Read Online Fated by Carly Phillips - Free Book Online Page B

removed her hand from his brother’s cheek. “I’m her boss,” Mike reminded them. “Doesn’t that warrant at least some respect?”
    “Only when you’re on duty, big brother.” Sam swallowed what was sure to be another laugh.
    Cara shook her head, her smile coming through as she finally pulled her hand away.
    Apparently she’d taken his sister’s words to heart and decided she could give him a hard time off duty. Her sassy mouth was one of the things he’d enjoyed about her when he’d visited a few months ago, and it could definitely get him in trouble again now.
    “I’m going, I’m going,” Cara muttered. “But I’ll be back after my shift. You,” she said, wagging a finger at Sam. “Behave and listen to your nurses.”
    “Bring me a burger from The Family Restaurant?” he asked.
    Cara shook her head. “Not until the doctors say it’s okay.” She glanced at Mike, meeting his gaze with a wry smile, showing off two dimples in her cheeks.
    Damn. How could she be professional, cute, and sexy all at the same time? He’d worked with many women over the years, and he’d never been affected like this. Never mixed business and pleasure on the job because that made a situation harder to walk away from.
    “Who’s her partner while I’m stuck here?” Sam asked.
    One of the changes Mike intended to make within the department was eliminating partners. The way he viewed it, the force was small, as was the town. No need to tie up two officers together who could cover more areas separately. He’d planned to schedule a meeting with his officers next week, but now he’d wait a little while longer until Sam was up to speed.
    “I paired her with Dare,” Mike said, giving her a heads-up.
    “Dare and I work well together, so thanks,” she said, sounding surprised.
    Did she really think he’d deliberately put her with someone more difficult after the day she’d had yesterday?
    “Don’t forget to save the fun stuff for me,” Sam said, sounding suddenly intense.
    Cara met Sam’s gaze. “You know it,” she said.
    Which, to Mike, sounded like a promise. He glanced from his brother, who lay prone in his bed, to Cara. She stood by the door, massaging the muscles in her neck.
    “Are you sure you’re up to working today?” Mike asked. “No whiplash, pain, or trauma?”
    “Nah. I’m tougher than I look. And definitely tougher than my partner.” With a wink at Sam and a quick gaze at Mike, she ducked out the door, leaving the brothers alone.
    “Sit,” Sam said in a no-argument tone that belied the fact that Mike was the older brother and Sam was laid up in a hospital bed.
    Not wanting to upset Sam in his condition, Mike lowered himself into the chair. Folding his arms across his chest, he leaned back. “What’s up?”
    “What’s going on with you and Cara?” Sam asked.
    “Nothing.”
    “You haven’t discussed what happened between you two yet?” Sam asked, or rather croaked through his dry throat.
    Mike handed his brother a cup of water from his tray. “It hasn’t come up.”
    Sam drank and put his cup down. “You mean she hasn’t brought it up, so you won’t.”
    “Why the hell did you wait until you were lying in a hospital bed for this discussion? It’s not like we couldn’t have had this talk weeks ago.” Or preferably not at all , Mike thought.
    “Because you’ll pay attention to me now.” Sam smirked at that little bit of truth.
    “It’s none of your business,” Mike tried reminding his brother. He shifted his gaze to the white hospital walls. Unless . . . A sudden thought came to him. “Did Cara say anything to you about us?” The word sounded awkward on his tongue.
    “No. She knows not to expect anything from you,” Sam muttered.
    “Good.” Mike exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
    The last thing he needed was a woman he’d slept with and who now worked for him having any expectations. He shuddered at the thought. It was taking all he had