Rose: I just can’t do it this weekend. I’m going to be late for work.
Hunter: I hope you’re not playing with my feelings and stringing me along. I hope you are who you say you are.
Olivia took another sip of coffee. “Okay, buddy, this is just getting too damn creepy and ominous.”
Rose: Gotta go. Later.
Olivia signed out of the site then closed the lid of her laptop. She was done; she had enough data to finish her paper. Olivia glanced at the time and gulped the rest of her coffee. If she didn’t get a move on, she’d be late and Dr. Canty would be yelling up a storm if she wasn’t there when his seven thirty patient came in.
Twenty minutes later, Olivia pushed open the door and hurried to the employee’s room to throw her purse and sweater into her locker before taking her position behind the reception desk. At exactly 7:29 a.m., Dr. Canty strolled into the area, and Olivia threw him a sweet smile when she saw the look of disappointment crossing his face upon seeing her.
“When did you get in?” A twinge of annoyance laced his voice.
“A few minutes ago. How about you?” She pulled out the daily sign-up sheet and placed it on the counter.
“What difference does that make? I’m the professional, not you.” He leaned against the desk and stared at her.
“I was just making conversation,” she replied.
Dr. Canty didn’t respond, he just continued to stare, and Olivia ignored him, refusing to play into his juvenile intimidation tactics. When the door chimed, she glanced up from the computer screen, glad that the first patient had arrived only a few minutes late.
“Good morning, Mrs. Jurist. How are you?” Olivia pushed the sign-up sheet toward the older woman.
“Very good, thank you. You’re always such a ray of sunshine with that warm smile of yours,” she responded as she picked up a pen.
Olivia heard Dr. Canty sigh then walk out of the room. Good. She looked up at Mrs. Jurist. Ivy will come get you in a minute. Would you like a glass of water?”
The woman shook her head, a small smile brushing across her lips. “If I have any water before my teeth cleaning, I’ll have to go to the bathroom.”
Olivia smiled then looked up as both Dr. Linney and Dr. Mitchell walked in, each holding a cup of store-bought coffee in their hands.
“Hi, Thelma,” Dr. Linney said to the older woman. “I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”
“Hello, Doctor. Take your time.” Mrs. Jurist focused her attention back to the magazine she held.
“Olivia, I have a patient who may go over a bit tonight. Can you stay?” Dr. Mitchell asked.
She nodded. “I’m staying for Dr. Linney’s late patient anyway.”
“Thanks,” he said as he walked through the door, then headed toward his office.
“I’m sorry to keep you late again tonight,” Dr. Linney said. “I asked Janelle if she could come in and cover, but she wasn’t available.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m good. I know Janelle has another job on her days away from the clinic like I do, so it’s all cool. What time do you think we’ll be done?”
“If Charles Piper’s on time, then around six thirty, but no later than seven o’clock. I’m not sure what time Dr. Mitchell will be done.”
“I’ll ask him, but that should work,” Olivia said, even though dread wove through her. She’d forgotten to bring home the reading test materials the day before, and now she had to go back to the school after work. No one else had the key to her desk but her, so there was really no choice. Olivia had hoped she could’ve left no later than six o’clock that night, but the clinic always seemed to have late-night appointments.
“Hey, Olivia,” Ivy said as she scurried into the reception area and looked over Olivia’s shoulder at the screen. “Seems like we’re busy all day.”
“And night. I have to stay until seven.” Olivia craned her neck and looked up at Ivy.
“Ugh … that sucks. The dentists should really get someone else to help. One receptionist isn’t enough. Janelle is always swamped and working late on the days she comes in, and so are you.” She glanced toward the hallway. “They’re just cheap,” she whispered.
Olivia giggled. “I really don’t mind because I make more money, but I have to go back to Slavens and pick up some stuff I forgot, and I hate going there that late. I know the custodian will be there, but I still get the heebie-jeebies. I need to do some things to prepare for the standardized reading tests the students are taking tomorrow.”
