“Jake, I’ve never given a shot before.”
“You’ll do fine. Find the muscle. Jab the needle straight in.” He demonstrated. “Depress the plunger. Out quickly.” He handed her the syringe.
“What if I hurt you?”
“It won’t be the first time.”
He hadn’t meant to say that. In the last hours he hadn’t meant for a lot of things to happen.
She started to turn away, but he reached out and touched her arm. A small thrill raced through him when her gaze met his. “I’m a big guy,” he said. “That’s a small needle. You’re not going to hurt me.” When she hesitated, he frowned. “What will hurt me is if I pick up an infection from that damn bullet.” Bracing himself against the table with one hand, he used the other to pull down one side of his boxers. “Ready?”
Chapter Five
Leigh had never been squeamish, but her hands were shaking as she scrubbed a small area with alcohol, set her hand against his hip and took aim with the needle. His flesh was warm and granite hard beneath her palm. Even though the moment was not sexual in any way, she found herself remembering what it had been like to touch him intimately. Six years ago she hadn’t been able to get enough of him….
Suppressing her memories with the proficiency of a woman who did it often, she steadied herself and jabbed the needle into the muscle. Jake didn’t so much as wince when she depressed the plunger then quickly withdrew the needle.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Tugging up his briefs, he took the syringe from her and dropped it into a biohazard bag.
“In the scope of things, administering that injection doesn’t even make the scale of difficult. I think the real problem we’re facing here is figuring out what to do next,” she said.
“I’ve got a safe place for you to stay until Rasmussen is caught.”
“Or maybe you want to use me as bait. You know, win my trust and then send me back into the lion’s den to see if he’ll bite.”
Leigh knew it had been an unreasonable thing to say. She hadn’t meant to dredge up the past. But she was tired and stressed out. Worse, she was still angry with Jake for the way things had ended six years ago. For making her feel something for him when he’d known nothing could ever come of it. For putting her in an impossible situation where she’d had no choice but to compromise herself. For not stopping her when he could have.
“I didn’t send you to Rasmussen,” Jake snapped. “You did that all by yourself.”
“You knew there was no other way. Just as you knew I’d go through with it.”
“Leigh, after everything that happened between us I never would have put you in that position. I don’t share, damn it.”
“You did, Jake.”
Lowering his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Leigh, I can’t undo what’s already been done. If I could, I would. All I can do now is try to keep you safe.”
“Then you’ll forgive me if I don’t trust your mo tives.” Using another alcohol wipe, Leigh disinfected her hands, hating that they were shaking. Hating even more that her emotions were jumbled and conflicting. Anger and the old hurt warred with an attraction that had not diminished in the years since she’d last seen him.
If it were anyone but Jake standing before her in nothing but his boxers, this wouldn’t be so difficult. But seeing him hurt and bleeding and half-naked made her remember things she didn’t want to remember. Made her feel things she didn’t want to feel.
Jake braced one hand against the table and used the other to tug down one side of his briefs. Leigh’s stomach did a slow roll as she took in the sight of the wound. It was a deep graze. The bullet had dug a three-inch gash through the flesh. The surrounding skin was the color of an overripe plum, swollen and hot to the touch.
“Oh God, Jake, it’s bad. You’ve lost a lot of blood. No wonder you’re in pain.”
He turned his head and studied the wound. “If it was bad, I wouldn’t be standing.” But Leigh didn’t miss the way his face went pale.
“There’s some butterfly tape in the kit,” he said. “Clean it up, use the tape to close the wound, and bandage it.”
“You need to see a doctor.”
“That’s not an option.”
A chill passed through her when she looked out the window and realized night had fallen. The wind was keening around the old house, like a ghost looking for shelter from the cold. She hated being afraid, jumping at shadows. Hated even more knowing Rasmussen was out there, using every resource he had to find her.
“What if he finds us here, Jake?”
“He won’t.” But there was little conviction in his voice.
Leigh did her best not to cause him pain as she disinfected the wound and applied the butterfly tape to close it. But she could tell by the way his muscles tensed that she was hurting him.
By the time she finished the bandage, she was trembling with tension. “Have you got something for the pain?” she asked.