Chapter 10
Kathryn
“Push eight mgs of Zofran in his IV please, Stacy.”
“Yes Doctor.”
“Zofran?” the patient asked.
Before I could look up from the tablet where I was entering the med order, Darla answered.
“It’s a medicine to take away the nausea,” she told the patient. “By putting it in your IV it will hit your system sooner and so you stop vomiting.”
The poor patient had thrown up twice since they’d arrived. The small exam room had an acrid smell that made me glad I was wearing a mask.
“Oh thank god. I swear I already threw up my stomach lining. Part of my colon too.”
Darla’s expression didn’t change, but when she looked at me I could see the flash of humor in her eyes.
She wasn’t just a pretty face, although she was stunningly beautiful.
She was also a skilled medical assistant – empathetic, intuitive, and able to explain things in plain English in a way that made patients comfortable with her. We worked together well.
“You should feel better in a little bit,” Darla reassured her, briefly touching the patient’s shoulder. “Just rest and let the medication take effect.”
I suppressed a sigh as I updated the chart.
Every time I stopped I remembered that my condo was gone – everything I owned burned up in the explosion.
My heart ached for everything I’d lost, but it had only strengthened my resolve.
My possessions could be replaced, but my friend would never get his life back.
I owed it to Seth to stay strong and stop whatever was happening here.
After giving final instructions to the patient, Stacy, Darla, and I headed out, ready to treat the next patient. Suddenly we heard a crash. Turning in that direction, I saw Yuri scrambling to pick up some supplies he’d knocked over.
“Wow, the new janitor is kind of clumsy,” Stacy noted. “That’s the second time I’ve seen him make a mess.”
“Yuri is a good guy,” Darla said immediately.
“Do you know him?” Stacy asked.
“Yeah, we used to work together, uh, at my last job. I can introduce you if you want. I know he’s single.”
I didn’t know why Darla was trying to be a matchmaker, but she was terrible at it. She was better off letting Yuri figure it out himself.
“No thanks, I’ve sworn off men after my last relationship,” Stacy said vehemently. “Maybe I’ll join your team instead. It seems to have less drama.”
“My team?” Darla asked in confusion.
“Team Lesbian,” Stacy said, walking off with a laugh.
“How does she know I’m a lesbian?” Darla asked curiously.
“You keep staring at me with smitten eyes,” I said, making air quotes at Stacy’s term.
Darla frowned. “No I don’t.”
I laughed at the offended tone. “Okay, you don’t.”
We both sobered at the sound of high heels clacking against the linoleum.
I didn’t need supernatural senses to know it was Dr. Xi.
I could feel the malevolence in the air.
I’d never really liked the researcher, but now that I knew she’d killed my friend – and god knows how many others – I actively hated her.
“Dr. O’Brian,” she said with fake cheer. “How are you doing today?”
“Just fine,” I said, turning to walk away. “I’ve got to get back to my patients. Have a nice day.”
I felt her hand clamp around my forearm. For such a tiny woman, she had a surprisingly strong grip. It must be the fox shifter in her.
I rounded on her, glaring. “Remove your hand please, Dr. Xi.”
Behind me, Darla released a low growl that made my hair stand on end. She moved close enough that I could feel the heat of her body next to me. She was glaring at Xi.
“My apologies Dr. O’Brian,” Xi said, making a big show of releasing my arm. “I just wanted to express my condolences about your friend’s death.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, reminding myself to keep my face neutral.
“Oh, you didn’t hear? They found Seth’s body in the woods at Squak Mountain State Park.
” She winced slightly, but I could tell it was for show.
“What was left of him anyway. Looks like he was trail running and ran into some wild animals. His ankle was broken so the authorities figured he fell trying to escape the bears.”
My stomach seized, making me want to get some of that Zofran for myself.
“And you know this how?” Darla demanded.
“I happened to overhear the hospital administrator talking to the police,” she said, tapping her ear in what I assume was a subtle acknowledgement of her shifter hearing.
“Anyway, I’m sorry for your loss. I know he was well-liked here in the Emergency Department and I heard that the two of you spent quite a lot of time together outside of work. ”
The doctor spun around, walking away faster in those high heeled shoes than any human would ever be able to manage.
“Bitch,” I mumbled under my breath.
By the tightening of her shoulders, Xi heard me despite being halfway down the hallway.
“I’ll text Lois,” Darla said, pulling out her phone, fingers flying over the keyboard. “Are you okay to get back to work?”
