you are wrong. It changes everything.” He dropped his

voice even more, “Not that it would matter. I’m a SEAL, Alexis, and I

do things my way.”
And I want you, regulations be damned.

“Well, I’m not a SEAL, I’m a doctor and it would affect my ca-

reer.” Her words were level and direct.

Nose to nose, they faced off, neither backing down. “Do you re-

ally think I would do something to hurt your career?” His hand cupped

the side of her face. “I feel how you react to my touch, Alexis, and my

body reacts the same way to you.”

She swallowed hard. “I don’t know you, except that you are an

officer…a superior officer…and it is against regulations to have that

kind of relationship with you.”

He clucked his disapproval. “We aren’t serving in the same

place. We are both consenting adults and therefore there is no coercion

on either part.”

“What makes you think that?” She barely breathed the question.

“I have known that since the first day we met.” His fingers

moved again. “And each time after that. It was only a matter of time.”

His voice just as low as hers, so although they were observed by the

group of young men, their conversation was unheard.

“You seem mighty sure of yourself…Commander.”

He nodded slightly. “I am. Just like I know you are dying to say

my name, to hear it rolling off your tongue, just like I am. I am very

arrogant. I know that and so do you, but you love it.” His thumb moved

over her lower lip. “You loved how I kissed you standing at the fantail

on the
Endeavor
.”

She whimpered, her eyes fluttering as she swayed slightly to-

wards him.

“Don’t worry. I will wait to hear you scream my name. That will

be as I am sliding my thick, hard length deep inside your body.” As

potent as liqueur, his voice poured over her. “Alexis, when we make

love, it will be like nothing either of us has ever experienced. I can’t

wait much longer.” He dropped his hand as he slumped back on the

bed, exhausted. His eyes twinkled as he licked his firm lips, “Nice to

know you want me.” That blue gaze fell to her chest, noticing her

hardened nipples through the shirt.

A loud pounding on her screen door seemed to jolt her back to

earth. “Excuse me, Commander.” She rose off the bed and walked past

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Aliyah Burke

the boys who were standing there, watching the whole interaction

avidly.

“You can run, my little healer, but be forewarned: there is
no

place for you to hide.” His words followed her out of the room and up

the hall to where she looked out the door and found the police.

“Can I help you, Officers?” she asked, taking in the two who

stood there on the other side of her screen door.

“We are looking for a man who was last seen in this area,” the

larger of the two cops said.

“Sorry, Officer, you are going to need to be a bit more specific

than that. There are a lot of men around here.”

His eyes narrowed at her quick retort, but he continued. “He

may be injured.”

Years of keeping a bland expression on her face came in handy

now as she merely said, “And?”

“Can we come in?” the other cop asked.

She shrugged and opened the door, inviting them in. “Can you

give me a bit more information about this person you are looking for?”

“Well, he is reported to be tall, muscular, blond…” the officer

trailed off as something caught his eye. Alexis followed his gaze and

prayed for strength as she saw Scott enter the room chatting with the

other boys like he belonged there. “And you are?” the officer asked,

taking in the out-of-place white man in the house.

Alexis watched as Scott’s broad-shouldered body filled her liv-

ing room. He wore his shirt, which she had washed and had sewn up

the tear in last night so it looked no worse for wear the officers’ view.

His body looked poured into his jeans and tennis shoes were on his feet.

In no way did he resemble the man from whom she had removed two

bullets. His blue eyes immediately moved to her as if assessing that she

was okay. Touched by his concern, she nodded slightly.

C h a p t e r T h r e e

“Sir, I believe I asked you a question,” the smaller officer said.

“What’s going on here?” Scott asked, moving to stand closer to

the woman he was going to protect for the rest of her life.
That and

marry her.

“We are looking for a man who was injured in this area who fits

your description. Can I see your identification, please?” The officer held

out his hand.

“Sure, but if you don’t know who the man is, then what good is

my identification going to do?” He reached into his pocket and pulled

out his wallet to get his card.

“You sure are asking a lot of questions. What’s your name?” He

gestured impatiently for the piece of plastic.

“Lieutenant Commander Scott Leighton,” he snapped in return,

handing over his military identification. He didn’t like the way the men

looked at Alexis.
Hell, I don’t like any man looking at Alexis. My Alexis.

“How do you know Ms. Rogets here?” the larger man asked in a

snide tone.

Thick arms crossed, showing not one shred of pain from his

wound, as a blond eyebrow rose. “Are you trying to imply something,

Officer?” He looked at the nametag. “Johnson?”

The officer took a deep breath and tried to look as impressive as

Scott, only to fail miserably. “Of course not, it’s just that we are wonder-

ing what you are doing here.”

Alexis shifted closer to Scott. “We are both in the Navy and

have,” she paused and glanced at him, “served time on the same ship.”

Scott looked at the woman standing next to him, her head barely

coming to his shoulder. She was ready to defend him. He held out his

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Aliyah Burke

tanned hand for his ID. The officer returned to him with great reluc-

tance. “I had some business to do around here and came to ask Alexis