Reese had told me that she bumped into Pines the night she snuck into his office and found those documents. She tried to downplay that interaction, but my instinct told me he suspected her of something more profound than mistaking his office for the bathroom.
I gritted my teeth. The idea of her being in danger rattled my chest in a way that hadn’t happened in a very long time. What I loathed, even more, was the fact that I was sending Chance back to Texas instead of going myself. I trusted my brother with my life, and yes, my mate, but I wanted to be close to her.
“I’ll take care of her, brother.”
I nodded and pulled him in for a hug before walking away. The sooner I got this pack business over and dealt with, the sooner I could get back to my mate.
CHAPTER9
Reese
“Reese, I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” Emily, one of the night shift nurses, said as I approached the nurses’ station to sign in for my volunteer hours.
With a frown, I picked up the pen and signed the open binder. “Why not? It’s Friday, and the residents have our monthly movie night,” I reminded her.
Emily stood from her computer and started to say something, but the phone rang. “Nothing. Just something Dr. Pines said. I have to get this.”
I gave her one last look before pointing over my shoulder, gesturing toward the hallway where the public lounge and television room were for the residents. Emily nodded, permitting me to head to the room to set up. It was close to seven p.m., and the residents were just finishing up dinner.
I proudly displayed my volunteer badge over the left breast pocket of the pink scrubs I’d worn for work, letting some of the staff who weren’t familiar with me know I was there with approval from the nurses’ station.
“How’re we doing tonight, Ms. Anderson?” I asked as I walked through the door to her room.
The wrinkles at the edges of her eyes creased deeply as she smiled. “I was hoping you’d skip out on us tonight.”
I planted my fists against my hips. “Why would you want me to ditch you on movie night of all nights?”
Her eyes sparkled in mischief. “I thought by some miracle you would decide to go out on a date.”
My body stiffened, and images of Chael in my home, hovering over me in my bed, came to mind. That heated sensation that I’d come to associate with everything Chael Nightwolf started to ignite in my belly. Every time I thought of him, that same feeling welled up in me. It was like I lost all control of my body’s functioning and reactions when it came to him.
Too bad I hadn’t heard anything from him since the morning after he left my house. One text. That was all I received, something about him and an early morning meeting.
I pushed thoughts of him down, deep down below the surface where they belonged.
“I do have a date,” I told Ms. Anderson. “A date with a few of my favorite Creekview residents and whatever movie you all decide to pick for the night.” One of the nursing home’s staff came in to help get Ms. Anderson into her wheelchair to roll her to the lounge.
By the time we arrived, three other residents were already present with one other staff member.
“We need popcorn,” I said, looking between the residents. Only two of them were able to respond verbally. The other two residents were in a pretty advanced stage of dementia and, therefore, nonverbal. “First,” I started, “we need to choose a movie.”
“What is going on here?”
At the door stood a red-faced Dr. Pines glaring my way. My heart rate increased slightly, and I tried to think back to anything I could’ve done wrong. I signed in and knew it was Friday which was one of my regular nights to volunteer.
“Dr. Pines, what’s the matter?”
“You’re not supposed to be in here.”
I glanced around at the rest of the staff, but they all fell silent. Most of the employees were part-time workers and wouldn’t challenge anything Dr. Pines said.
“I cleared the room time weeks ago,” I told him, knowing that I always cleared the use of the lounge well in advance for our monthly movie nights.
“No.” He charged in my direction, and I braced myself. “Youare not supposed to be here. I told the staff not to let you in.”
“Me?” I screeched unbelievingly. “What did I do?” I demanded to know when he tried to grab my arm.
I pulled away from him, fuming. Who the hell did he think he was?
