Lara Lacombe - Lethal Lies

He cut the plastic square free and stood, folding his knife and putting it back in his pocket as he returned to the bedroom. She was still sitting on the side of the bed, her hand pressing a square of gauze to the place where the tube entered Tony’s body. A small part of him felt a perverse satisfaction at the memory of Tony’s reaction as she’d inserted the tube—he deserved all the pain he could get.

The doctor glanced up as he neared, but quickly looked away when she took the square from him. Interesting. She’d never had trouble meeting his eyes before. He watched as she taped it into place with brisk, efficient movements. Then she sat with her hands in her lap, as if at a loss for what to do next.

He could relate. When he geared up for an operation, adrenaline was a palpable rush in his limbs, coursing through his veins in a powerful rhythm. During the operation was no different, his body seeming to move of its own accord, his actions perfectly choreographed thanks to endless hours of training. But afterward, when the danger was gone and there was nothing left to do, it was hard to come back down to earth. He imagined emergency medicine, with its life-or-death stakes, was much the same way.

Without stopping to question his motives, he decided to distract her. “Alex,” he said softly in answer to her earlier question.

She looked up at him, confusion in her eyes.

“Before, you asked me my name. It’s Alex.”

“Oh,” she said, her gaze sliding away from him again. She removed her gloves with fumbling fingers and tossed them into the trash can by the desk. He gave her a moment to respond, but she didn’t say anything.

“When someone offers their name, it’s customary for you to offer yours in exchange.”

She glared at him then, a flash of temper darkening her brown eyes in the dim light of the room. He fought to keep a smile off his face, knowing it would only anger her further. “It’s the polite thing to do,” he pointed out reasonably.

“Polite?” she huffed. “You manhandled me in the hospital parking lot, shoved me into a car, threatened me and forced me to treat your friend with stolen veterinary medical supplies, and now you want to lecture me about manners?” She shook her head, her ponytail dancing with the movement. “As if this night couldn’t get any stranger,” she muttered.

“I did do those things, yes,” he said. “But there’s no reason we have to be rude to each other now.”

“Is this some kind of Hannibal Lecter thing?” She tilted her head, leaning away as she studied him. “Because I’m really not in the mood for games.”

He frowned at her. “What are you talking about?”

“You know, the bad guy from Silence of the Lambs. ”

“Never seen it.”

“Well, he always insisted on being uber-polite to his victims before he killed them. You should know that’s not going to work on me.”

He’d tried to keep her from bumping her head as he’d put her into the car, but maybe the stress of being abducted had caused her to snap. “I’m really not following,” he said, sitting on the second bed and trying to appear non-threatening. At least she’d saved Tony before going insane. That was something.

She sighed, the action pulling her white coat tight across her chest. He swallowed hard, keeping his eyes glued to her face. No way was he going to let her catch him ogling her, especially when she was clearly delusional. She seemed calm right now, but if she thought he was going to assault her, there was no telling how she’d react.

“Being nice to me won’t make me trust you,” she said, speaking slowly, as though he were a small child.

“I don’t expect you to trust me,” he replied truthfully. “I just want to know your name.”

“Why?” Her expression was wary, like she thought he could use her name against her somehow.

He spread his hands, palms up, in a gesture of supplication. “So I know what to call you.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip, as if that possibility hadn’t occurred to her. “Maybe I don’t want to talk to you.”

He clenched his jaw, biting back the retort that sprang to mind. It was his fault she was so jumpy, and snapping at her for it would get him nowhere.

“Fair enough. But we’re going to be stuck together for the foreseeable future, so I thought it might be nice if we were on speaking terms. Unless you think you can ignore me for the next few days?” He raised a brow in challenge.

“Days?”

The color drained from her face and for a second he thought she was going to faint. Alarmed, he half rose from the bed, but she held up her hand to keep him in place.

“No, it’s fine. Stay there. I just... I need to go to the bathroom.” She bolted up and dashed off before he could do so much as nod.

Poor thing. He’d worked with guys who threw up before an op, the stress and nervous energy settling in their stomach where it couldn’t do any good. He’d never had that problem himself, but he knew she’d be fine once she got it out of her system.

Wanting to give her a bit of privacy, he stood and stepped closer to Tony’s bed. The medical supplies were still strewed across the other half of the mattress, a jumbled mess of syringes, gauze and glass bottles. He could tidy this up, at least, so she wouldn’t think he’d been sitting here listening to her the whole time.

He tossed the wrappers from the supplies they’d used and then set about collecting the items and putting them back in the paper bag. He moved methodically, gathering all the supplies of one type at a time in an effort to keep the bag somewhat organized, to make it easier to find what was needed in case there was another emergency. He hoped they were done for the night, but he couldn’t be sure.

His hand paused as he began collecting the vials of medication. There were only two bottles on the bed. He closed his eyes, thinking back to his frantic search through the cabinets of the vet clinic. Most of the medication had been locked away, but he distinctly remembered finding three bottles that had been left out. He’d grabbed them along with fistfuls of other supplies and run, not bothering to stop to read the labels of what he’d taken.

Where was the third bottle? He felt along the bed, checking to make sure it hadn’t rolled against Tony. It wasn’t under the pillows, and a quick search of the floor didn’t turn up anything. He paused, suspicion making the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. Had she taken it?

He silently moved to the bathroom door, listening for any noise that would indicate what she was doing in there. It had been disturbingly quiet since she’d entered the bathroom, with no sounds of retching or water running. Almost as if she was trying to be too quiet, so he wouldn’t suspect anything.

Alex grasped the door handle, hesitating only a second. If he interrupted a private moment, he’d apologize. But he doubted she was in there trying to regain her composure.

With a twist and a tug the door opened, making her shriek. She jumped and he heard the musical tinkling of breaking glass as the third vial of medication hit the tiled floor. Just as he’d thought—she had taken it. Probably thought to drug him and make her escape. It wasn’t a bad plan, all things considered, and a small spark of admiration flared to life in his chest.

He leaned a shoulder against the door jamb, crossing his arms and legs as he studied her. She glowered at him, a half-filled syringe in one hand, her other clenched in a tight fist.

“I’m curious, Doctor,” he said conversationally, striving to keep the amusement from his tone. “What would you have done if the first dose didn’t knock me out?”

Chapter 3

He wasn’t dead.

The bastard must have been born under a lucky star, because by all rights, he should have been killed tonight. That had been the plan. That was how things should have gone.