Love's Taming (The Love's Series) Read online

  Looking back at the closed door she had left through, he sighed, then turned back to his friends. “I stink with this shit right now. I’ve been living it and stink with it.”

  Matt got right in his face and said, “Get that outta your mind, man. You did what you had to do.”

  “Maybe,” Shane replied. “But it cost. And it cost me fuckin’ huge. And when this is over, I’m going back to get her. And hope to God, she gives me a chance.”

  * * *

  Annie ran out of the station, heedless of the pouring rain, right out into the street. A car honked, and she heard cursing.

  “Lady, what the fuck? You gotta death wish?”

  Pushing on through to the other side of the road, she continued to run several more blocks until soaked and breathless, she stopped under a shop awning. Tears mingled with raindrops. Shivering from cold or anger or heartache, she wasn’t sure, but she knew she needed to pull herself together.

  Looking up, she saw a taxi drive up letting its passenger out. Racing toward it she hopped in, giving the address of her clinic.

  The driver looked in his rear-view mirror at the wet, bedraggled passenger in the back. “You okay, miss? You need me to take you to the hospital or the police?”

  Barking out a rude noise, Annie leaned back in the seat, aware that she was dripping water all over the inside of his cab. “Thank you, but no. I think I’ve had enough of the police to last me a lifetime!” With that, she closed her tear swollen eyes and tried to still her racing thoughts, unaware that she was being followed.

  * * *

  “Well, I think it completely sucks!” announced Suzanne. “Jesus, they haul you out of here like some criminal when they knew all along you didn’t keep the drugs. What the hell was that all about anyway?”

  Annie and Leon looked at each other, shock plainly written on their faces. They were all sitting in the lab area on stools trying to process what Annie had divulged.

  “Girl, that is the most emotion I have ever heard come outta your mouth since you been workin’ here,” Leon announced as Annie tried not to grin.

  Patting Suzanne’s arm, she said, “Don’t worry. I haven’t felt like grinning since this nightmare started, so that felt good.”

  Suzanne rolled her eyes, then wrapped her fingers around Annie’s as well. “I’m just upset. I can’t believe you had to go through that.” A grimace crossed her face. “And Stoney. Or Shane. Or whoever the hell he is. I just knew he looked like trouble.”

  Leon stood and walked over to Suzanne and kissed the top of her head before heading over and doing the same to Annie. “Doc, what do you need us to do? I know this mess is hurting right now, and I can’t fix that. Well, I could go try to find Shane’s bad-ass and kick some sense into him. But then since he is a big badass, I don’t know that I could.”

  Annie looked up at Leon and smiled a slow, soft smile. “Shirley’s lucky, you know?”

  Smiling his dazzling white smile, he laughed. “Yeah, well. I think I’m the lucky one.”

  Annie and Suzanne shared a look before turning their attention back to him. “And that is exactly why she is so lucky,” Annie said as she rose from her stool and wrapped her arms around him. Suzanne joined them in a group hug, and Annie felt the familiar sting of tears returning.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she pulled away. “Guys, go home. I’m fine. It’s Friday, and we have two days off. Don’t worry about me. I’m just going to eat junk food, pull myself together, and come Monday morning it will be business as usual.”

  “You sure? ‘Cause I can call Shirley, and we’ll hit up some bars and get totally smashed, if it would help!” Leon offered.

  “Nah. You guys head on out. I’ll lock up after you and then head up to bed. Truthfully, I am exhausted. Bed is exactly what I need.” She thought for a second and then amended, “Well, copious amounts of wine and then bed.”

  She walked them to the front door, watched as Leon made sure that Suzanne was in her car safely, and then locked the door. Making her way toward the back, she caught a glimpse of herself in the glass window of the lab. Her coppery hair had dried from its earlier drenching and now was frizzing out of control from her ponytail. Green eyes, still red-rimmed, stared back at her.

  I am such a loser. I gave myself to man I didn’t even know and actually starting falling for him. In a week. What the hell is wrong with me? I never do that. Determined to go back to her well-ordered life she drew herself up, wiping the last of her tears. At least the last of them for now. She had no doubt that more would follow once she hit the wine.

