Warrior Reborn (20 page)

Annie was her patient. Her death signaled a threat to each of her other patients. Who and why was the key. She needed to get home, change, and return to the hospital to search for evidence or find anything to give her a way to stop this from happening again.

Then there was Jason.

She took a deep breath. He walked a fine line doing his job. She knew he wouldn’t cover up the truth, even if Max or Welson insisted. Not that he would bring his issues to her. Last night she had cracked through some part of his barrier and it had obviously unsettled him, given the speed and stealth with which he’d fled this morning. And he had fled.

She glanced back at the note. She was pretty sure that a sign of love wasn’t leaving the car keys. On the other hand, he was fond of his car. Maybe she was just rattled by last night as well and looking too hard for signs, instead of trusting in Jason and time.

With a sigh, she walked back into the bathroom and put on her scrubs. Why bother? She could
fold
naked to her own apartment and no one would be the wiser.

Well, except maybe Ansgar. He had perfected the skill of inconvenient timing. With the events lately, she was relieved he might be there.

Briet
folded
to her apartment bedroom. The smell of fresh coffee permeated the room.

Yep, thank goodness she had dressed. Without a word, she grabbed some clean clothes and headed into the bathroom to change. When she came out, he was standing there sipping from his cup.

“Out late, little sister?”

“Drop it.”

“Such a cheery disposition to go with that smart mouth.”

She glared at him and he nodded to the extra cup for her on top of her nightstand. At least he’d made her tea. Cup in hand, she walked to a kitchen barstool and took in the new furniture, absent the destruction of the break-in. Ansgar had put everything back into order in one day. Her new door looked solid, with several big, thick locks in place.

“It looks great. Thank you for all your work.”

For some reason, the room looked different. Maybe her perspective on Jason’s apartment had opened her eyes. She took in her own living space with surprise, really seeing the room for a change.

Very few items pinpointed her personality or interests. In truth, there was very little difference from Jason’s apartment. To be fair, she was rarely here and it was a
third
home. One didn’t gussy up every nook and cranny. Still, it made her wonder if she saw her situation through blinders and his through a magnifying glass. Was her desire for progress rushing her beyond the steps she and Jason needed to take?

“You going to tell me what you’ve been up to or do I need to lean on that playboy of yours?”

“Leave Jason alone.” Her voice remained calm, belying the rigid change to her posture.

“He’s not good enough for you, Briet.”

With an exasperated sound, she slammed her cup down harder than she planned. Tea sloshed over the edge, just missing her hand.

Silent, Ansgar leaned back against the counter and flipped a sponge to her from the sink. His concerned expression said everything.

“Look, I get that you worry about me and I appreciate it. Really. Some things I have to work out for myself. Just because everything isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. ”

Ansgar stared into his coffee. His lips twisted as if in thought. “You know, if he at least made you happy, I could leave this alone. But I’ve known you a long time, Pip, and it strikes me that the sad is outweighing the happy.”

She turned the mug and slowly wiped at the spill. “I always thought once we found our mate everything would fall into place.” She pushed the sponge aside, not bothering with her tea. “He’s an incredible man, a wonderful person. Who has issues, just like we do.” She waved her hand at his look of incredulity. “Not
just
like we do, but he carries his own share of pain and loss. I want you to promise me to let him be.”

One eyebrow went up, the only movement acknowledging he’d heard her.

“I’m serious. Promise me.”

“You’re already in love with him.”

“Promise me.” She waited through the scowl on his face. “Don’t make me come up with a threat. Because I will if I have to.” She blinked back tears of fatigue.

Ansgar swore, put down his cup, and came around the island to pull her into his arms.

“I promise not to take him on. But, Pip, I won’t stand by and watch him pull you apart.”

“You’re being too hard on him. I’m fine. I’ve always been fine.”

He leaned his cheek to the top of her head. “I want better than fine for you, little sister.”

“Then just do this for me. Trust me on this.” She pulled back and tried to give him a smile.

He shook his head and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “I’ll swear to you that I want to whup his ass.”

