“Just shut up and drive,” Cole grinned.

He slid into the passenger side of the unmarked unit. It had been a slow day. They’d simply been following up on some leads, eliminating the bad, taking note of the ones that might lead to something more.

They weren’t far from their destination. It didn’t take long to get there. It took less time to park. It was not in their nature to dawdle, even when something was not earmarked an emergency. But the emergency quickly presented itself as Cole and Rick walked into the small security office and Debbie stood up from the chair in which she’d been sitting.

“Cole.”

The quiver in her voice was nearly his undoing. But his training stood him in good stead. He saw the new bruise on her face, and the color receding from her face. He caught her just before she fainted.

Chapter 5

“What the—?” Rick Garza took one look at his partner’s face and the woman he caught in his arms. The fear in Cole’s voice told him the rest.

“It’s Debbie,” Cole said.

Cole searched her body for further signs of injury beyond what he could already see. The obvious ones were enough to make him sick. He was desperately trying to maintain his rational thinking when all he wanted to do was vent the rage that was threatening to overwhelm him. Someone had hurt his lady.

“Your Debbie?” Rick was beginning to understand. Cole had talked of nothing else since her arrival. He was either constantly ticked off because of what she’d done or worried because of something she hadn’t.

Cole nodded. My Debbie! He shuddered as he lowered her onto a sofa in the outer office of the security department. The mall manager hovered, concerned for the young woman’s welfare, panicked that they might be sued.

“What happened?” Cole asked. He was all business. And it was then that he noticed the woman and two children sitting at a table in another room, obviously giving some sort of statement. He caught the look in Rick’s eyes and nodded. As usual, they’d read each other’s mind.

Rick touched Cole’s arm. “I’ll see what that’s all about,” he said, and hurried into the other room.

Cole knelt at Debbie’s side. The manager quickly dumped everything he knew about the incident in the officer’s lap.

“All we know is that she was riding up an escalator and someone coming down on the opposite side tried to rob her. The woman in the other room saw everything.”

Cole’s mouth thinned and his eyes narrowed as he carefully felt for Debbie’s pulse. Everything about him seemed cool and methodical. He gave a good imitation of calm under fire. What he wanted to do was hit something…or someone.