For the Birds: Rose Gardner Investigations #2 (Rose Gardner Investigatons) Page 9

  “It’s a rental,” Joe said, then cast me a glance. “And I’m almost done. Next week I’m gonna look for something to buy. Now that I’ve started this house flipping thing, I kind of like it.”

  Joe was moving? He’d irritated the snot out of me over the last half a year, but I’d grown used to having him at the next farmhouse over.

  “Neely Kate’s gonna miss you,” I said.

  “We’ll still spend plenty of time together,” he said.

  Had Dena factored into that decision? I was happy he was moving on, even if it felt a little like he was rushing things with her. The vision hadn’t affected me like I’d expected—in spite of the kissing and Dena’s invitation, I wasn’t jealous—I mostly felt relieved that Joe wasn’t stuck in his unhappiness anymore.

  “Well,” I said, shooting Joe a look of gratitude before smiling at Dena. “We hate to keep you two.”

  “Oh, you’re not keepin’ us,” Dena said, somehow oblivious to the tension surrounding us. “We were just about to get something to eat. Can we join you?”

  Levi glanced at me, then said, “That would have been great, but we were just leaving. I promised Rose to take her up in the Ferris wheel, seeing how she’s never been.”

  “You’ve never been on a Ferris wheel?” Dena asked in amazement. “How is that possible?”

  “Rose’s mother never allowed such frivolities,” Joe said. “Rose lived a sheltered life until her mother died last year.”

  Horror washed through me again. He’d saved my embarrassment over my vision—and I had no doubt he knew what had happened—only to throw me to the wolves.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Dena said. “I forgot your mother was murdered by Daniel Crocker last summer.”

  Was all my dirty laundry getting hung out to dry tonight? “Yes. Memorial Day weekend.”

  “It’s hard to believe that was a year ago,” Dena said. “And then with your sister and Mason . . . you’ve had quite a year.”

  She didn’t even know the half of it.

  “Rose is a resilient woman,” Levi said, picking up our trash. “And I admire her all the more for it.” He put his free hand around my lower back. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a date with that Ferris wheel.”

  He didn’t wait for an answer, just ushered me back toward the carnival crowd, only pausing to toss the trash in a can.

  I expected Levi to ask for some kind of explanation, but he kept guiding me toward the Ferris wheel at the opposite end of the carnival. “Levi, I owe you an explanation.”

  He stopped and looked at me in disbelief. “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “But after what Joe said . . . and Dena.”

  “Those weren’t their secrets to tell,” Levi said, his eyes filling with fire.

  I stared up at him in shock. Was he mad he’d heard it from them first? “I know I should have told you . . .”

  “No.” He shook his head, looking frustrated. “No. You shouldn’t have.”

  My mouth gaped. “You didn’t want to know?”

  “Of course I want to know, but I wanted you to tell me . . . when you were ready. I know you’ve been hurt, Rose, and I know that asshole back there was one of the guys who hurt you.”

  Asshole seemed too harsh, but Levi had no way of knowing Joe had helped keep my visions secret. Or that he was Neely Kate’s brother. “How did you know?”

  He pressed his lips together. “I’m trained to read body language, just like that sheriff ex of yours. My patients can’t speak up for themselves, so I need to know if their owners are telling me the truth.” He paused and lowered his voice. “Look, Rose, I can see you’ve been hurt, and I want to earn your trust. I’m willing to bide my time.”

  “But why?” I asked, shaking my head. “Why me when you have your pick of half the women in this county?”

  A soft smile lifted his mouth. “I’m intrigued.”

  And so was I. What man heard such secrets and didn’t ask for more clarification?

  Unless . . .

  “You already know,” I said in a deadpan voice.

  “What?” But the guilty look in his eyes told me that I was onto something.

  “You already know about my past.”

  He didn’t answer for a few seconds. “Just as I told you on our first date, this town likes to talk. I’ve heard bits and pieces, but I have no idea what’s true or not.”

  “And you didn’t ask?”

  “If someone told you that I like to run around naked with Mr. O’Brien’s cattle, would you ask me if it was true?”

