“You okay to lock up?” Tim asked as he gathered up his water bottle, phone, and keys.
“No problem. I want to finish up these chart notes so they’re not hanging over my head.”
“Paperwork is everyone’s least favorite thing.”
“And I wouldn’t want you coming after me if I don’t get it finished on time.”
Tim chuckled. “I am pretty terrifying.”
“You’ve got us all quaking in our boots.”
“Right where I want you.”
He waved as he headed out the front door, and I turned back to the file in front of me. Miles had let me take point on Koda’s two-week follow-up today. The pup was healing well and surprisingly spry while lugging around his cast.
I grinned down at the desk. The shepherd was giving Hayes at least a dozen heart attacks a day. He’d been taking Koda to work with him so he could keep an eye on the canine, but Koda wanted to be in everyone’s business and explore every nook and cranny. He was jumping on and off of furniture, but Hayes didn’t have the heart to crate him all day.
Hopefully, in another few weeks, they’d both be free. But I had a feeling Koda was already used to going into the office with Hayes, and Hayes would have trouble keeping him at home now. Maybe Koda could become the Sheriff’s Department mascot.
I moved through my stack of charts as quickly as possible while double-checking my work. Being the new person on the roster meant I wanted to make sure I was pulling my weight and not making more work that others would have to clean up. After scanning the last page one more time, I shut the folder and stood. I raised my hands over my head for a stretch.
The darkness outside the window took me by surprise, and I glanced at my watch. It was after nine. We stayed open late on Thursdays so people who worked could bring in their pets after the close of business, but it made for a late day. My stomach growled as if to punctuate the point.
I had a feeling it was a frozen-pizza kind of night. I quickly filed the charts and moved to pick up my purse. Double-checking that the correct lights were off, I headed for the door.
I made quick work of the alarm and lock and started for my SUV. The moon was almost full, and the sky not quite black yet. It was more of a dark twilight—one of my favorite times of day. Enough light to see by, but it had an almost magical glow to it.
I’d eat my pizza on the back deck tonight. Maybe even make use of the outdoor shower back there. It was certainly warm enough. I beeped the locks on my vehicle, but as I did, a hand curved around my middle, and another around my mouth, jerking me back.
The shock stole the air from my lungs and froze my muscles. Those first few seconds seemed to last a lifetime. Everything tunneled as I realized a cloth covered my mouth. The taste of the cotton and something sweet jerked me out of my frozen state.
I bit down, hard. The man behind me howled in pain, and the cloth fell away. I was hazy and sluggish. Whatever had been on the fabric was already working its way into my system. But I still managed an elbow into my assailant’s ribs.
“Hey, what are you doing? Let her go!”
The voice came from down the street but it sounded so very far away. The arm around me released, and then I was falling. There was blinding pain, and then nothing at all.
23
Hayes
“Here’s a refill, Sheriff.”
I looked up as Cammie slid a Coke across the table. “Thanks, Cam. Just holler at me if I’m keeping you from closing up.”
I’d turned the booth at the bar and grill into my office for the evening. Koda was spending the night with Shiloh, and I hadn’t wanted to go home to an empty house. So, instead, I’d holed up here and worked as I ate.
“You’re fine. We don’t close until eleven.”
I glanced towards the bar end of the space. They were doing steady business, but the restaurant half was pretty much empty. Collecting my papers, I inclined my head to the bench opposite me. “Why don’t you sit for a minute?”
Cammie glanced around to see if anyone needed her, but clearly they didn’t. “Okay.”
I studied the girl across from me. Dark circles rimmed her eyes, and her hands couldn’t seem to keep still. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m doing okay.”
I arched a brow in question, and Cam blew out a breath, sending her bangs fluttering.
“All right. I’ve been better. I’ve had a hard time sleeping.”
“Nightmares?”
She nodded. “And once I have one, I don’t want to go back to sleep.”
“I get that. I’ve been there. After we got Shy back, I had ‘em for almost a year.”
The fluttering of Cammie’s fingers stopped for a moment. “You did?”
“It’s normal. Did the ER doc talk to you about seeing a therapist?”
Her cheeks heated. “Yeah, but I don’t know if that’s for me. I’m not that bad.”
“Cam, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Talking to someone about what happened will help you heal. My whole family went for a long time.”
“But nothing actually happened to me. I’m fine. I fought him off.”
“And that’s damn admirable, but it was still a trauma. You don’t want to let something like that fester. Do me a favor and call someone. If you want a rec, I think Dr. Kensington is amazing.” I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and riffled through it to find her card. I always kept a few on hand.
Cammie took it hesitantly. “Thank you.”
“Are you going to call?”
Cam rolled her eyes. “Yes.”
I chuckled at the action, but it lightened a little of the worry sitting on my shoulders. “Good.”
My phone buzzed on the table, and Cammie stood. “You take that. I need to clean some tables.”
I hit accept on the screen and put the phone to my ear. “Easton.”
“Sheriff, we’ve got another attempted abduction.”
“Where?”
“Wolf Gap Veterinary.”
My blood turned to ice, and everything around me seemed to slow and fade. The noise from the bar, the bright overhead lights, the country music drifting through the speakers. “Who?”
“Everly Kemper.”
I stood, tossing a twenty on the table and gathering up my pile of papers. “She okay?”
“Not sure. EMTs were called. Ruiz and Williams are headed over there now.”
“On my way.”
All sorts of scenarios, each one worse than the last, filled my mind as I made my way to my SUV and climbed inside. The steering wheel creaked as I adjusted my hold. What the hell had she been doing at the vet’s office so late? Why had she been walking to her car alone?
I took a deep breath, the air whistling through my clenched teeth. It took less than two minutes to get to the vet’s, but it felt like two decades. Lights from an ambulance and a cruiser painted the streets and buildings in a red and blue staccato rhythm.
I pulled my SUV to the side of the road and added my lights to the symphony. Something in me released at the sight of Everly on a gurney, awake and talking. But my rib cage gave a painful squeeze at the sight of my sister holding a compress to Ev’s head.