The doctor nodded. “You take it easy and talk only when absolutely necessary. I’m going to give you something to help ease the pain. Other than that, warm tea with honey will help. That and time is about all anyone can do.”

A knock sounded and the sheriff poked his head in through the door. “Can I see the patient?”

Doctor Ames nodded. “Don’t let her strain her voice.” He turned back to her.

“There’s no need to keep you tonight as long as you have someone to stay with you.”

“I’ll stay.” The deep male voice washed over her like a warm blanket, leaving her feeling safe and warm. Jonah had come just like he’d said he would.

Sheriff O’Rourke frowned at Jonah. “You need to wait outside.”

Amanda made a small sound of distress and Jonah’s head swiveled around, his gaze caught hers. “I’m staying.”

He pushed past Patrick and came over to the side of the bed she was sitting on. “You doing okay?”

She nodded and pulled the blanket more tightly around her. She couldn’t seem to get warm. Amanda knew it was a result of the shock and trauma, but knowing didn’t make the cold any easier to bear.

Patrick O’Rourke walked over beside her and smiled. She’d met him several times when she’d come to visit Cyndi and Shamus.

“I’ve got questions for you. You up to answering?”

She nodded and looked around for something to write on. Seeing nothing, she made a motion with her hand, pantomiming the act of writing. Patrick reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen. Amanda smiled at him as she took them and tried not to notice that her hand was trembling.

“What do you remember?”

She nibbled on her bottom lip, trying to think back. “Noise,” she croaked and then coughed.

Jonah swore. Grabbing a cup of water from the bedside table, he held the straw to her lips. “Sip.”

Gratefully, she sucked back a small amount of the tepid water. It felt good against the swollen tissues of her throat. She mouthed the words “thank you” and straightened her shoulders. The quicker this was done, the better.

“So you heard a noise and went downstairs to investigate?” She nodded and the sheriff continued his questioning. “Then what?”

Jonah picked up the story. “I was on the phone with her at the time. She started down the stairs, but told me the light at the bottom didn’t work.”

“Deliberate?” Patrick asked.

Jonah shrugged. “I’ll check on that. The house is having all sorts of electrical issues, which is why I’d planned to start working on it tomorrow. That’s what Amanda and I were discussing on the phone when all this started.”

Amanda felt her cheeks heating and bowed her head. Staring at her lap, she tried not to think about what they’d been doing when all this happened. She appreciated Jonah protecting her reputation. Clutching the blanket tighter around her, she glanced up at the men. Thankfully, they were ignoring her for the moment.

She knew she had to get a grip on herself, but it was hard. Someone had tried to strangle her tonight. Before that, she’d had phone sex. The entire night was surreal, like an erotic dream that morphed into a horror novel.

“Amanda?” She jerked at the sound of her name. Patrick was waiting, a look of pity on his face.

She straightened her shoulders. She’d seen that look her entire childhood from well-meaning social workers and do-gooders. Amanda hated it. She didn’t need anyone’s pity.

She’d built a good life and was a strong, independent woman, not a child.

Gripping the pen tight in her fingers, she jotted down a note and showed Patrick.

“You smelled him?”

She nodded. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the smell. Fear and cologne.

That’s what the smell was. She wrote that down and showed the sheriff.

“Definitely a man?”

Amanda nodded. No doubt in her mind. Something else popped into her head and she wrote it down, underlining it.

Patrick’s eyes narrowed. “He was wearing a mask?”

Again, she nodded. All this bobbing of her head wasn’t helping her headache. “I felt it when I tried to hit him. I heard his voice too.” She spoke before she thought. The pain was still there, but at least this time she hadn’t started coughing.

“He spoke to you?” Jonah stood beside her, strong and solid. She wanted to lean on him, rest against him for a moment. Instead, she straightened her spine. He was just passing through her life. The only person she could depend on was herself.

She nodded and tried to recall exactly what her attacker had said. Clutching the pen tight, she scribbled on the pad. When she was done, she turned it so both men could read it.

Where is it? Where’s the book?

“That’s what he said?” Amanda shivered and nodded as Patrick repeated the words.

