Page 37 of Caught in the Crossfire

“You know I bruise easy. He gripped my wrist for a few seconds at most so don’t blame Linc.”

Linc shook his head. “Mase is right. It’s on me. I should have been close enough to break his hold immediately.” He looked at Mason. “I’m sorry. I won’t allow that to happen again. You have my word.”

Mason wrapped his arms around Nicole and pulled her close. He gave a slight nod to Linc, accepting the apology. “I’ve got the watch. You have a class soon.”

“I’ll text you when I’m finished at PSI. You can tell me where to meet you, and we’ll figure out how to set up for tonight.” With that, Linc left the shop.

“I’m fine,” Nicole murmured. He had to believe her. Otherwise, Mason might confront Fitzgerald. That wouldn’t be a good thing.

“I should have been here.”

“You have to work, and so do I. The bruises will fade soon.” She brushed her lips over his and stepped back. “I need to get back to it. We have two more dogs arriving soon. Dawn and I will have to work fast to finish on time. We would have been finished already, but we had a dog emergency earlier.”

Mason frowned. “One of the dogs was hurt?”

“Nope. Violet decided to play with a skunk this morning.”

He grimaced. “I hope your treatment was successful.”

“De-skunking shampoo is a life saver.” Another kiss, then Nicole turned toward the back room. “Ryan, we don’t have time to work in any latecomers now. Unless we have another skunk emergency, the rest of the horde without an appointment will have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll pass the word.”

She hurried to the back room and joined Dawn in bathing a gorgeous white German Shepherd named Annie. The sweet dog was a shy one who had taken a shine to both of her groomers and took every opportunity given to share doggy kisses.

The next two hours passed in a blur of activity. By the time the last pet left the salon, Nicole was about ready to drop from fatigue and Dawn didn’t look in any better shape. “Let’s clean up and get out of here. I hear takeout calling my name.”

“Me, too.”

The two women dragged themselves through the cleaning process and set everything up for the next day. Thankfully, the start time was two hours later. Maybe she and Dawn would be able to sleep in a little. With her head pounding, she couldn’t think through the logistics of having a bodyguard stick around until 8:00. For Mason and Linc, that was late to begin their day.

Hopefully, Rod or Ethan would identify the killer soon and put him behind bars. She was ready for her life to go back to normal.

When the salon was ready for business the next day, Nicole closed the door to the supply closet with a snick. “Done. Let’s get out of here.”

She and Dawn walked to the reception area where Ryan was closing down the computer for the day. “Need me to come in tomorrow, Nicole?” he asked.

“Don’t you have classes in the morning?”

His face flushed. “I have skip days available.”

“You might be my future doctor one day. I’ll pass on the offer of help until your regular shift tomorrow. We have fewer grooming appointments booked. We’ll handle the load until you’re free from class.”

“If you change your mind, text me.”

“Thanks.” She wouldn’t do that to him. He’d worked hard to get a scholarship to the community college in town. From there, Ryan planned to transfer to East Tennessee State University for the rest of his studies, including medical school.

While she and Dawn waited in the office, Mason checked the windows and doors in Pet Palace. After he reported that everything was locked, he escorted them to their vehicles. “We’re staying at my house tonight. Linc will split the watch shift with me and Matt.”

“You asked Matt to stop by the shop to check on me today, didn’t you?”

“If I couldn’t be here myself, I wanted someone I trusted to look in on you. Since you weren’t feeling well this morning, I preferred someone with medical expertise. He was happy to do it, Nicole.”

Such a caring, thoughtful man. She laid her hand against his cheek. “Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

“I’ll do what’s necessary to keep you safe.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

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