Lethal Balance Page 6

  Well…the salary was high enough to compensate for the increased cost of living in Alaska. Benefits were the standard ones.

  Working with Gabe—definite plus. Regina, the reception person, had been nice. The small Alaska town would probably be a mix of good and bad. Most of the people had seemed friendly. The cult was an ugly minus.

  Then there was this man…

  His fingers under her chin lifted her head. “All done. I’ll give you something mild for the headache, and you’ll stay here until the dizziness passes.” His eyes were the warm color of dark chocolate…and unyielding as stone. He might be even more stubborn than she was.

  He certainly was overprotective. And she didn’t want his concern, heartwarming as it was.

  She’d met him in a bar. They’d had an amazing discussion. He’d made a pass at her. She’d turned him down. That was that. She couldn’t afford to lose this job, and after Weiler, she knew how disastrous gossip could be. A small town would be even worse. She wasn’t ever going to chance that he wanted more than a doctor/patient relationship.

  She gave him a nod and a polite, “Yes, Doc.”

  His mouth tightened, and then he nodded back. “Comprendo.” I understand.

  Good enough.

  New job, new town. She was going to concentrate on her career and stay away from men.

  With a sigh of relief, Caz finished the day’s charting in his office. The usual colds and flu and cancer and infections, drunken brawls, and children tripping over every sharp object to be found. Add in hunting accidents and idiot fishermen filleting themselves rather than their catch, and it made for a long day.

  Leaning back, he stretched and savored the silence. His health clinic was up and running. He even had almost all the equipment he needed. In another month or so, he’d see about hiring a full-time medical assistant. For now, part-time aides would do.

  Sharing the receptionist with the police station was working better than he’d anticipated. Eventually, maybe, the population would increase enough he could hire more staff and use the clinic’s own waiting room and reception desk.

  After a bit of remodeling, the clinic now had an efficient layout. Behind the currently unused reception desk was the front office with computer, fax, and printer. A hall led to his office, the three exam rooms, and the procedure room.

  Conveniently, a door in the front office also opened into his office, so when he was here alone, he’d leave the door open to see anyone entering.

  Like now. He smiled as his brother walked in.

  Gabe speared him with a dour look.

  “Problem, ’mano?”

  “Could be.” Gabe dropped into the other chair in the room and stretched his long legs out. “JJ said she stayed up at the resort last night. Your stomping grounds.” Unfortunately, Gabe’s years as a cop granted the ability to see what was right in front of his nose, and Caz’s interest in JJ had probably been more than obvious.

  “Ah, the guilt. It stabs my heart.” Caz clutched his chest. “This feels like the day Mako discovered our stash of Playboys in the loft.” Mako had made them do a pushup for every page. The damn magazines were way too long.

  “My arm muscles were so sore the next day that I couldn’t even comb my hair.” Gabe grinned. “Actually, he was right. Hell, you were only twelve. And you’re changing the subject.”

  “No, mi hermano, I am not.” Caz powered down his laptop. “I’m saying that males are interested in females. You and Mako might disapprove, but biology will not halt at your request.”

  Gabe’s mouth flattened. “Listen—”

  “No. We met. There was interest. She said she was from Nevada, didn’t mention she was interviewing here. However, I did not fuck her.” Although he had definitely wanted to. “We simply talked.”

  “Oh. Well. Sorry.” Gabe rubbed his neck. “Still. It’s like this, bro… Female cops have it rough. Even in this decade, too many guys think they’re easy. And with JJ—well, I don’t know if you met him, but one of Mako’s old buddies referred her to me. Name of Gene. It seems she’s had it especially rough. What I’m saying is you’ve a reputation and being seen with you might be a problem.”

  Caz’s rep would rub off on her? The taste of that was bitter. It didn’t matter, though. She’d indicated her choice. He would, of course, honor that. “I agree.”

  Gabe looked surprised.

  “There are other women. There are always more women. I will stay away from your officer, ’mano.” Although in simply talking, she’d given him the most pleasant evening he’d had in a long time. He liked her, dammit.

