Mountain Ambush

She aimed her flashlight and spotted him on the floor in the corner.

“No, no, no,” she muttered, rushing across the room to him.

When she touched his shoulder, he jerked away as if he’d been stung. “I said don’t touch me!”

A shudder ran down her spine. This kind of raw fear looked all wrong on the doc.

“Dr. Spencer, it’s me. It’s Maddie.” She aimed the flashlight at her own face and offered a bright smile. Then she redirected the beam at the doctor. He was curled up, looking away from her.

“It’s okay,” she said. “You’re okay now.”

She reached out again and tentatively placed her hand on his shoulder. “Remember me? Maddie McBride?”

The emergency lights clicked on, bathing them in a soft glow.

“Doc?” she prompted.

He slowly turned to look at her. “Maddie? Of course I remember you. How could I ever forget you?”

Whoa, not exactly the response she expected. His eyes looked glassy, and not totally focused.

“Did that man hurt you?” she said.

His eyes widened with fear.

“Don’t worry, he’s gone.” She smiled. “Are you hurt?”

He shook his head that he wasn’t, looking at her like he adored her. This wasn’t right. The amount of medication he’d been given for the MRI shouldn’t have made him this loopy.

“What did he say to you?” she asked.

“Maddie!” a male voice called.

“In here!” She glanced over her shoulder.

Security guard Ted Graves stepped into the room. “Is he okay?”

“Seems to be. Someone needs to examine Kurt. I think he’s been drugged.”

Ted called it into his radio.

Dr. Spencer squeezed Maddie’s hand, still resting on his shoulder. She looked at him.

“You saved me...again,” he said. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

Oh yeah, he’d been overmedicated all right. Which meant someone breached the hospital’s drug protocol and gave him a higher dose than intended so that he couldn’t defend himself.

A man cleared his throat in the doorway. She glanced up at Chief Nate Walsh.

“Everything okay?” he said.

“He doesn’t seem to be physically hurt, but I suspect Dr. Spencer was given higher dose of the sedative than was ordered for the MRI. Did you catch the attacker?”

“No, he escaped,” Chief Walsh said. “Did you get a good look at him?”

“Lights didn’t come on until after he’d left,” Maddie said. “We need to get Dr. Spencer back to his room.”

“No.” Dr. Spencer squeezed Maddie’s hand. “I can’t stay here. He’ll find me.”

Maddie glanced at Nate. “What should we do?”

“I’ll assign an officer to him 24/7.”

Maddie looked at the doctor. “Does that work?”

He nodded, but didn’t look so sure.

“If you want, I can stay, too, okay?” she said.

With a sigh, he nodded and closed his eyes.

* * *

To say Spence was disappointed when he awoke the next morning just as Maddie was leaving his room was an understatement. He reminded himself that he shouldn’t depend on her so much, especially to feel safe. The brain trauma must be causing anxiety, that’s all. It’s not like he specifically needed Maddie’s caring nature to feel grounded. It could be anyone kind enough to offer comforting words.

If that was true, why hadn’t he felt grounded when Nurse Bethany came to check on him, or Nurse Tanya?

He felt smothered by the staff and utterly frustrated on so many levels. Dr. Danner seemed to enjoy holding Spence hostage, yet every minute spent at the hospital as a patient made him feel more broken, and more anxious because someone got to him here last night.

He appreciated both Maddie’s presence, and the police protection. Without them he wouldn’t have slept at all.

Ruth gave him the good news that the intruder hadn’t interrupted the MRI, and his scan indicated a mild concussion.

The discharge couldn’t come fast enough. Whatever trouble he’d stumbled into out in the mountains seemed to have followed him back to town. What else could explain the attack in the MRI department last night? He didn’t want to put staff members in danger by staying in the hospital another minute longer than necessary.

Chief Nate Walsh offered to give Spence a ride. Nate was a good friend and Spence didn’t feel he had to watch his words around him, or keep up the charming pretense.

“We’re doing everything we can to find the guy,” Nate said eyeing Spence in the rearview mirror of his cruiser. “You don’t remember anything he said, do you?”

“Not really, no.”

Spence racked his brain trying to remember something from the encounter last night. Between the head injury and the overmedication, it was all still foggy.

“Do you remember anything from last night?” Nate asked.

