Free The Reckoning by Kate Allenton Page A

ride home, Detective. I’m sure Dr. Jennings or I can make sure she gets there unscathed.”
    The challenging glare Dr. Powell gave him made him want to pound the old man’s head in. Mike took a deep breath and let it out before he did more damage that he couldn’t repair. The need to stake his claim rode him hard. Mike grinned. “That won’t be necessary, gentleman. Elizabeth and I have some unfinished business, don’t we, baby?”
    Mike pulled Elizabeth into his arms. He didn’t care who was watching his display as long as these doctors took the hint and backed off. He pressed his lips to hers. She didn’t push him away. She opened her mouth, giving him what he wanted. Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck. He deepened the kiss, bending her backward, only releasing her lips when she melted in his arms.
    Mike leaned up with Elizabeth still nestled in his arms. She wobbled. He didn’t release her until her legs held beneath her. She was silent. She touched her lips and held his gaze. “Wow.”
    Mike grinned. “Like I said, I’ll be picking you up.”
    Mike turned toward the crowd. Both doctors had left, and the nurses behind the desk were swooning. He’d made the impression he meant. Elizabeth was his for the taking. No one else would dare lay claim.
    Mike winked at the nurses and strolled out of the hospital. He pushed through the emergency exit and scanned the area. He made sure there were no threats lingering nearby before he got in his SUV and headed to the coroner’s office.
    Mike hit his Bluetooth as he drove around the parking garage once more, scanning for the professor. On c e he was sure the professor wasn’t there, he pulled out into traffic.
    Jake answered. “What’s up, Mike?”
    “ Elizabeth is the general’s daughter, and we’ve been tasked with keeping her safe, so we need to come up with a plan for surveillance on the professor.”
    “The General?”
    “Yep, do you have another watch with a tracking device like you gave the girls?” Mike asked, knowing that the device had helped save all of his sisters when they’d been in trouble. His little doctor needed one too, especially since she’d almost left him behind leaving her house. She wasn’t one that was going to sit around and wait for danger to come to her, no, not his little doctor. She was going to meet it head-on.
    “I do. I’ve had a few more made, just in case. I figured one day you might settle down and then I had to think about Lily. You know me, I try to be prepared.”
    Mike’s laugh reverberated through the SUV. “The fact that you’re anal or OCD or whatever is going to come in handy this time. I’ll be by later to pick it up.”
    “No problem. We can sit down and strategize about Elizabeth , and you can tell me all about how it went with the general.”
    “Later.” Mike clicked his Bluetooth off as he pulled into the coroner’s office. He glanced at Abby’s SUV as he pulled his door open.
    He flashed his badge to the girl behind the counter and walked to the back room, pushing open the door to the examining room. “What have we got?”
    Abby and Henry looked up. Abby’s face was a mixture of concern and aggravation. Henry just raised a brow. “I’m not sure just yet, Detective.” Henry looked down at the body and used his gloved hands to open the teenager’s mouth.
    “Male, Caucasian, approximate age nineteen, brought in last night. He had blue foam around his mouth when he was dropped off at the emergency room. The doctors did blood work and pronounced him dead thirty minutes later.”
    “You have the results yet?”
    Henry shook his head and answered without lifting his gaze. “Unfortunately no blood work yet.”
    Abby placed her hand on his shoulder. “Well, what do we know about how the drug interacts with the body? What did you find when you performed your autopsy?”
    Henry pulled his gloves off and threw them in the metal can. “What I did find was interesting.”
    “What was