Smolder

by Graylin Fox

  “I had the same thought,” I said.

  We sat there comfortably while I checked email. A flower delivery service arrived with an arrangement from Dmitri. It was a beautiful with yellow, red, and orange flowers. The card said “I will always remember you with sunset colors. With Passion, Dmitri.”

  “These are beautiful," I said.

  “You look happy. That is the important part,” she said, her fear ebbing.

  “I am happy.”

  Dmitri stopped by to make sure the flowers arrived. Lee left to find a vase large enough to fit them.

  “Do you like them?” he asked.

  “Yes, they’re beautiful.”

  “So are you." He closed the door behind me and pulled me into a kiss. “I like waking up with you next to me.”

  “I have to say, I enjoyed watching your naked butt walk across the room first thing. Starts a girl’s day off right," I said.

  “How busy are you today?” he asked.

  “Not bad. I am going to follow up with those kids from yesterday, especially that kid in intensive care. If he's not awake yet, maybe I can give his parents someone to talk to.”

  “Am I cooking for two tonight?”

  “Not tonight. I want to talk to Josh about your offer and see how he’s doing. He’s spent a lot of time with a new lady, and my curiosity is piqued.”

  I kissed him guiding him out of the door with a promise to call him tonight and tell him Josh’s decision. Lee returned with a vase, and I transferred the flowers.

  “I’m glad you kept Owen at arm’s length and kept Dmitri,” she said.

  “There wasn’t much of a choice, Lee. Blue eyes and black hair with that accent and butt? I was toast the first day in the parking lot.”

  “The number of female residents and nurses who have tried to capture him in the past five years is on to a hundred. He was always polite about it, but never interested.”

  “He walked up to me bent into my trunk,” I said.

  She laughed. “That explains it. They should’ve backed into him.”

  “There is always the option of dropping something on the floor and bending slowly to pick it up.”

  “That is so obvious though,” she said.

  “Men don’t care.” I laughed.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Josh sent a text that the security company was at the house working on the surveillance equipment. He mentioned they were going to assign pass codes for the feed so only we could view it, and then asked if it was okay to give the codes to Nancy. I texted back that I’d rather he didn’t since he would have a hard time breaking up with someone who had access to them.

  I answered the phone on my desk, and Dmitri asked if I was okay.

  “I’m fine, hon. What is it?”

  “I’m on my way.” And he hung up. As I stared at the phone and Lee raised an eyebrow, Dmitri came down the hallway.

  “That was fast,” Lee said as she got up to leave.

  “Please stay,” Dmitri said.

  Lee sat back down.

  “What has you so worked up?” I asked.

  “The CEO called me. She heard about the confrontation between Mata and me. After watching the security camera feed and then finding out a serial killer’s nephew was on staff.” He paused. “They put Mata on administrative leave.”

  “How did he take it?” I asked.

  “Not well.” His tone was clipped.

  “Explain.” I sighed.

  Dmitri told us Owen stood in the CEO’s office and yelled at her for thirty minutes. He said the hospital wouldn’t be safe without him, and that the local police weren’t capable of protecting me.

  “She said he claimed he couldn’t be held responsible when someone faked their credentials. And when she pointed out the reason she hired a former detective was to address that possibility, he said she expected too much. Her concern was his volatility and her first concern was the hospital and its grounds, not you.”

  “Me?” I asked.

  “It’s why I came down here when I heard.” He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “I was afraid he would run straight here. I don’t trust his temper.”

  “Me either,” Lee said, and she left us alone.

  “Thank you.” I kissed him. “So this is what’s it’s like to have to be a Prince Charming.”

  “I haven’t dated anyone since my divorce. No way an angry cop takes the second woman I’ve fallen for.”

  We stood there wrapped in each other’s arms, grateful to have found someone. I didn’t want to let go.

  “I like this,” I said.

  “I could cancel my surgeries today, and take you to my castle, milady.” He bowed.

  That’s it. I’m his.

  “The best idea I’ve heard in a while. Neither of us is going to walk away from our patients, though.”

  “Your choice,” he said and kissed me.

  Lee came in as Dmitri left.

  “You have a number of people to see this afternoon. I suggest you head to the lounge and get in a good lunch. From the charts I’ve read, you’re going to need your strength.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Security called to say Mata is gone.”

  As much as I hated to admit it, I had to agree with Owen. He may be quick-tempered, but his dedication to the job might mean the difference between someone getting into the hospital who shouldn’t. Even with his hiring of some vigilante cops as his staff, I’d put my money on that group before some of the security guards I’d seen at other hospitals.

  The phone rang, and I picked it up. “Dr. Quinn.”

  “It’s Owen. You heard?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I did. Are you okay?”

  “The fact that you ask me that says I’m not okay enough to do my job. I just got off the phone with the CEO and apologized to her for my outburst. She still has me on a suspension, but I’ll be back a week from Monday. Until then, I’m headed over the police department. The least I can do is brief them on everything I and my team learned before I head to Atlanta for a break.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I said. “I’m glad you are going to be back.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes. I am in a relationship with Dmitri, Owen. This isn’t a personal desire to see you here. I trust you and your team to protect my patients. Hot-headed or not, you’re damn good at your job.”

