Page 42 of Mountain Man Bad Boy

“Nah, it belonged to the business.” Mike put a hand on my shoulder again. “Can you take a five?”

“Sure.”

We went into the house at the far end of the yard, the one Mike had grown up in. It had been converted into a set of offices, with the kitchen as the break room. A Coke machine now stood in the entryway. I plugged a couple of quarters in and handed Mike a drink before getting one of my own. We sat at the table, the same one that Mike’s parents had left behind when they downsized.

“I’ll never get used to this place being an office building,” Mike said.

“Remember when we pulled up your mom’s flowers?”

“Or when we made beet smoothies?”

“And your mom made us finish them,” I completed the memory.

Mike shook his head. “So many things have changed.”

“Can I talk to you about something?” I sobered, running a finger along the top of my can.

“What is it?” He could sense the gravity of the situation from the tone of my voice.

“I’m seeing this girl…” I paused. I wasn’t sure “seeing” was right. We had only been on one real date and had sex a couple of times, but I had fallen for her. If it was in the cards, I wanted to be with her for a long, long time.

“Congratulations.” Mike nodded. “Who? How did you meet?”

“She’s, um…” I decided to tell him a partial truth. “She’s a nurse from the treatment center.”

Instead of discouraging me, Mike’s face lit up. “You dog!” He hit me on the shoulder, strong enough to sting. “Wait, is this above board?”

“Not really.” I winced. “I mean, I didn’t touch her in the treatment center—she coulda lost her job. But I’m sure someone would have something to say if they knew she was here.”

“I’ll bet.” Mike was all in, as eager as a housewife for the news.

“She followed me here after I was released. She found me two days ago.” I conveniently kept out the part about her being Matthews’ daughter.

Mike shook his head in appreciation. When I stalled, he nudged me with a salacious “And?”

“And we hooked up a few times, in her hotel room and in my room.”

Mike clapped once, loud enough to shake the drinks. I shook my head. It was different coming from Mike; I knew he cared about me, and he wasn’t trying to get a rise. “So what’s the problem?”

“She’s got a brother who’s an addict,” I answered. “He called her yesterday asking for money.”

“Hmm,” Mike answered, still not seeing the threat.

“And he asked her for pills. He thinks she has access to drugs from the treatment center.”

“They have drugs at the treatment center?” Mike questioned.

“Pharmaceuticals,” I explained. “A lot of people have mental problems as well as substance abuse issues. Some of the drugs they’re prescribed could be sold on the black market.”

“Oh.” Mike’s voice fell an octave as he began to grasp the situation.

“She doesn’t have access to the drugs. She just picks them up from the pharmacy and delivers them to the patients. But the brother doesn’t know that and probably doesn’t care.” I laid the entire conundrum out on the table.

“I see,” Mike responded gravely.

“I’m just worried that he’s gonna do something stupid,” I explained. “That he’s gonna come looking for her because he thinks she’s the answer to his problems.”

“How much do you care about this woman?”

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