If the Dark Wins (Finley Creek Book 4) Page 16

  “I understand the appeal of the childhood home, sweetie, but you are going to beggar yourself.”

  “What’s really on your mind?”

  “I just want you to be careful, ok?”

  “Maybe they were really angry with you or Lanning? Everyone knows I’m all sweetness and light.”

  “Possible. Just humor me, ok? It’s part of that big brother thing I got going on.”

  She did appreciate it. Knowing she had people who cared, genuinely cared, male or female, made her world feel a little bit more right again. “I will. And I will make sure I take my pistol with me everywhere I go. Even here on hospital property.”

  “Good.”

  58

  It seemed like that benefit she’d attended at that damned billionaire’s had just whetted the Snotty Garlic’s appetite for any hint of gossip they could find about Lacy. Or her friends.

  Of course, he understood it; they were connected to the billionaire’s wife. The media had taken to Melody Beck likes fleas to a dog. It was the whole middle-class-police-officer angle, he knew. Not a week went by that the local news stations and papers and websites didn’t mention her or have a photo of her in their Lifestyles section.

  Logan had met her a time or two as well. It was not an acquaintance he was interested in keeping. Jillian Beck’s older sister was hard as nails, and probably a real ball buster.

  Maybe Barratt had coated his own balls in reinforced steel? That’s what it would take. She wasn't the least bit like his Lacy.

  He worked a consult with her again today. He was starting to do that more often, and mostly by his own choice. He wanted to mentor her. To guide her. He wanted to see the light of skill bloom in her eyes.

  Was that so wrong?

  Today they operated on a child. It was always a delicate and complex task, simply for the size. Most six-year-olds were incredibly difficult to operate on, at least for the surgery they were performing. But the little girl pulled through amazingly well. Logan suspected she would make a full recovery. And have a higher quality of life than she'd had before the surgery.

  It was one of the few prescheduled surgeries that he and Lacy had worked together. Once again, he was impressed with the skills a surgeon as young as she possessed. What was she? Twenty-seven or so? He doubted she had hit thirty yet. And he’d heard through the grapevine that she was a bit of a wunderkind, finishing undergraduate work in less than the usual required three years. Young, skilled, brilliant, compassionate, beautiful—Dr. Lacy McGareth was perfection. Grace. Light.

  Life. She was all that a man could want.

  And right now, she was that damned Travis Worthington-Deane’s.

  The Snotty Garlic was doing everything they could to throw that up in his face.

  Damn them all.

  59

  Lacy’s last patient of her shift was a young teenager. Looking at her was like looking into the past, only this girl had a much older half-brother who had stepped up to the plate to provide her a safe home.

  Now.

  He’d had no idea that the girl’s step-father had been doing things he shouldn’t.

  Jillian had been called in on her day off to work a day shift, and she was just about to clock out when the girl came in.

  Rafael Holden-Deane was brought in the instant the decision to call Social Services had been made by the hospital.

  By Lacy.

  Calling Social Services was never anything she would do willingly.

  Social Services surprised her by calling in W4HAV. Ari’s charity was now staffed with three licensed Social Workers, paid for by a grant from Handley-Barratt Industries and Lucas Technologies.

  No surprise there.

  Ari walked over with the social worker and she stayed while Jillian and Lacy filled out the necessary paperwork for W4HAV’s records.

  Holden-Deane dealt with the girl’s brother personally, and Lacy had to admire how he handled what was a horrific situation.

  But he’d asked her and Jillian to handle the examination. Because he’d thought they’d understand the trauma the girl was experiencing.

  Boy, did they.

  And she had to admit, her estimation of Travis’ and Ari’s brother went up. Quite a bit.

  Still, when they were finished with the girl, Lacy was feeling exhausted.

  And more than a little raw.

  She suspected Jillian and Ari felt the same way.

  Lacy could see the strain in her friends’ eyes, but Jillian and Ari held up. They knew what the young girl was facing. Her pain was something they would never forget.