  With a grunt of exasperation, he rose and walked down the hall, shutting off lights.

  “Okay then.” Gabe didn’t sound totally convinced. “Appreciate it.”

  Lights off, Caz walked back toward the front office. “Bueno. That means you’re buying the beer tonight.”

  Chapter Five

  A diamond is merely a lump of coal that did well under pressure. ~ Henry Kissinger

  * * *

  Two weeks later, Caz walked across the grounds of what his family called “the Hermitage” or “the compound” on the southern bank of Lynx Lake. Today, the lake was a calm, glassy sheet reflecting the mountains rising to the south. The tips of the peaks were white with termination dust—the first high-altitude snow, signaling the end of summer. At least the cold had held off until October; there’d been years the first snow had arrived in August.

  He walked over to the square wooden smoker on the far side of their compound. After checking the outside firebox, which was burning well, he opened the door of the tall box. The sweet scent of alder enveloped him. Inside, the salmon strips lay on racks. A glance at the thermometer showed the temperature was holding steady. He grinned, remembering the sarge’s fit when they’d offered to buy him an electric one. He’d smoked salmon the old-fashioned way for years and wasn’t about to change.

  Mako also canned or jerked most of his fishing and hunting, certain the next war or disaster was just around the corner, and he wanted to be prepared. He’d probably been annoyed as hell the apocalypse hadn’t yet occurred before he went on to the next world.

  Look, Sarge, we’re still doing it your way. In fact, the three of them would can this last batch of cold-smoked silvers tomorrow.

  The tug of grief eased slowly.

  Over at the patio, Bull was building a fire in the big brick grill.

  Caz joined him. “I’m tired of game and fish.” They’d just finished off the last of what was in the various freezers and had been fishing, hunting, and trapping to refill them. He and Gabe had each shot a moose last week, providing more than enough for all of them with ample to share with the non-hunters or those like Mako’s old friend, Dante, who hadn’t been able to get out this year.

  Bull grinned. “No worries. We’re having plain old chicken today to welcome Gabe’s officer.”

  “Good choice.” Caz tipped his head, listening for a car. JJ was due to arrive today—and would be living here in the Hermitage.

  That was going to be uncomfortable. For him, at least. Because he hadn’t been able to get her out of his thoughts. She had all that curly, red-brown hair the color of maple leaves in the fall. Her eyes were a mesmerizing blue-green color. Freckles dotted her light skin, running over her cheeks, up her arms. So damn kissable. Did freckles dance across her skin elsewhere?

  No. He wasn’t going to think about her in this way. She was off-limits. Stick to the tourists, estúpido.

  “Need me to make anything?”

  Bull shook his head. “Got it covered. I brought a bunch of side dishes from the restaurant.”

  Having a brother who owned a restaurant had some perks.

  Caz glanced around the compound, wondering what JJ would think of it. He still found it beautiful the way the five houses curved in a protective half-circle of the lakefront acreage.

  Years ago, with all four of his boys in the military, the isolation of his off-the-grid cabin had aggravated
the sarge’s PTSD and paranoia. In response, they’d all built two-story cabins and gotten him to move to Rescue where Dante could check in with him. Mako, a survivalist before it’d been popular, turned the place into something that could hold off World War III.

  To keep two-legged or four-legged predators out of the inner compound, electrified fencing ran between each house, as well as extended from the end houses down to the lake. The attic of each house was designed for a shooter, and the road-facing rear of the houses had small, defensible windows. The huge windows facing the lake could be shuttered—another battle the first sergeant had won.

  Mako had been a bit crazy.

  Yet, when Caz woke from nightmares of combat, the grinding crunch of a knife penetrating the base of the skull, the feeling of life draining out of a target…on those nights, the impregnable nature of the Hermitage was a comfort.

  Mako’s cabin had stood empty since he died last year. Now, JJ would be there. Caz laughed under his breath. So much for staying away from Rescue’s new police officer. Gabe’d made that all but impossible.

  Caz took the beer Bull handed him. “Did Gabe say how long the officer will be staying out here with us?”

