Chapter Seven
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“WHAT IS THIS?”Shelby accepted the tennis ball Colton handed her.
They’d cleaned up the kitchen and put her notes away for now. Colton was quiet—too quiet. There was definitely something he was chewing on from the information she’d given him, but he’d insisted they work on her physical therapy while he waited for the security system from his boss to arrive.
He knelt down beside her where she sat in the kitchen chair, picking up her leg. “Put it under your foot and roll it back and forth.” He set her socked foot on the ball.
She’d rather kick a skunk, but this was what she needed if she was going to get her strength and mobility back.
The one thing that did make therapy more fun was the fact Colton was now her torturer. “That’s the best you got, Bells? Roll a tennis ball under my foot?”
He shot her an impatient glare. “We’re starting easy. I wouldn’t want to overtax you, beauty queen.”
Smartass. He’d been as proud of her when she’d won Miss Oklahoma as her parents had been, but he liked to jab her about it anyway.
Oh, yes, this was going to be fun. “This beauty queen is going to kick your butt for that comment.”
He grinned. “You have to catch me first.”
Bastard.
“I know a thing or two about recovering from an injury,” he said, taking her foot and massaging it through the sock. He kneaded each toe, then rubbed her arch. Shelby’s eyes nearly rolled up in her head. “Trust me on this.”
The foot massage ended all too soon and he guided her foot to the tennis ball once more and showed her how to roll it back and forth, side to side. After a minute, she was rolling it in circles and feeling pretty proud of herself for her control. “I want to go see Lori Evers. Meanwhile, do you have any contacts at Coronado who could get me access to the autopsy reports?”
He kept his gaze glued on her foot, stood, and then went to pour a fresh cup of coffee. “You’re not back on the job. Better let pretty boy Theo handle things.”
She pressed too hard and the ball shot out from under her foot. Salisbury leaped on it, growling and wagging his tail at the same time. “It’smycase.”
He leaned on the counter, steam from his cup rising past his face as he studied her. “You’re out of commission for the time being, and your last attempt to solve the case ended with a bullet to the head. As long as I’m here, you’re steering clear of this. Got it? You will let your boss handle it.”
Anger burned in her stomach. “There’s a serial killer on the loose, taking out veterans who’ve crossed your path. I’m not sitting this out, and I know damn well you aren’t either.”
One shoulder shrugged but the tension in his body was undeniable. “Right now, you don’t have a choice.”
Her vision blurred, letting her know her blood pressure was spiking. Gripping the table edge, she drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly like Alicia had taught her.
Colton came to her, ran a finger down her exposed neck to her shoulder. “Shelby, I can’t risk letting you get hurt again.”
“I won’t with you here.”
He knelt beside her, his eyes haunted as they stared up at her. “You’re damn right you won’t.”
There was no misreading the desire in his face. Heat spiked the air between them.
Shelby released her grip on the table and reached out to stroke his hair. “We can work the case together. Stop whoever killed those men.”
His gaze dropped and he backed away from her touch, standing once more and heading to the counter. “Let your boss handle it, Shel.”
Damn it. Salisbury brought her the ball, dropped it at her feet, and sat back on his haunches. His face was easy to read too—he wanted her to throw it.
She did, turning over different ways to make Colton see the light. “If whoever killed those men is still at large, he knows I’m out of my coma and that soon I’ll be back to work. He has to realize the FBI won’t let this go. If I’m not digging into the case, someone else will. We could work that to our advantage.”
Skepticism crossed Colton’s features. “Oh, yeah? How’s that?”