  Ari would see the girl got the help, the new start, she deserved. It was what Ari did. The way she gave back to the world. No matter what the cost.

  The cost was so damned high sometimes.

  Lacy signed the remainder of her paperwork, then reviewed the last of Jillian’s. Not fully necessary, but Jillian always made certain someone reviewed for mistakes. Jillian’s dyslexia caused her to be super cautious with charts. The hospital tablets helped, but Jillian always wanted an extra set of eyes.

  “Drinks?” Lacy asked. “Popcorn, movie? Anything besides this place?”

  Jillian sighed, then nodded. “Guess I’m driving.”

  “Question, why doesn’t the beautiful Ariella ever drive?” Virat asked from where he was finishing his own charts for the night.

  “Because she never drives, she gets driven.” She and Jillian shared a look. They both knew why. Every one of them had their demons. Cars and night would always be Ari’s. Just like hard fists would be Lacy’s—and men with knives would always be Jillian’s. Nightmares. They all had them.

  One of those nightmares was currently barreling down on them. “Going to have to hold off a minute. Raging COM at three o’clock.”

  Jillian let out a completely un-Jillian-like curse. “He’s everywhere.”

  Yeah. And so was his brother. Lacy felt a small rush of heat when she thought of what they had done to each other the night before.

  Travis, with his lazy charm and humor, was nothing like the cranky behemoth barreling down on them. “McGareth!”

  He’d held her through the night—in her own bed.

  He was the first man to ever do that.

  “Oh hell. Looks like it’s my turn now. Have I done anything lately I need to know about?” She looked at Jillian. She so did not want to deal with Travis’ brother now.

  “Not that I know of.” Jillian hurriedly stacked the remainder of her paperwork on the desk and stepped away. She wrapped her hand around Ari’s arm and pulled her away. “We’ll… Wait for you outside. Just until you’re finished with him.”

  “Thanks. Traitor.”

  “Self-preservation. He looks for any excuse to chomp into me.”

  “No kidding—I think you look tasty to our resident ogre. You are rather bite-sized compared to him.” Jillian was short, but not extremely so. It was just when she was next to Rafael Holden-Deane that she looked so much smaller than what she was.

  “Naw, it’s because I knocked him into the pool months before his yearly bath was scheduled.”

  Holden-Deane stood glaring at the three of them; he’d heard them, they’d made no attempt to keep quiet. “Ha-ha. You two are quite the little comedians. McGareth—Trauma C. We need to have a chat. Beck; stick around.”

  “Oh joy. My ticket is up. I’m going to be the ogre’s dinner again.”

  Lacy had never heard such hostility or disrespect for authority from Jillian before. Only toward Holden-Deane.

  Lacy dutifully followed her boss into the currently unoccupied trauma room.

  “Dr. Holden-Deane? What can I do for you?” Lacy shifted, putting herself closer to the door while the big guy prowled like a caged animal.

  Talk about feeling trapped.

  Lacy forced herself to breathe, remind herself that he was her boss, a doctor, and Travis’ much adored older brother.

  She was safe.

  Jillian, her friends, colleagues, were
all just right outside the door. She hated being a coward like this, but that girl tonight… The big strong man angry at her. Lacy straightened her spine and reminded herself that she was just fine. Nightmares of the past were just that—and the man in front of her was not going to hurt her. He wasn’t.

  “Dr. Holden-Deane…?”

  “Files.” He stopped prowling and glared at her. He really was a handsome man—except for the attitude. It was like Travis was in a good mood all the time, and his brother in a bad mood just as often. “I want everything you worked on in conjunction with Drs. Lanning, Alvarez, Hopkins, Patel, and Jacobson between October first through March thirty-first of this past year.”

  Lacy’s eyes widened at the enormity of what he was asking. It would be a massive undertaking. What was he looking for? “Why?”

  His face darkened. Lacy took an involuntary step back. He was a sizable mountain, after all.

  “There have been some anomalies I don’t like.”

