*****
Kara sighed softly as she took a sip from the foam cup, hoping the coffee would help her focus. Swallowing hard to get the strong, burnt-tasting liquid down her throat, she looked up at Maddie with a weak smile. “I think we’re almost done.”
She had already identified the two suspects from mug shots, the angry gunmen who had stormed the clinic that morning, demanding drugs. Maddie had been in an exam room and hadn’t seen the men, but Kara had gotten an up close and personal look. Grimacing, she wished to hell that she hadn’t. Alone in the waiting room, watching over a child whose sibling and mother were in the exam room with Maddie, Kara would probably never forget the dead look in the men’s eyes and their haggard faces that told the story of years of drug abuse. She knew the look, had seen it often in her youth, but she hadn’t had a gun in her face at the time. That moment, that terrifying instance of not knowing whether the next few seconds would be her last, had been enough to scare the bejesus out of her. She had scooped up the child and raced around the corner, hitting the alarm button under the desk as she tucked the child behind her. The alarm wasn’t silent and the ruckus had been enough to bring Maddie running out and the men to scatter.
One of the men had a twitchy trigger finger and his firearm had exploded at the sound of the alarm, the path of the bullet coming so close to Kara’s head that she had felt the air ripple at the side of her face.
Shuddering, she wrapped her arms around herself, not really cold, but remembering with more than a touch of unease the faces of the men and their final brutal comment as they escaped through the clinic door.
“We’ll get you later, bitch!”
Maddie had only seen their exit, arriving seconds after they had turned to run. Thankfully, everyone had escaped unharmed.
“The nice detective should be back soon and we can affirm the police reports and get the hell out of here,” Maddie responded grimly, her eyes focused on Kara. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little pale.”
Kara shrugged, trying to look unaffected. “A little shaken up is all. I’m…good.” Terrified. Scared shitless. But otherwise, just fine.
The last thing she wanted was to alarm her friend, knowing Maddie already felt responsible for Kara nearly getting shot.
Maddie reached across the table and grabbed her hand, squeezing it until almost all of the blood left the extremity. “They shot at you. It’s normal to be upset. That was a damn close call. I’m so sorry, Kara.”
“Maddie, it isn’t your fault-”
“Who the hell shot at her!” A bellowing male voice came from the door, and Kara didn’t even have to turn around to know exactly who stood there. She recognized Simon’s blustering tone immediately. The man might not yell often, but he made up for it in quality. No one could roar more ferociously than Simon when his temper flared.
“What in the fuck is going on? The police said you got attacked at some clinic-”
“My clinic,” Maddie interrupted, standing to confront Simon. “Who the hell are you?”
Uh-oh.
Kara stood, ready to jump into the fight. Maddie might have the face of an angel, with fiery red corkscrew curls that surrounded her perfect features, but she could be a furious foe when she wanted to be. Not that people saw that side of her often. Her patients, young and old, adored her and her usually sunny personality. But when Maddie was fighting for a cause or something she believed in, she could be a dangerous enemy.
Kara watched as her friend threw back her shoulders, her white physician’s coat floating around generous curves that complemented her angelic features. She forced back a grin as Maddie straightened to try to compensate for her five foot three height, in preparation for battle.
“I’m Kara’s…” Simon stopped abruptly, as though not quite sure what to say, before finishing hesitantly, “friend. And I want to know why the hell someone shot at her.”
“Helloooo. I’m right here, Simon.” Reaching out her hand, she gripped his jaw, forcing him to look at her. “I am able to answer for myself.”
His face transformed, the anger draining from his features as his still-hot eyes met hers. Reaching out to grasp her shoulders, he demanded, “What happened? Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” His hands ran over her arms before landing again on her shoulders.
Explaining what happened turned into an exhausting event. Simon interrupted, swearing like a sailor and asking what felt like a million freaking questions. Kara tried to answer them patiently to calm him down.
They all took a seat on the flimsy, uncomfortable chairs at the enormous table. Kara talked, first introducing Simon and Maddie, and then going on to answer more questions that were flowing from the furious man in front of her, almost faster than she could answer them.
Simon cursed throughout her explanation.
And Maddie just watched with a dumbfounded, perplexed expression.
