Chapter Twelve
Hazel looked around the empty nurse’s station. Now was her moment. She quickly sat down at one of the computers and brought up the patient files with the names that Doc had reeled off the other day. She checked them one by one, her stomach sinking as she reviewed each file. Dr. Rawlins had signed off on every file, which wasn’t so unusual. Since he was the staff cardiologist and everyone in question was elderly, he would have been consulted. These patients all either had heart issues or they were being operated on and their doctors wanted to make sure they were going to make it off the table.
But some of them didn’t. Two, in fact, did not make it off the table. The other three died from complications. Were they all victims of Dr. Rawlins? What did he have to gain by their deaths?
“Kincaid,” Dr. Rawlins growled as he approached the desk.
Hazel jumped about a foot off her chair. “Dr. Rawlins! I didn’t see you there. Can I help you?” She tried to look calm, but she was sure guilt was written all over her face. Her heart was pounding, and her palms had gone slick with sweat. Did he know that she’d been checking up on him? Is that why he was there?
Dr. Rawlins glared at her, his eyes narrowing. “Where is Mrs. Mancuso’s chart? It should be by her door, and it’s not. How am I supposed to treat her properly if I don’t have the chart?”
“Er, it was there.” Hazel frowned. “I can go look for it. I can’t imagine what happened to it.”
“Nor can I,” he fumed. “Thanks to you, that head nurse reported me to Dr. Klein, and now I’m under review. Don’t think I’m going to forget this. I will make you pay. I will report you for the missing chart, and that’s only the beginning.” He leaned across the desk, his gaze menacing. “I’m going to make your life a living hell.”
Hazel swallowed hard. This guy was scary. It wasn’t her fault he’d screwed up one of his patient’s meds, but he blamed her. He really could make life miserable for her. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, when the sound of footsteps reached their ears at the same time, and Dr. Rawlins took off down the hallway.
“Hazel,” Paul Bryson said as he approached the desk, “how are you?”
“Er, fine, I guess.” Her hands were shaking. She inhaled sharply to regain her equilibrium. “I-I-I didn’t realize you were on shift tonight, Dr. Bryson.” she said in an overly bright voice.
“It’s Paul, please.” His smile grew. “Yes, I’m working today. Lots of surgeries. How’s everything since the fire? I don’t think we’ve caught up since then.”
“Oh, okay.” She tried to smile but failed. Things weren’t okay. They were horrible. Jory was mad at her, and she’d hurt Aiden. Now some psycho doctor wanted to make her life a living hell. Last night, she’d been so happy. Today, she was a mess. She cleared her throat. “How’s Mrs. Josephs?”
He frowned at her. “I’m sorry, who?”
“Mrs. Josephs? Remember the woman from the fire. You said you would keep an eye on her for me.”
“Oh, right. I’m sorry. I’ve been slammed recently. She was doing fine last time I checked.” He leaned on the counter at the nurse’s station. “Any big plans for the weekend?”
Aside from moving back home with her mother? “Ah, no. Just going to rest up. Been a hectic week.” Which was true but, really, she was just emotionally exhausted.
“That’s right. You’ve been doing extra shifts this week and worked late with Dr. Lawrence last night.” He smiled. “You deserve the weekend off then. Any chance I can convince you to join me for dinner tomorrow night?”
She blinked. Oh, God. The last thing she wanted was dinner with a doctor. Actually, any man that wasn’t Aiden was a no-go at the moment. “Um, thanks for the invite, but I really think I’ll have a quiet weekend in.”
He smiled at her. “I understand completely. Maybe brunch on Sunday?”
She was trying to think of another excuse when his name was paged over the loudspeaker. “Um, I think someone is looking for you.”
He frowned. “So they are.” He gave her a tight smile and laid the chart he’d been carrying down on the counter. “Think about it. I’ll call you.” He turned and moved off down the hallway.
