I apologise in advance for the new character. I would not like to be his friend.

18. Sage Advice

Monday morning's training session was the hardest yet. After a day of rest on Sunday, Rose's muscles ached in new and depressing ways, but she was too proud to let Deputy Belikov's punishing fitness regime defeat her.

'Your core is weak,' he observed, when her punches began to falter.

Rose glared at him, continuing her attack on the flourbag. 'There's nothing wrong with my core. It's as strong as—'

Dimitri's fingers darted out to prod her lightly under the ribs and she doubled over with a little shriek – her stomach muscles over-sensitive and almost ticklish.

'Hands of the merchandise, cowboy,' she warned him breathlessly, turning to face him in a defensive pose.

The deputy gave her a wearying shake of the head. 'Your fighting skills won't improve beyond this point unless we start building up your strength. Give Boris a rest. It's time we move on to the next phase of your training.' He wandered across to a small clearing a few feet away and began to roll up his sleeves.

Hope welled in Rose's chest as she trailed after him. 'My first real fight? Man to man?' She'd been itching to spar with him since the day he'd taught her how to make a fist, but every time she made the suggestion he refused.

Dimitri raised an eyebrow. 'I thought I already told you I'd never hit a woman,' he denied her yet again. 'Now why don't you wipe that cranky look off your face and join me.'

The deputy dropped to sit on the ground and patted the spot beside him. 'We need to lie down for this activity.'

The stroppy expression melted away at once, his request catching her off-balance. If it had been any other man she would have told him to go and stick it where the sun doesn't shine, but this wasn't just any man.

'Sometime today would be nice,' Dimitri urged her, stretching out flat and rolling his head over to watch her draw closer. 'I promise I won't bite,' he added, sensing her hesitation.

Rose suspected she wouldn't mind if he did, and after recovering from her initial surprise she lowered herself to the ground and laid down next to him, heart racing. 'So what happens next?' she asked, her breath catching in her throat as she looked across and became ensnared in his liquid gaze.

The man was quick to pull his eyes away. His mind was already travelling back to that night at the Draymore ranch when he awoke with her in his arms, and he had to sternly remind himself that he was here to train her in self-defence, not to give her a reason to need it.

'Sit-ups are one of the best ways to develop your core strength and stamina,' he explained, bending his knees and drawing his feet up until they rested flat on the ground. 'You begin by taking a steady breath in, then expel the air as you rise.'

Dimitri interlaced his fingers to support the back of his head and lifted his torso from the ground, holding at the tension point before releasing back down to lying. Finding a comfortable pace, he continued to demonstrate the exercise as he talked.

'It may be a little uncomfortable to begin with,' he cautioned, 'but there should be no straining of the neck – all the power comes from your core. The more repetitions you do, the more it hurts, but that's a good thing because it means your muscles are working.'

Rose pulled a sour face. This didn't sound like it was going to be fun at all. Punching a bag of flour and imagining it was Madam Kiroy had a certain charm. Sitting up over and over again with the sole aim of causing oneself physical discomfort was a form of self-punishment she'd rather avoid.

'Do I have to do that?' she objected. 'I'm going to look ridiculous.'

Dimitri turned his head slightly, not breaking his rhythm as he soared through the sixty mark. 'Why? Do I look ridiculous?'

Rose bit the inside of her lip, letting her eyes slide over the corded muscles of his naked forearms and noticing the way his shirt pulled tighter over his shoulders and biceps with each upwards movement. No. He looked incredible.

'Fine,' she conceded grumpily, earning a hidden smile from her mentor. 'It doesn't look that hard anyway.'

She brought her knees up and settled her hands behind her head, inhaling as he had instructed then lifting her shoulders from the ground. One and a half inches. That was all she managed. Gnnhhh! She tried again, her muscles clenching like iron but about as effective as a bowl full of jelly. On the next attempt she managed to raise her shoulders three whole inches from the ground and she threw her arms in the air in jubilation. 'I did it!'

Dimitri had already finished his set of one hundred and was propped up on his right elbow, looking down on her efforts with quiet amusement. 'Very well done, Roza. Now give me twenty just the same, and then we'll move on to backwards flexions and press ups.'

The girl froze mid-celebration and looked at him in dismay. 'You're joking, right?'

