Chapter Sixteen
“Easier said than done,” Smoke said with a grunt as he watched Kini pack her bag with an efficiency that could only come from a lot of practice. “Some nightmares become a part of you.”
She’d been moving smoothly, but at his words, she hesitated and caught herself reflexively before continuing on. “Yes,” she said without looking at him.
She zipped up her bag and set it on the floor next to the bed. Her gaze met his. “I need to eat.”
The anger he saw in her punched him in the throat. He stepped back and opened the door, letting her go through it ahead of him. Her body was stiff, her shoulders back.
Note to self: don’t talk about Kini in front of Kini unless you want a fight.
His mom already had two plates on the table filled with scrambled eggs, bacon—unburnt—and toast. Kini sat in front of one plate; he sat in front of the other.
She shoveled the food in so fast there was no way she had time to taste any of it.
He ate steadily, finishing just after she did then followed her into his bedroom. “I want to check some of those lacerations before we head out.”
She turned, her gaze as hot and angry as before, but she nodded and sat down on the edge of the mattress.
He bent over, taking a good look at her neck, palpating the skin around the bandages. “Any pain here?”
“No.”
He poked at all the wounds he could put his hands on without getting slapped, but her response was the same.
Almost all her visible skin was either cut or bruised to one extent or another. He looked over the worst areas carefully. “I’d be happier if you had some x-rays done on your arm and ribs.”
“I’ve had broken bones before,” she said in a tone so controlled he knew she was still spitting mad. “Nothing feels like that.”
That didn’t mean the pain she was feeling wouldn’t get in the way of doing her job. “If your pain gets worse, becomes hard to manage, tell me.”
“So you can have me shipped off for my safety?” she asked like “safety” was a dirty word.
What the fuck? “Yes. Your safety as well as the public’s. We can’t afford to make mistakes or delay in doing our job because of injury. You will tell me if you’re not well enough to perform at an acceptable standard.”
She stared at him, her lips pressed so tightly together they were white.
“And I will do the same,” he added.
That surprised her jaw into dropping open for a count of two seconds before she said, “As long as it goes both ways, agreed.” She got to her feet.
He followed her out into the kitchen then watched her down half a cup of hot coffee in one go. “Where first?”
“Several people died in the hospital last night.”
“Start there?” Smoke asked.
She nodded. “That farm Emmaline talked about is bugging me. She seemed so certain…”
She’d also been so sick. “Let the sheriff clear it first.”
She stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “He and his officers don’t know what to look for. Besides, Deputy Blackwater is an asshole, and he’s probably spun our encounter with him to make us look like the assholes.”
“Stupid, too,” Smoke agreed.
“Yes, and I hate dealing with stupid people. I dealt with several of those yesterday, and look at me.” She held her arms out, covered in bandages, and gave him a wry smile. “I think I’m allergic to them.”
It wasn’t funny. She’d been cut, beaten, and bruised. She should be off work and restricted to bed rest at home. Instead, she was investigating the source of a disease that had killed several people and sickened many more.
Someone had started a rumor she was responsible for the illness and destroyed her car.
“The CDC is a threat to someone,” Smoke said slowly, considering her value, skills, and knowledge as a single unit. “You are a threat to someone.”
“That’s crazy,” she said flatly. “I’m just a nurse.”
“You’re not just anything. You work for the CDC. You represent the Centers for Disease Control.”
Her eyes widened. “But the only people who would fear the CDC are people doing something—”
Smoke finished the sentence for her. “Exceptionally stupid.”
She sighed theatrically. “I hope that doesn’t mean my rash will get worse.”
If it got any worse, he might have to kill someone after all. “Help is coming.”
“When help gets here we’ll be sent home. We’re both injured.” She shook her head. “At least I will be sent home. You’re already home…and none of this is relevant to our immediate problems. I want to swab everyone possible. Try to figure out where the majority of cases are coming from. I have more swabs and sample containers. Hopefully enough.”
He was armed in case it wasn’t. “Hospital?”
She nodded, dragged her bag onto the bed, and pulled out a handful of specimen collection swabs. “Have you got something I could put this in? Something portable.”
Smoke opened the bedroom closet. He’d gotten rid of a lot of crap after Lacey cheated on him, but he’d kept a few useful pieces of gear at his parents’ house. He pulled out an old backpack, one he hadn’t used in years and had seen better days. It wasn’t large, which made it a good size for Kini.
He put it on the bed next to her bag.