  Walking toward the back stairs to her apartment, she clicked off the lights in the clinic, one by one.

  Suddenly a figure loomed in front of her. Screaming, she jumped back in fright, but found herself held in place by a large arm with a hand held over her mouth. Without thinking of anything other than escape, she bit down on the hand. She was flung away only to be backhanded across the face. Her head snapped to the side and she tasted blood as she was once again pinned in someone’s arms.

  Heart pounding, she blinked as the lights came back on in the room. Two men stood in front of her, with the third man at her back holding her tightly. One of the men was tall, distinguished looking in a dark suit, with an air of danger swirling around him. Perhaps it was the scar that ran down the length of his face from brow to chin. His eyes bore into hers. They were cold. Dead. The second man was dressed much more casually. Black pants, black t-shirt. And a smile. A smile that was not friendly. A smile directed at her.

  “Who… are you? Wh…what do you want?” her voice weakly asked. Trying to pull herself together, licking her split lips, she continued. “There’s no cash in the drawer. It has already gone to the bank.”

  The smaller of the two men chuckled. Fear trickled down her back and if it wasn’t for the arm around her waist, she was sure she would have collapsed to the floor.

  The man in the suit spoke. Quietly. Softly. “Dr. Donavan. You have cost us a considerable amount of money. I assure you that whatever was in your cash drawer would not even cover my expenses for an hour.”

  “I…I don’t know wh…what you are talking about?” she replied, terrified to move. “I don’t know you.” She tried to swallow but found that her throat was closing with fear. Her chest heaved as her breathing became more rapid.

  “My needs are simple, doctor. You found something that belonged to me, and I want to know where it is.”

  “I don…don’t have anything.” Her eyes darted around as though looking for something that she might have that belonged to someone else. Clarity struck her as she looked back into his sinister gaze. “The drugs. Oh Jesus, you want the drugs.”

  “With the police now involved, I am sure you don’t have my possessions here, but surely you knew what you had. Surely you are hiding it to see how much I will pay to get it back.”

  “I didn’t keep it. I thr…threw it away,” she stated, hoping this would give them a reason to leave.

  The smaller man’s mouth curved into a slow smile, as his eyes seemed to glimmer. His hand had slipped into his pocket drawing out out an object that she did not recognize until he flipped it and realized that he was wielding a knife. Oh my God. She began to shake with fear, but the man holding her only tightened his arms.

  “My dear doctor. Are you trying to tell me that you did not know you were holding a quarter of a million dollars in your hands? I highly doubt that. But…” he held her gaze. “If it is true, that would be very unfortunate for you.”

  “I don’t have it. Honestly, I threw it out.”

  The man with the knife approached her slowly, the smile never leaving his face. He drew the flat surface of the blade down her cheek. Annie felt a tear slid down her cheek, mingling with the path of the metal.

  The man in charge watched her carefully. “You know, Jose, I think I believe her. I don’t think she knew what she had at all.”

  Her eyes sought his, looking for a reprieve from her terror. But it wasn�
�t going to come.

  “My dear, you may have tossed out a fortune in cocaine, but you will still have to be an example. I can’t have everyone acting with such cavalier ignorance.”

  A loud noise came from the front of the clinic. “Annie! Are you still here? I forgot my cell phone,” yelled Leon.

  Jerking up, Annie began screaming. “Leon, call 911, I’m being robbed. 911. 911.”

  The man holding her tried to put his hand over her mouth again, but she was too quick. Ducking her head, she continued screaming. Kicking out, her shoes hit his shins, causing him to loosen his grip just enough for her to wiggle away. The taller man was already at the alley door, making his escape. The shorter man’s glare was no longer smiling as she now saw a gun in his hand aimed at the hall.

  “Nooooo!” she screamed, terrified that Leon would come into the room, then found herself being thrown to the floor as the man who had been holding her pushed her down so he could escape. “Stay back, Leon! They have a gun!” she yelled.

  She looked up just in time to see the gun pointing at her as the man called Jose was at the alley door. His eyes, soulless, pulled the trigger just as she tried to roll away. The sound of gun blast in the small area deafened her as a pain sliced through her side.

  She lay on the floor, seeing Leon’s anxious face above hers.

