Читать книгу Flood Zone - Dana Mentink - Страница 11

TWO

The parking lot was empty, quiet, save for the patter of a cold rain and the scuff of Mia’s shoes as she made her way to the darkened clinic hours later. She was grateful that Tina offered to stay late. It was almost eight by the time Mia embarked on her mission. She knew she should have called Dallas, but the only thing that scared her more than what had happened to Cora was the thought of losing herself to another man who would betray her and Gracie. She realized her hands were in her pockets, hidden away, a habit she’d developed after she’d stabbed her husband.

The horror lapped at her afresh. Her own hands had lashed out with that knife, powered by terror that Hector would kill her and take Gracie away into his corrupt world. She would never have done it, but she believed, heart and soul, that Hector meant to end her life. After Mia’s arrest, she’d endured six months of jail time, knowing Gracie was with Hector, near people both ruthless and greed-driven, the worst being her own husband. After her release, she’d fled with Gracie, unaware that Hector would soon concoct a plot to outwit his enemies that involved kidnapping her sister, Antonia. While her sister fought for her life on a hurricane-ravaged island, Mia hid out like a frightened rabbit.

Sometimes her mind told her it was a dream, a nightmare, but she still remembered the feel of that knife in her hand and how her life had almost ended because she trusted the wrong man in spite of her father’s warnings, Antonia’s pleadings. In spite of her own troubled intuition.

Never again. Better to go it alone. A quick stop at the clinic. See if by chance Cora had left anything there that might be of help. In and out. Something wheeled along by her feet, and she gasped. Just a leaf, torn loose by the storm.

She bit back a wave of self-disgust at finding herself scuttling along, cringing at every leaf. She was an office clerk at the Spanish Canyon Clinic after all, and Cora was, had been, a volunteer. All perfectly aboveboard. But why had Cora originally insisted they wait until long after closing time to meet?

Her throat ached when she thought of her friend. Had she suffered? Had she known her house was burning around her?

Quickening her pace she sought shelter from the spring rain under the awning, keys ready in her hand, heart beating a little too hard, too erratically. Cora’s nightmarish death came on a date that already held terrible memories, her wedding anniversary.

An annual reminder of the worst mistake of her life. But Hector had been so gentle when they’d first met, even professing to be a Christian, until he’d begun to worship another kind of God, the god of money, power and excitement, when he’d gotten involved in the drug trade. It was long over. Hector was jailed on new charges, the divorce finalized two years before, but Hector did not want to accept his losses, so she lived as anonymous a life as she could manage.

With teeth gritted, she wondered—Had Hector found her again?

His reach hadn’t extended to Spanish Canyon, Colorado. Not this time.

Wind carried a cold spray of rain onto her face that trickled down the back of her neck. She wished there was someone else around, the janitor, a late working nurse, anyone. They might be parked in the underground garage, she thought hopefully. With a surge of relief she saw the lights on in the back of the building where she and Cora shared a desk.

Jamming her key in the lock, she left the rain behind and headed down the silent corridor to the rear of the building. She did not know what she hoped to accomplish. Maybe it was all just a way to keep busy.

Cora’s desk was bare, save for a paperweight rock engraved with the words Be Still. An impossible task, it seemed, for the nearly eighty-year-old woman who had recently decided to learn Italian and tour Europe. Her eyes were drawn to her own desk. Shadows must be deceiving. Silhouetted in the lamplight was a vase full of long-stemmed roses. Trancelike, she moved closer and turned on her own work light. Yellow roses, which had once been her favorite. A gilt-edged card.

I’m sorry. I love you and we can be a family again. Hector.

Sweat beaded on her forehead. It was as if he was there, right there, standing in the shadows. Fear turned into hatred for the man who had stripped away her belief in herself.

Hector didn’t strip it away. You handed it over, wrapped in a bow.

The floor creaked, and she spun around with a scream.

“I’m sorry,” Dr. Elias said with an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was working late and noticed the florist had been here. Nice roses. Curiosity won out, and I checked the card.” He raised an apologetic eyebrow, the fiftysomething face calm and serene. “My wife says I’m incurably nosey, and I hate to admit that she’s got me pegged.”

