Forgotten Memories

“Rest now, Gabby,” Shane murmured, brushing her hair away from her face in a soothing gesture. “You’re safe here. I’ll be just outside the door if you need anything.”

She wanted to assure him that wasn’t necessary, but he flipped the light switch off and left her alone, closing the door behind him.

And this time, she didn’t bother to fight against the desperate need to sleep.

* * *

“So now what?” Nate asked as Shane closed the door of the call room behind him.

Good question. “I need a favor,” he said. “Will you stay here outside her room for a few minutes?”

“Why, where are you going?” Nate asked suspiciously.

Shane had a feeling his buddy wasn’t going to like his plan. “I want to head over to Gabby’s house,” he admitted. “Just to make sure everything is okay.”

“So what if it is?” Nate countered. “That doesn’t mean Creighton won’t show up hours from now, looking for her there.”

“I know, but my gut is telling me to check her place out now,” he repeated. “Thirty minutes. Give me thirty minutes.”

Nate let out a heavy sigh. “Fine, take your half hour. But how are you going to find her house?”

“I’m hoping one of the nurses knows her address,” he said. He decided against calling his sister, Leah, because it was the middle of the night and he didn’t want to risk waking her son, Ben, or her husband, Isaac, who also happened to be a member of their SWAT team. Since Isaac was off this weekend, Shane knew he wouldn’t appreciate being dragged into this mess.

Besides, Gabby’s safety was his responsibility.

Getting the location of Gabby’s home was way too easy. Stacy, the triage nurse who’d showed them to Gabby’s call room, had been able to give him everything but the actual house number.

“She lives in the third house from the corner, on the west side of Rivera Street,” Stacy said. “It’s a brown ranch-style house with tan shutters on the front window. I live in the four-family apartment that’s two blocks over and have seen her there several times.”

“Thanks,” Shane said. “Deputy Nathan Freemont will be waiting here until I return. If you can spare a chair for him, I’d appreciate it.”

“Oh, uh, sure, no problem.” Stacy frowned. “Is Dr. Gabby in trouble?”

Shane debated how much to tell her. “No, of course she’s not in trouble. We just want to be sure she’s safe, that’s all.”

Stacy looked as if she wanted to ask more questions, but he abruptly turned and strode toward the doors leading outside.

After sweeping his gaze around the area to make sure he didn’t see anything amiss, he jogged across the street to the surface parking lot where he’d left his sheriff’s deputy vehicle.

Following Stacy’s directions wasn’t difficult and he slowed his speed when he approached Gabby’s house. The windows were dark, although there was a small light on over the side-entrance doorway.

Instead of stopping, he drove past, circling the block to park on the next street. Shane silently got out of the car and then walked between the two houses into Gabby’s backyard.

There were two young maple trees and he hovered behind the one closest to the side entrance to the house, looking for any signs of an intruder.

If he were Creighton, he’d make Gabby’s house his next stop. Shane fully believed the guy was either here himself or had sent yet another flunky to keep an eye on the place.

Shane stayed where he was for what seemed like hours but was probably only fifteen minutes. He was just about to give up so that he could fulfill his thirty-minute promise, when he saw a light flicker inside the house.

His heart thumped heavily in his chest as he carefully pulled his .38 from his shoulder holster. The light had almost instantly vanished, and for several seconds he wondered if he’d imagined the entire thing.

But then he saw the light flicker again, in a different location, and knew his instincts had been right.

Someone was inside Gabby’s house.

This time he didn’t hesitate to call for backup and it wasn’t because he was worried about Griff being ticked off with him. He wanted the house surrounded as soon as possible.

This time the intruder wasn’t going to get away.

After giving the dispatcher the location, he darted from the tree over to the house, plastering himself against the brick. He carefully peeked around the corner to the side entrance.

The light was still on, but from the back of the house he couldn’t see the front door. He needed a better position so he could watch both doorways.

The neighbor’s yard was his best option. Shane made his way carefully around the neighbor’s house, hoping that no one would catch a glimpse of him and yell out, giving away his position. The fact that it was the middle of the night worked in his favor.

After a long three minutes, he was hidden along the front of the neighbor’s house, where he could see both doorways. He crouched down to wait.

Almost instantly, the front door opened a crack and a figure emerged. There was no sign of his backup, but he refused to let this guy get away.

“Stop, police!” he said, stepping out of the shadows.

The figure on the porch lifted a gun and Shane hit the ground mere seconds before the shot echoed and a bullet whizzed over his head.

By the time he looked up, the figure was gone.

No! He was getting away!

Shane leaped up and dashed over to Gabby’s front yard, frantically searching for a sign of the intruder. But he was gone, vanished somewhere into the night.

Leaving Shane to wonder if the guy had found what he was looking for inside Gabby’s house? Or not?

He hadn’t seen anything in the interloper’s hands, but that didn’t mean much. But he obviously needed to keep a vigilant watch over Gabby, until he could be absolutely sure she was safe.

FOUR (#ulink_687257f3-6c13-5f0c-ba02-a3b22c32232a)

Gabby woke up, momentarily confused by the darkness. When she figured out she was in a twin-size bed, she surmised she was in a call room rather than at home. She turned over and peered at the tiny alarm clock located on the bedside table. The red numbers read eleven o’clock, but was that morning or night? Without a window for natural light, it was difficult to tell. Especially since she couldn’t remember what time it had been when she’d returned to the call room in the first place.

She turned on the lamp located next to the clock and slid out of bed, running a hand through her tangled curls. Her stomach cramped with hunger and her mouth was desert dry, so she headed into the small bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later she felt more human, even though without a blow-dryer she was forced to let her curly red hair air-dry. She checked her pager, to make sure she hadn’t missed any calls, before opening the door to leave.

She took one step and tripped over the prone figure of Shane lying on the floor across the doorway.

“Oomph,” he grunted as she landed, without much grace, directly on top of him.

“Sorry, sorry,” she muttered, shrinking away from him as much as possible as she tried to disentangle herself from his large, muscular frame.

“My fault,” Shane assured her, managing to shift her to the side so he could rise to his feet. He offered her a hand up and she struggled to hide her reaction to him. “You look better this morning, Gabby, but how are you feeling?”