Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
“Tamara?”
I turned slowly, pasting on a polite smile. “Yeah?”
She approached with that same neutral tone that always made me feel like I was about to be written up. “Any chance you can cover the morning shift tomorrow? Janie called in sick.”
Normally, I would’ve said yes. Extra hours meant more money for nursing school, so I never turned down an extra shift. But every instinct I had screamed at me to get out and stay gone for as long as I could without losing my job.
I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Sorry. I have to head back to my hometown tonight for some family stuff. Otherwise I’d cover, I swear.”
Barbara’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “I see. Well, safe travels.”
“Thanks.” I nodded and bolted before she could say anything else.
As I crossed the parking lot, I glanced back just once—just in time to see her standing near the side door, phone pressed to her ear. Her gaze was fixed on me, and the look on her face wasn’t friendly.
My hands didn’t stop trembling during the ten-minute drive to the apartment I shared with my best friend Lainie. We’d known each other since kindergarten, so it had been an easy decision when she asked me to look for a job up here and move with her. Even before I found out that I wouldn’t need to pay rent because her big brother had paid for the full year in advance so she wouldn’t have to worry about money while she should be focused on her studies.
I fumbled with the keys twice before I managed to unlock the door. The second I stepped inside, Lainie popped up from the couch, a throw blanket sliding off her lap. “Whoa. What happened?”
I shut the door and threw the lock, then leaned back against the hard surface, trying to breathe. “I think I found something I wasn’t supposed to see.”
Her expression flipped from curious to worried in a heartbeat. “You look like you’re about to pass out. Sit down and talk to me.”
I crossed the room and dropped onto the couch beside her. “I think there’s something shady going on at the clinic.”
Lainie’s eyes widened. “Like what?”
“I couldn’t find one of my patient’s files this morning. It was there on Friday. Then it was just…gone. So I checked some more. It wasn’t even that many because I was worried about getting caught. But two others were missing, and another had a discharge summary that was timestamped two days before their appointment.”
She frowned. “Couldn’t it be a system glitch, human error, or something like that?”
“That’s what I thought. Until I found a hidden folder in the shared drive.” I leaned forward, burying my face in my hands for a second before forcing myself to meet her gaze. “The files inside were full of medical testing data and redacted names.”
Lainie bit her bottom lip. “There’s probably not an innocent explanation if someone’s compiling data in a hidden file.”
“And Barbara caught me on the computer. She didn’t say anything, but I could tell she knew something was off. Then she tried to get me to work tomorrow, so I told her I was leaving town for family stuff tonight.” I paused. “When I walked to my car, she was watching me while she was on the phone, and she didn’t look happy.”
“Okay, that’s officially creepy.” Lainie shoved the blanket off and stood. “Get changed. Pack a bag. We’re going to turn your excuse for not picking up that shift into the truth.”
I blinked up at her. “What?”
“You know my big brother is an Iron Rogue, but I don’t think you get what that means. They don’t play when it comes to protecting people.” She stood and tugged me to my feet. “Beck will know what to do. And if he doesn’t, one of his club brothers sure as heck will.”
“But—”
“No buts,” she snapped, eyes flashing. “You’re scared. Do you really think going back to that clinic before you know what’s going on is a good idea?”
I swallowed hard. “No.”
“Then get your stuff.” Her voice softened as she reached down and squeezed my hand. “I’ve got you, okay? We’ll figure this out together.”
2
SAVAGE
“Put it on my tab, dammit!”
I glanced over at the bar and sighed when I saw Junior, one of our regulars at The Midnight Rebel, the bar co-owned by my motorcycle club and me.
Rowan, one of my newest bartenders, raised an eyebrow, silently asking what she should do. As the manager, it was my decision. We had a protocol for shit like this, but Junior had been drinking here for at least two decades. I usually didn’t have him tossed out on his ass unless he was making too big of a ruckus.
Lately, he’d been a problem more often. Starting around the time I cut him off from having a running tab that didn’t require immediate payment at the end of the night. It was a privilege that was granted to very few people. It had been given to him by Cox, the former Iron Rogues president, who was also the father of Fox, the current prez.