“Like what?”

Nate shot him a look through the rearview mirror.

“What?” Spence said, curious.

“Do you remember Maddie finding you?”

In a rush, the scent of coconut rushed through his mind. A memory...

The feel of his lips pressed against her soft skin.

“Oh no,” Spence said.

“So you do remember?” Nate teased.

“I really kissed her hand?”

“Yep.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“You sure about that?”

Spence glanced out the window.

“Don’t worry, buddy. She knows you were under the influence of a powerful drug. She didn’t take it seriously.”

Good, because the last person Spence wanted to offend was the woman who’d saved his life. Twice.

As Nate pulled onto Spence’s property, he noticed two cars parked out front.

“Who’s here?” Spence said.

“Probably locals filling your fridge.”

Spence got out of Nate’s cruiser and was greeted by Cal, Dr. Carver’s husband. “How ya feeling, buddy?” Cal reached out and shook Spence’s hand.

“Hanging in there, Cal. What’s going on?”

“The McBride clan asked if they could stock the fridge. Since we’ve got your spare key, I let them in. Hope that’s okay.”

Nate shook hands with Cal. “That’s nice of you, Cal. But I think Spence is a little wiped out to have company.”

“No problem. Could you manage five minutes, Spence?” Cal asked. “To say thanks and all that?”

“Of course,” Spence said. He didn’t want to seem ungrateful, or rude.

Acting unusually curt would cause Drs. Carver and Danner to question the severity of his brain injury. Although his injury didn’t look serious on the scan, brain injuries were all different and unpredictable. TBI victims could experience mood swings, or personality changes, which was what his doctors would be looking for.

Spence had always worn a smile as his armor, but today his head hurt and his body ached. He wanted to relax without having to smile or make pleasant conversation.

“Your assistant is supposed to start tonight,” Cal said.

“Assistant?” Spence questioned.

“Ruth hired someone to help you out until you’re fully recovered,” Cal said.

“That’s not necessary.”

“Perhaps not, but she doesn’t want to take any chances. She found someone to check in on you for the next week or so, until you’re up and running at your usual 120 percent.”

Spence suspected it might take longer than a week. Two or three perhaps? What if he never cleared the clutter from his brain, and had to give up practicing medicine? He fisted his hand, frustrated at the thought of not being a doctor, not saving lives.

His life would be, in a word, over. Panic overwhelmed him.

Get it together, Spence. He pulled himself back from the edge. He’d be okay; he had to be okay. He was just exhausted.

The men went to the cabin and Cal swung open the door.

Margaret, matriarch of the McBride clan, was directing her daughter, Cassie, on building a fire.

Cassie glanced over her shoulder, dropped the kindling and ran into Nate’s arms. “Hi, Chief. I could use your fire expertise.”

Spence noticed Nate’s face light up as he hugged his girlfriend.

“With pleasure, dear,” he said, teasingly.

“Dr. Spencer, it’s so good to see you up and around,” Margaret said.

“Thank you.”

A light, melodic sound echoed from the kitchen. Spence glanced across the cabin. Maddie stood at the counter with her back to the group, singing along with a song playing through her earbuds.

“And I always knew...with your love...”

“Maddie?” her aunt Margaret said.

“I could do anything...”

“Maddie!” her aunt tried again.

Cassie grabbed a piece of kindling and tossed it at her cousin to get her attention.

Maddie shrieked and spun around, wielding a chopping knife like a weapon. She glanced at the utensil in her hand and scrunched her nose. Removing the earbuds, she offered a smile, blushing. “Sorry. Got lost in the music. Hi, Doc. Hi, Chief.”

“Maddie, nice to see you,” Nate said.

“I didn’t know there’d be four for dinner.” Maddie glanced over her shoulder at the vegetables she’d been chopping.

“Actually, I’ve got an appointment,” Cal said.

“I won’t be staying for dinner, either,” Nate said.

“Hey, my cooking isn’t that bad,” Maddie joked.

Joked. Smiled. Cooked. Spence enjoyed the moment, however fleeting.

“It’s not your cooking, coz,” Cassie said. “Chief promised me dinner at Mackey’s Dim Sum tonight.”

“Nice,” Maddie said with envy in her voice.

Spence suddenly wanted to take Maddie out to dinner.