Mia forced out a calming breath. “I’m surprised to see you here so late.”

“Insomnia. It usually sends me to the computer to play solitaire, but I get tired of beating myself, so I come here sometimes.”

“Did you...did you hear about Cora?”

He nodded, mournfully. “Tragic. Cora was an excellent lady and a noble spirit.” He shook his head. “Why do the good die before their time?”

It was a question she’d asked many times to a God who’d never given her a straight answer.

Dr. Elias cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’m glad you came so you could get your flowers, but why so late? Insomnia trouble for you also?”

She was about to tell him about the prearranged meeting with Cora, but something stopped her. “I just wanted to clean up Cora’s desk.”

“Looks clean already.” Something in his inflection made her wonder if he’d been looking through Cora’s belongings. Ridiculous. Crazy suspicion.

He surveyed the ceiling for a long moment. “It’s good, actually, that we have a private moment so we can talk. I feel as though I have treated you well, hired you on in spite of your criminal record.”

She winced. “Yes, you have. I appreciate that.”

“It was Cora who went to bat for you, you know. She felt passionately that you would be an asset to this clinic. I was reluctant, I’ll admit.”

Mia started. She hadn’t even known Cora when she moved to Spanish Canyon. She’d been following a lead on a job that her sister had dug up. Close to nursing school. Quiet town where nobody knew her.

“So I’m loathe to ask it, Mia, but when were you going to mention the truth about your criminal husband?”

She kept her chin high, even though at five three she barely reached his shoulder. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. “Ex-husband.”

He blinked, his smooth complexion bordered by a distinguished head of gray hair that went well with his stature as head of the town’s largest general medicine clinic. “I knew he was abusive, you were arrested for stabbing him I realize, but you didn’t quite tell me the whole story. The flowers got me curious and I did a little checking. Nosey, just like my wife says. He wasn’t just an abusive spouse. He’s a Miami drug kingpin with powerful friends.” His pale gray eyes locked on hers. “You didn’t feel like you should mention that?”

Mention it? She was too busy trying to forget it.

“Is that why you don’t use your married name? Sandoval?”

“It’s not my name because I’m not married anymore. I haven’t been for years. Simple as that.”

He looked at the ceiling again while he talked. “Not really so simple. I’ve tried to support you here, to give you the hours you need to get you through nursing school and help you earn some money to keep food on the table for Gracie.”

She didn’t like it when he said Gracie’s name, for some reason that she could not articulate. Did she feel the swell of distrust when she looked at him because he had the same self-assured manner as Hector? The doctor had been nothing but gracious.

“I would do anything for my own kids, as you know. It hasn’t always been easy to afford everything times two, but that’s the price of having twins. Jake and Renee are both in private high school now, so I understand wanting the best for your kids. But why lie? Especially to me.”

“I never lied. You asked about my ex-husband, and I told you the reason I was sent to jail.”

“You neglected to mention your husband is a Miami drug lord. You thought you’d pulled the wool over my eyes, didn’t you? Simple country doctor. Easy to do, you figured?”

“No, nothing like that, really,” she said.

The phone buzzed again.

Something sparked in his eyes. “Omissions are lies, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” His brow furrowed. “It pains me to do it, it really does, but I have a professional obligation, no matter what my personal feelings are. My patients have to have absolute trust in me and my staff, and if you’re still getting flowers from a drug kingpin, I can’t risk having you here.”

Mia would not let him see her cry. Head high, she nodded. “I’ll be out of here in fifteen minutes.” She went to the desk in the corner of the Spanish Canyon Clinic and shoved the picture of Gracie into a bag along with a collection of notepads. Cora’s Learn Italian Today book was on her desk, under a box of tissue, and she scooped it up as well. She’d never dropped a phone call, never misplaced a file or been anything but pleasant to everyone and even that wasn’t enough to overshadow her disastrous marriage.

