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She shook her head again, but I could tell that she was fighting her own amusement.
Fine, but get some rest at least. She handed him the clipboard and a pen to sign his
discharge papers, then turned over the white plastic bag containing his personal belongings,
which, in Luke s case, consisted of the blanket I had wrapped around him. She was
muttering something about stubborn bloody men when she left.
Come on, I ll take you home, I said, gesturing for him to precede me out of the room.
Luke hesitated. Are you sure you don t mind? I ve taken up so much of your time
already.
I would have liked to have attributed my motivation to the simple desire to help
someone in need, but in truth, I wasn t yet ready to part company with Luke. I don t mind
at all, I assured him, and was rewarded with a wide smile that made my insides do a funny
little flip.
Insisting that Luke wait in the warmth of the waiting room, I brought the car around to
the front and made sure the heat was turned up high. When he got in, I asked for his address
and programmed it into the Sat Nav.
The journey took less than thirty minutes and for a while Luke was cheerful and
talkative. But about twenty minutes in, he became quiet, staring thoughtfully out of the side
window. I wondered what he was thinking about. Then I recalled what he d said when he d
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KISS OF THE WHITE WOLF Cassidy Ryan
28
had his hands around my throat, I ll kill you before I let you take me back there . In all the
activity and, yes, anxiety, I hadn t thought about it before, but it occurred to me now that he
must have some memory of what had happened to him. What did he remember? And why
hadn t he told the police? I was a little surprised to find that my curiosity felt much more
personal than the kind of detached inquisitiveness I knew in my professional life.
On another quiet country road, I brought the car to a halt outside a set of iron gates.
This is home? I asked Luke, squinting through the windscreen into the darkness beyond.
All I saw were the gates, the high stone wall anchoring them and the shadowy outlines of
trees.
Luke nodded and reached for the door handle. I ll get the gates.
No, let me. I put my hand out to stop him and accidentally made contact with his
arm. His skin was considerably warmer now, and I couldn t help noticing how big and solid
his biceps were. Dear God, in other circumstances& You, uh, you stay warm.
His soft laugh sounded indulgent. Hal, I m fine. Besides, I need to key in a code to
open the gates without the infra-red thingy. There was no wince this time when he got to
his feet, so I guessed he wasn t exaggerating when he d told Dr Rayburn that he would heal
quickly.
The gates swung open smoothly and Luke got back into the car. They ll close
automatically behind us.
Gravel crunched under the wheels as I guided the car along the driveway and came to a
stop again, this time in front of a white house with Virginia creeper clinging to the walls. I m
not sure what I d been expecting I didn t know nearly enough about Luke to make
assumptions about him. But if I d had to guess where he lived I would never have placed
him here, in what looked like a family home.
But hadn t I been making a huge assumption about him without even thinking about it?
Maybe he had a family, a wife and kids? The house was dark and quiet, but that meant
nothing, really. The idea left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Will you come in? Luke asked quietly. You ve done so much for me, the least I can
do is feed you.
It was well after nine and I d still only had that toast for breakfast. My stomach had
been rumbling pretty consistently the whole drive, so there was no point in denying that I
was indeed hungry. Won t we be disturbing anyone? I asked, unable to quite meet his
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KISS OF THE WHITE WOLF Cassidy Ryan
29
eyes. The question felt heavy on my tongue. I feared the answer, should it be the one I didn t
want to hear, would weigh even heavier on my chest.
I live alone, Luke answered, then opened the door to the cold air. Come on inside.
I nodded, turned the engine off, then got out.
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