  “Until one of Dante’s rentals is free. About a month, maybe.” Bull glanced at the cabins. Gabe had the cabin on the western arm near the lake. Bull’s, Hawk’s, and Caz’s cabins formed an arc. Mako’s house anchored the east end of the U, again close to the lake. “Feels almost wrong to have someone in the sarge’s place.”

  “Sí.” Caz breathed out against the fresh burst of grief and the illogical resentment of a stranger in the sarge’s house—as if leaving it empty would bring Mako back. It was good Hawk wasn’t home, or there’d be hell to pay. He was even more antisocial and territorial than the sarge had been. “But if lending Jayden a house means Gabe gets backup, Mako would be all for it.”

  “True enough.” Bull held his hand over the fire. They had charcoal, but Bull preferred “real” wood, even if it took longer to get the coals right. “If nothing else, having her taking over his cabin forced us to finally deal with his stuff.”

  It hadn’t been easy to go through the sarge’s belongings, even though Mako hadn’t accumulated much other than weapons and books. After protest, Gabe had taken the sarge’s medals. Bull, his recipes—although they’d all learned most of them. But holding the cards, seeing the sarge’s rough scrawl, had sent Bull out of the room for a few minutes.

  Caz had taken Mako’s blades. He still had the first one Sarge had given him. Now he had others. If he could see to use them.

  They’d set a few things aside for Hawk when he came home. If he came home.

  Caz rubbed his neck. “JJ should be here soon. Where’s Gabe?”

  “He’s helping Audrey make up the bed, turn on the fridge, and get out towels.” Bull gave Caz a wry look. “I didn’t even think of that shit.”

  Caz smiled. “It’s nice having Audrey here.” It was difficult to overcome the habit of isolation the sarge had fostered, but when Gabe fell for Audrey, things had changed.

  Love could apparently overcome anything.

  Bull snorted. “First Audrey, now the officer. You met her—what’s she like?”

  Adorable. Tough. Vulnerable. Determined. He heard a car on the drive and smiled. “She’s punctual.”

  He headed toward Mako’s house.

  * * *

  JJ barely managed to spot the dirt road. Dirt—seriously? Thank God, she’d taken Gabe’s advice to get a car suited for Alaska. He was right. Her little city car would’ve had heart failure by now. So she’d sold her Camry in Nevada and bought a used Toyota 4Runner in Anchorage.

  It was a tough car—and a pretty blue. Score.

  She braked, her tires skidding in the gravel, and turned onto the tiny dirt road. Honestly, the roads in this state were insane. We pave our roads in Nevada, for God’s sake.

  Gabe had told her, “You’ll see a lake on the left. Once past it, ignore the first two dirt roads on the left—they dead-end a few yards in. Turn left onto the third road. It’ll look as if it dead-ends also, but it actually veers left before it terminates. Follow the road back to the lake and park at the last cabin on the east end.”

  This was a total wilderness. The so-called road was about as wide as a dirt footpath. As she drove down it, suddenly the thick forest opened up into a lakeside meadow, and the road curved around the back of five almost identical two-story cabins. Solar panels glinted from the top of each roof. A large outbuilding sat just past the westmost cabin.

  After staring for a moment, she drew up to the house at the east end. Hers for a month. As part of Rescue’s growing pains, there were very few rentals—and all were booked. When she’d told Gabe, he’d said he knew of a place she could live in for a month until a rental became available.

  She’d accepted gratefully. But…boy, this was sure isolated.

  The garage door was up, so she pulled in. After shutting off the engine, she sat for a moment. Well. She was here. In Alaska. Excitement vied with a sense of disorientation. Of loss. She’d never planned to leave Nevada.

  But, aside from Gene, she had no real friends left there. This was good. Here, she had a chance to prove herself, to make a home. Make friends. Be a good police officer.

  To help people the way she’d always wanted.

  Sliding out, she opened the trunk and hesitated. Should she take in her luggage? She didn’t have much. Being prudent, she’d left almost everything stored in Nevada, bringing and shipping only enough clothing, grooming items, and essentials like her eReader, flute, favorite pillow, to last her a month. By then she and Chief MacNair would know if she would work out.