  I could see his point. I offered him a tiny grin. “Neely Kate probably would.”

  He laughed. “And that’s why I’m dating you and not Neely Kate. That woman scares me.” But the grin on his face suggested he was joking. Mostly. “Rose, I keep telling you, your history is yours to share . . . or not. You may kick me to the curb before you want to tell me any of it, although I truly hope not.” He stepped closer. “But let me make something perfectly clear—your past means nothing to me other than how you feel about it. I don’t need to know anything about it to know I like you. I’m enjoying getting to know the woman in front of me.”

  His words meant more than he probably realized. “Thank you.”

  “Now let’s go ride a Ferris wheel.”

  We’d used all our tickets, so Levi bought more. He refused to consider letting me buy the next strip, even though I’d put some cash and my phone into my skirt pocket. The line to the Ferris wheel had gotten longer since everyone was wanting to ride close to sunset. Several of Levi’s clients saw him and said hello, and Levi always introduced me as his friend Rose. One little girl who looked to be five or six years old gave me a shy smile and said to Levi, “She’s pretty.”

  Levi squatted down in front of her. “I think so too.”

  “Is she your girlfriend?”

  He glanced up at me and grinned, then turned back to her. “Not yet. I’m trying to convince her I’m a nice guy.”

  She looked up at me with big eyes. “Dr. Levi really is nice. My puppy, Pebbles, was sick, and he made her all better again.”

  I couldn’t help being charmed by her. “Dr. Levi is a good vet, isn’t he?”

  She nodded. “So will you be his girlfriend?”

  The little girl’s mother put a hand on her head. “Aubrey, you can’t ask her that.” She gave me an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry.”

  I laughed and glanced at Levi. “It’s okay.” I looked down at Aubrey. “Dr. Levi seems like a really great guy. I’ll think about it.”

  Levi stood as the mother hurried the little girl off.

  “You’re playin’ dirty,” I said.

  He laughed. “Just gathering character witnesses.”

  I laughed too.

  “So are you really thinking about it?” he asked.

  “Levi . . .”

  “Sorry. I know I promised to take it slow.” He paused and looked at me in earnest. “It’s just that I’ve never liked someone so much and been so unsure about where I stood.”

  I cocked my eyebrows. “So you’re tryin’ to lock it in.”

  He cringed. “When you put it like that, it sounds terrible.”

  “Can’t we just keep taking it one date at a time? I’m having fun, but all this pressure . . .”

  “Of course, Rose. I’m sorry. I’ll back off.”

  But I could see it wasn’t enough for him, and I couldn’t help thinking it would be better to end it now for his benefit.

  Several minutes later, it was our turn to board the Ferris wheel. I got into the seat first, and he sat next to me before pushing down the bar that locked us in. There was one more empty seat after us, and the ride started as soon as the next pair was seated.

  Levi snagged my hand between both of his. “Rose, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed my own insecurities onto you. Can we erase the last ten minutes?”

  I really did like him. I just didn’t like him as much as I’d hoped I would. As long
as I was honest with him, I didn’t see the harm in the two of us continuing to get to know each other. “Sure.”

  He continued to hold my hand with one of his as we looked out over Henryetta. He pointed in front of us. “There’s downtown. Where’s your farm from there?”

  I pointed to the left. “About fifteen minutes north of town. Off County Road 24. If it’s too far to take me home, I can—”

  “It’s not too far. I want to see your farm.”

  I grinned. “It’ll be too dark to see the farm. But you’ll see the farmhouse.” I instantly regretted my words. What if he expected to come in?

  “Then maybe I can come back when it’s daylight, and you can give me the tour.”

  “I’d like that.”

  I was quiet for the rest of the ride, and I had to agree with Neely Kate. Riding the Ferris wheel with the right guy could be very romantic. Unfortunately, the one guy who came to mind wouldn’t be caught dead here. Joe had been right. Momma had always considered the carnival frivolous, and there was nothing soft or frivolous about James Malcolm. I couldn’t see him willingly going on rides at a carnival. I had to consider that. Despite the turmoil of Levi wanting me to make more of a commitment, I’d had fun tonight, and I needed more fun in my life.