Okay, now he was really losing his mind.

“Well, I’m off,” Cal said.

“Could I have the spare key for the officer who will be keeping watch?” Nate asked.

“Sure, Chief. Spence, your assistant should be checking in at eight. Well, have a good night, everyone.” Cal handed Nate the key and left.

“Your assistant?” Maddie asked.

“Dr. Carver hired someone to keep an eye on me,” Spence explained.

“Ah,” Maddie said, and went back to chopping vegetables.

Something felt off, Spence wasn’t sure what. He and Maddie hadn’t spoken about what had happened in the MRI room, and they probably should. At the very least he should apologize for kissing her hand.

“I brewed some herbal tea from Healthy Eats,” Maddie said. “It’s especially good for healing. Would you like a cup, Dr. Spencer?”

“Maddie, you’re in my home, making me dinner. Call me Spence like everyone else.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And no sir stuff.”

“Okay, Spence.”

It sounded strange coming out of her mouth, unusually intimate. Nate helped his girlfriend build the fire, and Margaret assisted Maddie with dinner preparation.

“So tea, yes?” Maddie asked.

“Yes, thank you.” Spence wandered to the living room sofa and collapsed.

“We’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes, Doctor,” Margaret said.

“Thanks.”

The cabin had an open floor plan along with two private bedrooms, so Maddie was never out of Spence’s sight. For some reason he liked being able to watch her auburn ponytail dance across her shoulders as she moved back and forth from the refrigerator to the sink.

This had to stop. He ripped his gaze from Maddie in time to see Nate kiss Cassie on the cheek.

“I’ll pick you up at seven,” Nate said.

“I’ll be ready.” When Cassie hugged him, Spence had to look away.

The love shared between those two was palpable. Spence had accepted the fact he wasn’t meant to experience romantic love, but some days he ached for what he was missing. No, it was the head injury messing with him, making him moody, that’s all.

“Come on, Ma.” Cassie motioned to Margaret.

“But I’m not done helping—”

“I can finish,” Maddie said. “I think the chief has to ask me some questions anyway, so I’ll stick around a little while.”

Margaret grabbed her purse and smiled at Spence. “You’re in our prayers, Doctor.”

“Thank you, Margaret,” he said.

“Don’t be late,” Cassie said to Nate.

“Am I ever?”

“That means no police emergencies, either.” Cassie winked and shut the door behind her and her mom.

“If only that were up to me,” Nate said softly. He joined Spence in the living room, sitting on the sofa. “How ya feeling, buddy?”

“Better, now that I’m home.”

Nate glanced across the cabin. “Maddie, can you take a break? You should hear this, too.”

Spence didn’t like the sound of that. He didn’t want Maddie to be threatened by the danger stalking him.

When Maddie joined them, Spence noticed a few strands of hair had escaped her ponytail, framing her face. He snapped his attention from her and looked at Nate.

“We went through video footage from the hospital and came up with this.” Nate flashed a photo on his phone of a man in a black jacket with a cap pulled low over his forehead.

“It’s the same guy from the mountains,” Maddie said.

“How can you be sure? You can’t see his face,” Nate said.

“His shoes squeaked. I heard it in the mountains, and again after he shoved me against the wall and ran out of the MRI room.”

It felt like someone punched Spence in the gut. “He shoved you against the wall?”

“I’m fine, and he is too apparently. Obviously survived the fall off the trail. Do you have any better images?”

“Unfortunately not.” Nate pocketed his phone. “He disappeared right in front of security.”

“How is that possible?” Spence asked, growing more frustrated.

“We’re not sure,” Nate said.

“What about Kurt? Did he remember anything?” Maddie asked.

“Nothing usable,” Nate said. “The attacker got him by the throat and stuck him with a syringe. As he was losing consciousness he said he saw a gorilla.”

“Whoa, that was some drug,” Maddie said.

“What we can’t figure out is why he came after you at the hospital, Spence,” Nate said. “At first this looked like you randomly stepped into trouble when you went to help Gwen. Now I’m not so sure that’s all it is. I hate to ask, but can you think of anyone who’d want to hurt you?”

“Hurt me?” Spence scoffed. “Dr. Dreamboat?”

Nate and Maddie weren’t smiling.

“What?” Spence challenged, anxiety trickling across his nerve endings.

