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“No, you’re not,” he said. “You had a cocktail. Let me be a gentleman by taking you home.”

The look in his eyes told me he wanted something inappropriate, not gentlemanly at all. Heat flared in my core.

Inside his Tesla, he asked, “Since I’m already with you, there’s no need for a sexy text appointment. We can reschedule that for another day. But I’d like to spend quality time with Dr. Sexy K tonight.”

How many cars did he have? I’d seen him drive a Maserati and an Aston Martinin Providence. Remi, Royce, Grayson, and Arrow all had several cars. I supposed when you were a billionaire, you didn’t have to worry about money and could spend it on cars as though they were toys.

“Yes, let’s reschedule.” I was too tired anyway. “My plan for the evening is to watch a movie. That’s my diagnosis. If that sounds good to you, then okay.”

“Works for me.”

I leaned back in the seat, enjoying its comfort. “Don’t you have other plans?”

“I did. But plans are adjustable. Being with you is anurgentmatter I can’t ignore. I’m in dire need, and my mind isn’t functioning properly.” He pulled into the parking lot. It had gotten dark, but at nine in the evening on a summer night, it wasn’t extremely dark.

“I didn’t realize I had a very sick patient.” I laughed, taking out my key from my purse.

“Me either.” He opened the door for me, took my hand, and walked me to my cabin.

I stared at our joined hands and had questions. It seemed like our relationship was developing faster than I expected. The sensor lights came on, casting a glow around the cabin and the porch.

I stepped onto the porch, and my heart raced. “Is that a dead raccoon?”

The large pool of blood appeared like a monster with angry red limbs reaching for me. I couldn’t breathe, move, or say anything. Panic suffocated me, and the world spun. My body trembled as I blacked out.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

FORREST

Kiera collapsed into my arms, and I grabbed her keys before they fell to the floor. I unlocked the door, carried her inside, placed her on the couch, and positioned two throw pillows under her legs so they were above her heart level. Then I rushed to my car to retrieve the emergency kit I always had in my trunk.

The blood pressure machine showed her low blood pressure, which was a sign of unconsciousness. Her pulse felt fine, and she was breathing. She was cold, and I found a sheet to throw over her.

Panic had splashed across her face when she saw the dead animal. Did Kiera fear dead animals, or was it the sight of blood?

Who the fuck had left a carcass on the front door? Did this have anything to do with the attack? Or had a fox, coyote, or bear left the carcass? But something told me it hadn’t been an animal who left the raccoon.

Kiera had to move to the hotel. If she didn’t want to, I’d camp out here with her whether she liked it or not.

While she slept, I alerted the camp officials and the police, who said they’d send someone over to retrieve the dead animal. I walked outside with the flashlight on my phone, investigating the area surrounding the cabin. The night made it hard to see anything, and I didn’t know what I was looking for.

Was the fucker still around?

I heard a noise by the large tree. “Who’s there?” My fists clenched, ready to pound someone’s face for making Kiera faint.

Hank stepped out in a tank top and shorts, looking frightened with a bruise on his face. “Is s-she okay?”

How did he know?

“Did you see something, Hank?”

Police lights flashed, but the sirens were off. Hank jumped at the sounds of slamming doors. Saying nothing, Hank rushed back to his cabin.

Detective Donnelly approached with Bruce. I relayed the incident and informed them Kiera was fine and that I was a doctor, monitoring her.

“It was probably Hank,” Bruce said, looking toward Hank’s cabin.

“Why do you say that?” I asked, watching another officer remove the carcass from the porch.