Page 53 of Wicked Healing

Chapter 13

If Luca could have danceda jig he would have. He and Erin had stolen a couple of perfect hours away from everything, but they had other beings depending upon them. She was taking care of her animals and he would take care of his own and they would meet up later for dinner. Luca hated to leave her but he also needed some space.

He thought over the way she’d approached him. It probably wouldn’t have worked the way it did with any other girl. Erin was the key ingredient to their hookup. She’d pushed him to the point of no return and he’d loved it. He’d needed it, and she’d known that.

Luca climbed the stairs to his apartment, tired in a completely different way than he normally was. Making love used very different muscles from running. Shucking his clothes and his prosthetic he hopped into the shower, cranking the water as hot as he could stand it. Shudders went up and down his body and he felt his muscles relax. He stood there and soaked in the heat as long as he could. Hopping out onto the towel and rug he dried himself off, then headed for the bed. It was midday, but he needed to stretch out and think about some things. Wicked joined him on the bed and the two of them curled up together. The AC was blasting chilly air into the room so he took a minute and pulled the sheet over top of himself. Before he knew it he was out.

Luca woke disoriented, his phone beeping on the bedside table. He grabbed it and looked at the time. Six forty-eight. Shit. Erin was going to think he stood her up.

Luca jumped from the bed, reaching for his leg, but then he couldn’t find the sleeve. What the hell had he done with it? Must still be in the bathroom.

By the time he got himself situated and out the door, it was seven.

“C’mon, Boss,” he said, taking off running. The horses nickered at him when they saw him come through the door but he didn’t have time to stop. He’d kind of made it a habit to stop and talk to the animals, and give them treats sometimes.

Wicked stayed at heel as Luca bolted through the parking lot, past the kennel and along the side of the back yard. Erin wasn’t on the back steps, and the dogs appeared to be inside. Going to the back patio door he peered inside, then knocked when he didn’t see anyone.

Within a minute she padded out from the depths of the house, looking rumpled and sleepy. “I didn’t think you were coming,” she said softly as she let him in.

“I fell asleep. I’m so sorry,” he told her.

“Don’t worry about it. After you left I did a few things in the kennel, came back to the house and let these guys out for a few minutes. I was sitting on the back steps dozing off and I thought it would be nice to just go to bed. Now that you’re here, though, I’ll wake up.”

She turned into the kitchen, then spun right back around. Leaning up she pressed a kiss to his mouth. “Hey,” she whispered, smiling up at him.

Luca grinned. “Hey,” he whispered back, wrapping his arms around her.

“You don’t have to knock. Just come inside.”

Frowning, he leaned back to get a better view of her face. “You sure about that?”

She nodded once. “I trust you.”

Her words echoed through his head as he followed her into the living room. The TV was on but muted and there was a discarded blanket on the end of the couch. Sophie and Greta were curled up together, but as soon as she saw Wicked Sophie jumped down from her perch to say hello.

“I don’t remember what I was watching. Feel free to flip,” she said, handing him the controller.

Luca took a spot in the corner of the couch, grinning when Erin immediately sat down and curled against him. He thought it would be a little smothering, but he found that he loved it. Tightening his arm around her he drew her close.

Then his phone beeped again, letting him know he’d missed a call. Leaning out a little he jogged the thing from his pocket and looked at the screen. Calls were few and far between for him and he didn’t recognize the number, but there was a new voicemail. Erin was leaning against his chest and he wondered if he shouldn’t check it in private, but then he realized that he would probably tell her about whatever it was anyway. So, he played the message.

‘Mr. Carmichael, this is Lt. Hampton, a recruiter liaison with Phoenix PD’

Luca’s breath stalled in his lungs at the man’s voice.

‘Thank you very much for your email regarding the upcoming police academy. To answer your question, yes, we do take military service into account. If you and your K9 are both able to work as a team we would love to have an in-depth panel interview with you regarding service. You would have to be able to pass the physical portion of the test, obviously, but the interview will give us a better idea of how much schooling you will need. If you’re interesting in setting up an interview please call me back at this number…’

Luca blinked, shocked at the response. It had only been a couple of days since he’d sent in the email.

Erin sat up, her brows raised in question. “That sounds promising.”

He nodded. “I looked at that packet again and once I knew I could do everything on the list I emailed them.”

Hope spiked through him, taking him a little off guard. The prospect of being a cop had been kind of an ephemeral thing, but now that there was a chance…

Erin was staring at him, her head cocked and brows raised. “Are you excited?”

He thought about her words for a long moment. “I think I am, actually. I mean, before I kind of felt like it was an option, but… I don’t know. Maybe I deliberately didn’t want to think about it too much because I didn’t want to be disappointed.”

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