“You’re being awfully cavalier about this,” Nate said.

“As opposed to what, launching into full-blown panic?” Which was exactly where he was going. Then he remembered the emails.

“What is it?” Nate said, eyeing him.

“Nothing.”

“It’s something if it made you frown like that,” Maddie said.

“I started getting emails about a month ago. Nasty emails.”

“Nasty, as in threatening?” Nate pushed.

“You could say that, but anyone can send an email. That doesn’t mean they’d concoct a plan to come after me.”

“We’ll need to look at those emails,” Nate said. “In the meantime I’ve assigned an off-duty officer on the cabin until we find the assailant.”

Frustration bubbled up in Spence’s chest. “Yeah, right. We don’t even know what he looks like.” Spence stood. “I need an aspirin.”

“I can get it.”

“No,” he snapped at Maddie. “You need to leave.”

“Spence?” Nate questioned his friend’s abruptness.

“Look, if you’re right and I’m in danger then I don’t want Maddie anywhere near me.”

“But—”

“Thanks for making dinner, Maddie,” he interrupted her. “Please let yourself out.” Spence marched into his bedroom and shut the door, feeling like a total jerk, but he truly didn’t want to put Maddie at risk.

Besides, he craved peace and quiet to calm the annoying anxiety taunting him. He struggled to accept the fact that he could be a killer’s primary target. He’d tried joking it off because the thought of someone coming for him in his current, damaged state was more than he could process.

His head ached and his world seemed to be teetering on rocky ground. All he wanted was time alone to regroup. Instead Maddie was here offering to get him aspirin; cooking him dinner.

Blinking those adorable green eyes at him.

Singing heartfelt songs about love.

He stumbled toward the bed and flopped down on his stomach. It was rude to walk out on Nate and Maddie like that, but he didn’t have another ounce of energy to continue the conversation. Hopefully she’d pack up her things and leave.

Go home.

Where she’d be safe.

* * *

An hour later Maddie had finished the food prep, done the dishes and set the table for Dr. Spencer’s dinner. There were no more excuses to hang around.

He’d given her a firm order to leave, which meant technically she was trespassing.

Something niggled at her brain as she headed for the door. Hesitating, she glanced at his bedroom door, wondering if she should check on him before she left. His assistant wasn’t going to be here for another hour.

A soft knock echoed from the front door. She cracked it open and greeted off-duty police officer Red Carrington.

“Hi, Red.”

“Maddie. The chief wanted me to make sure you were okay in here.”

“The chief should be focused on his date.”

Red frowned in confusion.

“He’s out with my cousin Cassie.”

“Ah, right. How’s the doc?” Red glanced over her shoulder into the cabin.

“I was actually going to check on him before I left. Did you want some coffee or dinner? There’s plenty of food.”

“Nah, I brought a sandwich from home. I’ve got the key to the cabin to lock up after you leave.”

“Great, thanks. Just give me a few minutes.”

“Take your time.”

She shut and locked the front door, grateful to Nate for assigning an officer to Dr. Spencer’s cabin. No matter how aloof he seemed, the doc knew he was in trouble and it had to terrify him, especially in his current state.

Heading for his room, she decided she’d take his pulse and check him for a fever, not that she expected him to have one. If he seemed okay, she could leave with a clear mind and calm heart. She wouldn’t be up all night worrying about him.

Really, Maddie? She wondered how she’d become so attached to the doc and figured it was twofold: she could never repay him for saving her cousin Cassie’s life, plus, Maddie was a fixer at her core. If she saw someone in emotional turmoil, she did everything within her power to help ease his pain.

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Dr. Spencer was certainly in trouble.

She turned the doorknob to his bedroom, relieved that it wasn’t locked. “Dr. Spencer?”

The room was dark except for the shaft of light streaming in from the living room behind her. The doc was stretched diagonally across the bed on his stomach.

She considered her options. She didn’t want to turn on the light and rouse him from much-needed sleep. He got little sleep last night in the hospital thanks to nightmares that plagued him until about 3:00 a.m. It was a good thing she’d stayed to awaken him from the terror each time he’d called out the name Bobby.

Maddie went to his bedside, knelt and took his pulse. Solid at sixty beats per minute. She placed her palm across his forehead. It was cool to the touch, not warm and clammy. Still, should she wake him to check his pupils?