  “Oh God, doc. What the hell happened? Stay with me. I’ve got you, honey.”

  The sound of sirens filled the night air. Leon’s face seemed fuzzy. Far away. Then another face appeared above her. Shane. Then blackness.

  Chapter 9

  Floating. On the ocean. On a blow-up pool lounger. Warm sun on her face. Working on her tan.

  It’s not warm. It’s dark.

  Strange noises seeped into Annie’s consciousness. Noises that did not sound like waves.

  Opening her eyes, the harsh lights had her closing them quickly, but not before her brain registered that she was in the hospital. A flood of memories rushed back as she remembered the events in her clinic. Panic rose in her chest as her eyes opened wide and she tried to sit up. The pain in her side sliced through her and she fell back to the bed, a gasp escaping her lips.

  “Baby?” a familiar voice sounded right next to her. She opened her eyes again, seeing Shane bending over her, worry lines scoring his face.

  Confusion melded with fear and as much as she hated to cry in front of him, tears slid down her face.

  Shane cupped her face with his hands, wiping her tears with the rough pads of his thumbs. “You’re okay, baby. You’re gonna be fine.”

  “I was shot,” her voice croaked.

  “I know. I’m so sorry, Annie.”

  “How bad?”

  “The bullet just barely grazed your side. Honestly, baby, it did not hit anything major. It is more like a bad burn.”

  “Hurts.”

  “I know, baby. I know,” he answered as he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

  She looked into his blue eyes, so expressive, so different from the dark contacts he had been wearing. She saw concern…and care. No, I do not see care. He does not care about me.

  She did not want to ask, but found the words coming out anyway. “Why are you here?”

  Shane’s gaze did not waver. “Annie, there’s nowhere else I would wanna be than right by your side.” He saw the doubt in her eyes. “Baby, you ran out yesterday and didn’t give me a chance to explain.”

  Just then there was a commotion at the door as Leon and Suzanne hustled in.

  “Explain what? That you are a complete asshole who used Annie to get what you wanted? Forcing her into your world of drugs and men with guns and…and …your shit!” Suzanne yelled as she got right in Shane’s face.

  Before he could react, Suzanne was pulled back into Leon’s front as he wrapped his arms around her. “Down wild-girl,” he said calmly. “Annie doesn’t need this right now.”

  Suzanne burst into tears as she looked down at Annie. “I couldn’t believe it when Leon called, I just couldn’t believe it.”

  Leon’s voice, soft and gentle, said, “Annie, I called your mom.” At this, Annie’s eyes grew wide, but he continued before she could say anything. “It’s okay, doc. Your mom was freaked, but I got your dad on the phone. I told him what the doctor said and that you can go home tomorrow. They wanted to come immediately, but I told them to wait. I figured you might need them later.”

  He then turned his gaze to Shane and his gentle look was replaced with a hard one. “You want to step outside with me?”

  Shane shifted his stance, arms crossing his massive chest, legs apart. “No one knows what went down between Annie and me, but Annie and me. I get that you care and I get that you’re a friend. I respect that. But I’m not leaving her side now. I let her walk away earlier and I’m not making that mistake again.”

  Leon stared at him for a moment, as though measuring Shane’s honesty. Finally giving a head jerk, he turned his gaze back to Annie, offering her his dazzling smile. Tucking a still sniffling Suzanne into his side, he said, “Doc, don’t worry about the clinic. We’ll call the appointments for the week and reschedule…”

  “No!” Annie protested. All eyes turned to her in surprise. “I’ll be there on Monday morning. We have to keep the clinic open,” she explained.

  “Baby, you gotta have time to heal,” Shane said.

  She looked at him sharply. “Do not call me baby. And do not tell me what I have to do. You made your play. I get it, Sto…Shane. You had a job and you did it. I was just collateral damage.”

  Shane’s look went from concern to scary as he leaned down in her face. “You were not a play,” he growled. “You know exactly what happened between us was real. No play. No game. It was in the middle of a fuckin’ mess, but it was real.”

  Staring into his face that still made her long to kiss his jaw, she whispered, “I didn’t even know your name.”

