Page 50 of Tough Justice

Tori tied her hair up in a ponytail then grabbed the pink sweater that matched her skirt. She headed outside to her car—the Subaru she’d bought the week after she finally made attending physician.

It was just as well that Deck had cut off ties with her. Being around him gave her too many bizarre thoughts. Like convincing herself—for one fleeting moment—that she could see herself with a guy like him. What she needed right now was a quiet evening with her father and sister’s family. Being around them always cleared her head, refreshing her perspective on things.

A Lakewood police car drove past her house. It sure seemed as if they were stepping up patrols in her neighborhood lately. Tori could swear she’d seen one driving on her road every time she went outside. Was this because of the car chase, or was this Deck’s doing?

She got into her car and turned the key. Click, click, click. Again, she turned the key, and again the engine responded with a less than resounding series of clicks, followed by…nothing. “Nooo.” She rested her forehead on the steering wheel.

A mechanic she wasn’t, but even she understood the battery was dead. DOA, never to be resuscitated. The garage she’d last taken it to for an oil change had said it was old and on its last leg, but she’d gotten so absorbed in work and this DEA thing she’d forgotten about it. Another reason why ending her association with Deck was for the best. The man was too distracting than was good for her.

She fished out her cell and began searching for a car lift company when a blue SUV pulled up next to her. Deck’s SUV. The one he’d been given as a replacement for his bullet-riddled K-9 unit.

Tori frowned. Why was he here and at the very moment she had car trouble?

Thor’s massive head stuck out the window, his tongue lolling to one side as he panted. The bushes next to the driveway rustled as Tigger poked his head through then strolled casually to the front of the SUV and jumped on the hood. Thor began that odd cooing sound he’d made the last time he and Tigger had crossed paths. Again, Tigger astounded her by loudly purring his furry little heart out.

Deck strolled around the hood of her car. The scratches on his face from the broken window had healed nicely and were nearly invisible. She’d been putting coverup on hers so no one would ask how she’d gotten them.

He wore jeans and another polo shirt, this one blue. The only things his off-duty wardrobe seemed to consist of were jeans and polo shirts, and somehow, he always managed to look hot, as Suzie so succinctly kept putting it. Tori, on the other hand, always struggled to find just the right thing to wear. Not. Fair.

Reluctantly, she got out of the car. Thor stretched his head out of the SUV, and she scratched him behind one ear, unable to contain her smile when he leaned his head into her hand. “Good morning to you, too, Thor.” A deep, contented rumble came from the dog’s throat, followed by an equally discontented whine when she removed her hand.

“As nice as it is to see Thor, why are you here?” she asked. After what had happened to her family, she preferred her life and the people in it be up front, on time, no surprises, and totally predictable. Deck played by a different set of rules.

He watched her for a moment, his expression unreadable. “I wanted to check on you.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“To make sure you’re okay.”

“You could have just called.”

“T-Lo’s still out there.”

“I thought you said he was after you, not me. Besides, the police must be staking out someone in my neighborhood. They drive down my street almost every hour.”

“They are staking out someone on your street. You.”

“Me? But I haven’t done—” The meaning of his words hit her like a ton of bricks. “Did you arrange for police cars to drive by my house?”

“Just a precaution.”

“Against what?” She parked one hand on her hip. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Deck began stroking his jaw. At first, his silence annoyed her, as did him arranging for police protection behind her back. But then she felt a flash of…warmth. She’d jumped straight to assuming he was being overbearing. What if it was Deck being thoughtful?

“Coming or going?” he asked, completely changing the subject.

“Going.” Trying to. “I think my battery’s dead.”

“Pop the hood.” He moved to the front of her car. “I’ll jump you.”

“What?” She blinked then blinked again. Oh, right. Jump the battery. Not her. A tiny seed of disappointment nestled somewhere deep inside her belly. Do I want to be jumped?

Of course not. She didn’t have to be a doctor to understand that the problem was that her basic biological needs were manifesting themselves. For the last two years, she’d essentially been a virgin. She was horny, that’s all it was. That had to be all it was because there was no way in her orderly world that she’d ever have sex with Deck. Not that he’d offered or anything.

Tori reached inside her car and found the lever beneath the dashboard, popping the hood. She joined Deck and peered at the engine. Considering she could identify every part of the human body, one would think she could find the battery. Wrong.

“See that?” He pointed to a dirty black box, on top of which were thick wires connected to two metal thingies, one encrusted with bluish-green crud and the other with yellowish-white powder.