heels resounded through the cavernous lot.
Her small red Jetta stood alone in one row. Lacey took out her keys, and the Jetta’s lights flashed once.
“What’s this? Did I get a ticket for being in the parking structure too long?” She strode ahead of him and plucked a piece of paper from beneath her windshield wipers.
Holding the scrap of paper in her hands, she glanced back at Nick, her mouth dropping open. “D-do you think he left this?”
His stride devoured the space between them, and with a muscle ticking in his jaw, he snatched the paper from her hand.
Two circles with dots in the middle, resembling a pair of eyes, stared back at him. The blood pounded in his head, his wound beneath the paramedics’ expert bandage throbbing with each beat. He crushed the piece of paper in his fist.
They’d come back.
They meant business.
And they wanted his brother.
Chapter Two
“Nick?” She ran her fingers over his white knuckles. “Are you all right? Do you need to sit down?”
He jerked his head up, his dark eyes focusing on her face, as if he’d been in a place far away.
“I’m okay. Just felt a little dizzy.” He unwrapped the crumpled piece of paper and smoothed it out on the hood of her car.
“Do you think it’s a message from the man who murdered Dr. B? I know this paper wasn’t on my car when I came down here before.” Her gaze slid to the circles, and a chill snaked up her spine.
“It could be.”
His color had returned to its normal olive complexion, but his tight jaw signaled some distress. The stubborn oaf should’ve let the paramedics take him to the hospital. Doctors always thought they knew better than every other medical professional…especially Dr. Perfect.
To keep from smoothing her hands across his worried brow, she slid the piece of paper from beneath his hand and lifted it between two fingers. “Looks like eyes. Do you think that means he’s watching me?”
She looked over her shoulder, peering into the dimly lit recesses of the parking garage. Her heart fluttered, and she tried to beat back the fear. She’d never lived her life in fear, even when her dad left the family, and she didn’t intend to start now.
“How’d he pick out my car, anyway?” She rolled her shoulders. “Maybe this is just a coincidence, a joke.”
“It’s not hard to figure out.” Nick pointed to the office-suite numbers painted on her parking space and the two empty ones beside her car. “Yours is the only car here, and even if the guy doesn’t know that the doctors park on the first level, I don’t know many doctors who drive Jettas.”
She rolled her eyes. “You are such a snob. Even in times of crisis, you don’t forget the medical hierarchy.”
He slammed his fist on the roof of her car. “Can you forget your own insecurities for two seconds while we work this through?”
She swallowed. The suave Dr. Perfect just morphed into this Nick Marino character with flashing dark eyes and a hard jaw. Like steel encased in velvet. It suddenly became clear why nobody messed with him at the hospital. Apparently, he possessed weapons other than charm in his arsenal of persuasion.
“Sure, I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too.” He rubbed his eyes and dragged his long fingers through thick, dark hair. “You’ve been through a lot today, and I’m standing here yelling at you.”
He opened her car door for her and nudged her back. “Go home and get some rest. Do you still have the Xanax I gave you? Take one.”
“What about this?” She waved the paper in his face. “Shouldn’t we tell Detective Chu about this?”
“I’ll go back up to the office and give it to him. The guy may have done it to scare you. Detective Chu’s probably right. He’s a drug addict hopped up on something.”
“I hope so.” She hugged herself, pulling her sweater tight. “I’m no threat to him. I can’t identify him, but if he left any evidence on the note that can be traced, it’s important that Chu see it. I want this guy caught. I want him to pay for what he did to Dr. B, and I’ll help any way I can.”
Nick put the note in the pocket of his slacks. “I doubt this piece of paper will help the detectives, but it’s worth a try. Get some sleep. I’ll check in on you tomorrow at the office, and remember, send Dr. B’s patients to me. If I can’t help them, I’ll refer them out.”
She slid onto the seat of the car and locked the doors. As she cruised out of the parking structure, she saw Nick in her rearview mirror, following her on foot. She drove slowly, and as she pulled up to the parking arm and slid her card key into the slot, Nick caught up with her bumper and slapped the trunk.
She wheeled onto the rain-slicked street. Nick lifted his hand, and she waved back.
Nick showed some real guts and heart today. Maybe Dr. Perfect had more depth than she ever imagined…and he was even better-looking up close and personal.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Lacey dragged her feet down the hallway toward the office with the yellow police tape criss-crossed over the doorway. A uniformed officer lounged nearby, talking to one of Nick’s office nurses, Petra. Lacey squared her shoulders. After yesterday’s terror and a sleepless night, she didn’t need one of Petra’s inquisitions. She wanted to get away from this office and return to the safety of her own home.
“Oh, my God, Lacey, you must’ve been terrified. Are you okay?” Petra hugged her, patting her back.
“My throat’s a little sore, but other than that, I’m fine. Dr. B didn’t fare so well.” Tears stung her nose and she rubbed it with a tissue.
“I know. I feel just awful….”
Petra trailed off. Dr. B was not known for his sparkling personality or great wit. He kept to himself, a morose, solitary man. The police notified his daughter in New Jersey, and Lacey had spoken with her on the phone this morning. She planned to fly his body back to Jersey for the funeral and burial.
The young officer cleared his throat. “Are you Lacey Kirk?”
“Yeah, do you need to see some ID or something?” She fumbled in her purse and drew out her wallet with her driver’s license.
He looked it over and unlocked the box attached to the office door.
“Can you believe that Nick came into the office today?” Petra shook her head. “He told us all about how he came to your rescue and chased off the bad guy, and he came in to work today even with that bandage on the side of his head.”
“He didn’t exactly chase off the bad guy.” Leave it to Dr. Perfect to put the perfect spin on the story. She blew out a breath. But he probably saved her life, and she never even thanked him for it. “He did come to my rescue, though.”
Petra