“Why don’t you ask Animal to go with you?”
“That’s a good idea—I think I will.”
“You guys still going strong? I mean, any man who surprises you with window treatments for your whole house is a definite keeper, outlaw biker notwithstanding.”
Olivia laughed. “I keep running around the house like a wacko opening and closing all the shades and shutters. It’s so awesome but also pathetic.” Animal’s rugged face flashed through her mind, and she felt a rush of love. “I still can’t believe he actually went into that store. It’s not really the type of place he’d ever go into.”
“That was just so sweet of him. I better get back to work.” Ivy smiled as she walked into the lobby area. “Thelma Jurist,” she said before escorting the older woman to one of the rooms down the hall.
The morning flew by in a blur of paperwork, phone calls, and patient check-ins, and by lunch hour, Olivia couldn’t wait to go outside and bask in the sunlight while she called Animal. She grabbed her purse and snuck away before any of the dentists or hygienists thwarted her plans.
Miner’s Square was half a block away from the building and right in the center of the business district. Surrounded by banks, small restaurants, and Victorian architecture, this was one of Olivia’s favorite places in town. Benches lined the brick sidewalks, and sprawling oak trees provided ample shade during the day. A large bronze statute of a miner panning for gold stood in the middle of the square.
Olivia plopped down on one of the benches and pulled out her cellphone while balancing a hotdog in her other hand. She took a big bite, wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin then had a sip of Coke before tapping in Animal’s number.
“You must’ve read my mind, baby. I was just ready to call you,” he said.
“I’m sitting in Miner’s Square eating a hotdog I bought from one of the carts, and wishing you were here with me, sweetie.”
“Me too. I’m stuck repairing a fuckin’ garbage disposal because one of the guys called off this morning. Let’s get together for dinner.”
“I’d love to, but it’ll have to be later. We have some patients coming in late tonight, so I won’t get done until around seven. I need to go to Slavens to get some stuff I forgot to take home yesterday. Can you come with me? I don’t like going there that late.”
“Sure—I don’t want you going there at night. I’ll get Jada to stay with Lucy, and I’ll follow you there. I’ve got your back, babe … always. Have you heard from that fucker?”
“Yeah. He contacted me this morning before I left for work. He’s trying to get me to meet with him this weekend. Are you sure it’s him?”
“Damn straight. I talked to my mom this morning, and she remembered he used that fucking expression ‘my sweet.’ I recalled seeing that when I was reading the messages that morning at your place.”
“It is the same guy,” she whispered, shivering despite the heat. “I can’t believe it.”
“And I’m pretty sure he’s the fucker who’s been doing all the murders in our county and some of the neighboring ones. Shadow and I talked for a long time this morning and he’s up on all that shit. Anyway, he’s convinced—so am I—that this Hunter bastard is that fucking serial killer.”
“I was thinking that may be the case this morning. Oh crap … this is scary as hell. I have to call the police.”
“Not yet. Badges just complicate shit. The MC can take care of it, but it’ll mean you making a date with the SOB. I’l
l be there the whole time, along with several of the brothers. Are you up for it?”
“Yes,” she blurted out without thinking. “He has to be stopped.”
“I doubt that he’s using his real name, but Hawk’s real good with computers—he’s our IT guy. He wants to see if he can figure out this guy’s IP address.”
“Maybe he’s using a blocker like I do.”
“Probably is, but Hawk wants to try it out. Can you spare your laptop being outta commission for a week or so?”
“It’s fine. I back everything up on an external hard drive so I can use my older laptop to finish up what I need for teaching and my psych class. I need to tell Dr. Davison about all this.”
“Don’t tell anyone anything,” Animal replied.
“There’s no way Dr. Davison’s involved in this, or anyone I know.”
“It’s just better not to tell people your business. Anyway, the club doesn’t want anyone knowing what’s going down.”
“The chance of me knowing this horrible bastard is so slim.”
“Agreed, but still … no one. Okay, babe?”
