Page 49 of Thaw of Spring (Knife’s Edge, Alaska #2)

C hristian sat in the hospital chair, hard plastic digging into his back, his gut clenching. His hands were braced on his thighs, stiff from holding still too long, the wound in his shoulder screaming. Didn’t matter. He kept his eyes on Amka.

He almost lost her. Couldn’t lose her. Ever.

She was propped up in the hospital bed, bruised, stitched, and stubborn.

An oxygen monitor clipped to her finger beeped steady and soft, almost in rhythm with the slight tremble in her hands.

She kept her voice calm and even as she finished walking the troopers through the entire ordeal.

Her tone didn’t shake, but her fingers did.

Doc May moved quietly behind her, checking vitals, peering at her pupils with a small light, the hem of her green scrubs looking worn over her white tennis shoes.

Her blonde hair was piled up in what had probably started as a neat bun hours ago.

She didn’t say much. Just nodded, made a note on a chart, moved to the next thing. Focused. Controlled. Probably pissed.

May hadn’t stopped glaring at Christian since she’d walked in and realized his shoulder was bleeding through the half-assed duct-tape job he’d done hours earlier. He hadn’t let her touch him. Not yet. Not until Amka was cleared.

“...And she fired the gun, but I’d already slammed into her,” Amka finished, her voice raw. “Then Christian and Tika came in.” She looked toward him then, gaze landing on his shoulder with something soft in her expression. “He saved me once again.”

Paige, sharp in her uniform and perfectly gelled bun, jotted a few final notes.

Jeb stood beside her, hat in hand, mouth twitching slightly as he chewed over something.

Paige snapped the notebook closed. “It’s a strong statement, and we believe you.

But it doesn’t change what we’re seeing in Jarod Teller’s case. ”

Amka’s jaw twitched. “He’s dead. What more do you need?”

Jeb shifted his stance. “We know that. But Helene Stanford was clearly waiting for him to show. That doesn’t track with her being the shooter. He was a bad guy, Amka. If you killed him in self-defense, let us help you.”

Christian stiffened. “You’re saying you still think she did it?”

“Yes,” Jeb said. “Even more so now. But it was probably in self-defense. The prosecuting attorney agreed and charged her. This isn’t going away.”

Christian started to rise, already ready to snap, but Doc May turned then—fast, sharp—and cut the air with one hand. “Hold it,” she said, her voice clipped. She moved around the bed with that deceptively graceful doctor glide and pointed a finger at Christian. “Sit. Down.”

He opened his mouth.

“I said sit,” she snapped. “You’re still bleeding through gauze held together with actual duct tape. This is not a movie, and you’re not Rambo. But I’m finishing with my patient before I deal with your nonsense.” She turned back to Amka. “You were charged?”

Amka nodded, her gaze intense on the doctor. “Yes, and it’s okay. I didn’t kill him, and I’m willing to go to trial to prove it.”

May took a step back. “Amka?—”

“No,” Amka said. “I’ve got this.”

Warning ticked down Christian’s spine. What had Amka said right before he’d been shot? When she looked at that green hat on the counter?

May turned, her jaw set, desperation in her eyes. “I shot Jarod.”

“No,” Amka protested.

May held up a hand, looking at the troopers.

“I dropped by Amka’s house that night to return the hat that she left when she stayed over last week.

She never leaves her door locked, so I just dropped it on the counter.

When I was leaving, Jarod was there, and he was drunk.

” Tears filled the doctor’s eyes. “He dragged me into his truck, tried to take off my clothes, we fought, and I grabbed the gun from under his seat. I pointed it at him, trying to get out, and he lunged. I shot.”

“That’s not true,” Amka said. “It’s not.”

Shock ricocheted through Christian. “Both of you stop talking right now.” He needed to call Daisy.

May shook her head. “The gun is in my office here. Bottom drawer.” She pushed strands of hair away from her face. “I’d appreciate it if we could keep this as quiet as possible. I moved out here for privacy.”

Shit.

Paige exited the room and returned with a Glock in a plastic bag. Did the trooper just keep those in her pockets? “Dr. Smirnov, we’re going to have to arrest you.”

May looked at Christian. “You can right after I stitch him up. I’m the only doctor here. Come on, Christian.”

“No. You can do it here,” he said.

She sighed. “Fine. Let me get supplies.” Jeb followed her from the room and they both returned very quickly.

Christian helped her remove his shirt.

“I can’t believe this,” she muttered, poking him with her gloved hands. “You’re lucky the bullet went all the way through. I’m giving you a local whether you like it or not.”

Christian looked at the distress on Amka’s face.

She cleared her throat. “That explains why you were doing shots at the bar. That isn’t like you.”

May sighed. “Yeah. It was self-defense, but I still killed a man.”

Amka shook her head. “You didn’t have to confess.”

Christian barely kept from shaking his head.

The woman had planned to actually go to trial to protect her friend?

She needed a damn keeper. Good thing it looked like he’d live through the night, even though May seemed to be stabbing him rather strongly with the needle as she patched him up.

“It’s going to be okay, Amka.” He’d make sure of it. Somehow.

May finished and ripped off the gloves. “I’ll call Daisy. Hopefully I can be out on bail later today because we don’t have another doctor.” She patted his shoulder. “I did a good job here. Don’t screw it up and rip out my stitches. Any chance I could get you to stay in the hospital?”

“No,” Christian said shortly. “However, we’ll wait here for you to get released on bail.”

“Thanks.” May moved and then tripped, nearly going down.

Christian caught her, surprised by the feel of metal in his hand.

May winked and stood. “All right, troopers. Let’s do this.” They all three left the room.

Christian looked down at his hand.

“What’s that?” Amka whispered.

“A phone. Best guess? Jarod’s phone.” The doc must’ve taken it after shooting him.

Damian had taken both the laptop and Helene’s phone right before the troopers had arrived earlier.

With his resources at EVE, he should be able to find the video of Hank’s death on each device as well as the cloud—and delete them.

Amka prodded her swollen nose. “We have to help her. Jarod tried to attack me a couple of times, so I could testify he was like that.”

Anger cut through Christian and he shoved it away. “That’s the kind of thing you’re gonna want to tell me from now on, sweetheart.”

A pretty blush wandered across her face. She liked endearments. Good to know. “Why would I do that?” Her chin rose.

“Because I love you. Want you forever.” He stood and crossed to her, not caring how badly his shoulder and front of his clavicle felt.

He’d almost lost her, and that couldn’t happen again.

He hadn’t planned to find love, but he had, and now he’d figure it out.

“I’m not sure how we’re gonna do it, but there’s no way I can let you go.

Not now. Not ever.” He leaned down and kissed her.

“Think you have enough room in your life for an AWT and wolf-husky mix?”

“Yeah,” she said softly, “I have more than room. You two are my life.”