Reality came crashing back down on top of her. Books. Her books. “Books,” she whispered, too anxious to bother with writing. Grabbing Jonah’s hand, she squeezed tight.

Patrick shook his head. “Whoever hurt you dumped a few of your boxes onto the floor.”

Amanda moaned. Her books were her life, her livelihood.

“When you’re feeling up to it, you’ll have to inventory everything and see if anything is missing.” Patrick shook his head. “You need to remember to start locking all your doors at night, especially the back one. It’s not visible from the road so it’s a more likely target for a thief. This is a small town, but we still have our share of crime.”

Amanda shook her head. She’d locked her door. Hadn’t she? Closing her eyes, she thought and thought. She’d taken her coffee out onto the back patio yesterday afternoon.

Had she locked the door behind her? She was positive she had, but maybe she hadn’t.

Obviously, she hadn’t or the attacker wouldn’t have been able to just walk in. The lock was old and a bit tricky. It must not have latched tight. Something else for her to-do list, but this item went straight to the top.

Jonah’s hand tightened around hers as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

“It’s not your fault. This guy obviously wanted something specific and a lock wouldn’t have stopped him. You have some really valuable books, don’t you?”

Amanda nodded, not even wanting to contemplate the damage that might have been done to some of them. Yes, she had insurance, but that would never replace a book that had been destroyed.

Patrick reached out and took the pen and notebook from her. “That’s it for tonight.

I’ll be in touch tomorrow. My men should be finished processing the crime scene by the time you get home. In the meantime, I’ll leave a deputy in a car in front of your house.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Patrick glanced over at Jonah. “You taking her home?”

“Yes.” There was no room for doubt in Jonah’s reply.

Amanda wanted to protest that she could get herself home just fine, but she didn’t.

Truthfully, she could use some help right now. She felt battered and bruised and more frightened than she’d care to admit. She had no idea who would do this or what they wanted.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. If you need anything just call.” Patrick nodded at her and then left the room. She and Jonah were alone.

“Come on, sugar.”

She started to slide off the bed, but he stopped her, scooping her into his arms, blanket and all.

“Walk,” she protested, even as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“You don’t have any pants on and no one else needs to get an eyeful of your long, sexy legs, but me.”

He thinks my legs are sexy. Amanda couldn’t help but smile in spite of the situation.

No man had ever given her such a lovely compliment before.

“Besides,” he continued. “You’re only wearing socks on your feet.”

Jonah pushed his way through the swinging door and stopped long enough to handle the necessary paperwork and for Doctor Ames to hand her a prescription. He carried her through the parking lot to his truck. The drive home was done in silence.

As promised, a lone police car sat out in front of her home. The deputy got out when Jonah pulled into her driveway. “The front door is unlocked, but the rest of the house is secured. We finished with the crime scene a few minutes ago.”

“Thanks.” Jonah came around the truck and lifted her out. He took her up the walkway and into the house, stopping only long enough to secure the front door.

Her arms tightened around him as they passed the spot where her attacker had assaulted her. “Don’t think about it. Not tonight.” He started up the stairs, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. He wasn’t even breathing hard and she wasn’t exactly skinny.

The man was all muscle.

The bedside light was still on in her room and he carried her straight to the bed. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

She nodded and he released her legs slowly, holding her steady until she had her balance.

“Do you need help?”

She snorted. As if she’d let him help her with that. Ignoring him, she padded to the bathroom. First thing she did was look in the mirror. Dark, mottled bruises circled her neck. Amanda shivered and turned away. It would be even worse in the morning, but as the doctor said, it would eventually heal.

That was all that mattered. That and trying to figure out who would do something like this to her. Was it a stranger? A thief who knew she had rare books? Or was it someone she knew? A past customer who’d followed her to Jamesville?

Finishing in the bathroom, she headed back to her room. Jonah was sitting on the side of the bed waiting patiently for her. He’d taken off his boots and socks and laid them neatly beside her dresser. His leather jacket was hooked over the closet doorknob and his shirt was folded and laid on top of a box. His belt, wallet, cell phone and keys sat beside his shirt. His gun looked out of place resting next to her lamp on the bedside table. Jonah wore only his jeans.