My pager buzzed, reminding me that patients were waiting. “Yeah.”
When we finished our shift, I was surprised to see Yuri waiting for us by the SUV.
“Where’s Martha?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t seen the other agent for the last hour or two of our shift.
“I stay with you tonight,” Yuri said. “Martha go home with mate.”
“I’m driving then,” Darla said, walking to the driver’s side.
I got in behind her so Yuri could push the seat back. He was so tall he was practically in the back seat with me.
“I am trained driver,” he told Darla as she pulled out of our parking space. “I drive very well.”
“You drive like a bat out of hell,” Darla corrected. “I don’t want my mate hurt.”
“She knows about mates?”
“I do,” I called from the backseat, not appreciating being spoken about like I wasn’t there.
Yuri turned in his seat to look at me. “You are lucky. This vampire will be good mate for you.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said.
At Yuri’s confused look I added, “I’m not sure I believe in all this mate stuff.”
Yuri laughed. “You humans, you never trust what is in front of your eyes.”
“Wait until you have the mate conversation with Stacy,” Darla told him, her voice dry. “She told us she’s sworn off men.”
“She swears off men, but I am bear,” Yuri said. “Is different. She will not be able to resist me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his self-confidence. Then again, if Stacy felt half as drawn to Yuri as I did to Darla she’d be helpless to resist him.
“How long until we reach house?” he asked.
“About twenty minutes, maybe twenty-five,” Darla said.
“Good. You will tell me about my mate please.”
I spent the rest of the ride answering Yuri’s barrage of questions about my friend. When we got to the house, Yuri stayed with me while Darla checked out the house to make sure it hadn’t been compromised. I liked the bear immediately. He was charming in an earnest, boyish way.
“What do you like to eat?” he asked when we entered the house. “I am good chef. I have restaurant with brothers.”
“I’m not picky,” I said. “I’ll eat almost anything.”
Growing up as a military brat, I’d lived around the world and learned to eat what I was given, no matter what it was.
“You are too skinny, I will make you meat,” Yuri said decisively.
I wouldn’t call myself skinny, but it was true that the combination of being on my feet for ten or more hours a day and rarely having time for more than a protein bar at work helped me stay slim.
An hour later and freshly showered, I joined Yuri and Darla for dinner. My eyes widened as I saw all the food waiting for us. The bear had made roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots, bacon wrapped scallops, rice, biscuits, a tray of cheese and fruit, and an enormous salad.
“Wow, this is quite a feast,” I said, taking in the overladen table. “Who’s going to eat all this?”
Darla laughed, the sound light and sweet. “The best thing about going undercover with the bears is the cooking. Enjoy it while you can.”
As we ate, Yuri and Darla talked about the case. Apparently her teammate Wanda was working hard to hack into Dr. Xi’s files to learn more about what she was doing and who was paying her.
“Wanda says Xi has stronger encryptions than the federal government,” Darla said. “And she would know, she’s hacked them before. Off the record of course.”
At Yuri’s blank look she said, “Not officially.”
He nodded. “Is not easy to get that kind of technology. Maybe government is involved,” he said slowly. “If not U.S.A., then enemies.”
Darla looked thoughtful. “That’s a good theory, Yuri. I don’t know which would be worse – knowing our own government is experimenting on its citizens, or finding out another country has infiltrated our medical research program.”
“I will share this theory when I do the Face Time with brothers tonight,” the Belarusian said. “We will use our contacts to do some investigation. After I tell them good news about finding mate of course.”
After an enormous meal, Yuri insisted on loading the dishwasher before heading to his bedroom to call his brothers.
Darla and I decided to watch TV for a while to unwind.
Locating a streaming service, we flipped through some shows before landing on Modern Family.
It was one of the few TV shows Darla was familiar with, and she was thrilled to see we could stream some episodes.
Somehow we wound up sitting on adjacent cushions, Darla sitting in the middle of the couch with me on one side. As we sat there, I felt a sensation akin to electricity running up and down my body, my skin practically buzzing even though I wasn’t touching Darla.
I glanced at my bodyguard out of the corner of my eye, but she seemed to be engrossed in the show.
Shifting, I crossed my legs, hoping to release the pressure building in my core.
I’d never gotten turned on before simply by sitting next to someone.
Maybe it was the stress? I shifted again and Darla’s head snapped in my direction.
“Do you want me to get you off?”