No, if Dr. Carver suspected it was more serious than a mild concussion she wouldn’t have discharged him. Maddie pulled the comforter across the bed to cover his body. He looked so peaceful. She sighed, glad he wasn’t thrashing about, tortured by nightmares.

Since there was nothing more she could do for him, she decided to scoot. If Spence awakened and found her hovering, he’d surely be cross. She’d leave the doctor in the capable hands of Officer Carrington.

As she made her way to the front door, she considered taking a personal day off work tomorrow. She had plenty coming, actually enough days to piece together a nice trip somewhere. A vacation would be perfect right about now, especially after the craziness of the last twenty-four hours.

She opened the front door and froze.

The driver’s side door of Officer Carrington’s car was open but he was nowhere in sight.

“Red?” she called out.

A gunshot echoed across the property.

FOUR

Maddie darted inside the cabin and slammed the door, her heart hammering against her chest. Was it the masked man from the mountains? Had he tracked Dr. Spencer home, waiting for the best moment to attack?

Officer Carrington must have seen the guy stalking the cabin and went after him.

She hoped. She prayed. She also prayed that Red had been the one to fire the shot, perhaps a warning shot, to get the guy to stop. Yeah, she knew how well that did not work when she’d fired a warning shot. On the off chance the masked attacker neutralized the police officer, she had to focus on protecting herself and the doctor.

Since his curtainless living room windows exposed them to the world, she clicked off all the lights. Snapping the small flashlight off her keychain, she aimed the beam and made her way into the bedroom.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called emergency.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“This is Maddie McBride. I’m at Dr. Kyle Spencer’s cabin and I heard gunfire outside.”

“We have an officer posted on the premises.”

“He’s not in his car. Send help, and notify Chief Walsh ASAP.”

Someone pounded on the front door, obviously not Red because he had a key to the cabin.

“He’s trying to get in,” she said to the operator. “I have to go.”

“Maddie, please stay on the line.”

Shoving the phone into her pocket, she crouched beside Dr. Spencer. She could only focus on one thing at a time, and right now her priority was to keep herself and Spence alive.

She clicked on his nightstand lamp. Shades covered his windows, probably so he could sleep after getting off a night shift at the hospital.

“Spence, wake up.” She gave his shoulder a gentle nudge.

More pounding echoed from the front door.

“Spence?” When that didn’t work, she decided to use his full name. “Dr. Kyle Spencer, wake up.”

The doctor moaned and blinked his eyes open. “What, where am I?”

Her breath caught in her throat. Did he really not know he was in his own bedroom? Or was he disoriented because she’d awakened him from a deep sleep?

“What is that racket?” He rolled onto his back and threw an arm across his eyes as if he intended to fall back asleep.

“You can’t go back to sleep. Someone’s trying to break in.”

“What?” He sat up abruptly and gripped his head with both hands. “Ah, man.” He looked at her with bloodshot eyes. “What are you still doing here?”

“Yell at me later. Do you keep any weapons in the cabin?”

“I’m a doctor,” he said, as if that was explanation enough.

“So no weapons then.”

“Is it the same guy?”

“Unless you have other enemies we don’t know about.”

He shot her a look, then said, “We can sneak out through the window.” He wavered as he crossed the room, looking like someone who’d been overserved at the local pub.

Maddie knew that running wasn’t an option. With Spence in his current state they’d be easy prey in the wilderness. At least inside the cabin they could hold their ground.

His started to open the window.

“Don’t,” she said. “I’ve got a better idea. I saw chili powder in your kitchen earlier.”

“Chili powder?”

“Come on.” She motioned to him.

Instead, he stared at her.

The pounding stopped. Which was not necessarily a good thing. The guy could be gearing up to bust his way through the door with an ax. She’d noticed one on the front porch, probably for chopping wood.

She dashed out of the bedroom and whipped open a kitchen cabinet. Spence came up behind her, opened a drawer and took out a butcher knife. He glanced at her, the knife clutched in his hand.

“He could just as easily use that on us.” She grabbed chili powder and flung open the cabinet beneath the sink. “Here, you take the fire extinguisher.” She handed it to him. “Spray him in the face and whack him over the head with the tank. Got it?”