“Yes, I promise. Did your mom tell you what Hunter looked like? I know you told me last night that she was just too freaked and shocked by everything to remember, but maybe now?”
“I’m swinging by the house after I get two jobs finished. She told me her memory is getting clearer. I’ll arrange for an installation of an alarm system at your house.”
Olivia took a sip of her soda. “I can’t afford that.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Animal, you’ve done enough for me already, and I’m starting to feel guilty. You put in all the window coverings, you made sure I didn’t pay anything for the car repair, and now this? I can’t accept it.”
“What’s the fucking problem? You’re my woman and I want to take care of you. I’m not gonna worry about you when we’re not together just because you can’t afford a security system. Fuck that. I’ll get it installed.”
From the tone of his voice, she knew that discussion was over.
“I wish you were here right now, baby. I’d kiss you real good then shove my finger into your wet pussy.”
Her cheeks heated and she glanced around the area then took another sip of Coke. “The dirty things you say get me going.” She squirmed in her seat.
“And just thinking about you, hearing your voice, and remembering how sweet you taste, turns me the fuck on, baby. I want you to stay the night so fuckin’ bad.”
“Me too. Will Lucy be okay with that?”
“Yeah—she’s cool. She knows we’re going out, remember?”
“I know you told me that, but sleeping over is different and kind of a big deal.”
“If you make a breakfast without eggs and bacon, she’ll be good.” Animal chuckled. “Lucy’s cool. She really likes you and the therapy is helping her a lot.”
“I’m so glad. Doesn’t she like eggs or bacon?”
“She does but she’s fuckin’ sick of them ’cause that’s all I know how to make.”
“Then I’ll make her homemade pancakes with link sausages.”
“Okay, but I’m just warning you that she’ll never let you leave.” He laughed.
“Sounds good to me.” The minute the words flew out of her mouth, she stiffened. Even though she and Animal had professed their love to each other, it didn’t mean that they were going to live together, or even take their relationship to a higher level.
“Yeah, well … I gotta get going. I’ll come to the clinic before seven.”
Olivia’s heart sank. I shouldn’t have said that. “I’ll see you then. Good luck with the installation.”
She tucked the phone back into her purse and slowly finished her lunch. Animal was the perfect complement to her personality, and she wanted to be a part of his life for a long time—maybe even forever. He was a biker through and through, and she highly doubted that he wanted anyone to wear his patch. But I’m not anyone—I’m his woman. For fuck’s sake, he furnished my house with shutters and shades. Who does that? Olivia crumpled up the paper hotdog carrier in her hand. I’m being silly. I know he loves me, and what the hell do I want anyway? I love living alone and being free. But when she thought about wearing his patch, a thousand tiny tingles shot through her body. Olivia stood up from the bench and threw the remnants of her lunch in the trash. She didn’t have to think about any of that now.
Glancing at the clock on one of the buildings facing the square, she smiled: only six hours to go until she could fall into his arms and kiss him. Olivia slipped her purse strap over her shoulder and strode back to the office.
The afternoon proved to be as busy as the morning, and Olivia didn’t have a chance to think about anything but insurance claims, appointments, patients, and a whole slew of other work-related things. When the clock hit five thirty, the door chime made her turn around from the filing cabinet and meet the cool stare of Marcus Thurber. What the hell is he doing here?
“Don’t look so surprised, Olivia,” Thurber said as he leaned against the counter, picked up a pen, and signed the sheet.
“I didn’t know you had an appointment.” She looked at the screen. “I can’t seem to find your name. Who are you supposed to see?”
“I’m a walk-in.” His brown eyes bored into her.
“We don’t do walk-ins. Don’t you have a dentist you go to?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be here.” His gaze pierced her, and her heart raced.
“Let me see if someone can squeeze you in. What’re you having problems with?” Why the hell are you here? This is too weird.
“My tooth hurts.” He smiled. “Do you like working here?”