His eyes were still smiling but he shook his head resolutely. 'I don't joke. You should know that by now.'

All of the energy drained from her body in a gush and she collapsed back onto the ground, one arm flung across her eyes. Maybe she could hide for a while and he would eventually get tired of waiting and leave her in peace. It wasn't even six a.m. yet and he expected her to do all of that? He was lucky she was even out of bed.

Deputy Belikov reached across to peel her arm away from her face, but didn't release her hand right away.

'How about I sweeten the deal a little?' he suggested, a smile skirting around his lips. 'You finish the workout I've set for you and I'll give you a reward for your efforts.'

Rose looked up at him, her breathing shallowing as she took in the sight of their linked hands and the promise in his eyes. Freeing her fingers from his grasp, she repositioned her body and began the slow and gruelling count to twenty.

Half an hour later, Dimitri finally deemed that Rose had done enough to warrant a break.

'My reward?' she mumbled into the dirt, where she was splayed prone on her stomach after a brutal introduction to press ups.

The deputy took mercy and extended an arm to help her stand – a good thing, considering that her whole body was now almost numb with exertion.

'You did very well for a beginner,' he commended her warmly, walking over to his duster to retrieve an envelope from the pocket and handing it to her with great ceremony. 'Your prize, Miss Hathaway – you certainly earned it.'

Rose used her last, tiny scrap of energy to rip open the letter, and its contents had a miraculously restorative effect. 'A surprise party for Lisa's eighteenth birthday? This Saturday? I can't believe it!' she clutched at the invitation and threw her arms tightly around Dimitri's waist, unable to contain her excitement.

The man felt smug. He knew he was playing with fire, but after a whole morning of self-restraint he figured one little hug was well worth the risk. Banishing propriety from his mind, he settled his arms around her shoulders and drew her into an embrace. Sometimes it was good to be the messenger.

'How long have you been holding out on me?' Rose pulled back to look up at him with a lopsided grin, her hands still resting casually above his hips – she'd won her reward fair and square and she was going to enjoy every second of it.

Dimitri unconsciously mirrored her expression, keeping possession of her shoulders. He wouldn't normally overstep the boundaries like this, but if Mr Ivara and Mr Ashford were being so open in their play for Rose's attentions he thought he'd better make it clear that he was a contender too.

'Natalie gave me the invitation yesterday after church, but I thought it would be nicer to surprise you this morning.' He loved surprising her.

'You thought it would be convenient to use the invitation as leverage to make me work harder, you mean,' Rose retorted, enjoying the feeling of his firm, warm flesh beneath her hands.

'If that's how you want to see it,' the deputy watched her steadily.

There was a moment's hesitation as he debated his next move, then his thumbs crept up to knead the tension from her neck. There was nothing wrong in it. She'd worked her heart out this morning – her muscles had to be aching and this was one simple way he could ease her discomfort and aid her recovery.

'So are you planning to attend?' he enquired softly, eyes focused on his work.

Rose tilted her head to lean in against the pressure he was providing, her eyelids falling closed with a small, contented sigh. She kept waiting to wake up and discover this was all just a beautiful dream but Deputy Belikov's careful attentions only grew bolder, his long fingers moving to explore the knots at the top of her shoulder-blades.

'I wouldn't miss it for the world,' she finally remembered to respond, too relaxed to come up with a smart reply. Silence fell as she let his hands work over her tired muscles, only broken by the faint sounds of their breathing and distant morning birdsong, but after a while a question formed in her mind and her lashes blinked open. 'Are you going to attend the party, cowboy?'

'Of course. Somebody's got to keep an eye on you, haven't they?' he shot her a knowing look, giving her shoulders one final squeeze before stilling his hands, signalling an end to their session.

Touché. The girl repressed a grin and they pulled apart from one another slowly – each preparing to return to the real world where feelings were frowned upon and murderers needed to be made accountable for their crimes.

'You don't have an appointment. Who are you and why are you here?'

It wasn't much of a welcome, but Alberta had led them to expect as much from Jared Sage. The locum doctor was a neatly dressed man in his late forties with a thick, blonde moustache and matching sideburns. His brown eyes glinted with intelligence and disdain – the mark of a lifetime spent among 'lesser' men – and his lips seemed to be set in a permanent scowl.

Rose bristled at the man's haughty tone but Dimitri stepped forward to respond, unperturbed.