  When we got off the ride, I said, “I’ve had a long day, and I’m tired. Do you mind if we call it a night?”

  He gave me a worried look. “No. Of course not.”

  We headed out to the parking lot, which had only partially cleared out. As we got closer to our row, a mangy looking dog ran past us toward the street. Levi dropped my hand and took several steps in pursuit of the dog, leaning to glance around a car to see where the stray was going. Seconds later, we heard screeching tires and the sounds of a dog yelping in pain. Levi took off running as several people started screaming.

  I ran after Levi, but a small crowd of teens had already gathered around the scene by the time I reached him, blocking him from sight. Through the mass of people, I saw Levi on the ground next to the dog, who lay on his side and was now unnervingly silent. A car sped out of the parking lot, presumably the one that’d hit the poor dog.

  Levi saw me and asked me in an urgent tone, “Rose?”

  “Yes?” I said as I edged closer.

  “Can you get my bag out of the back of my truck?” He dug into his jeans pocket, pulled out his keys, and then tossed them to me. “And get a blanket too.”

  “Of course.” I caught the keys and took off running to Levi’s truck. The black leather bag was in the backseat, along with several blankets. I grabbed them and ran back, pushing my way through the teenagers.

  Levi took the bag and immediately dug out his stethoscope and listened to the dog’s chest and stomach. The dog, who’d started coming to his senses and was no doubt terrified out of his mind, released a low growl and snapped. Levi snatched his hand out of the way and reached into his bag, pulling out a vial and a syringe. He ripped the syringe out of its package more quickly than I would have thought possible and jabbed it into the bottle, pulling out some of the liquid. Then, without flinching, he turned back to the dog and immediately injected the syringe into the animal’s hip. The dog’s head bobbed, and he stopped growling within seconds.

  As soon as the dog was out cold, Levi quickly wrapped him in the blanket and stood. “I’m sure he has internal injuries. I have to take him to my clinic right away.”

  “Of course,” I said as I leaned down and picked up his bag.

  “Show’s over,” a man said to the teens. “Time to get on the bus.”

  There were a few groans, but they followed him to the waiting bus on the back row.

  “I’m not sure how long I’ll be,” Levi said as he hurried to his truck with me at his side. “I suspect he needs emergency surgery.”

  “It’s okay,” I insisted. “You do what you need to do.”

  “But I’m your ride home.”

  We had reached his truck, and I opened the back door. Levi put the dog on the backseat and took the bag from me. “Ride to the clinic with me, and I can either take you home later—although I have no idea how long I’ll be—or have someone pick you up.”

  “I’ll stay here and have Neely Kate or Maeve pick me up. This is closer.”

  He shut the back door and cringed when he looked at me. “This was supposed to be my night off, but I don’t feel right pawning this guy off on Dr. Anderson.”

  “Of course you don’t. You go. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

  He opened the front driver’s side door. “Rose, I feel absolutely terrible about this.”

  “Please don’t.” I gave him a grin, but I was still shaken up after seeing the injured dog. “I got to see you at work, Dr. Romano, and I’m impressed. You were very take-charge. I like that in a man.”

  He grinned.

  “So don’t worry about leavin’, okay? I’ll talk to you later.”

  He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll make it up to you, Rose. I promise.”

  “I know.”

  He got inside and backed up, giving me a wave as he pulled away.

  I was standing in the road, so I walked back to Levi’s empty parking spot, realizing I’d left my purse in his truck. I could call him back, but he’d already left the parking lot. I’d just get it tomorrow. Besides, I had my phone, which was the important item. Who should I call? Maeve was closer, but I didn’t want her to have to take me all the way out to the farm. Maybe I could have her take me to her house and Neely Kate could pick me up there. It had been a few weeks since Maeve and I had had a good chat. She’d probably be happy to hear from me even if it was after nine.

