“You will not,” Leigh interrupted.
Lyndon’s eyes widened. “I thought I would just—”
“It don’t matter,” Dusty said, looking despondent. “I can’t tell nobody I was here. I don’t want them to know what’s wrong with me.”
Leigh could see from the board that the boy had been selling himself to men for money and hadn’t been feeling well. She skimmed his symptoms. “Well, Dusty, my name is Dr. Chase. It’s nice to meet you.”
He smiled shyly.
“I’m gonna help you find out what’s going on. Mr. Prior here is—”
“Studying for a role,” Dusty said. “He told me already.”
Leigh shot an angry glance in Lyndon’s direction. She had specifically told him not to talk to the patients without a doctor present. “Well, he doesn’t have to be here. Only if it’s okay with you.”
Dusty looked at Lyndon with an expression that said the excitement was over and reality was setting in. He lowered his head. “I . . . I don’t think I . . .”
“It’s all right,” Leigh said. She nodded for Lyndon to leave. He frowned before turning and leaving behind the partition.
“I’m sorry,” Dusty said. “I just . . . He’s such a cool guy. He’d think I was a . . .”
“Don’t apologize,” Leigh said. “It’s okay. You know you can tell me anything and it will stay between me and you.”
Dusty nodded, what was left of the little boy in him coming through. “I don’t feel so good.”
Leigh was distracted by the loud voices she heard somewhere out front, but that wasn’t uncommon in the clinic. “Tell me how you’ve been feeling, Dusty.”
“Well, I . . .” Dusty looked past the partition, even though it wasn’t possible to see anything. “What’s going on out there? Is Lyndon Prior in trouble?”
The voices got louder and suddenly there was a scream. Leigh couldn’t ignore it any longer.
“Please wait here and don’t leave,” she ordered. “I will be back as soon as I figure this out.”
Leigh was down the hallway and into the lobby in a second. She saw a security guard and one of the volunteer doctors holding down a teenaged girl who was screaming and cursing obscenities at another girl being held down by Alicia and . . . Lyndon.
“Lyndon.” Leigh approached, trying to figure out the scene. “You can’t get involved. I told you not to touch—”
“They were fighting,” Lyndon said.
Carlos stormed inside, quickly surveying the scene. He turned to his coworker. “Take her outside.”
With one of the girls gone, the girl Alicia and Lyndon had a hold of started to calm down. She was dressed like a prostitute and was probably in her teens although she looked as if she was in her late twenties. Her wig had fallen off, revealing multicolored, unkempt hair, and her dark face was covered with running black eyeliner.
Carlos pushed Lyndon out of the way and took hold of the girl, ordering her to calm down. As Alicia stepped away, Carlos directed the girl to the closest chair, which she fell into with quiet sobs.
“What is going on?” Leigh asked.
“That girl stuck her!” Lyndon pointed to the door. “She stuck her with a needle from—”
“What are you doing?” Leigh grabbed Lyndon by the arm. “Were you questioning her?”
“She told me,” Lyndon said. “I didn’t—”
“It’s true.” The girl looked up, wiping her tears with the back of her hands. “That bitch stuck me!”
“What’s your name?” Leigh asked.
The girl opened her mouth, but stopped herself. She looked up at Carlos and shifted in her seat. “Um . . . Lucy. My name is Lucy.”
“Lucy,” Leigh said. “Where did she stick you?”
Lucy pointed to a spot on her upper arm. With her gloves on, Leigh reached down to examine it and there was definitely a puncture.
“Can you take her to the back room, Carlos?” Leigh asked. “Red sash and stay with her.”
“Let’s go.” Carlos led her away.
“Is she going to be arrested?” Lyndon asked.
“Who do you think you are?” Leigh grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from everyone else.
“I’m just trying to help,” Lyndon said.
“I told you not to do anything. Did you actually listen to any of the rules I laid out for you?”
