“Okay, Papa. Come on Seb, let’s show them what to do. Follow me, Grandma and Grandpa.” She paused and a serious look came over her face. “I can call you Grandma and Grandpa, can’t I? I call daddy’s mom and dad, Nana and Pop-Pop.”
“Of course, sweetie,” Philip answered with a grin splitting his face.
Tabitha nodded sharply and then, with Seb’s hand still tucked into hers, led them down toward the kitchen and mudroom where they could hang up their coats.”
Marcus, on the other hand, stood off to the side and watched them go by. Devon looked to his boy and studied him for a moment before resting his hand on his shoulder. Marcus looked at him and Devon nodded toward the stairs. “Come up with me and you can tell me what’s wrong while I change.”
He nodded and went up the stairs without any more prompting. Devon followed him. Once they were in Devon’s room, he shut the door to give them some privacy. Slipping into his closet, he closed the door most of the way and listened as Marcus paced near the bed. His new quiet nature took time getting used to, but Devon had adapted.
Marcus would need a minute to gather his thoughts and figure out the words he needed to express himself. It was a vast difference from the vibrant little boy who used to talk a mile a minute and with no filter. The death of his mother changed him in unexpected ways.
Devon changed clothes and came back out. Marcus stopped pacing. His forehead was crinkled up and he was frowning. “Go ahead, son. What’s on your mind?”
He huffed out a quiet breath. “You won’t get mad?”
“Never,” he reassured him.
After a brief moment, Marcus spoke in a quiet, serious voice. “I don’t like them.”
Devon wasn’t surprised. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed to make Marcus more comfortable. The kid didn’t trust many people these days. It was like he was afraid to let someone new in, always concerned they wouldn’t stay. It was something the therapist commented on after one of his sessions.
Devon spent the prior evening watching the kids and how they interacted with the Jordans. Devon didn’t fail to notice how Marcus stood back and observed. He talked to them when spoken to, but didn’t offer up anything on his own like his brother and sister.
When it appeared Marcus wouldn’t elaborate, Devon spoke up. “Why don’t you like them?” He asked softly, not wanting Marcus to think he would get in trouble for voicing his thoughts and feelings.
Marcus’ brow furrowed even more. “I don’t know. There’s something wrong with them. Wrong with her. She smells funny to me. Like lemons, or that cleaning stuff Nana uses to clean the floor sometimes. It stinks and burns my nose.”
“I see,” he mumbled, not sure what that meant in the grand scheme of things. Devon hadn’t smelled that on Tracey, but he had a more refined sense of smell. Years of honing the skill of sniffing out feelings and emotions allowed him to quickly assess what rolled through a person. When he paid attention. He could turn it off, so to speak, on a whim. A mistake he’d obviously made the evening before. “Did she smell like that the entire time they were here last night?”
Marcus shrugged. “Most of the time. Every once in a while, it smelled like something was burnt, like that time you tried making special toast in the oven and forgot about it.”
Anger? Repulsion? They both had an acrid, pungent tinge. At least to him. He didn’t know if it would be the same for Marcus. He would have to take note of Tracey’s scent tonight.
Marcus fidgeted in front of him. Nervousness rolled off him.
Reaching out, Devon gripped the back of Marcus’ neck. He squeezed gently and Marcus’ scent started to clear. “Thank you for telling me. You don’t have to sit with them or be next to them the whole night, but I would like you to try and get to know them. They are your mom’s mom and dad, and I know she would want you to like them. Plus, Grandpa Philip seems pretty nice and excited to get to know you.”
“Yeah, he’s okay, I guess.”
“Good. How about we head down for dinner before they send out a search party?”
“Okay.” Marcus headed out of the room and Devon followed. They hit the stairs, and he could hear everyone moving around in the dining room. Plates and silverware clinked and thudded. People were talking civilly.
The feeling of family and home eased into his senses. The moment of peace he hoped for was seemingly unneeded. Even Marcus seemed to relax. The apprehension that drew up his shoulders dissipated, and he bounded down the steps.
They joined everyone at the table and took their seats. It wasn’t until everyone sat down that he noticed someone missing. Someone important, and someone he hadn’t heard from since that morning.
Carolline wasn’t there.
Devon glanced at his mom, hoping she could silently read his mind. One of her eyebrows shot up and she shrugged.
He checked with his dad, who merely shook his head.
His heart sank and his tiger started to pace. He couldn’t say anything while Tracey and Philip were there, if they wanted to keep up the ruse that she was only a family friend. He would have to wait until they left before he could find out what was going on.
Worry ate at him and it was completely unacceptable.
Chapter 34
Carolline rushed to gather her things and put most of her files away. She shoved a few folders into her case she would need for later. The ones she wanted to read over and make notes on before the patients’ appointments the next day. Her last patient of the day had taken longer than she’d expected. The woman’s questions had been good but abundant. And lengthy enough to run over the allotted time, but Carolline couldn’t – wouldn’t - cut her off. She was passionate about giving her patients everything she had. It was how she wanted a doctor to treat her when she needed care.