Hazel’s shoulders sagged with relief. She glanced at the chart. It was Mrs. Mancuso’s. Of course.
Kerry approached the desk and nodded toward Dr. Bryson’s retreating back. “You escaped that one by the skin of your teeth.”
She glanced at her boss and nodded. “I know. He gave me a lift home in the rain last weekend, and since then, I’ve been trying to avoid him. I know Viv thinks he’s great, but I’m not so sure.”
“Girl, you do not want to have anything to do with that man. He just gives me the creeps. Take it from someone who’s been around the block a few times. There is something off about him.” She sat down and started doing paperwork.
She wouldn’t have gone that far about Paul Bryson, but she still didn’t want to date him. She wanted to date Aiden, but that was off the table. She’d seen the hurt in his eyes when she’d told him that being with him had been a mistake. She didn’t mean it. She would take it back if she could, but it was too late.
And Jory was hurt because he thought she’d chosen Aiden over him. She hadn’t. Jory needed to realize she wasn’t that lost girl anymore. She was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions. Or so she thought. Hadn’t she caved immediately when Jory yelled at her? Granted, she didn’t leave with him, but she did feel guilty. Really guilty. She’d hurt her brother and she didn’t mean to, but Aiden was just everything she’d ever wanted. And she’d fucked that up too.
She’d spent so much time getting to know him over the last two years. Beyond her teenage infatuation, she’d come to admire and respect the real Aiden, the one he sort of kept hidden. The strong man whose laugh made her knees weak. The man who listened when she spoke and didn’t dismiss any of her ideas. The man that made her feel safe and—oh, my God—the sex had been out of this world.
Her brain ricocheted back to the present. She’d promised Aiden she would talk to Phoenix today. In all the mess of the morning, she’d completely forgotten. She glanced at her watch. It was almost shift change. She grabbed her cell and called her mom. “Do you have Phoenix’s number? I need to talk to him about something, and I don’t want to wait until he’s back in the office tomorrow.”
“I have it in my phone. Let me put you on speaker.” There was a short silence and then her mom came back on the line. “How are you feeling now?”
“Um, okay, I guess.”
“I know it’s hard, honey. Jory is just doing what he thinks is necessary to keep you safe. He’ll settle down in a bit. I admit, you and Aiden could have done a better job of breaking it to him, though.”
She cringed. She’d been so upset this morning when she arrived at her mom’s that she’d told her the whole story. Mom had been staunchly supportive. It didn’t hurt that she was sure she saw the police chief sneaking out just after she’d arrived. So, she was pretty sure her mom was in the same boat. And wasn’t that a weird thought?
“I screwed up, Mom. I should have told Jory sooner. I should have also told Aiden the truth about…everything. But I didn’t, and now I have to live with the consequences.”
“Don’t beat yourself up too much, honey. It will all work itself out.” Her mom got silent for a second and then, “Ha! Found it. I’ll send it to you.”
“Thanks, Mom. Gotta go.” She hung up as the text from her mother came in. She dialed Phoenix’s number.
“Hello.” Phoenix’s deep voice resonated on the other end.
“Hey, Phoenix, it’s Hazel. I, um, was wondering if you had a minute to meet me for coffee? I have something I want to discuss with you.”
There was a pause. “How does twenty minutes at the diner sound?”
She glanced at her watch. She would just make it if her replacement arrived on time. Hearing the sound of someone walking, she glanced up. Natalia was walking down the hallway. She gave Hazel a wave before she headed into the locker room.
“That sounds perfect. See you then.”
As good as her word, twenty minutes later, Hazel walked into the diner.
Phoenix was already sitting in a booth at the back. “Hey, Hazel,” he said and stood until she was seated. “How are things?”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
Donna, the waitress, came by with the coffee pot and some mugs. Hazel gratefully accepted the hot brew. “Hey, Donna, how are you?”
