A Fine Line
By- Jeanine Binder
Genre- Contemporary/Romantic Suspense
Undercover narcotics. Lori had no clue how dirty this business really was until Dr. Leigh Matthews walked into his life, late-night in an emergency room. She was blonde, beautiful, and intelligent – to Lori’s amazement she was just as happy with him and his job as he was. His father’s financial success meant nothing to her. She was a bright ray of sunshine in an otherwise dismal world.
But as Lori prepares to bring down the largest drug operation in the county, can their love survive the stress of his long absences, the dangers of his job, as well as ultimate betrayal? Can they keep their relationship alive and well when the whole world turns upside down?
Excerpt
When Leigh awoke, she
found Lori asleep in a chair beside the bed.
She suspected her sleeping so much was a product of whatever medication
they were pumping through the IV in her hand.
She watched him as he slept; he looked haggard and worn out and she knew
Lori blamed himself. She didn’t like
what happened either but she had been more afraid for him than herself. It was obvious Rafael was going to rape her –
he had made his intentions abundantly clear and there was an implication that
it was going to be more than once; that he planned to keep her as his prisoner
for a while. Lori, though, she’d been
afraid he was going to outright murder.
She had told him back in the beginning of their relationship she was
good with his being undercover – now she wasn’t so sure. She knew it would be something they were
going to have to discuss very soon.
The
plastic surgeon, Dr. Matt Singleton, had been in to see her earlier in the day
and was fairly positive with his diagnosis.
He didn’t see anything which would leave a physical scar on her face,
boosting her spirits tremendously. He
told her she was lucky her abuser hadn’t been wearing any large-stoned rings –
it was usually what did damage when a person was beaten in the face. He squeezed her hand as he was leaving –
Leigh had sent many patients his way from car accidents.
Leigh didn’t have a family doctor – which
was normal around ER doctors – so she was still technically Mark Patton’s
patient. He had been up to see
her earlier as well and told her he would let her go home in the morning if she
felt up to it. Mark had laughed, saying
he never imagined his boss as his own patient – she laughed easily with
him. He had all the makings of a fine
doctor and Leigh was glad she had been able to keep him in her department. She was starting to feel better; Mark had
given her the rundown about what Montoya had done. She’d treated enough date rape victims to
know how the drugs reacted with a person’s metabolism and they simply needed to
just run their course. The rest would
take some time. Hopefully, Lori had that
kind of enduring patience.
She
watched as Lori stirred in the chair; his hazel eyes coming open and focusing
on her. Even after all this time
together, she still loved his smile – he gave her a big one as he got up to sit
next to her on the bed.
“How are you feeling?”
he asked, softly.
“Better,”
she admitted. “What are you doing
here? It’s after midnight.”
“Not
letting you out of my sight,” he told her, taking her hand in his, squeezing it
gently. “Good luck to security trying to
boot me out of here. I’ll just flash my
badge at them, tell them you’re my prisoner, and are in my custody.”
“You
can’t stay glued to me, Lori,” she said laughing.
“No,
but I can stay reasonably close,” he said.
He put his other hand
in his pants pocket and pulled out a blue velvet box. Opening it, there was a marquis-cut diamond,
flanked with sapphires on each side.
“Marry me?”
Leigh hadn’t been
expecting this. She knew his views about
marriage. “You’re serious?”
“I love you, Leigh,”
he told her, looking straight into her eyes.
“And I’m not proposing because of what happened. I’d been thinking about this for a long time
– I’ve had the ring for the better part of a month. I wanted to finish what I had been doing
undercover so I could put the proper focus on us before I asked. It wouldn’t have been fair to you otherwise.”
“This is a big step,”
she said, still not taking the ring.
“Marriage hasn’t been at the top of your list. Especially since all the hassle you had with
your ex-wife.”
“I know it hasn’t,” he
agreed. “But I’m not that same person
either. And I’m quitting undercover
narcotics, if it’s what’s holding you back.
I’m changing departments as soon as I figure out which one suits me.”
“Not because of me, I
hope. Last thing I want to be is a
career changer for you.”