The phrase “treat people how you’d like to be treated” might as well be embroidered on a pillow, considering how much she repeated it.
Those files wouldn’t get read until after dinner with Devon and the family, though. That’s if she made it out of her office in the next few minutes.
A quick glance at her watch had her cringing. She was running behind. More so than she thought. Her plan to be at Devon’s to help with dinner, and be in place before everyone arrived, crumbled with each passing second.
She didn’t look forward to coming up with a reason as to why she would be showing up for a family dinner. Sure, she could say she’d been invited, but how many times would she be able to use that excuse? Eventually, wouldn’t the shine wear off with thanking another person for what some would consider an extraordinary feat? And, at some point, wouldn’t the obligation to include you in their life fade?
She certainly thought so. At least it would for her. Being beholden to someone was not what she was about. Being the one someone felt beholden to…might even be worse. She had never been comfortable with a spotlight on her, unless it dealt with her professional life. Hybrids and their issues, which are regularly ignored in society, deserved to be in the spotlight. Her personal life didn’t. She was all for that part of her life getting back to normal.
That isn’t an option anymore though, is it? She mused.
A shuffling noise in her doorway pulled Carolline from her thoughts. “Just give me a moment, Officer,” she said as she turned around. Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t the man who walked her to her car each night.
“What I have planned won’t take longer than a moment, hybrid,” snarled a nurse standing in the doorway. She glanced behind her and turned back toward Carolline with a smirk. “And it looks like there will be no one to rescue you. I might even get away with being the one to find you bleeding and dying on the floor. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? He’ll be so grateful that I tried to save your life.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t play the fool with me,” the nurse snapped as she stepped into the room. She reached for the doorknob and made to close the door before hesitating. A flicker of indecision crossed the woman’s face.
&n
bsp; Carolline tracked her movements, confused as to what was happening. She didn’t recognize her. Sure, something felt familiar, but that could be attributed to the standard nurse’s uniform she wore. There was no possibility of them having worked together, or interacting in a professional manner either. Nurses rarely came up to the fifth floor of the hospital. It was one of the quieter, less traveled floors, which helped soothe the patients that came in for counseling, either with her or one of the other doctors occupying the few rooms up there.
The soft slide of the door on carpet pulled Caroline’s attention back to the woman.
“You think you’re so special. Think people should treat you like you’re some rare wild flower,” she mumbled. There was a look in her eyes that screamed something was off. They were unfocused and edged on the crazy side. It spoke of demons lurking within. Ones that had been festering for a long time. “You’ve been a giant pain in the ass,” she said as she finally closed the door behind her. “You’ve ruined all of my plans, but I came up with a new one,” she grinned maniacally. “The perfect plan. It’ll be even better than waiting around for him to notice me like I was doing before.” She waved her hand in the air, and that’s when Carolline noticed the scalpel. The sharp metal glinted in the overhead light. “All I need is for you to be gone. As easy as that,” she said lightly.
Carolline hoped it wouldn’t be as easy as that. Whatever that was. She inched to the side in order to put more of the desk between her and the woman. There was no need to scan the top of it for something to defend herself with. She knew what was there, but didn’t think a stapler or a cup full of pens would be helpful in this situation. She still couldn’t figure out who the woman was or why she was standing in her office.
Whatever was playing out on her face must have conveyed her confusion about the situation, because the next thing she knew, a rush of color…Carolline could only assume was anger…filled the younger woman’s face. “You don’t even know who I am, do you?” The girl asked with narrowed eyes. “You arrogant bitch. You think you’re too good to remember the people who took care of you, don’t you? Do you even remember the doctors who came to check in on you, or did you have your eyes set only on him? Was it your plan all along? I bet it was. I bet you were the one to hire those thugs in the first place. A way to crawl your way into his life.” Her snort was filled with derision. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what you did.”
She waved the scalpel around. Her arm movements erratic. She thrust it towards Carolline in a jerky motion. “Don’t you have anything to say?” The woman screeched.
Him? His life? Was this woman talking about Devon? Well, it couldn’t be anyone else given what she’d said. Carolline let out a shaky breath. She needed to take control of the situation before it escalated, now that she had a place to start. “I didn’t have any plans to take Devon.”
“That’s Dr. Andersen. You don’t deserve to call him by his first name. He doesn’t even let me call him that and I’ve worked with him, been part of his life, for years,” she said, her voice rising with each word. “I was there for him after his wife died. I was the one who made meals for him, so he didn’t have to worry about that. I’m the one who offered to help him with the kids if he needed. I would have even offered to move in with him if he hadn’t hired that horrible girl to watch them first. Then,” she rambled on, waving the scalpel around more as she started to pace. “I decided to wait. Jack came to town and his parents were there. I decided it wasn’t the right time. I figured I could wait until he was done grieving. Just support him at work and show him what an excellent nurse I was. It took longer than I thought, but we were getting close. He would select me for his team when he needed a nurse. He would smile at me when we passed in the halls.”
She stopped pacing and a dark look came over her face. “Then that hybrid showed up and he offered to marry her in exchange for being a mother to his children.” She shot a dirty look in Carolline’s direction. “A hybrid,” she said with disgust.
