Chapter 2 Doc
DOC
“I think you know everything,” Anna said as we stopped by the room she chose for herself.
I looked around the hallway before looking back down at her. “No one knows everything.”
She crooked an eyebrow and crossed those pudgy little arms of hers over her chest. “Oh yeah? All right, then, smarty pants. Statistically speaking, what’s the best way to go about killing an ant infestation?”
I tilted my head. “What color are the ants?”
“Black.”
“Are they marching in a line?”
“No.”
I nodded slowly as my eyes gazed off down the hallway. “Slow movers? Or quick movers?”
She paused. “Slow until startled.”
“How big we talkin’?”
“Doc.”
I shrugged. “Details matter.”
She snickered and shook her head. “I’ve given you all of the information I’ve got. Big. Black. Move quickly when startled. They’re in your home. What kind are they, and what do you do?”
“Well,” I said as I brought my attention back down to her, “depending on your area of the country, they could be carpenter ants. However, formica ants are also big and black, just not as big and black. In this neck of the woods, carpenter ants only rear their heads from satellite colonies, and if you don’t see any frass or discarded wings around, chances are the ants are coming from outside through cracks in the outer lining of the house.
With formica ants, you’d see mounds outside, especially if you’re a lawn mower.
You’d run over one of those yard mounds and it would go—”
Anna laughed, and I paused.
“What?” I asked.
She shook her head as she slipped into her room. “I swear, Doc, you know everything.”
“It doesn’t take a genius to know a thing or two about ants.”
She looked up at me with an unamused stare. “What percentage of the populous in Redd Valley is white?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Demographically speaking, sixty-four percent of Redd Valley is white, while your neck of the woods is around seventy-three percent white. However, Redd Valley’s got a larger population of Native American women than your hometown. Your hometown seems to center around Hispanic—”
She barked with laughter and closed her door. “See you for the next patrol, Doc.”
I furrowed my brow as I watched her shut her door. “Sure, yeah. I’ll come by and knock on your door.”
She peeked through the slit in her door. “Awww, don’t look so sad.”
I tilted my head. “I’m not sad.”
She cracked her door open a bit more. “You look sad. What’s on that big, flashy mind of yours?”
I just watched her for a little while. She looked nothing like my sister. Not really. But my god, they would’ve been best friends.
“Doc?” Anna asked.
I cleared my throat. “You remind me of someone.”
A smile slinked across her face. “Oh? Someone sexy?”
“My sister.”
Her face fell. “So… not sexy.”
I just shook my head softly, but she wasn’t deterred.
“You not close with your sister or something?” she asked.
My heart shattered at her question. “Or something.”
As Anna stared up at me, I couldn’t help but wonder about what my sister’s laugh would sound like.
She was so full of life. A spitfire, just like Anna.
My sister had an attitude for days and didn’t care who she threw it at, and yet she was the same person who if you were ever in trouble or needed a pick-me-up, she would have helped.
My sister would do anything to make someone smile.
Those were my favorite memories of her.
“Well,” Anna said with a sigh, “thanks, Doc.”
I shook my head a bit, pulling myself out of the memories. “No thanks needed for the truth, Anna.”
She chewed on her lower lip while she looked around. “Do I have to stay in my room?”
“No,” I said as I turned away from the door and backtracked down the hallway. “Like I said, the amenities here are free for any of you to use at any point in time. Just be careful. Stay away from the windows and doors. Be aware of who’s around you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Anna said as I heard her door close behind me. “You know where Brutus is?”
That gave me pause, and I turned to see her standing with the bedroom door closed behind her. “Brutus?”
She looked up and down the hallway before coming toward me. “Yeah, Brutus. Big. Tall. Brooding. Cooks up a storm. Farts like a dog.”
I blinked. “Farts like a what?”
She waved her hand in the air. “Never mind. Know where I could find him?”
I grinned. “Looking for someone to pester?”
She grinned right back up at me. “Don’t tell me he’s not fun to pester. I’ve pissed him off twice. It’s great. I want to see how deep his forehead wrinkles go.”