  I heard him expel a long breath. “Thank you, for the honesty about the relationship and the belief in my skills. I’m a little heartbroken, but I’ve seen the way Dmitri looks at you, and I don’t know any woman who wouldn’t be swayed by that. He’s a good man, Ellie.”

  He hung up the phone, and I took a moment to absorb everything.

  Lee was in the doorway soon after I hung up. “Owen?”

  “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “He’ll take a week off to go to Atlanta and tie up some loose ends before coming back,” I said.

  “His reaction to you and Dmitri?”

  “He gives us his blessing.” I smiled as I said it.

  “You’re impressive.” She laughed and went back to work.

  I headed out to see the kids from the party who hadn’t been discharged. All except the one in intensive care were scheduled to go home today. Each set of parents promised me they would lock up their medications and monitor any prescriptions their children have.

  The prevalence of addicts who were hooked on prescriptions and not the harder street drugs meant that if the parents successfully curbed the kids’ use and used this as a lesson for the entire family, they might prevent that child from becoming addicted to any prescriptions they get later on.

  In the intensive care unit, the child with the allergic reaction had deteriorated overnight. He was on life support until the doctors could figure out what triggered such a severe reaction. The pediatricians pulled in the best allergists in the area and had sent test results to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta just in case.


  His parents sat in the waiting area looking exhausted. They said they couldn’t leave because they promised him if he needed them they would be by his side. Without sleep and too upset to eat anything, they appeared gaunt. I spoke with the doctors, and they assured me the boy was in serious condition, but was stabilized while they looked for their answers.

  There was a strange look shot my way when I asked them to write it down. I handed the paper to the parents suggesting food in the cafeteria to keep their strength up. With the nurses’ promise, and a handshake, to call them if he so much as breathed wrong, they made their way downstairs.

  “The mourning process has started.” Dmitri put his hands on my shoulders, and we watched them cry as they entered the elevator.

  “If anything happens to their son while they’re downstairs, we’ll never get them to leave his room again,” I warned.

  “He’s stable, Ellie,” he assured me. “Has Owen called you yet?”

  I turned to him. “How did you know?”

  “Because I would have called by now if it had been me,” he said.

  “He said the leave is for a week. He’ll go to Atlanta to take care of some things and then come back.”

  “After you.” He choked on the words.

  “No.” I reached up, laying a hand on his. “I made it clear I’m in a relationship with you. He said you’re a good man.”

  He looked surprised. “Well played, Owen.”

  “I think he meant it.” I pinched him.

  He laughed and backed away. “You’re not an easy woman to walk away from, Ellie.”

  I called Dad when I got back to my office.

  “Death threats, security breaches, spending the night out without asking permission, did we teach you nothing?” he asked.

  “I’m a wild child, Dad. Born to be a rebel.”

  It took a few minutes for him to stop laughing. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “I am.”

  “And happy.”

  “That too. Speaking of happy, has Josh told you about his female cop yet?” I asked.

  “He falls in love more than a drunk person trips on the way home,” he said. “Yes, he told me. I’m hoping she lasts, but I’m not sure she can when he falls before he gets to know them.”

  “Says the man who proposed to his wife during a fraternity party.”

  “I was almost sober!”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too, El. Josh told me about Dmitri’s offer. If his place is more secure, I’d rather you stayed there than your place. Please consider it,” he said.

  “I already have. I’m going home to talk to Josh and pack a bag for the weekend. If we make through all of this, you have to come here for the holidays. Christmas here would be beautiful.”

  “The first time we’ve all three been together since just after your mom passed. Get this straightened out, and I’ll be there,” he promised.

  “Bye, Dad.”

  “Bye.”

  I missed him. We used to spend every Sunday together watching sports on his massive television. He played golf every chance he got. I drove the cart on the few occasions I went with him. I was a horrible golfer.

  “Time’s up, Princess.” It was Lee. “Have a nice weekend.”

  I cleaned up the paperwork on my desk and drove home happy. Even at my age, knowing my Dad approved of me moving in with Dmitri for a while made the decision easier. Now, I had to find out what Josh was going to do.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I turned down my street and cop cars sat in my way. “Please don’t let it be my place.”

  I wove around two cars. There was a huge police SUV with ‘K-9 unit’ on the side in my driveway. I gripped the steering wheel as I parked in the street. I didn’t want to get out of the car. If I stayed in it, they couldn’t tell me something happened to my brother. I managed to text Dmitri, asked him to come over. I informed him cop cars filled the streets, and I didn’t know why. He said he’d be there in a minute.

  An officer I didn’t recognize walked up to my car and opened the door. “Dr. Quinn.”

  “If you are going to tell me something happened to my brother, just shoot me,” I said.

  He backed up a step.

  “It’s okay. My boyfriend is a surgeon and should be here in time enough to sew up the holes.” I think I was delirious.

