AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What?” Jordan gasped. She sat forward in disbelief. Medical leave? For what? She didn’t need to be on medical. Sure, she had a few bumps and bruises, but she was fine. She could work through the pain. “Why?”
“Are you going to seriously ask that?” Declan snorted. He ran his hand along his jawline, settling his gaze on her. It softened slightly, but it was apparent he was in sergeant mode and not the friend/brother role. “You could have fucking died, Knight.”
“But I didn’t,” she snapped. She could walk, talk, and she sure as shit could still fire a gun. There was no reason she had to be on leave. She would fight this. “This is bull?—”
“Jordan…” Rhys’s low murmur cut her off.
She settled back and tried not to pout. This was so unfair. If she were a man, she’d bet she wouldn’t be put on leave. A desk job for a few days?—
“And don’t go thinking it’s because you are a woman,” Mac growled. He narrowed his hardened eyes on her.
Jordan gave an audible sigh to make sure they could all hear how unhappy she was. She wanted to scream and curse, but she wouldn’t want to scare any of the other patients in the emergency room.
“How’d you know that’s what I was thinking?” She eyed Mac.
It was crazy how the son of bitch had such a second sense about him. That was what made him a good leader. They all followed him without question.
“It was written on your face,” he replied. He stared at her for a moment and shook his head. “You know Spook and all of us have more respect for you than to assume you can’t do something because you are a woman.”
Jordan softened, and guilt filled her. She glanced down at her hands. He was right. Her entire team respected her, and they never had shown anything but that. Especially Spook. The captain may be a hard-nosed ass, but he was always fair. He was someone she could go to with issues and he would hear her out.
“How long?” Jordan didn’t even look up. This might as well be a jail sentence for her. She almost didn’t want to hear what the response was going to be.
“Two weeks. Paid leave,” Declan answered.
“Two weeks! What the hell am I supposed to do?” Her gaze flew to Mac and then Declan. A warm hand landed on her arm. She turned to Rhys who had a crooked grin on his lips.
“Well, there are farm chores that always need to be done.”
Mac and Declan chuckled. She cut her glare to them. Their smiles faded once she met their eyes, but neither of them took back the punishment. They of all people knew how much it sucked to be away from the force. Who was going to keep the guys in line while she was gone?
Jordan sighed and fell back on the pillows. She knew she was being dramatic, but dammit, policing was all she knew and was good at. Rhys’s hand slid down her arm and took her hand in his. She glanced down at it and took in their entwined fingers. She tightened her grip on his hand.
It had been a while since she’d had any type of vacation. Maybe she would look at staying on the farm as a getaway. Anything to curb the sense of chasing down a bad guy and throwing handcuffs on him.
She could do this.
21
It had been two days of Jordan staying home. She’d been discharged from the hospital, and Rhys saw that she hated it. Not that she hated being at the farm, she hated not going into the precinct. He was quite happy with her staying home. She needed to rest. She was injured more than she wanted to admit. His stubborn woman was in pain. He watched how she moved around and saw it in her eyes.
Rhys jogged down the stairs and went in search of everyone. He and Honor had worked the night shift last night. He’d come home, eaten, then taken a short nap. Now he was up and the house was quiet. He arrived on the first floor and figured they would probably be outside. He had a few things that needed to be taken care of out in the barn. He’d thrown on some old jeans and a t-shirt, planning to put in a few hours’ work.
Laughter floated through the air outside. He smiled, loving the sound of it. He followed Nova’s voice, and it would figure the girls would be outside in the back. He arrived at the patio door from the kitchen. Nova and Honor sat on the bottom stairs, but Jordan was nowhere to be found. He pushed open the door and stepped out onto the patio.
Honor focused on him. Her tail beat the ground as she watched him walk toward her and Nova.
“Hey, Dad. We didn’t wake you, did we?” Nova asked. Her pink hair was pulled up into twin buns. She wore a pair of shades to combat the stark rays of the sun.
Rhys grimaced and held his hand up over his eyes to block out the brightness.
“I slept like the dead,” he replied. He moved to the railing and leaned his hip on it. He scanned the yard and didn’t see any sign of Jordan. She’d better not have gone anywhere. That was one stubborn woman. He would certainly put her over his knee if she had. “Where’s Jordan?”
“Hiding.” Nova giggled.
It was then Rhys noticed that Nova was holding on to Honor’s collar. The dog was growing more excited. No wonder. They were playing one of her favorite games. He just hoped his partner had gotten some rest after their long shift. Honor didn’t need much sleep, but he would prefer for his partner to be well rested before their next shift.
“Are you ready, girl?”