“Yes, but . . .” He looked around. “Rules don’t really work in a place like this, right? I mean, you should have seen those girls. They were gonna kill each other. You can’t let her get away with sticking her with a needle. If that’s HIV-positive, that’s attempted murder, isn’t it?”
“I should have known better.” Leigh was shaking her head. “This will never work. You’re gonna have to leave.”
“Wait.” Lyndon held up a cautioning hand. “Leigh, I . . . I’m just trying to—”
“Help,” she said. “I told you not to do that. You’re not a doctor, a nurse, or a psych. You are just here to observe when the patients allow it. You can’t sign autographs, interfere with my care or any of the patients.”
“Is this some kind of legal thing?” he asked. “Because I have my own insurance if something happens—”
“Enough.” Leigh held up her hand to stop him. “You should leave, Lyndon.”
Lyndon sighed, his demeanor calming a little. “Look, I’m sorry. I got a little excited. The atmosphere is so charged, I couldn’t—”
“You think this is charged?” Leigh asked. “This is a slow morning, Lyndon. If you can’t keep control of yourself under these conditions, you’re not ready for this clinic.”
Lyndon nodded. “I can. I just . . . I get excited about things and I get ahead of myself. I can behave, Dr. Chase. If you give me one more chance.”
Leigh hated that he was offering her puppy dog eyes and it was working. “You stay in the background, say nothing and do nothing unless I tell you to. One more interference, and I’ll throw your ass out with my own bare hands.”
Kimberly was losing patience with the security guard. “Would you just tell them who I am and—”
“You think ’cause you’re a Chase, they’ll see you?” The guard held a sarcastic grin on his haggard face.
“No.” Kimberly placed her hands on her hips. “I think because I’m a Chase I can get you fired if you don’t go in there and tell them I’m out here. Avery Jackson is my best friend.”
The guard pressed his lips together, looking as if he had to put forth an effort to contain himself. He turned to the other guard, standing ten feet away. “Make sure she stays here. I’ll be right back.”
Kimberly had been trying everything to get in touch with Avery, but the family was very protected. She hadn’t been able to catch them at their home, and the ICU at the hospital was heavily guarded. Kimberly had no intention of telling Avery what was going on in her life, but she knew she would feel better just seeing her friend. Avery’s homey sensibilities had a way of calming Kimberly down.
As she waited, Kimberly checked her cell phone again. She was under constant stress since receiving the pictures and she wasn’t so sure how much longer she could just wait as Neil had told her to. She couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, and everywhere she went, she felt as if . . .
Her eyes caught the young woman looking right at her before she quickly turned away and headed for the water fountain. Kimberly knew she was paranoid, but the girl . . . looked familiar. And why was she looking at her?
She was letting herself go crazy, right? Kimberly was used to people staring at her. She was tall, leggy with glowing, smooth dark brown skin, almond-shaped eyes, eyelashes a mile long, and full, seductive lips. Her ebony hair fell past her shoulders in sexy tendrils and her clothes, always expensive, hung off her like butter, showing a thin, curvy figure most women would die for.
But this girl, caramel colored and looking in her late teens, stood out. She looked hastily put together with khaki shorts that were too short to be decent and a cheap pink T-shirt with a glitte
r rose in the middle. Something told Kimberly she didn’t belong here. Waiting for the girl to finish at the water fountain, she expected her to look again.
But she didn’t; she didn’t look back at all. After her last sip, she stood up straight and stared at the wall in front of her for almost five full seconds before turning her back to Kimberly and walking away.
“Sorry.”
Kimberly’s breath caught as she turned back to the security guard who had returned.
“They said no.” He seemed extremely satisfied to bring her the bad news.
“Did you tell them it was—”
“Kimberly Chase, yes.” He shrugged. “They said no one but immediate family. The woman you want, Avery, said you might be able to catch her in about an hour when they plan on having lunch in the café across the street.”