'My name is Dimitri Belikov, deputy sheriff of Saints Town, and this is my assistant Miss Hathaway. We've travelled nearly twenty miles to meet with you, and only ask for a moment of your time.'

Doctor Sage looked up at the giant on his doorstep. 'What on earth did your mother feed you as a child?' he asked rudely, registering Dimitri's size.

The deputy wasn't surprised or concerned by the comment. 'Could we continue this conversation inside, doctor. We need to speak with you regarding a matter of some delicacy.'

The blonde man's beady gaze shifted across to Rose, his eyes darting down towards her waistline. 'Got her in the family way did you, deputy, and now you want me to get rid of the problem?' he suggested sourly. 'Some men just don't know how to keep it in their trousers, do they?'

Dimitri's cheeks flamed red and it took a concentrated effort not to belt the stuffing out of the assuming, arrogant piece of work. 'You are mistaken, sir. Our visit concerns the case of a young school teacher who passed away just over a year ago. New evidence has come to light and we were hoping you might be able to clear up a few details for us.'

The doctor's expression got a little harder – he prided himself on being able to read people and he didn't enjoy being told he was wrong. For a student of logic, he also had an irrational mistrust of dominant, physical men, believing them to be brutish and lacking in intelligence. He had little patience for volatile beasts like this Mr Belikov and sincerely hoped the deputy would be quick about his business.

'Well, you'd better come in then, but don't touch anything. I keep a sterile surgery and there's no telling where your hands have been,' he directed that last comment to Dimitri then turned abruptly, walking at a brisk pace towards the consulting room at the back of the house. 'Make it fast. My time is valuable. What do you want to know?' the man asked when they were all settled – the doctor's chair taller and more imposing than the others to reinforce the illusion of his importance.

Rose spoke up first, not wanting to give Dr Sage the satisfaction of baiting Dimitri any further. 'We're trying to locate Dr Draymore's patient records for information on a woman named Sonya Karp. We know she was being treated for an anxiety-related illness, and want to find out all we can about the state of her physical and mental health in the lead up to her death. Sheriff Peterson told us you might have the journals?'

The man wrinkled his nose. 'I did find a few journals among the previous doctor's professional belongings but I burned them months ago.'

A look of dismay spread over Rose's face.

'Don't look so shocked, girl. Why would I bother keeping the ramblings of a bumbling frontier hack? Most men this far west who claim to be physicians have no practical training to speak of. They just buy a diploma from one of those third-rate, money-making colleges and get to work.'

Jared Sage had little respect for the American medical profession. He'd completed his own training in Europe where standards were much more stringent, and as far as he could tell, his own daughter Sydney – a freshman at the New England Women's Medical College in Boston – was far better-equipped to practice medicine than most of the practicing doctors he'd met this side of the Atlantic.

His rant continued on with no signs of abating. 'These common quacks treat everything from cholera and dysentery to the common cold with reckless, unscientific remedies such as bloodletting or laudanum drops. Practitioners like that don't even deserve to—'

The self-righteous tirade was cut short by a question from Deputy Belikov. 'You mentioned laudanum. I believe that was the medication prescribed to our patient. What effect might it have had on her mental state?'

The doctor's face twisted with disdain. 'Have you been living under a rock, deputy? You must be familiar with the drug – practically half the women in this country are addicted to the stuff. They go to their good doctor for help with a simple case of cramps or sleeping trouble, and come away clutching a bottle of Battley's Sedative Solution or Mother Bailey's Quieting Syrup. Nobody bothers to mention that laudanum is a blend of opium, sherry, chloroform, and any mixture of other highly toxic substances, and soon enough they're drinking the poison straight from the bottle.'

'So, could laudanum have caused Miss Karp to take her own life?' Rose clarified. 'Or could somebody else have used the drug as a means to kill her?'

Doctor Sage leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, his mouth pursed as if he had just tasted something bitter. 'In a word, yes. Laudanum addicts experience a state of euphoria that can lead to dangerous, risk-taking behaviour. In addition, they often suffer dark hallucinations – seeing apparitions and hearing things that do not exist – which can, in turn, cause paranoia and despondency. Worse still, any attempt to wean off the drug is accompanied by a deep and profound depression, which can subsequently lead to violent behaviour, including self-harm. In my professional opinion I'd say that suicide is highly likely, but I wouldn't rule out murder without further evidence. It would have been simple enough for a person with access to the supply to have slipped the addict an overdose, or deprived her of the drug until she was vulnerable to the effects of withdrawal.'