  He closed his eyes and dropped his head for a second before bringing it back and leveling his blue eyes onto hers. “Annie, it wasn’t a lie. I was a quiet kid growin’ up, known as Stoney in the neighborhood. I needed a name when I went under, but I wanted to hold on to something that was real. I went with Stoney. So baby, when you got Stoney, you were still getting me.

  “I know you’re in pain and I didn’t want to do this here, but you wouldn’t give me a chance yesterday, so I’m takin’ my chance now. Can’t give you too many details, but you’re gonna let me tell you how it is.

  “I’ve been workin’ vice for several years, gettin’ more and more frustrated, ‘cause no matter how many dealers we would get, we couldn’t get the top. Two and a half years ago, a good friend’s woman was kidnapped and hurt by these fuckers. We got her out, but I saw what that did. Fuckin’ almost lost his woman and thought for sure we were gonna fuckin’ lose him too.”

  Annie lay quiet, listening to his story, unable to look away. Unable to turn it off. Unable to shut it down. Oh my God. He’s witnessed this and been hurt by it. Softly she asked, “Was the woman all right?”

  He looked down at her face that had gentled, seeing her brow wrinkle in concern. Placing his hand on her cheek, he smoothed his fingers over her brow, willing her to relax. “Yeah, baby. She was fine. Drugged and hurt, but she came out all right, with a good man by her side to make sure she would stay all right.

  “I decided then that a big play needed to be made. I thought that goin’ undercover would work for me. So I volunteered.”

  “Your eyes,” she whispered.

  “Yeah. I been wearing dark contacts ‘cause my eyes give me away.”

  “I didn’t like the dark eyes. They didn’t tell me anything when I looked at you.”

  Shane smiled, relieved that Annie was talking, giving him a chance.

  “So I went in. Two years, baby. No contact with family.” At this, her eyes widened, but he continued. “My family knew. They get it, ‘cause this job is who I am. But it sucked all the same. I thought maybe six months, but it fuckin’ kept
draggin’ out. And livin’ in that world for two years was fuckin’ killin’ me.”

  The room was quiet for a moment until Leon spoke. “So what about doc? Where did she fit into your world?”

  Annie’s eyes shifted to Leon and Suzanne in the corner, having forgotten they were still there. Suzanne was no longer sniffling, but eyes wide, attentively listening.

  Shane glanced to the corner also, taking in the two friends. Rubbing his hand over his face, he continued. “Been watchin’ them torture dogs to get the shit in and around the country. Finally got a tip that a vet in the area was helpin’ them. Didn’t know how. Findin’ easier ways for the dogs to ingest the drug packets. Started watchin’ some of the vets. I ended up with you,” he said as he leaned back over the bed, placing his fists on either side of her.

  “Annie baby, you were the first ray of sunshine I had in almost two years. It wasn’t hard followin’ you, watchin’ you. I’d been buried deep in the belly of the beast. Forgot what clean livin’ looked like. Smelled like. Felt like. But you, you lived that clean every fuckin’ day. I had the urge to make contact just so I could have a little of that clean back. It didn’t take long to figure out you weren’t the vet we were lookin’ for. But baby, couldn’t give you up.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, peering into his sky blue eyes, looking for understanding.

  “I kept followin’ you. Just to see you. Just to have that sunshine, even from a distance. Not too close. Not enough to get burned. But just enough to feel the warmth.”

  The room was silent. No one spoke. No one moved. The only sounds came from the heart monitor that Annie could swear was beating faster.

  “We were gettin’ close to havin’ the evidence we needed, when one of the fuckers decided to test some of us by havin’ us use our own personal dogs. I’d rescued one not long after takin’ this assignment. It fuckin’ killed me to have them get Sarge to swallow that shit, but I knew that would give us the evidence.”

  Shaking his head at the memory, he continued, “So I let them do that, but only ‘cause I knew I could get him out and get him to you. I wasn’t testin’ you. I wasn’t settin’ you up. I already knew you were clean. Annie baby, I came to you ‘cause I knew you would save his life. Without thinkin’. Without askin’ for the moon. Without throwin’ a shitfit ‘cause it was late and I might not have money. I came to you ‘cause I knew you were the only one I wanted to trust with my dog.”