“I don’t . . .” It hit Kimberly like a blow to the chest. The café! That was where she had seen the girl with the pink shirt before! Even in that split second that they made eye contact, Kimberly knew it was the same girl she’d caught staring at her earlier that morning in the coffee shop about five blocks from the hospital. She was willing to accept that she was paranoid then, but not now.
But she was gone!
“Did you see that woman?” Kimberly asked the nurse at the service desk. “She was standing right there at the fountain. Shorts and a pink tee . . .”
“I think she left.” The nurse pointed down the hallway that led to the exit.
Kimberly ran as fast as she could. She felt her heart beating out of control as she burst out the side doors of the hospital, looking everywhere for the girl.
There she was!
Across the street, the girl rushed past traffic to a white Chevy Impala. She turned back, catching Kimberly’s pursuit, and seemed visibly agitated. Hastily, she opened the driver’s-side rear door and jumped in the car just before it sped off.
Kimberly couldn’t see who was driving; the windows were too dark and there was too much traffic going both ways to catch the full plate. She saw an L84, but that was it. She hoped Neil could do something with that.
“Are you okay?” An elderly woman approached Kimberly, who was leaning against the bus stop stall, trying to catch her breath.
Kimberly nodded, feeling as if she could throw up. “Thank you, yes.”
“You don’t need to be running in those shoes.” The woman pointed to Kimberly’s three-and-a-half-inch-heeled Yves Saint Laurent sling-backs. “It’s too risky.”
Kimberly had to smile at the woman’s last words. Did she have any idea what a real risk was? She’d never been on the receiving end of Janet Chase’s desire for revenge.
5
“Hey, you,” Carter said the second he stepped inside Chase Mansion. “Stop, I know you hear me. I’ve been looking for you.”
Haley turned around, rolling her eyes. “You’ve been looking? You’ve got some nerve. Everyone has been looking for you. Well, not me ’cause I don’t give a—”
“Come here,” Carter ordered. “Have you been in my car?”
“Who have you been talking to?” Haley asked, trying to think up a good lie.
“Have you been in the car or not?” Carter asked.
“I haven’t driven it.” She smiled, tilting her head to the side. She could tell just from looking at him, Carter wasn’t on his game. She could push if she wanted to, but she wasn’t in the mood.
“But you’ve been sitting in it?” Carter asked.
“Why do you still have it here?” she asked. “Isn’t there a tree out there waiting for you to wrap that little baby around it?”
“Stay out of my damn car,” Carter warned. “Where’s Dad?”
“They’re in the great room,” she answered. “I was just escaping, but now that you’re here, I think I’ll go back. Haven’t seen Daddy rip you a new one in a while.”
She bumped him with her hip as she hurried ahead of him. With pleasure she announced him before he entered and sat next to Michael to watch the fireworks.
“Get over here!” Steven yelled out the second he saw Carter. “Who in the hell do you think you are?”
“Steven.” Janet reached for her husband’s arm and squeezed. “Don’t start this. It’s too late in the evening for—”
Steven was too angry to listen. He’d been trying to track this boy down all week, ever since he was a no-show at the board meeting. “Where have you been?”
“I’d like to know that too,” Michael said.
Carter kissed his mother on the cheek as she reached out to him. She was always trying to make up for Steven’s harshness. “Dad, I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” Steven laughed. “Do you actually believe sorry is gonna cut it for disappearing like that? Do you have any idea what the board thinks now that you haven’t shown up?”
“I will call each and every member of the board and apologize.”
“This isn’t etiquette class!” Steven shook his head, unable to find the right words to express his anger. “You can’t send flowers and a kindly worded letter to these people. I look like a fool. The board had faith in me and you’ve—”
“I know, Dad!” Carter appeared exasperated. “I do realize the importance of this position and I—”
“The way you’ve disregarded everything,” Steven said, “I might as well have given that seat to Haley.”
Michael leaned into his little sister. “Dad just insulted you in case you didn’t get that.”
“You can all kiss my ass,” Haley answered back. Obviously she got it loud and clear.