She picked it up, stuffed a few things in it, then paused to give it a cautious examination. “You went to Princeton University?”
He shrugged.
“What did you take?”
“Engineering.”
“Right,” she said, muttering to herself. “And I’m just a nurse.”
He hid a smile as he went back to the closet and pulled out a few items he could see possible uses for. First was a folding knife in a rugged pouch that clipped to a belt.
“Here,” he said to Kini. “Put this on.”
She took it like it was a live snake and dropped it into the backpack. “I’m not wearing a knife.”
“It’s not just a knife. It’s got a fire starter, flashlight, and even a whistle.”
“I’ll keep it in the backpack, but I’m not wearing it.”
Stubborn woman.
He bent down, lifted his jeans pant leg, and slid another knife and sheath on so it hugged the outside of his lower right leg. A longer knife.
“Why would you need a knife that big for anything legal?”
“It’s for illegal problems, not legal ones.”
He removed the last item he wanted from the closet, its paracord-wrapped handle reassuring in a way that should have been uncomfortable, but wasn’t.
“What is that?”
“A tactical tomahawk.” He set it on the bed.
She watched him shrug on the leather shoulder holster for his Beretta, check his weapon, then holster it.
“You need a knife, a gun, and an axe?” Her voice sounded incredulous. “Just how many illegal situations do you think we’re going to run across today?”
He met her gaze and held it. She couldn’t be that naive after all of the injuries she suffered yesterday. Which reminded him… He went back into the closet and came out with a first aid kit, stuffing that into her backpack, too.
She sighed. “It’s going to be one of those days again, isn’t it?”
“Hope not,” he said with shrug. “Not getting caught unawares, if it is.”
She closed the backpack and slung it over one shoulder. “Thank you for making me paranoid on top of everything else.” She led the way out of his room, waved at his mom, and opened the front door.
Deputy Blackwater stood in the doorway, his hand raised to knock. “Looks like I got here in the nick of time,” he said, his voice vibrating with rage.
She glanced over her shoulder and said to Smoke, “Can I go back to bed and start this day over?”
“Not sure it would help,” Smoke said, examining the deputy’s expression and body language. The man had his teeth clenched so tight, there were white lines of tension painted on his skin along his jaw. His entire body was rigid, nearly vibrating with some strong emotion, and his right arm was bent at the elbow, ready to draw his weapon.
“We’re going to the hospital,” Kini said to the other man.
“Neither one of you are going anywhere until I get some answers,” Blackwater said, glaring at both of them and taking a step forward. “Six more bodies are in the morgue this morning.” He took in a breath and snarled, “Two of them are fellow deputies.”
The muscles of Smoke’s back twisted and tightened. That explained the fury, but not the accusation on his face.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Kini said, her combat-ready stance and voice softening. “How can we help?”
Smoke restrained his need to move in front of Kini, shove her back and out of the way of a man on the edge of violence. His instincts beat and screamed at him, demanding he protect her, but she’d made it clear she wouldn’t tolerate him treating her like she was a potential victim.
Blackwater leaned down, invading her space, and said in a menacing tone, “You can tell me where his AR15 is.”
She leaned back, almost unbalancing herself. “His what?”
“The civilian version of an M16. He has one registered to him, along with several other weapons.”
Smoke opened his mouth to correct the idiot, but Kini beat him to it. “Wait. Are you accusing Smoke of sneaking out in the middle of the night to shoot two of your coworkers?” She shook her head. “Are you serious? After all the injuries we both suffered?” She pointed at Smoke. “Does he look like he’s up to that kind of cloak and dagger bullshit?”
“He’s a soldier,” Blackwater barked. “I think he’s capable of anything.”
“I haven’t shot anyone,” Smoke said before Kini got the idea to punch the deputy in the face. “Recently.”
Blackwater glared at him, while Kini glanced at him over her shoulder and mouthed, What the fuck?
“Where were you last night between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.?” Blackwater demanded.
“Here. Sleeping.”
A smile came and went on Blackwater’s face. “Can anyone testify with one hundred percent certainty that you were home during those hours?”
Shit, here it comes.
“I can,” Kini said, turning so she could put her hand on his chest. “I was touching him all night. He didn’t go anywhere.”
Damn, he liked her claiming him.
Blackwater’s face got so red it looked like he was about to explode. There could be only one reason why he was so focused on Smoke as the culprit.
“Who told you I was the one who shot your boys?”