“We’re investigating,” he hedged.
“Friday, Addy told me she was going to request a transfer back to the hospital. We had a patient come in with a GI bleed, likely an obstruction. Jerrold Sommerstone, Addy and I stabilized her and sent her to the hospital for surgery.” Her breaths increased.
“After Addy and I got her into the ambulance, Addy said to me, ‘It’s the damn trial.’ She said they were doing a trial on Fridays, and there were a bunch of patients. I told her Lourdes asked me to help with a new stage 2 trial for a drug, Ovarix. Addy said she was already administering the drug to our patients. That afternoon, she said previous notes she wrote were deleted, and Lourdes and Rene claimed it was an anomaly. Later that afternoon, Addy refused to leave notes blank for three nursing home patients about drawing blood. God, Kip, she refused, but I did it. Jerrold, he….” She buried her head in her hands.
“Come here, sweetheart.” He extended his arm. “Jerrold threatened to hurt you.”
She shuddered. “How did you know?”
“A guess,” he hedged again.
“He threatened to ruin my career. He said he’d tell everyone I stole narcotics and treated patients impaired. No one would believe me.”
“He did more than that.” Kip pulled her against him. “I saw the bruises on your wrist the day of your accident.”
Her lip wobbled. “He grabbed me.” She sniffled and looked over his head.
Kip let it go. He knew there was more, but he didn’t want to push her. “Tell me about the binders.” He tried to direct her racing thoughts.
“When I went to get my stuff to go home, Addy called me. She wanted me to go into her locker and take a binder. I had the same one. Colvin Hellman, the rep from Ovax, told me not to take it out of the office. I put mine and Addy’s in my bag. When I got home, I got called back because of the fire. My bag was sitting in my room.”
Harper lifted one binder, and a piece of paper fell out. She pushed up and stared at Kip’s face. “You can’t think they’d hurt her?”
“People are capable of a lot when pushed.” Kip hugged her. “What’s that?”
With shaking hands, Harper unfolded the paper and read, “Oh, God. It’s a list of patients who had GI issues.”
Kip took the papers from her, picked up his phone, and texted Josh. A knock on the door followed within minutes. Harper jumped off the bed. “I’ll get it.”
Handing the list to Josh, he asked, “Scan this and ask Tech to run down their current health status. After tonight’s meeting, take tomorrow off.”
“I’ll advise Bravo Two to arrange cover. Goodnight, Harper. Boss, see you at the meeting.” Josh left, closing the door behind him.
That list confirmed to him Adelaide was the intended victim. His pulse began to race. He also knew Harper was an intended victim as well.
Kip patted the bed. “Sweetheart, no more worries tonight unless it’s whether you want ice cream or popcorn to watch a movie with me.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Today, at the hospital, I wanted to put you over my shoulder and run you out of there. I know that’s a chauvinistic thought. Especially considering how brave you were.”
Harper blushed. “I don’t mind a comment like that coming from you. I understand, I think. Besides, I wanted to drag you out of there too.” She smiled and kissed him in return.
Pulling back, he brushed his thumb along her full bottom lip. His chest heaved, filling with desire. “Harper, I…I need to get up. I want you so much… If I don’t stop now…”
“What if I don’t want you to stop?” she whispered.
He pressed his forehead to hers. “You had an emotional couple of days. This is a big decision.”
“I did. We did. I almost blew my chance at being with you because of teenage fears and… Kip, you’re asking me to reconsider… It’s not because I’m big?”
His expression turned dark. “Oh, Harper, you’re beautiful. I want you.”
Their gazes locked. “I want you too. But you need to rest and heal.”
Kip’s head fell back against the pillow, a low throaty growl escaping from his lips. A look of sad acceptance filled his face. “What do you want to watch?”
Chapter 25
As Harper slept soundly in his bed, Kip smiled and pulled on a fresh shirt. Popping two Tylenol to combat the pain in his shoulder and calf, he grabbed the binders and hobbled into his office.
“How are you feeling?” Ian asked.
