Forgotten Memories (SWAT: Top Cops Book 4) by Laura Scott Read Free Book Online Page A

afford.
    * * *
    Shane hoped that once Gabby saw the mess left behind in her home, she’d realize that she couldn’t stay there. He’d been forced to bite his tongue several times in the face of her stubbornness.
    Yet, oddly enough, he was glad her feistiness had returned. He’d enjoyed the way she’d curled up beside him in the back of Nate’s car, and carrying her into the hospital hadn’t exactly been a hardship. But he liked how she stood up for herself and imagined that she’d had to do that often in her role as a trauma surgeon.
    Shane pulled the passenger door open and waited as she slid into the seat. After shutting the door behind her, he rounded the car to climb in. Gabby didn’t say anything but twisted her hands in her lap as he backed up the vehicle and left the parking structure.
    Once they were out on the road, she broke the tense silence. “Tell me what happened.”
    He nodded, knowing she deserved the truth. “I went to your house after you fell asleep in the call room.”
    “How did you know my address?” she asked.
    “The nurse at the triage desk told me, which, by the way, isn’t good. I appreciate that I’m a cop so she no doubt felt I was trustworthy, but your coworkers shouldn’t be sharing your personal information with anyone else, and it’s better if you don’t confide in them, too.”
    “I didn’t,” she protested. “You must have talked to Stacy Mueller—she lives close by and I’ve seen her around the neighborhood.”
    “Yeah, Stacy.” Shane made a mental note to talk to the triage nurse again, to reinforce the need to keep Gabby’s information private. “Anyway, I went over to watch your place for a bit and saw a flicker of light inside. I made my way over to the neighbor’s house so I could keep an eye on your front and back doors. Sure enough, a tall guy dressed in black came out the front door. When I confronted him and identified myself as a cop, he took a shot at me and then ran off.”
    “He
shot
at you?” Gabby asked, her voice rising in alarm. She reached out and lightly grasped his arm. “Were you hit? Are you all right?”
    Once again, he was touched by her concern. He reminded himself that her worry over an injury wasn’t personal, she clearly took patient care very seriously. After all, she’d taken the risk of driving out to an isolated cabin to remove a bullet lodged in his shoulder. The IV antibiotics and fluids she’d given him had certainly saved his life. He wanted to believe the earnest determination in her eyes was only for him, but more likely the way she was with all her patients.
    He needed to remember that she was someone he was trying to protect. Getting emotionally involved would only backfire, in a big way.
    “I’m fine, but his shot was close enough that I hit the ground, which gave him the time he needed to get away. And since he had been wearing gloves, we don’t expect to get any fingerprints.”
    “I can’t believe this,” she moaned. “What is going on? Why is this happening?”
    He had the same questions, so he glanced over at her. “Are you sure you don’t know what this is all about?” he asked, trying to keep his tone nonthreatening. “You must have some idea what this guy wants from you.”
    “I don’t,” Gabby insisted, clearly exasperated. “Why would I put my career, or more important, my life, on the line? This is crazy, my only hobbies are reading mysteries and running, my career is too demanding for anything more.”
    Shane pulled into her driveway, letting the car idle as he turned in his seat to face her. “Gabby, listen, I can protect you if you tell me the truth,” he said in a gruff tone. “But if you lie to me and the truth comes out later, there won’t be anything I can do to help you.”
    Gabby lifted her wide green eyes to his and he could clearly see the anguish reflected there. “I promise you that I have no idea what’s going on.”
    Shane desperately wanted to believe her. “What about