“Yes. I’ll be right back.” Olivia leaped from the chair and dashed down the hall toward Dr. Linney’s office. There was no way she was going to ask grumpy Dr. Canty if he’d take a look at a last minute patient. She knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
When she walked in, Dr. Linney smiled.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but there’s a guy—actually he’s a teacher at my school.” She paused and took a breath. “Anyway, he wants to see a dentist because he has a toothache. I know we don’t do walk-ins, but I thought I’d ask if you or maybe Dr. Mitchell can look at him.”
“Maybe Dr. Canty can. I’ve got two patients that’ll be here soon, remember?”
“I do, but maybe after them?”
Dr. Linney shook his head. “Don’t you want to go home tonight?”
Olivia chuckled. “I do.”
“Dr. Mitchell has a late-night patient as well. Ask Dr. Canty—he may be able to help out. If not, tell your friend to buy an over-the-counter pain medication for toothaches and to make an appointment for tomorrow after five. I’ll squeeze him in.”
“I’ll go ahead and do that. Thanks.” Olivia walked out of the room and stopped in the hall, hesitating about whether to approach Dr. Canty or not. Deciding that she didn’t need his sarcasm or creepiness, she walked back to the reception area to make an appointment for Thurber for the following day.
When Olivia returned, the only one in the room was Mr. Dyer—Dr. Mitchell’s appointment. She crossed the room and opened the door then looked down the hall, but Thurber was nowhere in sight. Figuring he stepped out to use the restroom, she went back to the desk and resumed what she was doing.
After fifteen minutes Marcus Thurber still hadn’t returned, and Olivia walked over to the window overlooking the parking lot and peered out, scanning the area for the teacher’s car. It wasn’t there. That’s strange.
“When you came into the office, was anyone in here?” she asked Mr. Dyer as she gestured around the room.
“No. I was the only one.”
“How about in the hallway when you were coming to the room?”
“Nope. Why … did you lose someone?” The man chuckled.
She smiled. “I think so.”
“Maybe he changed his mind. No one likes going to the d
entist.” Another chuckle.
“Good point.” Olivia turned back to the parking lot and saw a car that looked like Brady Sickles’s vehicle. What the hell? Is this too strange or what? It seemed that all of a sudden her other life was crashing into this one. Ivy. I bet the asshole’s waiting for Ivy to come out. Brady had still been calling and texting Ivy ever since she broke up with him after finding out he was married. The gym teacher also had the gall to try and approach Olivia at school so she’d relay messages to Ivy. One thing the dirtbag hadn’t done was show up at her house again. She chuckled at the memory of Animal removing Sickles from her property.
Looking back at the car, Sickles just sat there staring at the window. She was pretty sure he saw her, but Olivia didn’t care. If he started anything, she’d call the police in a second. Ivy had left an hour earlier due to a doctor’s appointment, and now Olivia was so happy that her friend wasn’t at the office.
It seemed that the minutes crawled by, and she was bursting at the seams to get out of there and see Animal. Olivia glanced at the stack of files she needed to copy for Dr. Mitchell and took out the metal desk bell and put it on the counter. The last two patients hadn’t arrived yet, and she wanted to finish with the copying as soon as possible.
She ducked inside the room then placed a stack of insurance claims into the copier’s automatic feeder. Olivia kept her ears pricked for the sound of the bell as she worked. An eerie feeling held her as she stared at the last six files. The bell hadn’t chimed, but maybe the patients were late or blew off their appointments.
Olivia gripped the sides of the table and arched, stretching out her back. For some reason she couldn’t shake the sense of impending doom which niggled at her. Instead of putting more documents into the feeder once the copy machine stopped, she listened, straining to hear any voices or movement in the office. The clinic was silent. The only sound was her own heavy breathing.
“I’m being paranoid,” she whispered out loud as the anxiety inside her mounted.
Quickly Olivia picked up the remaining files and held them in her shaking hands, debating whether to finish the job or get out of there. She couldn’t figure out why she was so jumpy and edgy, and certain that something bad was about to happen.
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