  Decision made, I started to pull my phone out of my pocket . . . but I didn’t get very far. Someone had moved up behind me, and there was something hard and narrow pointed between my shoulder blades.

  I’d had enough experience to know it was a gun.

  Chapter 9

  “Do as I say and you won’t get hurt,” a man said behind me.

  “I only have twenty dollars.” I slowly pulled out the folded-up bill I’d stuffed into my pocket and held it up to show him.

  The man behind me jabbed the gun harder into my back. “Put your hands down.”

  He wasn’t here to rob me. The thought sent a wave of panic through my head. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding, so how about I head over to the carnival, and we’ll forget this ever happened?”

  “There’s been no misunderstanding.” He jabbed me again. “Lady.”

  A cold sweat broke out over my body. He knew I was the Lady in Black. This was bad.

  I cast a glance toward the carnival. Most of the crowd had dispersed, and the parking lot was nearly empty. I hadn’t seen Brett since we’d gotten in line at the tilt-a-whirl, and I’d been looking. Had I been right about him being sent to watch me? Either way, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to save me—if Jed were watching me, he probably would have tackled the guy behind me by now—which meant I needed to save myself.

  “I’m not sure what you want, but I’m not the person to help you.” As I scrambled for a plan, I realized my pepper spray and Taser were in my purse in Levi’s truck.

  The suspicious car that I’d seen parked outside my childhood home was approaching from my right, and there was a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  I took a step forward to make a run for it, risky since the kidnapper had a gun pointed at my back, but the man grabbed my upper arm and tugged me back and into his chest, dragging me behind a van. It did a great job of hiding us from the bus of teenagers and the other people walking to their cars. “Oh, no, sweetheart. You’re not goin’ anywhere.”

  I opened my mouth to scream, but his grimy hand clamped over my mouth and nose, cutting off my air supply.

  Terror shot through me, and I reacted out of instinct, chomping down on his meaty palm with my teeth. He cursed but didn’t let go, instead tightening his grip over my face.

  I swung my heel backwar
d into his shin as I reached up for his arm, but other than releasing a new wave of curses, that didn’t seem to faze him either.

  Struggling to take a breath, I dug my nails into his arm, frantically pulling down as my vision began to fade. The sedan had pulled to a stop in front of us, and a man hopped out and opened the trunk.

  There was no way I was getting in there without a fight.

  I reached up toward my captor’s face, digging my nails into whatever parts I could reach. He cursed again and released me. Gasping for breath, I was faint enough I nearly fell to my knees, but I knew if I did that I’d be a goner. I got two steps before the driver of the car blocked my path. By the time I saw his fist, it was too late to react. He swung into the side of my head, and after the initial burst of pain, everything went black.

  When I came to, I was lying on my side with my hands bound in front of me at the wrists and my ankles secured together with duct tape. Something nasty was stuffed in my mouth, and a cloth had been tied around my face, holding it in place. My head pounded on the left side, and I struggled not to panic as I tried to figure out where I’d been taken.

  Then I remembered. I was in some kidnapper’s trunk.

  Why had they taken me? What did they plan to do with me?

  They knew I was Lady. Had the guys who’d taken Scooter kidnapped me too as part of a revenge scheme against James? I tried not to let my imagination run wild, but I was terrified. I suspected Brett had no idea I’d been taken, and it would likely be hours before anyone knew I was missing.

  The car came to a stop and the brake lights lit up the interior of the trunk right before the car engine turned off. We’d reached our destination, which meant I needed to come up with some kind of plan to get out of this. Only, my brain wasn’t cooperating.

  The car engine turned off, and my breath stuck in my chest with anticipation and fear.

  Breathe, Rose. Now was not the time to lose it. Think.

  The trunk lid opened, and the sudden transition from the pitch-black trunk to the bright fluorescent lights of wherever they’d brought me made me squint. Two sets of hands grabbed my upper arms and pulled me out, scraping my legs on the lip of the trunk. One of them was the man who had hit me, and I presumed the other one, a guy with a tattooed arm, was my initial kidnapper based on the scratch marks on his face. I suspected he was going to hold that against me.