I barked with laughter. Yep, just like my sister. “If you really want to annoy Brutus, eat pickles around him.”
Her eyes lit up like the fourth of July. “Pickles? Does he hate them?”
“Can’t stand them. Hates the smell. Hates the texture. Hates everything about them.”
Her lips puckered as those gears in her brain started turning. “Good to know, good to know, good. To. Know.”
As she walked off, lost in her head, I couldn’t help but shake my own. She was a can of whoop-ass stuffed into a pressurized five-foot can, and she’d bring a lot of life to the craziness happening around us.
I watched as she walked off around the corner, practically skipping while she whistled to herself.
Make one more round on the girls, just in case.
I opened my mouth to call out for Anna, since she was supposed to do all of the rounds with me. But as her whistle echoed away from me, I decided that one round without her wouldn’t hurt. After all, we’d just checked up on all of the girls.
I wanted to see if Lizzie got back to her room okay, though.
I took the long way around, dipping my head into rooms silently so as to not disturb anyone.
I came to Ariel’s cracked door and peered inside to see her curled up in a corner chair with a book.
She wore Cap’s leather jacket since one of Cap’s orders was that we go without our leathers and identifiers for now.
Smart move, if I had a say in it.
I silently crept onward until I came to the room that Amanda picked out for herself. Shockingly enough, all sarcasm included, she wasn’t too far from Ariel’s bedroom. They were in the same hallway, at least, which made checking on them easy.
I didn’t even get to her door before I heard it.
“Say my name,” Wrecker demanded.
My eyebrows rose as Amanda’s breathless plea hit my ears. “Fuck. Oh, Wreck. Wrecker, please. I’m soaked. Oh god. Let me come.”
I wrinkled my nose and turned quickly on my heels.
She was clearly fine.
If Wrecker was here, that meant Ghost was probably with him, so the check on Jasmine didn’t take long.
I made my way up another flight of stairs, since Ghost wanted his woman on the top floor.
That didn’t shock me since there was only one way to get up there and yet again, it didn’t shock me that Ghost sat in a chair at the top of the steps as I emerged to the top hallway of the estate.
“You guys good up here?” I asked.
Ghost twirled the knife in his fingers. “She’s taking a shower.”
I listened for a moment before I heard the soft rushing of water. “Good, good. You guys need anything? Just doing one last set of rounds before tonight.”
He shook his head. “We’re good.”
“She doesn’t need towels or anything? Have I shown you where the linen closet for extras is?”
He just stared at me.
I stared back.
“Ghost,” I said.
“What,” he said back.
“I’m not here to take a sneaky naked peek at your girl. I have to make my rounds.”
His shoulders deflated just a smidge. “Sorry, Doc. Just on edge.”
“We all are. It’s okay. Are you sure she doesn’t need anything?”
He peered over his shoulder. “I’ll do a check before Wrecker and I have to head back to the clubhouse. If she does, I’ll get it for her before I leave.”
I just gave him a thumbs up as I made my way back down the stairs.
There was a part of me that figured Lizzie would be with Marla. But when I made my way to Marla’s room and knocked softly on the door, there was no sound.
“Marla?” I asked.
I knocked on the door again, only it creaked open a bit.
Revealing nothing but darkness.
I stayed silent, just in case she was asleep. But as I inched the door open, I found her room not only dark, but empty.
My heart leapt into my throat.
Maybe they were in Miss Elizabeth’s room.
I rushed down the hallway. The girls, like the sisters, chose to dwell in the same hallway. I rushed to Miss Elizabeth’s door and grabbed the doorknob before I had enough sense to knock.
“Miss Elizabeth?” I asked as I knocked on the closed door. “Are you and Marla in there, by any chance?”
Only silence met me, however.
I turned the doorknob and whipped the door open, only to be greeted by darkness. I rushed in, my head on a swivel. Did she fall? Did she pass out? Was she eating enough? I had to check her blood sugar.
“Miss Elizabeth,” I said as I rushed over to the bathroom and shoved the door open.
