the lot.
“Name’s Jim Angle,” Jim said.
“I’m Dr. Mancini.”
Dakota steadied while she slid her foot back into her shoe. It was all he could do not to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. But too many months apart and the lingering sting of rejection made him hold back. Not to mention that it would start a barrage of questions from Jim.
“What just happened out here?” Dakota asked. “Were you attacked?”
“I was leaving work. When I got to my car, a man appeared from out of nowhere and pointed a pistol at me. He told me to get in.”
“Then what?” Jim asked when she stopped talking and started looking around the parking area.
“I threw my purse at him, punched him and started running.”
“You must have delivered one hell of a blow,” Jim said. “Man yelped like you’d gutted him. That’s actually what got our attention.”
“I rammed my key into his eyeball.”
Jim grinned. “A woman after my heart.”
She hugged her arms around her chest and shivered in spite of the warm summer air. Her gaze turned to the parking lot. “My car is gone. It was parked next to that SUV near the ambulance entrance.”
“Cars are replaceable,” Dakota said. She could have been killed. If he ever got his hands on the thug …
“Did you know the yellow-bellied bastard?” Jim asked.
“I’ve never seen the man before, at least not that I remember. A lot of patients come through the E.R.”
Dakota struggled to get his head around the emotions bucking inside him. In the best of circumstances, running into Viviana so unexpectedly would have been enough to throw him off his game.
Finally, he let his eyes meet hers. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I am now. I think you may have frightened off the gunman, except that I guess what he really wanted was cash and my car. Now he has both.”
“Then lucky I made a wrong turn and came in the ambulance entrance,” Jim said.
Dakota scanned the area again. “Don’t you have security around here?”
“Yes, but they can’t be everywhere at once.”
“They could see you to your car when you leave in the wee hours of the morning.”
“I’ve never had any trouble before. This is normally a safe area.”
“Security can’t do anything now,” Jim said. “Call the cops. They may be able to find the low-down thief before he clears the area.”
“My phone is in my purse and I hurled that at the attacker. No doubt he took it with him.”
“Most likely,” Dakota agreed. “But we’ll check.
“I’ll take a look,” Jim said.
“Where are your keys?” Dakota asked.
“I’m not sure. They may have fallen to the floor of the car, or I may have just dropped them in my panic.”
Which meant the attacker could have her keys and possibly her purse with her ID. If so, he’d know where she lived.
Dakota’s muscles clenched. He took his cell phone from his pocket and handed it to Viviana.
Only instead of punching in 911, she made a call to a Detective Harry Cortez. Her conversation with the man was brief and to the point. Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder if her relationship with the man was business or pleasure.
By the time she finished the call, Jim had returned with her purse. “You’re in luck,” he said. “The purse was lying next to another parked car. Your keys were a few feet away. Guess he hotwired the vehicle.”
She took the bag from him. “Good. At least he doesn’t have my keys and personal information.”
“What do you keep in the glove compartment?” Dakota asked.
“Usually the car registration, but I just bought this car and all of the paperwork is in my house.”
“Is your detective friend coming over to investigate the situation?” Dakota asked as she returned the phone to him.
“Dirty Harry is not exactly a friend, but, yes, he’s on his way. He won’t be long. He just left the hospital a few minutes ago.”
Dirty Harry. He must be some tough cop. But what did she mean by “not exactly a friend”? That could mean anything. A mosquito buzzed around Dakota’s head. He reached up to slap it away, and his ribs screamed as if he’d leaned over a flame. He winced and struggled for a shallow breath.
“You’re hurt,” Viviana said.
“It’s nothing.”
She shook her head as if to clear it, and her dark hair danced about her slender shoulders. “If it were nothing, you wouldn’t be at the hospital. What’s wrong?”
“He tangled with a maniacal bull, and the bull won,” Jim answered for him. “Don’t happen often. This here’s one of the top bull riders in the world, and he’s got the buckle and the trophy to prove it.”
She looked up at him, a silvery strand of moonlight glimmering in her seductive eyes. The little emotional control he still possessed cratered.
“So you’re still bull riding?” she said.
“It’s in my blood. And you’re still tending the sick and wounded.”
“Guess that’s in my blood. And now you’re one of the wounded again.”
“Yep.” He did his best to fake a nonchalance that didn’t match the heated memories boiling inside him. “Guess you could say we’re right back where we started.”
“Not quite, Dakota.”
Crazy the way his name sounded different when she said it. Softer. Warmer. A bit gut-wrenching.
Jim’s brows arched and he rocked back on the heels of his boots. “Am I missing something here? Do you two know each other?”
“Old friends,” Dakota said.
“Well, damn. Why didn’t you say so?”
“Just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.”
“What type of injury did you sustain?” Viviana asked, seamlessly snapping back into her physician role.
She acted as if they were nothing more than old friends. If he were smart, he’d treat this encounter the same way.
He tried