Carolline already knew that the woman had a dislike for them, and that’s when the woman’s familiarity clicked. She had been the nurse assigned to her. The nurse who, when she was first admitted to the hospital after the attack, had been rude and condescending. The one who thought Carolline, regardless of her status at the hospital, was scum and didn’t deserve basic human consideration.
Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place.
This was the person who had ransacked her office. She was sure of it. There had been so much anger in the destruction of her things, but there had been a lack of anything missing. It had been pure frustrated chaos. This was the person who caused all the fuss and paranoia that surrounded Carolline the last couple weeks.
And it pissed her the hell off. A jealous woman. Nothing more. It wasn’t a conspiracy to grab her files and find the names of other hybrids. It wasn’t connected to the attempted kidnapping. She had no idea what made the nurse snap after things had quieted down, and frankly, she didn’t care.
Carolline took a breath and straightened her spine. This had gone on long enough. She would not be afraid of this woman, and she knew how to defend herself. Ben made her take a self-defense class when they’d first met, and he’d insisted on practicing with her over the years they were together. It was time to see if it all paid off, and if she remembered what she needed to do.
In a bold move, Carolline rounded the desk quickly. The other woman’s eyes rounded comically, clearly surprised.
Carolline used that moment to her advantage. She lunged for her arm, wrapping both hands around it, and then in one smooth motion, Carolline shifted and slammed her hand into the desk. The nurse cried out in pain, while her weapon skittered to the carpeted floor.
The door to the office burst open then and the officer, who should have been in the room across from her, rushed in. He grabbed the wailing nurse and Carolline moved back.
Everything else that happened afterwards was a blur. Her adrenaline crashed and she found herself in her chair as security and the officers assigned to her talked and argued.
Minutes of fuzzy nothingness later, she realized the crazed woman would no longer be a thorn in her side. The extra police manpower watching Carolline’s every move could move on to something more important. And Ben would have one less thing on his plate.
According to the officer, it wouldn’t take long for Nurse Ryan to be charged and convicted. No one in the community wanted a silent psychopath running around town. Especially one who worked with people at their most vulnerable.
“Dr. Greene,” the officer said, bringing her attention back to the present. “Is there anyone we can call for you? I know you’re friends with the Sheriff, but he’s waiting for Officer Carlson to show up with Ms. Ryan.”
Carolline shook her head and waved the concerned question away. “No. I’m fine. Shouldn’t we be headed down to the station so I can write up my statement?”
He shook his head. “The Sheriff said he would see you in the morning. He wants me to escort you home. He said to come down to the station tomorrow morning.”
Carolline nodded and stood. She grabbed up her bag, which had somehow ended up on the floor.
She looked to the officer, who shifted his weight from side to side. There was something on his mind. “Um, ma’am, what about Dr. Andersen?” He cleared his throat on an awkward note. “I, uh, heard you’re staying with him now. That you’re mates?”
To confirm the silent question or not? The truth was, she hadn’t even thought about getting hold of Devon to let him know what had happened. It was like her brain stopped all thoughts except getting out of the situation when she’d been confronted by the woman. Pulling her cell from her purse, she checked for any missed calls or text messages, but there weren’t any. A quick glance at the time and she noted it was past when they said they would meet at the house. Huh, she huffed internally. Part of her thought there would be something from the man. Apparently, she was wrong. “No. I’ll get hold of him, thank you.”<
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He nodded sharply. “I’ll just follow you home then, ma’am.”
Her head shot up from where she was concentrating on her phone. “There’s no need to do that. I’m perfectly capable of finding my way home.”
“I’m sure you can, ma’am, but the Sheriff gave me explicit instructions to ensure you made it home before heading back.”
Carolline sighed heavily. “I know how stubborn Ben can be, and I would hate for you to disobey a direct order, no matter how much I think he’s being ridiculous,” she mumbled. “Give me a moment and you can walk me down.”
He nodded and took a step back. “I’ll be right here when you’re ready.”
“Thank you.”
It took less time for her to be ready to leave and for them to make it to the parking garage than she thought. Officer Conway stood sentinel next to her as she climbed into her car. Then proceeded to get into his vehicle, which was conveniently parked next to hers.
She sighed again as he waved her on, indicating he would follow her. She held up a finger for him to give her a minute and she texted Devon.
CAROLLINE: Sorry. Patient ran late. I’m going to head to my place.
DEVON: This is your place.
CAROLLINE: I’m sure your in-laws are there and I’m not feeling up to finding an excuse for why I’m showing up this late.
DEVON: They’re about to leave but it wouldn’t matter. This is your home now.
Carolline let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. The offer to head to her place was real, but she’d gotten attached to her nightly ritual with the kids and snuggling up with Devon afterwards.
CAROLLINE: Be there soon then.
DEVON: Good. After we get the kids to bed, you can tell me the real reason you’re late and why the Sheriff called a little bit ago and said to come to the station with you tomorrow.
Finding More (Tiger Nip Book 3) Page 21