Page 92 of Rookie Days

“I said go now,” she growled. As her two colleagues, red-faced from the run but no less intimidating, caught up with her, the biker did well to grab his broken bike and comply without further complaint. “Guys, tell me we’ve still got eyes on him,” Ellie prompted.

“No,” the first cop panted. “Word is from other teams that he managed to duck into the Chinese market and vanish out of sight.”

“We’ve got officers on foot searching through the area,” his partner offered.

Small consolation, though Ellie figured that it was worth a try. Unfortunately, it proved unsuccessful.

???

“I almost nailed him in the street. If not for that idiot cyclist plowing into my side, I would have!” She positively sizzled in anger. “Can’t believe Hayes dared to come here too, right up to Elliot’s door! That son of a bitch. He was right here and I let him slip through my fingers!”

“Stop fuming about it,” Quinn ordered. “You did your best, so clear your mind.”

“My mind is clear,” Ellie snapped in reply. “I just—”

“And be quiet for a minute too.” Janet cut her a simmering glance. “At least until I’ve checked that all your internal organs are accounted for and in the right place.”

Ellie sat on an exam table, shirt off and only clad in a sports bra from the waist up. She’d tried to hide her injuries from Janet, but the rip in her jeans from scraping the sidewalk and the blood and missing skin on the palm of her hands gave her away. Now her lover seemed quite pissed-off.

“I’m really fine, Doc,” she declared.

“Really, Detective, shut up,” Janet answered evenly.

Quinn looked amused at the exchange despite the lack of fun of their recent failure. Ellie assumed she was just pleased not to be the one on the table for a change, being prodded. She could not help but flinch when Janet pressed her fingers into her side.

“Sorry, babe.” For a brief moment, the mask of the surgeon dropped as their eyes crossed, and Ellie could see how much this was true. Janet confirmed it. “I hate hurting you more but I have to check. Bruising in this area could just be due to muscle injury, or a more serious indication of some internal bleeding. Lie down for me please.”

Eager to ease the anxious look in her eyes, which Janet was not quite able to hide, Ellie complied, although the exam struck her as unnecessary.

“Hey, Jan,” Quinn prompted from the other side.

“What?”

“You sure you shouldn’t let a professional examine her?”

Ellie grinned and chuckled, then could not help a groan of protest when Janet palpated over a particularly sore spot.

“Ow.” It made her eyes water. “Don’t break my ribs if they aren’t already, hey…”

Janet looked spectacularly unimpressed.

“Wow, you two are hilarious,” she said, unsmiling. “Take a deep breath in through your nose, Ellie. And stop talking, you got that?”

Ellie breathed in, which made her wince, then attempted to slide off the table when Quinn announced that she was going back to the station. Janet kept her down with a cool stare and a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t even try.”

“Catch up with me later, rookie,” Quinn advised. “You stay sharp, Jan.”

Janet glanced over her shoulder as the door clicked gently shut behind her before resting one hand on either side of Ellie’s head and leaning close. Her eyes softened.

“Are you okay, really? Tell me the truth.”

“Bit sore,” Ellie admitted. “But yes, I’m fine overall.”

“You were lucky again. I hate seeing blood and bruises on you.”

chapter 30

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