Janet stepped between her son and husband. “Steven, you know how upset he was to find out that Avery is married.”
“Avery’s married?” Haley asked, so glad she had stayed. “When did this happen?”
Carter’s eyes darted to Michael, who shrugged.
“I had to tell them,” Michael said. “Trust me, you needed the sympathy. Dad was gonna kill you.”
“I still will,” Steven said. “I don’t care if she’s married. You run a business, Carter. You know better than to let your personal problems interfere with your obligations. Your priority is this family!”
“I know,” Carter admitted. He was ashamed, but was too obsessed with the image of Avery’s belly to concentrate. “I just—”
“Why don’t you take the car back, Daddy?” Haley asked.
“Weren’t you leaving?” Janet asked her.
“She’s pregnant.” Carter watched as everyone, even Steven, looked at him stunned. “Avery is pregnant.”
“Oh my . . .” Janet’s hand went to her chest. This was some news. “What—”
Michael shot up from the sofa. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just found out today.” Carter ran a frustrated hand over his head. “I talked to her today.”
“What did she say?” Janet asked. “Is everything okay? Is she . . . How—”
“Wait a second,” Haley interjected. “She’s married, so what difference—”
“It’s mine,” Carter said. “It’s not . . . his.”
Janet gasped, wanting to laugh from her joy. “Oh, this is . . . I hope it’s a girl. I’ll finally have a granddaughter. Steven?”
Steven didn’t know what to think. “How do you know it’s yours?”
Michael searched his feelings. He was happy, but . . . he always knew he wouldn’t have the only grandchildren forever.
“She’s big,” Carter said.
“How big?” Janet asked.
“Not like . . .” Carter made a gesture trying to define her size. “But she’s obviously pregnant.”
“Did she say it’s yours or not?” Steven’s words were more of a statement than a question.
“I know it’s mine,” Carter said.
“You don’t know for sure?” Michael asked. “You had to ask, right?”
Carter sighed. “She said . . . she said it wasn’t.”
Steven slammed his glass of scotch on the bar. “That’s i
t. I’ve had it with him and that girl.”
Carter watched as his father started to leave, and something inside him hurt even more. He felt his desperation begin to yell through the exterior, and without any thought, he called to his father.
Steven turned because the sound of his son’s injured voice urged him to, and when he did, the look on Carter’s face jolted him. He was really scared and Steven’s anger immediately disappeared. Sometimes he forgot the kid was only thirty-one. He walked back to his boy, standing before him as Janet reached out and held Carter’s hand.
“She said it wasn’t,” Carter said, “but . . . I saw the look in her eyes. She’s a horrible liar. That is my baby, but she’s married and she’s saying that . . .”
Steven kept eye contact with his son. “First, we find out the truth.”
“No woman is gonna deny a millionaire’s baby unless it’s true,” Haley said. “She’d want the money.”
“Avery’s not like that,” Carter said.
“Everyone’s like that,” Haley answered back.
“I’ll call her,” Janet said. “Avery and I got along very well. She won’t lie to me. She’s an honest girl and I’ll—”
“No,” Steven said. “None of us can challenge her. She’ll feel ganged up on and she’ll just entrench herself further into her lie if that’s what it is.” He looked at Haley with a deadly expression. “You especially stay away from her.”
“I don’t even give a damn,” Haley said, angry for always being singled out by her father.
“We might be able to use her,” Janet said. “Avery’s sister goes to UCLA now. Haley can befriend her and—”
“Listen to yourself,” Carter said. “No one’s going to buy that Haley wants to be anyone’s friend.”
Janet smiled, nodding. “You seem to still have your sense of humor.”
Carter tried to smile, but he didn’t have it in him. “I’m trying to think, but seeing her again, all the feelings I had rushing back made it hard. Coming face-to-face with this guy who—”
“You haven’t been a nun these last six months,” Haley added.
“I didn’t expect her to be celibate,” Carter said. “But married? Avery takes that too seriously. She wouldn’t just—”
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