Page 29 of Savage Peril

“He wasn’t feeling well,” Lori said, then set her empty wine glass on the table. “It seemed to be a stomach thing. My father was a doctor, so his symptoms didn’t concern me. He thought he was coming down with the flu and didn’t want to infect anyone at the clinic, so he went home.”

When Lori’s eyes filled with tears, Gunner’s heart wrenched.

“That was the last time I saw him,” Lori said. “Although I spoke to him every day. I made sure to call and check on him…except for Thursday.”

“Why was that different?”

“It wouldn’t have been, but my father texted that he was going to take a nap—that he’d call later.” Lori wiped away a tear. “Only he didn’t call, and I got very busy. With him out all week, I had more to handle, and I’d stayed late catching up on paperwork. I didn’t want to disturb him and assumed that he would check in the next morning.”

Gunner knew what was coming.

“My father died that night,” Lori said. “Friday morning, I got a call from the police, after the maid reported that he’d been found on the floor of his bedroom.”

Gunner opened his arms, and Lori leaned into him. He hugged her close, and Lori put her hand on his chest. She stayed like that for a while. He stroked her silky hair then tipped her face up. Lori looked into his eyes, and Gunner kissed her.

The kiss was tender, yet hot. Lori set his blood on fire. He deepened the kiss. She tasted so sweet and her lips were so soft.

Lori pulled back, then touched Gunner’s cheek. It looked like she might say something, but she didn’t. Then she stood and brushed her hair back. “I need another drink.”

Gunner followed her but stopped near a table by the wall. There was a display of framed photos. He studied the pictures, trying to get a sense of her family. Lori returned with a full glass of wine and a beer for Gunner.

“That picture was taken of my father last year,” Lori said. “And that’s my mother before she got really sick.”

Gunner looked at the pretty, middle-aged woman with blue eyes and long blond hair. “You look like her.”

“She died too young,” Lori said. “I miss her.”

While they finished their drinks, Lori talked more about her family. Gunner learned a lot about her. She shared more about her father, giving insight into his life and his background. But there were no clues about who would have murdered him.

For dinner, Gunner took her to an Italian place in the neighborhood. They sat on the heated patio and enjoyed bread slathered with butter, until the pasta arrived. The light bulbs hanging from wires around the dining area cast low light.

Lori sipped lemon water, looking thoughtful.

“I’m worried about you,” Gunner said.

“I just can’t get my head around the danger I might be in.”

Gunner had dealt with deadly enemies before, so took the situation seriously. “I understand that, especially since there is no one who harbored bad feelings toward your father.”

“But someone may have,” Lori said. “And I’m the person who was closest to him, which is scary. I don’t know what might happen next.”

“You didn’t answer your phone after lunch,” Gunner said. “I called the clinic to check, but the receptionist said that you were out.”

“I went on a house call.”

“I didn’t know those were still done.”

“As a rule, they aren’t,” Lori said. “But I felt compelled to go.” She told Gunner the details of the visit, and he didn’t like what he heard.

“You treated a mob boss?” Gunner said.

“It’s not important,” Lori said. “The only thing was that I feared he was propositioning me…but not sexually.” She shared how Lorenzo Cambio had implied that there was a fortune to be made in black-market drugs. The mob had been testing to see if Lori was open to a business arrangement.

“Why would Lorenzo assume that you were approachable?”

“I have no idea,” Lori said. “But he had heard of my father, which wasn’t a big deal. My father was well known in this city. It only meant the mob was aware of how big the clinic is.”

“I don’t like their interest in you.”

“It’s over,” Lori said. “I won’t be going back there.”

Gunner planned to dig deeper to learn what leverage the mob thought they had. The link was Marco Bacci, but it had been coincidence that Lori had been on his flight—except not entirely.

Lori had mentioned that Bacci had been in Houston to meet a client at the pain clinic, the same clinic where Lori had given a talk at a medical conference. It was a red flag that the mob had contacted Lori, and for her protection, Gunner intended to find out why.

Gunner spent the rest of the evening with Lori. After all that had happened, she was exhausted. And she had a lot ahead of her to deal with. When he took her home, Gunner held her in his arms until she fell asleep. Then he put her in bed and slept on the sofa.

Gunner vowed to protect Lori, so wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone. He preferred to nestle Lori against his naked body and do much more than hold her in his arms. But he couldn’t think about romance until the murder was resolved and Lori was safe.

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