Blinking to keep the tears at bay, her mind ran wild. No job. How would she finish school? Would it be the end of her dreams to finally give Gracie a stable, normal life? Her phone demanded her attention again and this time she yanked it from her pocket. It was a text from Dallas.

Ok?

Was she?

Dr. Elias still stood there, filling the doorway with his blocky shoulders, a look of indecision on his face. “This husband, Hector. He’s tracked you everywhere, hasn’t he?”

One of the notepads sliced into her finger giving her a paper cut. She shook off the sting angrily.

“Hector must be jealous.” The lamplight etched Dr. Elias in tight shadow. “Have you given him reason?”

She froze. “What?”

“The tough guy with the dog. I’ve seen him talking to you. Hector can’t be happy about this.”

Seen Dallas? Something cold trickled through her. Why had Dr. Elias noticed whom she’d been talking to?

He flicked a glance into her bag. “You’re not taking any clinic information, are you?”

She burned. “No, Doctor. I would not behave unethically, even after I’ve been wrongly terminated.”

A glimmer of a smile lit his face. “I always liked your spunk, Mia Verde Sandoval. Too bad.”

Mia grabbed her bag and purse and went to the door, but he barred her path.

He didn’t move, just watched her as if he was weighing something in his mind. He reached out a hand to touch her forearm, but she recoiled.

“Hold on. I can see the truth now. You didn’t lie to deceive, you lied because you’re afraid.”

Her breath caught and she shook her head.

“Yes, that’s it, isn’t it? You’re afraid that Hector will find you.” He stared closely at her. “No, you’re afraid that you can’t trust yourself, your choices, your judgments.” He took her arm.

The fingers felt cold there against her skin, her own feet rooted to the floor. It was as if he’d stepped inside her, peered into the cold dark place in her heart where she herself dared not go.

“I know what it’s like to be lied to. I’m so sorry, Mia,” he said, pupils glittering in the dimly lit office. He leaned toward her and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’m dense, sometimes. I didn’t realize. I can help you.”

Standing this close she realized how strong he looked. Her fingers clutched her car keys, and she raised them in front of her.

“I want to leave. Now.”

He laughed and moved a step closer. She was acutely aware of how empty the clinic was, how dark the outer corridors. “You’re a beautiful woman, you know that?” His gaze flickered up and down her body. “You deserve more. I can help you get your life back.”

She pressed back until she bumped into the file cabinets, a metal handle digging into her spine. He put his hands out, kneading her shoulders.

She jerked away from his grasp. “I want to go,” she whispered, gripping the keys. “I will scream the place down if you touch me again.”

He chuckled. “You came here after hours, almost as if you were looking for me.”

The implication was clear. Who do you think they’ll believe?

She gripped the keys, palms clammy, readying herself to gouge and bite and kick. Unsure.

“You’re not seeing things clearly, Mia. You don’t know what’s right and wrong anymore, do you?” The words were almost a whisper, his mouth curved in a soft smile. “You need help.”

Help? Was that what he offered? Her gut told her to run. Should she trust that instinct?

From somewhere far away, she heard herself say, “I want to go. Now.”

“Maybe you don’t know what you want,” he said, eyes glittering.

“Yes, she does,” said a low voice. The doctor was jerked back and dumped in an unceremonious pile on the floor. Dallas Black looked down at Elias, his dark eyes blending with the shadows.

She realized Dallas must have been expecting her to act stupidly and visit the clinic and her cheeks burned, but relief overrode any other sensation.

“I was just fired,” Mia announced. “And now I’m going to leave.”

Dallas didn’t move. “Good. Doesn’t pay to work for dirtbags.”

“Trespassing and assault,” Dr. Elias snapped at Dallas, scrambling to his feet. “I will have you arrested.”

Dallas ignored the comment completely. “Ready to go?” he said to her.

“Get off my property,” Dr. Elias snarled. Gone was the genial smile, any vestiges of warmth, fire blazed in his eyes.

