He told me he’d send someone to take Kieren off me if I reported him.
When he was arrested on a minor drug charge, I thought we were safe for a while.
“We believe Mr. Doyle has been reformed,” the man repeats, as if saying it enough times makes it true.
I know my ex-husband. There is no way he’s been reformed.
“The parole conditions are strict. He has to check in with the parole officer every afternoon.”
“And who’s the parole officer?”
“I am. And I’ll call you if we have any concerns. But like I say, we believe he has been reformed and will integrate into the community given the chance.”
This guy is either naive or stupid. The only community Mark will be integrating with is his thugs in the underworld. And if he has his way, he’ll take Kieren with him. He always boasted about building an empire and getting his son back to run it with him.
“When will he be released? I’d like to appeal.”
I don’t know if you can appeal a decision to parole, but I want to make damn sure Mark stays locked up as long as he can.
“He, ah, he left yesterday.”
My blood goes cold.
He’s already out. Which means he’s already looking for us.
4
DEAN
“Take a seat and the nurse will be with you in a moment.”
“I’m counting on it,” I murmur to the orderly who leads me into the waiting bay.
To say I got my head split open on purpose so I could see Lauren again is a slight exaggeration. But when Aiden got me a good one in a training session last night, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Usually we stitch each other up, and he was surprised when I told him not to.
He shook his head and told me how distracted I’ve been all night, which is the only reason he landed me a good one.
He’s not wrong. The troubled nurse hiding in the rose bushes is all I’ve been able to think about since she popped out of the bushes looking like she wanted to feast on me. Which is fine by me; the feeling’s mutual.
But it’s not just the instant heat between us that I want to explore. I want to know all about her. I want to know why she was skulking around spying on her son and why she seemed so troubled, and I want to know what the hell I can do to make it better.
I see Lauren before she sees me. She’s glancing at her tablet as she enters the room.
“Morning Bo Peep.”
She starts at the sound of my voice, and her mouth pops open in surprise, and her cheeks flare a pretty shade of pink. Then the surprise turns to suspicion, and she narrows her eyes at me.
“What are you doing here? And I told you last night, I wasn’t peeping.”
Damn, she’s beautiful when her eyes flash with anger.
“You’re not Bo Peep because you were peeping. Well, you kind of are. But you lost your sheep, your son, and I think the name suits you.”
She stares at me; obviously not taken with the name I’ve come up with for her.
“I could shorten it to Bo.”
She folds her arms across her chest. “You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”
