mammoth hands."
"Mammoths didn't have hands, and if you'd
like, I'd be happy to pull up that baggy sweatshirt and take a look
at your protruding ribs. Don't tell me that you aren't
suicidal. Now behave yourself and let me get the damn pill so
you aren't late for therapy. Go wait in the Expedition.
I'll be out in a second."
I glanced at the keypad on the garage
door.
"Don't even think about it, Doc. You
couldn't run fast or far enough, and if you try, I'll have no
choice but to rip the wires out of that box so it doesn't happen
again. Stop fighting me every step of the way and this will
really be done before you know it."
I snorted. "Really done. As in
you leave me alone and I never have to see you again?"
"Yes."
I looked up sharply. "You're
lying."
His unguarded expression caused physical
pain. It uncurled in my belly like a punch from a prize
fighter and sucked the breath out of my lungs.
"No lie, Doc. It's what you
want. I'm not blind or stupid."
Chapter 10
"Park on the sixth level," I said.
"Why?"
"Because I want to try something when I
leave therapy this morning. If it's all right with you, Mr.
Orion, sir," I love sarcasm more than anything else, I
think.
"Does this something involve the case?"
"It sure as hell isn't about taking a swan
dive over the side of the building. If that was the plan, I'd
ask you to park on the roof."
Johnny maneuvered the car into the
garage. "Any particular area of level six?"
"West aisle."
"The attack happened in the center, near the
south end, right?"
"Yes."
"You want to go upstairs and talk to Journey
before we leave?"
I did, but couldn't fathom
for the life of me why Orion was suddenly being so accommodating of
what I wanted. Correction – of everything but one thing I wanted.
He wasn't about to leave me alone.
"Doc?"
I gritted my teeth at the hated
nickname. Stubborn, stubborn man. There was little
point arguing about it or anything else. "I'm not sure
yet. Am I permitted to use a cell phone in the event that I
need to ask questions while I walk through the crime scene
again?"
"I thought she couldn't talk."
"But Dev can."
"Dev." Snorted derisively. "I
thought you just met him yesterday."
"We bonded quickly. Some men actually
feel remorse for behaving like Neanderthals."
"Some men don't have the common sense to
recognize when another human being is about to self-destruct
either, but I'll try not to hold his ignorance against him,
particularly since he was the first one to alert me to how horrible
you were actually doing."
"Right," I drawled.
"No lie. I believe he mentioned
something akin to seeing more meat on cattle in India."
If he wanted to hurt me, that did the trick,
earned a spectacular display of silent treatment. I was too
distracted by the hurtful observation of a total stranger to
protest the fact that he hung around throughout my entire therapy
session. Until the last modality at least. Amy handed
me a robe and told me to change for the whirlpool treatment.
I felt my eyelids stretch over bulging
orbs. "Absolutely not!"
"What? Why? Helen, what's wrong
with you. Of all the modalities we've used since you started
therapy, this is the one you actually seem to enjoy."
"I will not get in that tub
in front of him ."
The glint returned to Orion's eyes.
"If I have to strip you and dunk you in that thing myself, I'll do
it, Doc. What did I tell you? The nonsense is over as
of last night. You're doing whatever these people tell you to
do, you're taking your pills in an appropriate quantity, you're
eating right and taking care of yourself. Period. No
arguments. Or do you prefer doing this from within the
confines of a hospital? Say one that specializes in treating
people who refuse to take care of themselves?"
"You wouldn't dare."
Orion took one step toward me and I was
convinced. He would dare. Not only would Dunhaven or
some
"Mammoths didn't have hands, and if you'd
like, I'd be happy to pull up that baggy sweatshirt and take a look
at your protruding ribs. Don't tell me that you aren't
suicidal. Now behave yourself and let me get the damn pill so
you aren't late for therapy. Go wait in the Expedition.
I'll be out in a second."
I glanced at the keypad on the garage
door.
"Don't even think about it, Doc. You
couldn't run fast or far enough, and if you try, I'll have no
choice but to rip the wires out of that box so it doesn't happen
again. Stop fighting me every step of the way and this will
really be done before you know it."
I snorted. "Really done. As in
you leave me alone and I never have to see you again?"
"Yes."
I looked up sharply. "You're
lying."
His unguarded expression caused physical
pain. It uncurled in my belly like a punch from a prize
fighter and sucked the breath out of my lungs.
"No lie, Doc. It's what you
want. I'm not blind or stupid."
Chapter 10
"Park on the sixth level," I said.
"Why?"
"Because I want to try something when I
leave therapy this morning. If it's all right with you, Mr.
Orion, sir," I love sarcasm more than anything else, I
think.
"Does this something involve the case?"
"It sure as hell isn't about taking a swan
dive over the side of the building. If that was the plan, I'd
ask you to park on the roof."
Johnny maneuvered the car into the
garage. "Any particular area of level six?"
"West aisle."
"The attack happened in the center, near the
south end, right?"
"Yes."
"You want to go upstairs and talk to Journey
before we leave?"
I did, but couldn't fathom
for the life of me why Orion was suddenly being so accommodating of
what I wanted. Correction – of everything but one thing I wanted.
He wasn't about to leave me alone.
"Doc?"
I gritted my teeth at the hated
nickname. Stubborn, stubborn man. There was little
point arguing about it or anything else. "I'm not sure
yet. Am I permitted to use a cell phone in the event that I
need to ask questions while I walk through the crime scene
again?"
"I thought she couldn't talk."
"But Dev can."
"Dev." Snorted derisively. "I
thought you just met him yesterday."
"We bonded quickly. Some men actually
feel remorse for behaving like Neanderthals."
"Some men don't have the common sense to
recognize when another human being is about to self-destruct
either, but I'll try not to hold his ignorance against him,
particularly since he was the first one to alert me to how horrible
you were actually doing."
"Right," I drawled.
"No lie. I believe he mentioned
something akin to seeing more meat on cattle in India."
If he wanted to hurt me, that did the trick,
earned a spectacular display of silent treatment. I was too
distracted by the hurtful observation of a total stranger to
protest the fact that he hung around throughout my entire therapy
session. Until the last modality at least. Amy handed
me a robe and told me to change for the whirlpool treatment.
I felt my eyelids stretch over bulging
orbs. "Absolutely not!"
"What? Why? Helen, what's wrong
with you. Of all the modalities we've used since you started
therapy, this is the one you actually seem to enjoy."
"I will not get in that tub
in front of him ."
The glint returned to Orion's eyes.
"If I have to strip you and dunk you in that thing myself, I'll do
it, Doc. What did I tell you? The nonsense is over as
of last night. You're doing whatever these people tell you to
do, you're taking your pills in an appropriate quantity, you're
eating right and taking care of yourself. Period. No
arguments. Or do you prefer doing this from within the
confines of a hospital? Say one that specializes in treating
people who refuse to take care of themselves?"
"You wouldn't dare."
Orion took one step toward me and I was
convinced. He would dare. Not only would Dunhaven or
some
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