  “In my files?” Lacy felt an immediate ball of anxiety tight in her gut. She knew she was good at what she did. She rarely made mistakes that would be considered anomalies. “I thought this was about Solpalmitraln—or something I’ve done to cause trouble.”

  “No.” If anything his glare intensified. Her defenses rose. “Just anomalies. And have you caused any trouble lately?”

  “There will be gaps in the files. I went on medical leave for a while after Albright. Then I took some personal time after that to help the Becks.” To take care of Ari, Houghton, Brynna and Jillian, and others she cared about after they had all been hurt.

  “I know. That’s why I need your files. You’re going to be my control group.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. I’m not certain how your signature made its way onto fourteen files during the timeframe when you were on medical leave.” He crossed his arms over his massive chest, waited. “Any ideas?”

  “Not a clue.” Lacy didn’t want to remember how she had felt when she opened her eyes in that damned yellow private room on the fourth floor with two men staring down at her. Questioning. Making her remember.

  She still hated going into that particular room. It was like it was cursed or something. They’d all been in there, during...Her, Jillian, Brynna, Mel, Gabby, Ari...all of them had ended up in that damned 403. “I was here, room 403. Twenty-four hours. Stayed in town another twenty-four. Then St. Louis for a while.”

  “Fully recovered?”

  “Yes. I stayed with Ari’s brother Luc and Jilly and Syd.” Physically she’d recovered. It would take a long time to forget the force of the man’s fists as they struck her over and over again. To forget the feel of his knees ramming into her kidneys, his hands touching, striking. Everything. Bringing back nightmares she’d thought she’d forgotten once and for all. “So, who? What’s going on?”

  “That’s what I’m going to find out. Each of the files involve Solpalmitraln, Lacy. And that concerns me. Keep this to yourself, understand?”

  “Of course. My job on the line here?” With two previous suspensions just in the last year—damn that jerk Lanning—it was a definite possibility. Especially if Holden-Deane wanted her gone. And Lacy knew it.

  “No. But someone wants it to be. Any ideas who would have it in for you?” His look told her exactly what his opinion on the matter was. “You think this is connected to the vandalism?”

  Lacy smirked at him, then shook her head. “Hell, have you not met me? I live to piss off my fellow emergency room and surgical pals. It’s how I get my entertainment. But no, I don’t know. And I haven’t spoken about Solpalmitraln with anyone other than you or Fin.”

  “See that you stop being so entertained, understand? Your mouth is going to get you into serious trouble someday, if you’re not careful.”

  “Think it already hasn’t?” Of that she had no doubt. She and Lanning alone had entertained their department on several occasions.

  Before they’d nearly died together, that was.

  “Go. And send in Beck when you see her.” He smiled, an almost feral expression.

  Lacy suddenly felt more than a little frightened for her best friend. Travis’ older brother, Ari’s older brother, was damned dangerous, wasn’t he?

  Whoever had screwed with those files was living on borrowed time.

  “Only if you promise to play nice, Holden-Deane. Play nice. I’ve heard Jillian bites when attacked.”

  60

  The benefit haunted him. She’d looked so beautiful in Deane’s arms, her friends just as elegant in his brothers’ embraces. Even Jillian Beck looked breathtakingly beautiful held close against Holden-Deane—they hadn't been arguing in that moment. Not at all; she'd been looking up at Holden-Deane with those eyes of hers.

  It was too neat, too perfect. Three handsome, wealthy brothers—three beautiful young women that the media already loved. It was too easy. Had they all fallen for the glitz of it—the Cinderella story aspect? He couldn't see his Lacy falling for it, not her. She was too intelligent to fall for that.

  Unless those friends of hers somehow convinced her. They were just as involved, weren't they? Even that brunette and the governor.

  Maybe that was why Jillian Beck constantly drew Holden-Deane’s attention? Jillian’s family had been connected to that damned Marcus Deane for a while now.

  Jillian had most likely introduced them, hadn't she? Damn those Becks, they'd ruined his life. Logan watched them climb into that little red sports car of Jillian’s and drive off, laughing about something Jillian had apparently said to Holden-Deane when he pulled her into Trauma C. He'd kept that girl in there alone with him for a good fifteen minutes. Plenty of time for a quick little piece of Jillian Beck’s tail.