“Good, honey. How you been?” she asked as she used her pencil to scratch her dyed blond bun. Donna had worked at the diner longer than Hazel had been alive. “It’s been ages since you been by.”
“I know. Work is keeping me pretty busy.”
Donna patted her on the back. “We’re all so proud of you. Goin’ back to school and making a career for yourself, but we do miss you ’round here. Chet just pulled some fresh chocolate chip cookies out of the oven for tomorrow morning. How about I grab you guys one?”
“That would be wonderful,” Hazel said, and she meant it with every fiber of her being. Chet’s chocolate chip cookies were simply divine. Donna winked and walked behind the counter.
“I’d forgotten you used to work here.” Phoenix took a sip of coffee.
“Yeah. It wasn’t the best time in my life, but the people here are great. I miss them.”
He nodded. “So, what’s up?” he asked, his green eyes showing concern.
Why couldn’t she have fallen for Phoenix? Jory would have liked that. “Um, what? Oh, right. Well, I wanted to talk to you about the fires. I think I might know who is setting them.” She went on to tell Phoenix her theory while he listened intently.
Donna came by and dropped off the cookies and refilled Hazel’s cup. She was exhausted. Caffeine was the only thing keeping her eyes open.
When Donna asked if they wanted anything else, Phoenix shook his head. Once she was out of earshot, he said, “You may be right. I’ve been wondering about him myself.”
“Where’s his father?” she asked, then took a sip of coffee.
“Prison. He went down four months ago for aggravated assault. It happened in the next county over, so we didn’t hear about it.”
She bit her lip. “I feel so badly for Tommy. He just can’t catch a break.”
“No,” Phoenix agreed, “he can’t. But it’s not an excuse to light fires.”
“Why isn’t he in foster care or something? I would have thought child protective services would have stepped in.”
“He’s seventeen. They had no idea he existed, and when I called them, they said that by the time they get him in and processed, he’ll be eighteen. He just fell through the cracks.”
“It breaks my heart.”
Phoenix nodded. “I will go talk to him in the morning. Was there anything else?”
She hesitated and then nodded. She told him about Doc’s theory about the deaths and about Dr. Rawlins being the one that saw all the patients. This time he was less inclined to listen to her. “Hazel, stay out of it. This is not something for you or Doc Lawrence to get involved in. You need to steer clear on this one.” He glared at her until she nodded. “Promise me.”
What was it with men demanding she promise them shit? When she sighed, he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Okay, okay, I promise.”
He leaned back in the booth. “Is there anything else?”
She bit her lip. She’d promised Aiden. Even if she hurt him, at least she could keep her word. “I think I was being watched last night.”
Phoenix blinked and leaned forward in the booth, clasping his hands on the table. “Tell me about it.”
She explained about the feeling of being watched through the window and then having the headlights behind her all the way home.
“Did you tell anyone where you would be?”
She shook her head. “No. As a matter of fact, Doc sent me a text when I was in the parking lot. I was about to go home and crash. I worked a lot of extra hours this week. Doc asked if I could spare some time for him. It was a last-minute thing.”
Phoenix stared at her for a moment. “Please be very careful, Hazel. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I don’t like the sound of it. Go home. Is Aiden there tonight or at the firehouse?”
She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Um, Aiden is at the firehouse, but I moved back to my mom’s.” He had to be the only person in town who didn’t know that by now.
He frowned. “Okay, I already have a patrol car driving by your mom’s house a few times tonight. When you leave here, I want you to go directly to your mom’s. Lock the doors and keep your phone beside you. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’ll do my best to find out. In the meantime, tell Jory and Aiden to keep an eye on you. Tell them I said it’s important.”
“You’re kind of freaking me out, Phoenix.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Hazel. There’s just a lot going on lately, and I want to make sure you’re safe.”
She nodded. Now, she was totally wound up about all this. She was thrown by his response. She’d thought he would dismiss her as being silly. Shit. She wished she was back at Aiden’s. She always felt safe when she was with him.