Page 44 of Target Acquired

“No, wait.” Kenzie tried to sit when another wave of coughing left her gasping, and the paramedic attempted to put the mask back on. Kenzie shoved the woman’s hand away with a glare. “I can’t go to the hospital. I’m supposed to take my dad—” More coughing cut her off, and when she caught her breath, her gaze bounced between Cole and the frowning paramedic. “Fine,” Kenzie muttered. She took the mask back and covered her face before the woman could do it for her. Then she took a deep breath.

Cole nodded. “I’ll call your dad for you and let him know what’s going on.” She frowned but didn’t protest. “I’ll be right behind you.”

The ride to the hospital was smooth and quick, and Cole soon found himself pacing in the waiting room while the rest of the team arrived one by one.

He’d honestly wondered if they’d show up and squelched the shame at his doubt. Greene walked in—moving carefully, but moving—with Otis at his side, followed by James.

Even Cowboy had made it. He was dressed in his trademark blue jeans, boots, and Stetson since he wasn’t on the job at the moment.

The only one not there was Butler, who’d driven Dolly and said he’d wait in the vehicle. Cole found himself pushing aside his anger with the man. Commander Hill had called, and once he was assured Kenzie was going to be fine, he apologized for not coming due to a previous engagement with the mayor. “She’ll understand, sir,” Cole had told him.

“Yeah, she will. Thanks.”

As soon as he hung up with the commander, he tapped a message to Esther Hemingway, their analyst who could find information at the drop of a hat. A former independent hacker, she now used her skills to catch the bad guys.

I need security footage from the Coleman’s Farmers’ Market today.

He gave her the approximate time range and tapped send.

Urgent tasks done, Cole now waited with the others. And waited. And paced a little.

Finally, James caught his eye and nodded for Cole to look behind him.

He spun to see Lainie headed toward him. She had her stethoscope wrapped around her neck and her scrubs had seen better days. She’d had a busy time in the ED over the last few hours, but she was the best physician assistant he knew. Better than some doctors. Having her taking care of Kenzie lowered his blood pressure considerably. “I know she’s okay, technically, but how is she? For real?”

“Ornery. Ready to get out of here.”

He let out a slow breath. “Good. Then . . . normal.”

Lainie smirked. “Yes. The wound isn’t deep, more like a bad graze instead of a stab. I stitched it in a couple of places—refusing to let her do it herself—but it shouldn’t hold her down for long, so that’s good.”

“Yeah, very good.” Of course she’d offer to do it herself. He shook his head.

“You can go on back and see her if you want.”

“I want.”

“Room 3. You know the way. But tell her that I’m going to keep a room reserved for her if she keeps showing up like this.” She let her gaze roam the rest of the guys in the unit. “In fact, I may need to rope off a wing.”

“That’s the one thing I’ll be sure not to tell her.”

Lainie laughed. “I’m going to hang here for a minute.” She had her eyes fixed on her fiancé. And since James could put aside his concerns about Kenzie, Lainie now had his full attention.

Cole refrained from rolling his eyes. He couldn’t picture himself that gaga about someone. Not after the number Tracy Rochester did on him. Trusting someone with his heart again would take too much work. Too much effort.

Nope, he was done with romance. For now anyway. But if the right one came along, he might not argue the idea.

“Hey, tell Kenzie we’re thinking about her and glad she’s okay,” Cowboy said.

The others echoed the sentiment, and Cole aimed his footsteps toward Kenzie’s room.

“Come in.” A cough followed the words and he pushed into the room.

“Hey.”

She raked a hand over her dark hair and shook her head so the mass tumbled around her left shoulder. He’d rarely seen her with it down, and he realized how stunning she was. Maybe not fake beautiful in a photoshopped-magazine-cover kind of way, but her intellect, professional skills, and personality were so big that he found himself fighting the attraction.

And just like that, his whole “I’m not trusting my heart to anyone ever again” vow scattered like ashes.