Rose felt sick. Somebody with access to the supply. Maybe somebody like the lonely, troubled young man who was currently lodging in the back room of Sonya Karp's home? Christian O'Hara! Had she done enough to scare him away? Oh Lord. Lisa. What if she got tired of waiting for Christian to visit and decided to pay him a call herself? She'd be playing straight into his hands.

'Thank you for your insight, Doctor Sage,' Dimitri's voice cut through her frantic thoughts. 'We appreciate your time.'

Rose jumped up at once and made for the front door, anxious to share her suspicions with the deputy and convince him to put a stop to Mr O'Hara for once and for all.

'Say, deputy,' the doctor called after them as they emerged out onto the small patio.

Dimitri turned his head. 'Yes?'

'Have you caught that outlaw yet? The one wanted for killing the Governor's cousin.'

The deputy sucked in a breath. 'I'm afraid James Nathan hasn't been sighted since the incident on the mountain pass.'

'Well get on with it then,' Doctor Sage scowled. 'Maybe you should spend less time investigating the cold case of a woman who clearly brought her death upon herself, and more time trying to catch the killer who is a present danger to us all.'

There was a tense silence before Deputy Belikov moved to place his hat on his head. 'I will do my best to see that the fugitive is captured as soon as possible. Good day to you, sir.'

The only reply he received was the creak of the doctor's front door as it closed in his face.

'That rude, arrogant, nasty—,' Rose fumed, but Dimitri took her arm and led her to where their horses were tethered.

'Don't waste your energy on him, Roza,' he warned, assisting her up onto the saddle.

'But you feel the same way!' she countered. 'How could that horrible man say Sonya brought her death upon herself? Micky Tanner believes she was murdered. I believe she was murdered. It's an insult to her memory! I know you agree with me – I can see the anger written all over your face.'

The man's eyes sparked with loathing as he mounted his horse and led them off at a walk. 'I agree that the doctor was callous and unfeeling in his opinions, but getting angry won't help the situation.'

'What do you suggest we do then?' Rose's voice was bitter.

The deputy shrugged his shoulders. 'We solve the murder,' he answered simply. 'But first, we both need to take a minute to calm down. It's time to ride, Roza. Try to keep up.'

The moment they hit the edge of town, Dimitri urged his horse to a gallop. There were two things in this world that helped him clear his head; punching things and riding like the devil. Right now, he needed to feel the wind smarting at his face, robbing him of breath and gusting through his hair in a kind of cleansing ritual only a cowboy could understand.

His stallion was ready and waiting for the call, and the beast sprang into motion at his master's command, straining with everything he had to taste the freedom that was imprinted somewhere deep in his memory – from a distant time before he was broken for the use of men. Two souls craving liberty surged across the desert landscape, soon joined by a third and a fourth as Rose and her horse came alongside them. The riders glanced at one-another for an instant and then – of one accord – they accelerated even faster, pushing their mounts as hard as they dared until they were riding so fast they left all of their troubles behind them.

When the horses began to tire, Dimitri veered off the trail towards a shaded area beneath a rocky outcrop, and Rose followed after, glad of the chance to stretch her legs.

'Feeling better?' the deputy asked, dropping to sit with his back against the rock-face and offering her his flask.

She settled down beside him, accepting the drink gratefully. 'Much better. You?'

'Immeasurably,' he smiled with his eyes but his expression was stern. 'We should probably talk about what we learned from Doctor Sage. What are your thoughts?'

Rose frowned, taking another sip from the flask and handing it back to its owner. 'From what I can see, we're looking at two options,' she began, drawing meaningless squiggles in the sandy soil to help her think. 'Either Sonya succumbed to the laudanum addiction and killed herself, or somebody else could have tampered with her dosage – giving her too much or withholding it altogether – to make her unstable enough for her death to look like suicide.' She hesitated then, an uncomfortable realisation dawning on her as she sifted through the information.

'What is it?' Dimitri asked sharply.