Lori
shook his head. “It’s not because of
you, trust me. If the word isn’t out I’m
a cop, it will be soon. The Montoya
arrest was immensely huge,” he told her, a half smile on his face. “We got Montoya and his number two, three,
fourth, and fifth guys. And I’d told you
it was all a matter of time before I had to find something else to do. New job, new life. Please marry me?”
Leigh
smiled and nodded at him. “Yes, I’ll
marry you, Lori,” she answered softly.
She
watched as he pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. The fit was perfect and the sapphires matched
the blue of her eyes.
“Wow. This had to be one of the hardest things I’ve
ever done,” he told her.
“It
isn’t the first time you’ve proposed to a girl.
What was so difficult?” she asked.
“I
really thought you’d say no. It’s my
fault what happened,” he told her, his tone serious. “I’m still dumbly surprised that you even
want anything to do with me. I fully
expected you to order me out of here hours ago.”
“It
wasn’t your fault, Lori,” she disagreed, squeezing his hand. “You couldn’t have known someone was going to
tell Montoya everything about you.
Montoya knew Adrian Martin was Lori Winslow – I was so terrified at that
point, I could barely speak. I was
certain he was going to kill you because he knew you were a cop.”
“He
probably would have, had he been given the chance – after he’d tortured me
first, of course. I was close to
bringing him down anyway – my strike team had been on standby for three days. I’d been waiting for a drug shipment to come
in from Venezuela. His kidnapping you
just escalated it sooner. This morning
was the earliest I could get everyone in place – I’m sorry it took me so long.”
“How
did you find out so fast? People
disappear and are never found,” she asked, not touching on his apology. It wasn’t his fault – he had nothing to
apologize for.
“There’s
a whole class of people who would sell their mother if they thought they could
make a buck or two,” Lori said, with a slightly sarcastic tone. “One of my informants called and told me
Montoya’s people had taken the blonde doctor from Tri-City. Didn’t take a genius to figure out it was
you.”
“You
paid for the information?” Leigh asked curiously.
“You
bet,” he smiled. “My informants are
usually spot-on – I can’t afford for one to be wrong and money is a big
incentive. And this one especially so
because he was a minor flunkey in Montoya’s operation. I got to your car and found your purse and
keys in it. I have your stuff by the way.”
“I
never even thought about where it went.”
“So
I put everything in motion and we raided his main complex outside the city, as
well as his four other depots before the sun had even started on the horizon
this morning. I got all of his
operation, a ton of drugs, which won’t be hitting the general public, and
enough cash to start my own bank.”
“Did you arrest the
leak?” she asked.
“Yes,
I got him too,” Lori said pensively. “It
stung a little because it was so close.”
“Who
was it?”
“Mike
Parker.”
Leigh
was stunned. Mike was Lori’s
partner. “You’re sure it was Mike?”
“Yes. And he admitted it when I confronted him,”
Lori said grimly. “I don’t understand
what his thought process was. It was
about money, though. The DA will
probably give him a plea deal to testify against Montoya and keep him out of
prison. But his career in law
enforcement is over. “
“That’s
awful,” Leigh said. “He could have
gotten you killed. The short amount of
time I spent with Montoya told me he was ruthless.”
“Montoya
didn’t mess around,” he agreed. “Adrian
had been working for him the past three months and I tried not to worry he
would find out the truth. He could have
wiped me out and no one would have ever known.
And Mike giving him any information – it was a sure death sentence if I
hadn’t already been prepared to take him down.
My informant made sure I understood my cover was blown. He was a good guy – I got him cut loose on probation
as a reward.”
“So
Montoya paid Mike to sell you out?”
“Hundred grand,” Lori answered. “He owed gambling debts he couldn’t pay –
that’s what Stan, my boss, found out when they interrogated him.”
“I’m
so sorry, Lori,” she said.
“It’s
okay,” he assured her. “We’ll get
through this. I’m here for you every
step of the way.”
“And
I’m here for you,” she said, holding her arms out and he gathered her to him.
About the Author-
Jeanine Binder grew up in a small town in California on the outskirts of Palm Springs, where the Hollywood celebrities liked to vacation. After thirty years, she packed up, moved to Arkansas where she still lives today. Writing has always been a passion and hoping the next twenty years will bring many enjoyable books for others to read.
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