Free Tactical Advantage by Julie Miller

circled behind Nick to stand in front of her husband.
    “Mac, quit analyzing these two.” Mac’s quick snap of attention down to his wife made Annie realize her boss had been observing the interchange. She quickly snatched her hand away from Nick’s chest and curled her tingling fingers into her palm. Just what had that clever eye seen? What was the deal between her and Nick this morning?
    “She’s my responsibility, Jules,” Mac insisted. “I don’t like it when my people get hurt. I feel I need to restrict her to the lab, where it’s safe.”
    “No—”
    “You know as well as I do that sometimes things happen that are beyond any one officer’s control.” Julia shushed Annie’s protest and gently chided both men. “Instead of debating who’s to blame for Miss Hermann’s injuries, I’d be more worried about the two fake cops and what they said or did that convinced the legitimate officers it was safe to abandon their post.”
    Nick glanced back at the nurse. “I’m already working on that, ma’am.”
    Mac seemed to accept his wife’s words more easily than Nick’s or Annie’s explanations and apologies. “I don’t see the need for any kind of reprimand. Or restriction of duty. Yet.” He pointed a finger at Nick. “But you keep an eye on her.”
    Nick’s thick chest expanded with a deep breath. “Yes, sir.”
    Mac defused some of the tension between the two men by switching from supervisor to CSI mode. He dropped the camera into an evidence bag and scrawled his name on its chain-of-custody sheet. He brought it over for Annie to sign, as well. “I’ll get this to the lab myself so we can get the pictures processed. I’ll check it for the perp’s prints, too.”
    “He was wearing gloves,” Annie warned him. “I remember seeing black from head to toe—ski mask, hood, black parka, gloves—you won’t find any identifiers.”
    Her boss was nothing if not thorough. “I’ll check it anyway. There could be trace. In the meantime, you get some rest.” He turned to Nick. “You keep me in the loop on anything you find regarding Annie’s assault. And you—” he dipped his sandy-blond head to kiss his wife “—I’ll see at home.”
    Julia nodded, smiling up at her husband. “Happy New Year.”
    After Mac left, Nick picked up his jacket and shrugged into it. He pulled a charcoal-gray knitted scarf from his pocket and headed toward the curtain blocking them from the other E.R. bays while Annie turned her attention to Julia.
    The nurse handed her papers and imparted some quick medical info. “The doctor left you this prescription for antibiotics, but with your tetanus shot current, there’s really nothing you need to do except get some rest. If you develop a severe headache, double vision, nausea—anything that comes on suddenly and lingers or concerns you—call your personal physician immediately or come back to the E.R. Check in with your doctor in a week to ten days about removing the stitches. The information’s all here if you have any questions. Do you have a ride home?”
    Annie’s mouth opened, but she didn’t get a chance to speak.
    “Yes, she does.”
    Annie swung around. Nick Fensom hadn’t left. The crackle of electricity that blazed in those cobalt eyes hadn’t gone, either.
    He was daring her to argue with him. “I’m taking her home.”
    “All right, then. Off to the next patient.” Julia gathered her instruments and computer pad. “Oh, and be careful about brushing your hair—those stitches will be pretty tender for a few days.”
    “I’ll remember. Thank you.”
    With a friendly smile, the nurse left. There was no avoiding the burly detective now.
    “I thought you’d gone.” Nick’s only response was to pick up Annie’s black, knee-length coat off the chair beside him. “You don’t have to take care of me.”
    He shook the coat open and held it up for her to put on. “Then you don’t know me.”
    Maybe it was the bump on her head and exhaustion from