Page 10 of More Than Nothing
“Interesting choice.”
Frank Dax held Roman’s stare in a silent pissing contest. All that could be heard for several long seconds was the sound of Ty’s feet fidgeting on the gravel. Then Frank gave a wide smile and spread his beefy hands. “What can I say? It’s a classic and I’m a softy.” His eyes, glinting with the hint of a challenge, said differently.
Roman and Dougie headed for the SUV. As they pulled off the driveway, an image of Elenie’s shuttered face swam into Roman’s mind and he frowned at the nasty taste in his mouth. After meeting both Frank and Athena, the reason why the Daxes were held in such universal contempt was becoming much clearer.
Chapter 5
Elenie
The next few days grew warmer and warmer, the gentle heat blissfully welcome after a capricious Michigan spring. With no need for long sleeves, Elenie enjoyed the brush of the light afternoon breeze against her bare arms and the sun on her back.
The track through the trees was a shortcut that trimmed her commute to work by twenty minutes, as it bypassed a far longer loop of road that wound up the hill. It was a steep climb on the walk home but, apart from when it was very hot or excessively wet, Elenie tackled the path to and from town twice a day, most days of the week.
She gave the patrol car parked at the bottom of the track a wary second glance, her shoulders loosening when she found it to be empty. Heading up the cool tree-covered path, she watched her step on the root-threaded ground; it was uneven but not slippery. She let her mind empty and her thoughts wander as she walked. The peace was welcome. This time to relax after the rush of the diner and before she reached home was precious, especially when she never knew what the evening might bring.
Rounding a bend, more than halfway up the hill, her feet slowed at the sight of Dougie Taggart, local police deputy, hunchedon the ground at the base of a tree. He swore colorfully and fluently, his rasping words becoming clearer as Elenie drew closer—angry yet somehow unthreatening. He sounded more like a popular high school teacher having a terrible day than a scarily pissed officer of the law.
Caution had Elenie checking around, hoping to find someone else to step in and take charge, but that was stupid. She maybe crossed paths with another person on this track twice a month, which made seeing the deputy all the more of a surprise.
“You alright, sir?”
When Taggart raised his head, skin pallid, mouth twisted in pain, Elenie’s stomach swooped up toward her throat. She smothered a curse of her own. He wasn’t alright. Jogging the last couple of yards, she dropped to her knees in the dirt beside him.
The deputy was gripping the top of one thigh with both hands, sweat running down the sides of his face, while blood oozed between his fingers. “Fucking Renner kids caught me with a BB gun. My leg’s on fire but I don’t think the pellet’s hit anything major. Fucking little fuckers.” He blew out a shaky breath, dirty blond hair plastered against his damp forehead. “I’ll get up in a minute. Just need a moment.”
“Let me look.” Elenie pried his hands away from his leg. The wound wasn’t pumping, but it didn’t look pretty. Fresh blood, saturating the material surrounding the jagged tear in his pants, seeped steadily as the pressure was lifted.
“Car’s at the bottom of the hill—left my cell and radio in it. I was chasing a stray. What a dumbass. You got a phone?” He eyed her lack of a purse or jacket.
“No, sorry.”
Taggart closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree, looking impossibly young and surprisingly vulnerable. Less of an intimidating authority figure and more just a man of her own ageneeding help. Elenie looked down at her clothes. The skirt and polo shirt gave her nothing to work with for a bandage, and she wasn’t carrying anything else with her. The deputy’s short-sleeved shirt and pants were no help either.
Checking his eyes were still shut, she half turned away from him. Elenie pulled her arms swiftly through her bra straps and unhooked the back clasp. She sighed internally at the loss of one of her only two bras before tugging the thin scrap of cotton out through the left sleeve of her top.
The irony of stripping off her underwear in the present company didn’t escape her, given that her main aim in life was to avoid the attention of the Pine Springs PD. But Dougie Taggart gave off no leery vibes—and Elenie was an expert at spotting them. Plus, not only was he oblivious to the surreptitious maneuver, she was also one hundred percent sure she could take him in a fight right now, with one carefully applied finger to the thigh.
Slipping off her sneakers, she removed both short, white socks and laid them together to form a pad, gently moving Dougie’s hands away as he opened his eyes. “Press this over the top, sir.” When she wrapped her bra around his leg, he flushed but didn’t comment. “I need to pull this tight but you can swear all you like. I’ll have heard it before.”
She did. And he did. And she had. But the wound was soon carefully bound by the sock/bra bandage, and this time they both let out a ragged breath.
“Think you can try to stand on it?”
“We’ll soon find out.” The deputy’s voice was grim but determined.
“I’m Elenie,” she told him, for something to say, as she reached out both hands. It was all she could do to pull him to his feet.
“I know who you are.”
Of course he did.
The walk back down the hillside was a slow one. The deputy leaned heavily on Elenie’s shoulder. It was a strange experience to be so physically close to someone she didn’t know. Her skin prickled with self-consciousness and she could feel her neck growing warm and damp. But the small kernel of pleasure that spread from her chest at the sensation of being needed overpowered the awkwardness. If her support helped Officer Taggart get down this track, she would let him use her for a crutch without complaint.
“The chief will give me so much shit for leaving my radio in the car. I don’t blame him either. I’ll probably be given every crappy callout until I retire.”
“What kind of crappy callouts are there?” Elenie asked, steering him around an overhanging branch. She regretted the question as soon as it left her mouth. Her family were likely responsible for most of them.
“Jarvis Wheelwright’s late-night bacon thieves.” Dougie dragged air in through his nose.