  “Welcome to Rescue, JJ.” The warm masculine voice broke into her thoughts. It was Cazador. The doctor—no, the nurse practitioner who might as well be a doctor.

  She turned, and—dammit—he still looked like any woman’s favorite fantasy. No man should be allowed to be that sexy. A stabilizing breath helped. Thankfully, she wasn’t affected by him. No, she wasn’t. Absolutely not.

  “Good to see you, Doc.” Although she didn’t know why he was here.

  “I saw you standing there, just staring at your luggage. Are you having second thoughts?” He walked down the two steps into the garage and reached into the trunk to pull out a suitcase.

  “Um. No. I wasn’t sure what to do next.”

  “Ah. What comes next is getting everything inside, joining us for lunch—Bull is grilling—and then taking the evening to settle in.” He wasn’t as tall as the chief, but still way taller than her five-four. He smiled down at her with a warm gaze.

  “I can get that.” She reached for her suitcase.

  He chuckled. “You have enough for both of us and a few more.” He turned and shouted toward the door. “Viejo, your officer is here, and she has luggage.”

  An answering shout came back.

  It seemed she would be assisted, which was actually rather nice. After Nash had trashed her reputation, she’d had no backup, whether in lifting things or to police calls that went bad. She’d gotten used to doing everything without help.

  The doc’s cheerful insistence was heartening. “Thank you,” she said. “I do appreciate the help, Doc.”

  “No problemo. And it’s Cazador as I’m sure you remember.” Although his expression was reproving, his eyes held heat—and then the heat disappeared. He stepped back with a rueful smile.

  “JJ, you’re here.”

  She jumped at the chief’s cheerful voice.

  As Gabe and a woman walked across the garage, Cazador started pulling her boxes and suitcases from the trunk, setting them on the floor for easy carrying.

  “I see you made it in one piece.” The chief’s brisk slap on the shoulder—just like he’d have done for any guy—made her feel more welcome than any handshake.

  “I did. You have a beautiful location here.” Crazy hard to find, but lovely.

  “Thank you.” He motioned to the golden-blonde w
oman who was all curves and an inch shorter than JJ. “JJ, Audrey Hamilton, my girlfriend. Audrey, this is our new officer, Jayden Jenner.”

  With a smile, Audrey held out her hand. “Welcome to Rescue, JJ.”

  JJ shook her hand, feeling a little wary. In Weiler, her fellow officers’ women had thought JJ was man hunting. Threatening their relationships. Of course, with the way the misogynistic officers talked about her, maybe the women had cause to think that way.

  Yet she was the furthest thing from a man-hunter. Nash had been the only guy she’d been with in Weiler. After him, she’d been disgusted with the entire male gender.

  “Thank you, Audrey.” She could only hope the woman didn’t feel threatened about having only JJ and Gabe in the station. “It’s good to be here.”

  The chief turned to the pile of suitcases and boxes. “Audrey, if you’ll show JJ where everything is and explain the odd living arrangement, Caz and I will haul luggage.”

  “Sounds good.” Audrey smiled. “We’ll leave it to you manly men.”

  “Manly men?” Caz snorted. “That leaves you out, viejo.”

  The chief’s shoulder knocked him back a pace, and JJ hesitated, wondering if there’d be a fight. But, no, they were both laughing.

  “Brothers.” Audrey snorted under her breath, leading the way up the two steps and into the house.

  “Brothers?” JJ glanced back. Black-haired, brown-eyed Latino male. Brown-haired, blue-eyed white guy. No shared characteristics at all. “Seriously?”

  “Not by birth. They were in a foster home together, and Mako saw them and decided to take on raising four boys.”

  “Four boys, all at once?”

  “He’d spent time as a drill instructor during his twenty-some years in the military.” Audrey snorted. “Four kids were probably easy as pie.”

  “Okay, so Gabe, Cazador, and…?”

  “Bull, who is outside grilling right now. And Hawk, who’s off doing secret military stuff. No one knows when he’ll be back.”