Page 14 of Her Dragon Outlaw

"That's a kind offer but I'm married," she says in a tone that suggests she couldn't care less.

"It's a shame then," I say.

Her eyes dart down to my chest then back up to my face."It doesn't have to be."

"Now, now, are you planning on using me?" I lower the tenor of my voice.

Her pupils dilate, and she licks her thin, bowed lips. "We would be using each other." She places a cool hand on top of mine.

Her palm is clammy on mine and I want it off immediately. At the last minute, I twist the corner of my mouth up, interrupting the instinctual grimace and managing to sort it into a makeshift grin. Lori better get her shit together because I’m not touching this woman. Flirting I can do, but nothing more. I have standards.

My eyes search for Lori.

She crawls back toward the door.

“I was honestly looking for something more exclusive," I say, forcing my grip to be gentle as I remove her hand and pull out of reach.

The receptionist frowns.

Lori suddenly holds up a finger behind her signaling me to wait. My heart stops. Then she turns down the hallway and runs.

What the hell is she doing?

Before the receptionist can go to turn again my hands shoot out, grabbing hers. Her dark brows dip into a U. I swallow the bile building in my throat and mechanically stroke her cold skin with my thumb.

Lori better have a good reason for this.

I focus my gaze on some obscure part of her face mimicking a look of interest.“On second thought, I'm sure we could still be friends.”

13

LORI

The urgent squeak of my boots causes me to wince. The sound cuts like glass through the otherwise silent, blinding bright halls. I strain my ears, hoping that my clumsy feet didn’t give me away. After thirty seconds of waiting, once I was sure- as sure as I could be at any rate- that no one was coming, I head further in.

What the hell are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?

I had to agree and disagree with myself. Is this dangerous? Definitely. Do I know what I am doing? Not even a little bit. That never stopped me before though, which is why I agreed to help the good detective.

Well, that and my curiosity.

And anger. Let's not forget that.

Not to mention he’s probably my only chance of finding out what happened to Tammy.

The ache in my chest makes my breath shaky, erratic and short. I thought I’d be able to find something we could use behind the receptionist's desk and I guess I found something, just not what I was expecting.

While I was rummaging through the manila envelopes I realized that most of the files were fake. They had to be. They had patient names and numbers but not much else. In fact, it looked like most of their clients only made it to the first two or three visits and then never came back.

Not a good sign.

My footsteps are light now, having learned my lesson from the first time. The sound of murmuring has me ducking into a small maintenance closet. I hold my breath, slowly counting to ten before I peek out.

Following my gut, I head in the direction the voices were coming from. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I know I won't leave empty-handed. There aren't any good reasons for a medical lab to be filled with mock files. They were hiding something. Now I just need proof.

My stomach twists at the thought of the unknown liquid writing through my veins. Sweat slips down my back, the air is dense, suffocating and so cold. My skin starts to itch and I rub my fingertips against my thumb, using the steady movement as an anchor.

I will not panic.

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