“Chance and I. We went after you and I had lunch, and you told me what you discovered on his desk.” He paused and ran a hand through his hair.
“This proves he’s up to something, right? We need to call the police and tell them—”
“No,” Chael bellowed.
I stiffened at the directive in his tone.
“This is beyond any matter that a local or state police can handle. Besides, they wouldn’t look into anything about this over a few pictures of nothing.”
With a gesture toward the screen, I said, “But my dream…” I trailed off because I recognized how that sounded. Of course, no law enforcement agency worth their weight would believe me because I had a dream and saw a picture. Ms. Elsie and other members of Chael’s pack might think I was a seer, but I knew the police never would.
But my dream meant something. It’d rattled me too much since the night I had it.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” I told Chael. “I… that dream felt so real.” So many of my dreams did.
“Neither do I.” Chael turned his copper eyes on me, but I couldn’t read the emotions streaming through his gaze. He shuddered his eyelids, and the varied emotions were gone, replaced by a stern resolve. A resolve for what I couldn’t tell, however.
He cupped my face, stroking his thumb over my cheek. I leaned into the comfort of his touch. He leaned in and ran his lips across my forehead, making my body shiver. Though he didn’t say anything, it felt as if he were making a silent vow.
“We have to get him away from those residents. And from any other patient.” If Dr. Pines did this, whatever it was, in the previous nursing homes he worked in, the chance of him moving on and doing it again was high. Those who got away with hurting others didn’t quit of their own volition. Someone had to make them stop.
“File everything you found on Pines and send it to me,” Chael told Christophe, then he turned to me. “We’ll work first on getting Pines removed from Creekview and banned from working at any nursing home or near any patients for now.”
“And what about the residents? They’ll need a doctor.”
He nodded. “We’ll ensure they’ll get a doctor and one who will take care of their needs and not hurt them.”
“How?” I asked. The pictures of Dr. Pines’s basement started to stir up the guilt I’d felt over the past two weeks I’d been staying with Chael’s pack. A piece of me felt as if I’d abandoned Ms. Anderson and the other residents at Creekview. Who was there for the social aspect of their care? Who made them laugh and smile when the days felt long and lonely?
Who was there to sneak Ms. Anderson chocolate when she hadn’t eaten much of her dinner?
“I’ll take care of it,” Chael assured.
My gut reaction was to believe him. He’s said it with such assurance, and just by looking him in his eyes, I could feel myself thinking he was capable of fixing any problem I came across.
But I hesitated. I couldn’t let my feelings run wild into the abyss of my imagination. Hell, I’d halfway started to believe I was some sort ofseerbecause of a few dreams and well-placed guesses.
I shook my head. “Okay. But, once Dr. Pines is gone, I need to get back to Texas to check on the residents at Creekview. With my own eyes,” I added emphasis to my last comment.
Chael’s face hardened, and he lowered his hand, which had still been cupping my face. “No.” He folded his arms across his chest.
The order in his voice almost made me want to acquiesce. Then I glanced at the picture that remained on Christophe’s computer screen and remembered my dream. I refused to back down.
“I’m going back to Texas,” I said. That was something I had to do.
“Like hell you are,” he replied with finality.
We were at a stalemate because I wasn’t budging.
* * *
Chael
How quickly we had gone from kissing and me ready to kick everyone out of our damn house so I could make her come in every single room, to locking horns on whether or not she would go back to Texas.
The answer was a deep, resounding hell no. But I was quickly learning that though my mate may, at first, come across as slightly meek and shy, she had a backbone made of steel. Particularly when it came to taking care of the people she loved. Another reason why she was perfect for me.
Yet, it didn’t always serve me when she used that cute stubbornness to go against me.