  “Your brother is fine, Doctor.”

  “Thank God,” I said. Tears flowed from my eyes. I lowered my head to the steering wheel.

  “His girlfriend is missing,” he said.

  “Missing?” I left my head on the steering wheel.

  “Someone came by and kidnapped her.”

  I went cold.

  “The nephew?” I asked.

  “We think so. His name is Vince, and the ransom note looks like the same writing we found on your wall the last time I was here.”

  He helped me from the car. I wiped my face with a tissue. I had boxes of them everywhere. Josh was on the porch when I turned to go inside. I ran to him, and he caught me in a bear hug.

  “I thought you were…” I couldn’t finish the thought or sentence.

  “I’m fine. Nancy is missing, and the idiot thinks he has you.”

  He didn’t sound as upset as I was.

  “You almost sound okay with this.” I was shocked.

  “We talked about my moving with you to Dmitri’s for a while. It’s not my style to walk away from a fight. For her, I would do it. She’s different from any woman I’ve dated, El. When I talk about things I know, she doesn’t look surprised that I can put a full thought together.” He sighed. “So when you stayed with Dmitri last night, and we heard Vince was missing, Nancy moved to your bed in case he came after you.”

  “If she had stayed with you, he would’ve left without anyone,” I said. “This is crazy. She is with a copycat. They aren’t as skilled as the original. While Travis might be able to keep her alive long enough for us to find her, this kid could have already killed her by accident.”

  The color on my brother’s face paled, and his expression soured. “I think she knew.”

  “What?”

  “She cried when she left the room last night. When I went to comfort her, she pushed me away and said she knew the risks when she took the job. You know, the same thing we all say when we do something really stupid for work.”

  “Or love.” I held him tighter.

  Arm in arm, we walked to the kitchen. My bedroom had yellow police tape over the door, and it was a mess. The bed sheets and covers were on the floor, and my dresser was empty with the clothes on the bare mattress.

  “Good thing I came by to pack,” I said.

  “I’m coming with you,” he said.

  “You certainly are,” Dmitri said.

  He pulled me out of the chair and wrapped me in his arms. “As soon as the police say we can leave, both of you need to pack everything you can get your hands on and put it in the truck.”

  A man who knew how to take charge in the middle of chaos was just what I needed.

  “He took Nancy,” Josh said. “He wanted Ellie.”

  “She’s perfectly capable of beating his ass,” Dmitri said. “Isn’t she?”

  “I don’t know why she didn’t do it before he got her out of here.”

  “Then we trust she knew what she was doing, and her colleagues here to get her back alive. In the meantime, you two are living with me. I took tomorrow off work and got someone to cover my schedule. Honey, you may want to clear your schedule for Monday and Tuesday just in case, and call Lee and let her know she gets a long weekend.” He excused himself and went to my room to talk to the police.

  “He knows how to take charge, and you didn’t tell him to stop it. Not once.” Josh was surprised.

  “I didn’t hear anything to argue with,” I said.

  “No need to get defensive. I’m with him as well. My room wasn’t torn apart so I’ll go pack a week or two worth of things into my car.”
He smiled as the older policeman and Dmitri returned. “I’ll be outside when you are ready to go.”

  Dmitri sat next to me holding my hand tight under the table. The officer looked exhausted. His eyes were red and swollen.

  “Are you okay, sir?” I asked.

  “She’s a dear friend and a great cop,” he offered. “Now, I suggest you get out of here as soon as we are done and go with Dmitri here. He has given us all of his contact information and the address for his house. We’re pretty sure Vince will hold Nancy for up to two days before he does any fatal damage.”

  My stomach turned as I thought of the wounds on the inmate The Carver tortured. The things that she might have suffered last night flashed through my overactive imagination, and I gasped.

  “She’s very strong and was prepared,” he explained. “We knew he would eventually try to kidnap you. Her presence here was partly for the company of your brother. The other part was to protect you when he did come.”

  Guilt rose inside of me. My stomach started to ache, and I gripped Dmitri’s hand even harder.

  “Did Josh know?” I asked.

  “I think so. She knew if he took her, she might not come back alive. We’ve finished our investigation here and will lock the house up behind you. You should know he rerouted the security system to another address. He watched you every day. We’re looking for that location, and when we find it, we have him.”

  Now, I wanted out of the house as fast as possible. Dmitri found a suitcase in my closet and held it open while I filled it. We filled up four boxes from my bedroom and bathroom. Next, we filled up three more with personal effects from the kitchen and den. I didn’t know when I would be back. After knowing he’d watched us, I wasn’t sure I wanted to return.

  The boxes fit in the back of the truck. I put my suitcase in my car. Dmitri led us to his house and had alerted their security to expect us. In the driveway, I felt I could breathe. He parked his truck near the garage with us next to him.

  Josh got out walking over to Dmitri. “If you need me to do anything for you like repairs, cooking, cleaning, anything. You let me know, and I’ll do it.” He looked around. “We owe you.”

  Dmitri opened my door helping me out. I popped the trunk and grabbed my suitcase.