“Did they catch them?” Simon asked, his voice rough, as though he had been through hell himself.
“No. And Kara needs to be careful since they threatened her.” Maddie finally jumped in, her voice protective.
“You neglected to mention that.” Simon shot Kara a dark look.
Their conversation was interrupted by a plainclothes detective, a very nice, youngish blond man who had identified himself as Detective Harris. He dropped papers in front of both Kara and Maddie, asking quietly, “Can you look at the reports and see if you have anything to add?” He put a casual hand on the back of Kara’s chair and leaned over her shoulder, perusing the report with her.
A low, reverberating sound came from Simon’s throat and she pulled her eyes away from the report to look at him. But he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were shooting fire at Detective Harris, a threatening look that startled her.
Obviously, the detective wasn’t the least bit intimidated. “Boyfriend?” he asked quietly, quietly enough that Simon couldn’t detect the words.
“Friend,” she mumbled back, hating herself for wishing she could confirm the question with a simple “yes” answer.
She read the report quickly, with enough haste to get through it fast, but not so rapidly that she wasn’t accurate. After the official paperwork was finished, she stood, stretching her back as she got to her feet, feeling slightly unsteady.
“Careful!” The detective took her arm to steady her slightly swaying body. “You’ve had a tough day,” he stated kindly. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out two business cards and handed one to both her and Maddie. “My card. Call me anytime. My cell phone number is on the back just in case you need it.”
“Is that really necessary?” Simon snarled, his arm curling around Kara’s waist, pulling her body against him protectively.
The detective shrugged. “Yeah. It is. Kara was threatened. I want these ladies to be able to reach me any time.”
“Thank you, Detective Harris. You’ve been very kind.” Smiling softly, Kara shook the detective’s hand. Maddie did the same, before all three of them exited the building together.
Kara took a deep breath, letting the crisp, refreshing air of the outdoors enter her lungs. “It’s a good day to be alive,” she muttered to herself, thankful to just be among the living and healthy.
As the three of them descended the stairs, approaching the sidewalk, Maddie asked Simon quietly, “You wouldn’t happen to be related to Sam Hudson? I know the last name is pretty common, but I was just wondering.”
Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, Simon looked at Maddie with surprise. “Yeah…he’s my brother. Why do you ask? Do you know him?”
Maddie frowned. “Oh, God.” She let out a heavy breath. “Uh…yeah…I did. A long time ago.”
“Were you friends?” Simon asked curiously, looking at Maddie expectantly.
“No! Not really!” Maddie answered abruptly, her face turning as red as her hair.
“Ah…I see,” Simon answered. Not ready to let the subject drop, he added, “Bad experience with my brother?”
“He’s a complete and total snake.” Maddie reached up to rake the curls from her face. The wind was brisk and errant spirals were whipping around her head.
Kara jumped as a harsh bark of laughter escaped from Simon’s mouth. “Believe me, you aren’t the first woman to feel that way. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault that your brother is a slimy reptile. I just hope the two of you aren’t similar in some regards,” she replied awkwardly. “Take care of Kara.”
“With pleasure, Maddie,” he replied smoothly, reaching out his available hand. “Bad circumstances, but nice to meet you.”
“You too. I think,” she answered as she grudgingly shook Simon’s outstretched hand. “I know I can’t judge one brother by the other, but I hate anything that reminds me of Sam Hudson.” Shuddering, she released his hand and hugged Kara. “Take care of yourself. I’ll call you. Don’t do anything stupid,” she warned Kara fiercely in a whisper low enough that only Kara could catch her adamant advice.
Kara threw herself into Maddie’s arms and hugged her tightly, well aware of the danger that both she and her friend had been in and how easily things could have turned out differently. She loved Maddie to death. Although she could be prickly on the outside at times, her friend was a complete marshmallow on the inside. “You too. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Simon reclaimed her, slipping his arm around her waist and leading her to his car as Maddie crossed the parking lot to her own vehicle.
God, what a horrible day.
Tired, shaken, her mind on the events of the day, she didn’t even balk as Simon led her to his ridiculously expensive Veyron and seated her in the passenger side before climbing behind the wheel himself.
They were both silent, lost in their own thoughts, as they made the journey home.