She smiled this time. “I know. You wanted to do that before I even met him and you
won’t
because you promised.”

“You want me to ignore last night?”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Please, I’m not twelve. Jason didn’t take advantage of me. He was helping me through something.”

“Through what?”

“One of my kids died yesterday.” She gripped his shirt and rested her cheek against his chest. The tears were finished, but she didn’t want to bare her soul again.

“I’m sorry, Pip.” His hand stroked her hair, pulling a little at the end of each strand just as he had when they were growing up.

With a hard swallow, she pushed away and brushed at her bangs. “I need to get to the hospital. I have to get blood samples before they do something with Annie’s body.”

Ansgar closed his eyes, tightened his lips, and shook his head once before he looked at her again. “This wasn’t an accident? This is like your car, where you only tell me bits you want me to know?”

How had he—Jason. That turncoat. “I see you two get along well enough to swap stories about me.” She let out an ungraceful snort. “No. Annie’s death isn’t like the car or the attack or the apartment.”

“The playboy didn’t mention an attack.” Ansgar’s voice deepened, a growl imminent.

She rolled her eyes. “He probably didn’t want you so angry you wouldn’t communicate.”

Ansgar leaned in, his face inches from hers. “
You’ve
never had a problem communicating with me before, little sister. Talk to me.”

He was right. She’d been so busy lately, so wrapped up in the drama of what to do about her mate that she hadn’t used the best sounding board she’d ever had. Pursing her lips, she considered where to start. “I was grabbed at a public relations event.”

“A Welson event?” His eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Yes, but there were hundreds of people in attendance. It’s not like the man scoped me out. He could have grabbed any woman there.”

“And?”

“He didn’t succeed.” She swallowed hard. “He did get me from behind—took me by surprise. I couldn’t
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because he was hanging on, with too many people to see.” She held up her hand to ward off his rebuke. “I know that shouldn’t be an overriding factor, but we don’t go public with our abilities. The more critical point is I would have taken him with me. I don’t think I could have overpowered him, even somewhere more isolated. To be honest, I was scared. I’ve never been in a truly threatening situation alone.”

He stared at her, not saying a word, waiting for her to finish. His arms crossed over his chest and his brows drew together, as if he’d already decided to lock her away in a tower. “Jason took care of him?”

She nodded. “He punched the guy and got me free.”

“When was this?”

She drew in a deep breath. “The night of Sheri’s accident.” Shaking her head, she closed her eyes. “A couple of hours before her accident.”

“Do I have this right? You were attacked. Then the car you loaned to someone was in a fatal accident and your apartment was ransacked.” His jaw clenched and he took an exaggerated breath. “Any other details slip your mind?”

“Don’t treat me like a child.” She gave a quick shake of her head. “I have no proof to connect the first two. I never used that car and the crowd at the reception was huge. The man didn’t say anything to indicate he wanted me specifically. Human women are attacked much too frequently.”

“Briet—”

“I feel this focus on me
now
. But the attack seemed random at the time. Both it and the car accident were weeks ago. However, I agree with you about the break-in. It is too targeted. They worked hard to get in and then trashed this place. I realize, with everything put together, it looks bad. I just don’t have enough information or proof. It’s not like I’m purposefully trying to get myself killed.”

He shook his head and turned away, worry evident in quick, tense movements. “You could take a break from your work. Maybe long enough to shake whoever is doing this?”

“I can’t leave these kids. I’ve discovered abnormalities in the trial. I think Annie’s death is related to the inconsistencies. I can’t leave the rest of the children at risk if she died because of the treatments. I need answers. Their lives depend on what I do.”

“You are not a sacrifice for these children’s well being.”

“I’m not putting myself at risk. Nothing has ever happened at the hospital. Too many people there know me. I’m surrounded, constantly. The car, the apartment, they targeted places, things I rarely use. The reception was a fluke. Even then, Jason wasn’t far away.”

“Why was he away from you at all?”