Mia gripped her bag and walked to the door on shaky legs, grateful to have Dallas looking over her shoulder at the doctor. She was desperate to end the situation. Dallas had a complete disregard for rules and she wanted to finish the whole confrontation before anything worse happened.

“You are turning away from someone who wants to help you, Mia,” Dr. Elias said, nostrils flared. “And look what you’re walking into.”

“Goodbye, Dr. Elias,” Mia said.

“Don’t forget your flowers,” he yelled.

“Keep them,” she said.

* * *

Dallas’s truck was parked at the curb, and Juno sat next to it. When he saw her his tail went into overtime, and he whined until she gave him a cursory pat. He licked her face.

“If a man approached my ride, Juno would bark up a storm, but with you he’d hand over the keys,” Dallas said. Smart dog.

Juno was once an aggressive shelter resident after having been beaten and starved by a cruel owner. Dallas had spent six months tracking down that negligent owner on his own dime, until the man was charged with animal cruelty and subjected to hefty fines. It wasn’t enough in Dallas’s view.

Mia straightened in spite of Juno’s disappointment and gave him a tight smile. “He must know I’m a cat person and he’s trying to help me see the light.” She paused. “I would have handled the situation, you know. No one will keep me from Gracie.”

“No doubt. I’m just glad I was in the neighborhood.” In truth he’d been driving around town, too restless to stay home, checking the clinic lot every so often in case Mia showed up like he suspected she’d do. “I’m not sure...” She bit her lip. “I don’t know if Dr. Elias was going to hurt me. He said he wanted to help.”

Help? That wasn’t what Dallas had heard in the good doctor’s tone when he put his hands on Mia. “What did your gut tell you?”

“To leave.”

“Then you did the right thing.” Dallas clamped down on the anger that ticked at his insides. His own instincts told him Dr. Elias was interested in much more than Mia’s well-being. He despised the thought of Elias being anywhere near Mia. Or touching her. Or looking in her general direction.

Overprotective, Black.

Overprotective? How could that be when she kept him at arm’s length and he wasn’t interested in a relationship anyway? Whatever the reason, something about her, her strength perhaps, stayed in his mind like a lingering fragrance.

It made him pretty sure that if she knew the real reason he’d come to Spanish Canyon, to protect her without her consent, she’d let him have it with both barrels, but the roses on her desk indicated there was ample cause for him to keep an eye on her.

He’d met Mia at the wedding of her sister, Antonia, to Hector’s brother Reuben Sandoval after the two barely survived a hurricane. Oddly, he’d befriended Antonia three years prior in the wake of a massive earthquake that struck San Francisco where he assisted his brother, Trey, in rescuing Antonia and Sage Harrington, now Trey’s wife. At least Antonia and Trey had both found love matches in the midst of disaster. A memory from that wedding stayed sharp in his mind. Mia’s face torn with sorrow, or was it guilt, cradling Gracie in her arms. Hemingway said people healed stronger where they were broken. Mia, though she didn’t ever discuss her past, was like that, he figured. Sometimes it takes more strength to ask for help than to go it alone, Mia.

He snapped out of his reverie when she sighed heavily. “Go ahead and say it. I was dumb to come here, after hours, in light of all that’s happened.”

He considered. “Yeah.”

“I have good reasons for doing things my own way.”

“Don’t we all.” He tried to catch her eye, but she avoided his gaze. “You okay?”

“Yes.”

“Sure?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” she said with a little too much bravado. He caught the tremble of her lips in spite of the dim light. It made his stomach tighten.

“I’ll follow you home again.”

“I’m fine. There’s no reason.”

“It’s dark, weather’s bad and you were harassed. That’s three reasons.” He opened the door for her.

She rolled her eyes and started to get into the car when the bag slipped from her hands. She snatched it up but not before Cora’s Italian book plopped out. It fell open, and she saw something stuck inside. Picking it up hastily, she said, “What’s this?”

From between the pages she pulled out a four-by-six photo, and Dallas shone his penlight on it.

“We’ve seen this woman before,” she said grimly.

Dallas felt a stir of foreboding flow through his belly. “Running away from Cora’s burning house.”