Page 36 of Bachelor Cop Finally Caught? (Hot off the Press! 2)

“Yeah, well—you’re just lucky. It could have been a damn sight worse.”

Lindsey was all-too-painfully aware of that. It had been a near miracle that neither she nor anyone else was seriously injured when one side of the insurance building had unexpectedly exploded. Fortunately, the majority of the debris had blown toward an area where no one had been standing, with only scattered pieces flying in other directions. Lindsey and two firefighters had been knocked down by the initial force of the blast and then pelted with small pieces of glass and rubble, but the most serious injury was the hose man’s broken arm. They had all been lucky, she thought again.

She shifted on the uncomfortable table. “I wish Dr. Frank would hurry and clear me to leave. I’m ready to go home.”

“I wish you’d reconsider staying a few more hours for observation.”

She shook her head with a force that only made the pounding worse. “I want to go home. I hate being in the hospital. But there’s no need for you to hang around. I know you have a lot to do.”

“I have people working on the investigation. They know how to reach me if they need me. I’ll stay and take you home when Dr. Frank releases you.”

He was obviously shaken by her close call, but she wasn’t sure how to interpret his overreaction. She had to caution herself not to read too much into it.

Another twenty minutes passed before she was finally released to leave. She left wearing a borrowed set of green scrubs because her own clothes had been so tattered and soiled she hadn’t wanted to put them back on. Her car had been left behind at the fire scene, but Dan had arranged for one of his officers to drive it to Lindsey’s house. Dan took her home from the hospital in his truck.

The sun had risen by the time Lindsey wearily unlocked her front door. Every muscle in her body ached and her head still throbbed, but she was very glad to be home.

“You have those pain pills the doctor gave you?” Dan asked from behind her, closing the door.

She glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll take one later.”

“Take one now.” He tossed his jacket over the back of the couch. “Then get into bed.”

Lifting an eyebrow, she gave him a look. “Getting a bit carried away with the bossiness, aren’t you?”

Unabashed, he shrugged. “I told Dr. Frank I would make sure you followed his orders.”

“I’m perfectly capable of following his instructions without supervision.”

“I’m sure you are. I’ll get you a glass of water so you can take your pill.”

She sighed, knowing he wouldn’t give up until he’d personally witnessed her swallowing the medication. It wasn’t that she was especially opposed to taking the pain pill—she hurt badly enough to do so willingly—but she didn’t want Dan to get in the habit of bossing her around. Treating her like a child again.

Accepting the glass of water he brought her, she swallowed the pill. “There. Are you happy?” she challenged him.

He caught her off guard by lifting a hand to gently touch the bandage on her forehead. “How can you even ask me that when you look like this?”

A wave of warmth flooded through her, making her knees weaken. It was very hard to be sensible and levelheaded when he said things like that. When he looked at her that way.

He was the one who abruptly stepped back. “Get into bed,” he said gruffly. “I need to make a few phone calls, then I’ll be in to see if you need anything.”

“You need to get some rest yourself. You’ve been up almost all night.”

“I’ll take a nap later. You don’t mind if I use your phone, do you?”

“Of course not.” She stifled a yawn, wondering if exhaustion was catching up with her or if the pain-killers were already kicking in. “Help yourself to anything you want from the kitchen and lock the door behind you when you leave.”

She was already on her way to her bedroom when she added that last unnecessary instruction. She had no doubt that Dan would lock up. If it were up to him, he’d probably keep her behind a fortified barricade.

She just wished she knew exactly what lay behind his tender solicitations. Friendship—or more?

Dan made a half dozen phone calls and drank two cups of coffee before he decided to check on Lindsey. He’d heard no sounds in the house since shortly after she’d gone off to bed, so he assumed she was sleeping

, but he wanted to make sure she looked comfortable.

Stepping into the bedroom gave him an odd feeling. It had been years since he’d been inside that room. The early-morning sunlight filtered through her filmy curtains, providing plenty of illumination. Dan noticed immediately that the decor had changed significantly since the last time he’d visited it. The lace and ruffles were gone, as were the teddy bears, dolls and unicorn figurines—all except for the one on her dresser. The one he’d given her only weeks ago for her birthday, he thought with a frown.

Didn’t she like unicorns anymore? If not, why the hell hadn’t she said so?

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