Page 104 of Bad Blood

The mound of books topples over when my knee bumps into it, and I curse my stiff back as I try to straighten.

Knuckles strum against the door again.

My muscles tighten with anticipation, and fear halts my hand over the knob, snarling teeth and angry words settling into my mind.

I’ve never seen him like that.

I was trying to get a reaction, but I never expected a threat to accompany it.

I snap out of the memory, allowing it to fade.

“Dr. Fields?” The unfamiliar voice calls from the hallway. The rapping returns. “You in there?”

I fumble the handle, trying to twist the lock, and pull the door open.

Hudson has his fist poised in the air, ready to knock again.

“Detective? What are you doing here?”

I get a sheepish grin. “You’re okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Visions of the anger on Kline’s face resurface, and I shake my ankle, the pulse of the pressure from his hand still throbbing. I clear the growing lump from my throat and steady a fist on my hip, surprised neither of the two people I pictured are at the door.

Why is he here?

I don’t have to voice my question as he stuffs his hand in his pocket and shifts his weight to lean against the doorframe. “I wasn’t comfortable leaving you earlier but didn’t want to cause suspicion.” What would make him uncomfortable about leaving me with Kline? I knew it. They are suspicious of him. I knew it. There’s definitely a commonality between the women he’s been dating and the two victims.

Disheveled appearance. Unkempt work attire. Not paying attention. Claiming false information in patient’s charts. Disrespecting me in front of coworkers.

The list goes on and on.

And Kline checks off every box.

I don’t know why I didn’t see it sooner. I’ve been so focused on trying to clear myself that I didn’t see what was right in front of me.

My stomach twists with discomfort. I check my watch. “It’s been almost an hour. If you were worried, why’d you wait so long?” I paste on a polite smile and pull the door open all the way, waiting for him to enter.

“I wanted to make sure he left before I came back up.” He gives me another guarded smile and bows his head before approaching my desk. “But you’re still here, and it looks like you’re okay.”

“I have some things I need to research.” My calm voice belies the pounding in my chest, and I have to fight the contents of my stomach from spilling across the floor. Hudson needs to confess to what he’s saying with bashful glances, fidgeting hands, and a lack of words before my mind goes into overdrive.

Why was he uncomfortable leaving me with Kline?

“I wasn’t sure if you planned on staying, but that pile of books had me guessing correctly.”

“I’m looking into some . . . things,” I say, glancing at Liam’s chart amongst the rest in the pile on my desk. “Why didn’t you want to leave me here?” And why won’t he answer my damn question?

A rush of blood fills my ears. I grit my teeth as frustration bleeds into my brain. Looking at diagnosis codes and checking charts was exactly what I wanted to do on a Friday night. He makes his way to the chairs tucked under the front of my desk and pulls one out as I follow, but he perches on the corner of my desk instead of taking it.

“Dr. Matthews’ reaction to you showing up caught me off guard. Is there something going on between you two?” If he only knew the half of it. He pulls a pen from the holder next to my stapler and waits for my response. The grin he gave me before turns into a cocky smirk.

“Absolutely not.” Besides the fact that he threatened me. Does Hudson have suspicions of something else? Because—yuck.

“Did he mention why we stopped by?”

“Dr. Pendegrass.”

“We’re looking into some discrepancies in people’s stories.”

---