When the girl looked up to meet his gaze, her eyes were dark with worry. 'If Sonya was murdered like Sheriff Tanner believes, then we have to assume the killer had access to her medication, which narrows the list down to only a handful of possible suspects.'

'Such as?' 'Well... Doctor Draymore prescribed the laudanum, but he couldn't be the killer because he died a few months before Sonya did. Reverend Karp also knew about the medication - he may have even administered it - but I don't believe he could have killed his own daughter. He absolutely doted on her, and I know he was excited about her marriage to Micky Tanner, so it's not like he was angry at her for planning to leave him to start a life of her own. He would never want to cause her harm.'

Deputy Belikov nodded. 'Can you think of anybody else who might have been close enough to Sonya to access her medicine? A servant perhaps? A family friend?'

There was a heavy pause.

'What about Christian O'Hara?'

Dimitri's brows knitted tightly. 'What about him?'

Rose hated what she was about to say but she had to say it. 'Maybe he got close to Miss Karp. Maybe she was nice to him when he was lodging in their guest room and he fell in love with her, but when she turned him down he couldn't bear the rejection. He's done violent things before. Who's to say he wouldn't go so far as to kill somebody he felt had done him wrong?' the accusations tumbled out, leaving a gnawing guilty feeling in the girl's stomach.

Rose wasn't fond of Mr O'Hara personally, but she hoped to God her suspicions were wrong. The last thing she wanted was to have to inform her best friend that her new beau was a murderer.

'Are you sure you're not just considering him as a suspect because of what happened to his family?' the deputy's voice had an edge to it. He didn't think Rose would be prejudiced against Christian for his parents' views, but the question needed to be asked.

'Are you sure you're not just eliminating him as a suspect because you have a special friendship with his aunt?' she shot back, but the look of surprise and hurt on the deputy's face made her regret her hasty words.

'Sorry. I shouldn't have said that,' she admitted more softly. 'I know you wouldn't let your personal feelings affect your judgement. I'm just a bit on edge with everything that's going on, that's all.'

Deputy Belikov shook his head. 'Don't be sorry - you're right. We shouldn't preclude anybody from the investigation until we've checked out all the details. How about we visit Reverend Karp tomorrow? We can confirm the dates that Christian was lodging at the house, and find out how much contact he had with Sonya while he was staying as a guest in their home - just to be sure.'

The young woman nodded grimly and they both became lost in their thoughts until Rose spoke up again, her voice quiet and strained.

'Doctor Sage said that laudanum can induce hallucinations. What if… what if Lisa has been drugged with laudanum too? What if the lights she's seen out on the ranch are just a product of her imagination. What if what happened to Sonya is going to happen to Lisa too?' She picked at the stitching over the tear on her riding skirt, unwilling to meet Dimitri's eye. It was a ridiculous fear, but she couldn't banish it from her mind.

Within seconds the man was crouching in front of her; his hand firm on her shoulder, his gaze soft and steady. 'You mustn't think like that, Roza. What happened to Sonya Karp will not happen to Miss Draymore. I won't allow it. We won't allow it. We're going to solve this problem together and keep your friend safe. I promise.'

It was dangerous making a promise like that. Dimitri had once made a similar vow to protect Ivan Zekeman, and his failure to honour that promise nearly destroyed him. But that didn't matter now. Rose – his strong, unflappable Roza – was in need of reassurance, and he wouldn't let her down. Now or ever.

.

Author's Note:

Thank you for all the lovely Christmas PM's – it really made my weekend to hear from so many of you (*heart glows like magical firestone*). I hope your celebrations turned out just the way you wanted them!

How did you like the Romitri action? Glad it was real this time? I knew I'd get them on their backs sooner or later, but I didn't anticipate this scene until it came out on the page!

As much as I enjoyed writing the training/massage scene, my favourite part of this chapter was actually the passage with Rose & Dimitri galloping on their horses. This was a little call-back to Rose escaping from Dimitri in Chapter 1, but this time they are both running away from their troubles together. Ahhhh. Satisfying.

What did you think of Dr. Sage? I've tried to paint him as the same arrogant jerk he was in Bloodlines - though I only skimmed the first book so may have missed some character quirks. (And yes, there's a Sydney reference – we can't leave Adrian completely broken-hearted in the end, can we?!)

The investigation takes a turn towards Christian - uh-oh.

Another glimpse of Ivan too… answers soon.