“Good.” The administrator paused and nodded at Nari, her gaze softening even while her shoulders went back. “I’ve been caught up on your case, and you did a good job defending yourself. I just received word that the techs have finished with your apartment. The assailant entered through a window in the office. There were no discernible fingerprints. I had them clean up the place after finishing, so you should be okay to return home. The HDD will assist in any way it can and you’ll have security in place until we catch this guy. We’ll get our best people on the case.”
“Thank you,” Nari said.
The administrator patted Zhang’s hand on her shoulder. “I can see myself home. If you need to stay with your daughter, Quan, we can reschedule tomorrow.”
Zhang shook his head. “The security in place is enough. Nari, I will see you on Monday when you report to work. Force? Rumor has it you were leaving town. After your interviews tomorrow, be sure you leave reliable contact information in case we need more details. However, you’re cleared to go. In fact, I suggest you do so.” He escorted the other woman out.
Angus turned toward Nari, who looked delicate and hurt on the table. A sense of possessiveness, primal to the point of feeling brutal, swept through him. “Your biological dad is an asshole.”
Chapter Fourteen
Nari slipped from the examination table, her body feeling as if she’d thrown it down the side of a mountain. Could this be any more awkward? She still had a hickey on her inner thigh from him. Plus, her eyes were all starry because he’d taken command of the room and protected her. Stood between her and Quan. “Do you need stitches, Angus?” she whispered.
“No.” He grabbed a couple of napkins from the nearby counter and wiped off his face. “I’m cut, but it’s not deep.”
“Okay.” She tried to keep her tone casual, but she drank him in as if she hadn’t seen him in years. The entire world had settled when he’d walked into the room, even though Quan had already been there. “I probably owe you an apology for not telling you about Quan being my father. I mean, our boss being my biological father.”
“I wouldn’t claim that jerk either.” Angus released his hold on Roscoe. “We will discuss that later. First I want all the details of what happened tonight. Everything about the attacker. You know that was a kidnapping attempt by the copycat killer, right?”
She held up a hand, her ears hot. “We don’t know that. We have to look at every angle.” The last thing she wanted to do was to be so focused in one direction that she missed the threat from another. “But it’s definitely something to consider.”
“Let’s get out of here, find some food, and then go over everything.” Concern glowed in his eyes along with a barely banked fury. “How badly are you hurt?”
She shook her head and instantly regretted it. Lights sparked behind her eyes. “Don’t be nice to me. I can’t take it.”
Both of his eyebrows rose. “Fine. Get your ass out of here and let’s find this guy.”
She chuckled, as he no doubt wanted her to. She warmed around him, to him, just like always. “What happened to you?”
“I was shot at from a truck and that’s all I know.” He wiped more blood from his neck. “The front license plate was missing and I didn’t see the back. Didn’t see the shooter either.”
Wonderful. They’d both been attacked and couldn’t identify anybody. “Do you think it was related to my attack?”
“Maybe, but who knows? Let’s find dinner and go through it all slowly.” He patted Roscoe’s head, his hand broad and so strong-looking.
She had to get away from him before she just jumped into his arms and buried her face in his neck. “I’ll call a cab or an Uber. We can meet tomorrow after your interviews with HDD and go over everything.” Without waiting for an answer, she limped toward the door, noting a new pain in her right ankle. How had she injured her ankle?
“You’re kidding.” He grasped her arm, his hold infinitely gentle.
She paused, turning to look at his battered face. A darkening bruise on his jaw was visible this close. “You don’t want to go over everything before you leave town?” That didn’t make any sense, but she was having a hard time concentrating on facts. Man, her head hurt. Concussions sucked.
“Yes, but you’re not going home alone.”
Oh. She nodded. “If you want to give me a ride home, that’s fine.”
“Good.” He escorted her outside, where he motioned for a taxi.
She stumbled. “Where’s your truck?”
“I crashed it into a tree.” He opened the taxi door for her, and once she scooted in, he sat. “There’s an extra fifty if we can bring the dog.”
The taxi driver, a blond in his sixties, nodded. “You bet.”
Roscoe bounded in and settled between them on the seat. Nari rested her head back and tried to concentrate. “Thanks for dropping me off on your way, guys.” It was nice to rely on Angus and Roscoe again, even if it was only for another night or so. “We can meet anywhere tomorrow.” She shut her eyes and took inventory of her body, not having the energy to talk.
When they reached her apartment complex she leaned out her window to type in the gate code and then grimaced at the ache in her shoulder.
Finally she wearily opened the car door and stepped out, unable to stop Roscoe before he jumped out and ran over to an empty flower bed.