She blinked, not wanting to get into a discussion on the stages of her relationship with Jason. “I was leaving the reception to head home.”

Ansgar shook his head. “No, Briet. I’m not buying it. Why wasn’t he with you?”

Biting her lip, she grasped for anything, something to stave off the answer. Nothing came to her, except the truth. She looked away not wanting to see the assessment in his eyes. “We were both there for work, to mingle. I don’t have a lot of experience mingling with huge groups of people. Especially with other women. I just wanted to go home.” Her brother looked furious and she realized he’d made the wrong assumption. “He was trying to tie up business conversations to leave with me. I just jumped the gun.”

“Why would your mate—”

“Please, can we discuss this later? I need to get those samples from Annie’s body. I’ll stay at the Sanctum for the next few days. We can discuss the attacks more then.” Determined to present the point that she wasn’t discussing Jason anymore, she offered the only true choice she had, knowing Ansgar would try to help her get to the bottom of this problem. He would probably back her in a workable solution to let her finish her job on the trial.

Ansgar turned away, muttering under his breath, then spun back with determination written all over his face. “Fine. I’ll
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with you to the hospital and when you’re finished I’ll meet you and escort you home.”

“Thank you.” She opened her mouth to say something else and got Ansgar’s hand, raised, palm open to stop her words.

“You haven’t been practicing either, have you? Haven’t even worked routines with Tsu in the last two weeks.”

She shrugged. She’d been busy with more important things.

“I’m sure Jason can live without you long enough for you to be prepared and stay alive.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she prepared for more battle on the Jason front. “I don’t need Jason’s approval.”

Ansgar jerked a nod. “Good to know. We’ll work something out. I’ll pick you up after work—in the lobby. Don’t leave the hospital.”

Briet wasn't sure if she should be annoyed at his dominance or relieved she didn’t need to delve further into either the situation with Annie or the one with Jason. For once, she decided on discretion and chose silence.

CHAPTER 19

“We’ve had no response from the Bremars.”

Jason gave Max a quick look as they walked through the hallways to the hospital’s main lobby.

Max continued. “We understand they’re immersed in the tragedy and details of their daughter’s death. The reality is, we need to perform the autopsy as quickly as possible. I suspect they don’t remember, but they signed a release months ago.”

Jason gave single nod. He’d already tried to call the Bremars on his way to Max’s car this morning. His purpose was to offer his respects, not to give them further cause for distress. He’d gotten the answering machine at home and Mr. Bremar’s work phone had rolled over to voice mail. “I’ll speak with Annie’s parents. You’re targeting to be at the hospital when?”

“Later this morning.”

“Max. That’s cutting it tight. Can’t you buy me a few hours? If I can’t get through to them, I’ll need to go out to the house. Having the autopsy performed without their current consent will make Welson look insensitive and callous. Bad press, no matter what the parents signed months ago.”

Max raised his hands and gave a conciliatory shrug. “I’m not the villain. Trust me, I didn’t pick this time. I’ll do what I can to push it back, but I'm not sure I can get the Welson attorneys to move from today.”

“Fine, just give me as long as you can.” Jason punched the elevator for the pediatric oncology floor. The doors closed, leaving Max in the lobby on his cell phone.

With brisk strides, Jason headed straight for the nurses’ station. Natasha King and Nurse Walker, both pulling the early shift, looked up as he leaned against the counter. “Would either of you know how I might be able to track down the Bremars?”

Patrice let out a low whistle. “Those poor parents. So, they’re going to do an autopsy, hmm?”

“Hopefully, not before I get consensus from the parents.”

Patrice rounded the counter and pulled him further away. “Look, I don’t normally get into people’s business, but you took good care of Dr. Hyden last night. She looks ready to cope this morning, so I feel certain you’ll respect the Bremars’ grief.”

“Dr. Hyden’s here already?” She’d beat him to work.

“She’s somewhere, not on the floor right now. I walked in with her and her brother. Nice man. Big.”

Great, Ansgar has a fan.
He must have picked her up right after Jason left.