Page 32 of Carter's Battle

Mia nodded.

“Okay,” the officer said, “let the EMTs check you over and then we’ll talk about your accident.” He leaned toward her. “Have you been drinking?”

She bit her lip. “I had two sips of wine at Ohana’s. Talk to Dahlia, the bartender. She can tell you how much she poured me and how little I drank. You can check my blood alcohol if you want. I’ll be under the legal limit.”

She glanced at Carter, and this time she gave him a look that saidkeep your mouth shut. He gave her a discreet nod to let her know her message was received. He didn’t figure she’d want to tell the truth at this stage. It would just bring up everything else. Besides, if she didn’t say anything, it meant that he might get another crack at hurting Donny. He wanted to take that bastard out for hurting Mia in the worst way.

“Let’s get you checked and then we’ll talk.” The officer nodded to the EMTs and then turned to Carter. “And you are?” he said as he led Carter a few steps away from the ambulance.

“I’m Mia’s boyfriend, Carter Nolan.”

“Okay, Mr. Nolan. How did you come to be here?”

Carter glanced over at Mia. She was on a stretcher now and the EMT was looking at her ribs. “Mia was coming over to my place?—"

“And where is that?” the officer asked.

Carter explained that he was staying on Hawk’s ranch for a while doing equipment tests for the military.”

The officer’s demeanor immediately changed. “You’re one of Hawk’s boys? Okay then, what happened?” The cop seemed to relax instantly.

“Mia was on her way over and I thought it was taking too long, so I called her. When she didn’t answer, I checked her location on my phone. I have her on an app.” Guilt flashed through him. He hadn’t told Mia that he had tagged her phone so he could locate her if he needed to. He was going to have toexplain that one. It was standard protocol in a security scenario, but since they were sort of dating, did that make it stalkery?

“Can’t be too careful these days,” the officer said.

“When she didn’t move for a bit, and didn’t answer her phone, I came to see if she was okay. I had just found her when you guys arrived.”

He had no problem lying to the cop. Whatever kept Mia safe. He wasn’t sure if she thought going to the cops was a good idea or a bad one at this point. He had his own opinion on that score, but he needed to speak with her first.

“Okay. Thanks.” The officer said and then headed over to the ambulance. Mia was sitting up now. “She okay?”

The EMT nodded. “Cut lip and some bruised ribs but other than that she’s fine. A couple days of taking it easy and she’ll be good as new.”

“Miss Ryan, can you tell me what happened?”

Mia licked her lip and winced. She shot a quick look at Carter and then said, “I guess I must have dozed off. Been working long hours lately. Honestly, I don’t know what happened.”

“I see,” the officer commented. “You weren’t talking to anyone on your phone or maybe sending a text?”

She shook her head. “No. Oh, my God. My purse. It’s still in the car. My phone is in it.” She looked beseechingly at Carter.

The officer keyed his radio and asked one of the other cops down by the car to check for the bag. Turning back to Mia, he said, “And you’re sure there was nothing else? No one else involved?”

“No, just me. So sorry, Officer.” Mia closed her eyes and then rubbed her face with her hands.

Carter took that as his cue. “Do you think maybe I could take her home?”

The cop turned to look at him just as another officer appeared with Mia’s bag. She reached for it, but the officeroffered it to the cop who was questioning her. “Do you mind?” he asked.

Mia shook her head.

The officer opened the bag. He dug around a bit and then pulled out her cell phone. He stowed the device back in the bag and returned it to Mia with a look at Carter. “You can take her home. Just drop by the station to file the report for your insurance,” he said to Mia.

She nodded her thanks. Carter helped her climb out of the ambulance. “You okay?” he asked in a quiet voice as he led her to his SUV.

“Not really. Thanks for saving my life. It was you, wasn’t it? You shot Mikey?”

“Yeah.” He opened the door of the SUV and helped Mia into the passenger seat.

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