Breaking Creed

46

She had been stung by scorpions and awakened from a black fog, and yet the first thing she said to him was, “I couldn’t find my clothes.”

Creed stifled a grin. He didn’t want her to feel any more self-conscious than she obviously was. Already her fingers were tugging down the hem of his favorite T-shirt, stretching it out beyond repair and making it even more of a favorite.

“They were pretty dirty. Hannah took them to wash.”

“Hannah?”

“My partner.” He saw her glancing around his apartment and added, “She lives at the main house with her boys. You met her last night, but I’m not surprised you don’t remember.”

They had come back up from the dog kennels, though he certainly wouldn’t have minded lying there a bit longer. He’d managed to get maybe three hours of sleep. When he woke to see Maggie standing on the balcony above, he thought he was dreaming. The sunlight streaming down on her had made the white T-shirt practically transparent. She had looked like an angel — a quite shapely angel — totally unaware that he could see more than the bare thighs she was now trying so desperately to cover.

“She offered to bring your freshly laundered clothes back with some lunch.”

“Lunch? But you have something smelling wonderful here in your kitchen.”

“Oh, that’s actually for the dogs. I’ve got one with kidney disease. It’s always a challenge to get him to eat. And we have two new boarders who are missing their owners.”

“Ryder’s Dog Café?” She smiled at him, and he was glad to see she appreciated his effort rather than thinking he was silly. “Boarders? I didn’t realize that was part of your business.”

“It’s not. Hannah volunteers at a place called Segway House. They take in runaways, recovering drug addicts, pregnant teens, and a lot of returning military. They can’t have their dogs while they’re living there. A couple of our boarders are dogs whose owners have been deployed and there were no family members to take the dogs in.”

She was staring at him, and for a moment he thought perhaps she wasn’t feeling quite as well as she initially thought she did. “Wow!” she finally said. “That is really… admirable.”

And that was the last thing any man wanted to be called by a half-naked woman in the middle of his apartment.

“Sometimes it’s a pain in the neck. I end up with a dog I didn’t want.”

“The owner doesn’t come back for the dog?”

“Or he comes back in a flag-draped casket.”

“Oh.” It was obvious she hadn’t thought of that.

At the kitchen counter he filled glasses with orange juice, then led her to the sofa, pointing to the blanket draped over the back. He waited for her to settle in while he held her glass. She tucked a bare foot up underneath herself, revealing even more than she intended before yanking the blanket over her lap.

She’d been feverish last night but the crimson today was definitely a blush. He hated that she was uncomfortable and hated it even more that he found it sexier than hell. Especially after what she’d been through. He’d had plenty of women come to his loft apartment, some stayed the night, others just several hours, but this was more intimate than anything or anyone before, and he hadn’t even touched her.

Then he realized that she probably thought he had.

“Just for the record, Hannah and Dr. Avelyn undressed you last night. They put the baking soda paste on the stings.”

She held up her hands and stared at the backs of them. The swelling was gone. A few welts were still visible under the paste. It was remarkable how, less than twenty-four hours later, Maggie looked almost back to normal.

“You’re sure you’re feeling okay?”

“I feel good,” she said as she took the glass of juice from him. Her eyes caught sight of his welts, and she reached up and touched the back of his hand. “Looks like you got stung, too.”

Her fingertips meant to caress, but Creed felt only the unexpected electrical charge. He shrugged and pretended the stings and her touch were no big deal. He asked, “No pain?”

She shook her head. “I guess I’m a little bit achy. It feels like I have a hangover. But otherwise… I feel amazingly good.”

“Dr. Avelyn gave you something for the pain and to help you sleep when she gave you the antivenin.”

“Dr. Avelyn?”

“Avelyn Parker.”

“You have a doctor who makes house calls?”

“She’s not an MD. She’s a veterinarian.”

She smiled, then nodded as if she should have guessed. And she didn’t seem bothered by the fact.

“This type of scorpion doesn’t inject enough venom to be lethal, but you had about eighteen stings. Actually, this particular type of scorpion doesn’t usually sting unless disturbed or threatened. You did kind of disturb them.”

“All I can remember is that I couldn’t breathe.”

“You had an allergic reaction. The symptoms come on quick and furious.” He reached out to touch her arm but stopped short, remembering the impact of her simple caress. Instead, he pointed to where the swelling had gone down on her shoulder and only a red mark showed through the paste. “Without the antivenin you could have died.”

“It was meant to be a trap or another torture chamber, wasn’t it? Just like the fire ants.”

“Most likely. The forensic team said there was a screen over the top to prevent the scorpions from escaping. The hole was lined with burlap to keep it moist. Someone had dumped rotted wood with enough termites to keep the scorpions fat and happy.”

“But Mrs. Bagley didn’t die down there.”

“No. I expect the coroner will be getting those details to you and Sheriff Holt when he knows the cause of her death. There is something else.”

He sat down in the recliner beside her, close enough that his knee brushed the blanket. He stayed at the edge of the chair, set aside his now-empty glass, and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, chin on his fists.

“Your rental car’s been impounded by the forensic team.”

“What? Why?”

“Jason got your belongings from the trunk. He’ll bring them when he comes to work today.”

“I’m not worried about that. Why did they take the car?”

“Someone left a burlap sack under the driver’s seat. Jason found it when he tried to drive your car back yesterday. There were three coral snakes in the sack.”

She shot a hand up and ran fingers through her hair as she shook her head. “Seriously, what is it with these people? Fire ants, scorpions, snakes?”

“Coral snakes have the most virulent venom of all the poisonous snakes in the States. One bite can kill a dog in a matter of ten to twenty minutes.”

Her hand came down to her lap and her eyes widened. “Is Jason okay?”

“Yeah, he’s okay. A bit shook-up. Corals are shy, not aggressive. They like to hide, but if they feel trapped, they’ll strike.”

“Like the scorpions.”

He scooted closer. Drew her eyes to meet his. “Normally I don’t need to know everything from law enforcement except what’ll help me and my dogs do our job. But this is one time I think you need to tell me what’s going on.”

“I told you. We fished Trevor Bagley out of the Potomac. We think someone tortured him.”

“With fire ants. I got that. But why?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

“But you have your suspicions.”

Her eyes left his and without a word they confirmed what he had said.

“Look, Maggie, the scorpions have been there for whatever crazy reason. Scare tactic, torture… maybe somebody’s screwed-up idea of a joke. But the snakes… The snakes were put in your car on purpose.”

He waited to see that fact sink in. She looked tired. Her skin was still rash-red in places, and strands of hair stuck to the paste on her neck. He noticed that her eyes were slow to track, almost as if her mind was playing catch-up. It was probably the residual effect of the drugs that Dr. Avelyn had given her yesterday.

“When?” she said. “When could they have put them in the car? The sheriff and his deputy—”

“Already checked on that. Holt said they left for about twenty to thirty minutes to meet the forensic team and then lead them to the place so they wouldn’t get lost. That’s not a long time span. Which means someone not only knew you were at the Bagleys’ place, but they were there somewhere — watching.”

“So you think they meant to scare me?”

“No, I think they meant to kill you.”