When my eyes scanned the bathroom wall, I found myself gazing out the small window afforded to the room.
It peered out into the outer hallway that lined the backside of the mansion, and through the windows of the hallway, I saw a couple of bodies outside.
They were lounging around the hot tub area, steam rising from the bubbles.
The wind kicked up just enough to flutter pin straight black hair.
I went rushing out of the room before I could think.
“Doc?” Marla asked.
Her voice ripped me from my trance as I dropped into a crouch beside the girls. Turns out, they had their feet dangling in the hot tub while they were lying back on some lounge chair cushions they pulled from the metal frames of the chair.
I peered down at Marla. “You doing okay? Need anything for your room?”
She furrowed her brow. “Didn’t you just do rounds?”
“I didn’t ask if anyone needed anything. I was just checking on well-beings with Anna.”
“Right,” Miss Elizabeth said.
My gaze gravitated to her. “How are you feeling, Miss Elizabeth?”
She just waved her hand in the air. “I’m fine.”
I stood to my feet. “We should probably do a checkup. We didn’t technically have the one we were supposed to do yesterday.”
“Sorry,” Miss Elizabeth said as she pushed herself upright. “I was tired yesterday.”
“No need to be sorry,” I said as I stood and walked over to her, offering her my hand, “we can get it out of the way now so you aren’t bothered with it for a few days.”
“Come here, I gotcha,” Marla said softly.
I was anxious for Miss Elizabeth to take my hand. I wanted her to take it. I wanted her to want to take it, which was a weird sensation. Why did I want her hand in mine that badly? But when Marla stood and helped her friend to her feet, I quickly tucked my hand back at my side.
“Thanks,” Miss Elizabeth mumbled when she got steady on her feet.
I just stared at the woman for a little while. The bruising around her eyes was still prevalent. The angry ligature marks that only just started to heal over with their yellowed skin. The way she still walked with a limp, favoring her right side over her left.
“Well?” Miss Elizabeth snapped with a coolness to her tone. “Where to now?”
Her voice snapped me out of my trance.
Why the fuck was I always in a trance around this woman?
It was like she made me stupid.
Like an automatic kill switch.
I hated it.
“Right then,” I said as I clasped my hands behind my back so I would keep them to myself, “follow me.”
“Oh my God!”
An ear piercing squeal came from Marla before she took off like a bat out of hell. The squeal leapt me into action, and immediately, I grabbed Miss Elizabeth and shoved her behind me.
“Marla!” I exclaimed as I whipped around, searching for the threat that made her take off like that.
I’d protect Miss Elizabeth with my life. No one would get near her again. So long as I lived, I’d—
“Miles!” Marla exclaimed as she leapt through the air, rushing into Ranger’s arms. A low, happy whine followed her across the yard.
I hadn’t even clocked the dog until that moment—a massive all-black German Shepherd that had materialized at Ranger’s heel like a shadow that grew legs.
He was enormous, built like something out of a military contract, with a broad chest and ears that swiveled independently like radar dishes.
Oh.
That was a good squeal. Smoke had already made his way to Marla, pressing his muzzle gently against her leg like he was running a headcount.
She reached down without even looking and scratched behind his ear, the way she always had, and the dog leaned into it with the kind of quiet patience that had always made him unlike any other animal I’d ever been around.
Ranger’s hand came to rest briefly on the back of the dog’s neck as Marla buried her face against him, and the three of them had their moment. I looked away to give them one.
“Do women not get excited around you or something?” Miss Elizabeth asked behind me.
I resisted the urge to grumble as I turned to face her again. “If you’ll follow me.”
“Ew,” she muttered.
I looked down at myself. I wiped at my face. Did I have something on me somewhere? But when I focused back in on Miss Elizabeth, I saw her peering around me. So I turned.
Only to find Ranger with Marla pressed up against the vinyl siding of the house.
Ugh.
I’d have to spray it down with the hose later.
“Come on,” I said as I ushered my arm toward the house, “let’s go get you checked out, Miss Elizabeth.”