  Logan bet that little wildcat would know just how to do it exactly the way a man needed. Logan’s gut tightened as he imagined it.

  He pushed his sudden fury aside. She never should've involved his Lacy with those damned Deanes.

  Damn her. He followed them from the parking garage without even hesitating.

  They stopped at a home supply store. Like a pathetic teenager, Logan parked where he could see them but where they couldn't see him. He had his window down when they walked by again. He could hear them laughing. It wasn't hard to do. Lacy smiled, and said something to the brunette beside her. The two stopped walking. Jillian Beck kept going. Then she turned around to stare at her friends.

  "What are you two doing?" she asked.

  "I think… That the seriously sexy nurse and the devastatingly handsome doctor may have something going on. You just don't want to admit it."

  Logan’s temper boiled. But his wasn’t the only one. Jillian shot a rude gesture at her two friends. "Yet I'm not the one caught kissing a Deane on my front porch. Or hiding behind a plant, all wrapped up in his arms. Seriously, Lacy? A Deane brother? Why?"

  "Hey, I'll have you know, I got the nice Deane. Of course, according to the Snotty Garlic Ari got the best of the lot. The devastatingly handsome gorgeous governor. So, Ari, when’s the date?"

  Logan pushed their words aside, and missed what was said after that. As they entered the car all he could do was fight the rage. He was tempted to light up a joint, but he never had inside the car before. If he got pulled over and the cops found it, he could kiss his career goodbye. He knew that.

  The idea that they were willingly with those Deane brothers, and they apparently were, burned him. He’d heard it with his own ears. They wanted to be with the Deanes. All three of them.

  Not his Lacy. She wasn't like that. No, it had to be fear. Fear that if she didn't go with Holden-Deane’s brother and do the things he wanted, that she would lose her position with the Surgical Trauma Department. She was already on shaky ground because of her attitude. Because of what all had happened to her in the past. Even because of what Logan had done, with his multiple reports and complaints of her previous behavior.

  He shoved aside the guilt for that. He’d fix it, somehow. She didn't n
eed to jeopardize her position, piss off Holden-Deane. It was as simple as that; that’s all it was.

  That’s all it was. The entire reason she was involved with Travis Worthington-Deane was because of the two women walking at her side. Because they'd fallen for the charm of those damned Deane brothers.

  They’d made her be with that youngest Deane brother.

  Damn them all.

  Logan pulled out behind them and followed.

  61

  Lacy turned the radio up and rolled the window down manually. Jillian started belting out the old country song. Their problems melted away for just a moment. The COM’s request was pushed to the back of her mind. There was nothing she could do about whatever was going on right this moment. At this point, she had to focus on her friends.

  It was her time now. Not the hospital’s.

  "So…" Lacy asked. "What exactly did he have to say?"

  "He apologized," Jillian said. "Not for everything that came before, but for the remarks he made about me reading. I know what it was; he was covering the hospital’s ass. In case I sue. You know how it is." Jillian sent a smug look Lacy’s way. "I still live to make trouble for Holden-Deane, after all."

  "You're going to get yourself into trouble someday. That was the gist of the message that I received. A few other things going on. But we'll figure it out. In the meantime, Ari, I noticed the big guy didn't snarl at you as much as he used to. What’s up with that?"

  "Simple. I stay as far away from him as I can get. And he stays far away from me. Just because we share half of our DNA, doesn't mean that there needs to be more to it than that. I knew going into this search the some of the brothers and sisters I found wouldn't want anything to do with me. It just so happens that this is one I’m going to see a lot. I'll deal. I just wish he was nicer to you two. I mean I don't need to see him every day. But you two have to."

  "Don't worry, Ari. We’re starting to figure Holden-Deane out. He gets to be too much trouble, we’ll just sic Jillian on him. It seems to be the most effective use of our energy."