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“I’m not even remotely surprised,” I chuckled. That sounded exactly like something Keegan would do.

“All right, let’s keep it simple. How do Crown and Gingers sound?” Gabby asked.

“Works for me.”

“Sounds good.”

Once the drinks were made, Gabby sat down and took a large sip. “Okay, what’d you find out about Lauren?”

“Have a few more sips first,” I suggested.

Gabby tipped up her glass and emptied the contents in one go. “Okay, I’m ready.”

I shook my head and laughed. I hoped she was as ready as she thought she was. “So far, I’ve come across two things I think are significant. One is that she works at the doctor’s office where you do your clinical hours for school.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Gabby said confidently.

“Yes, she does. You’ve never seen her there because she only works on Mondays and Fridays,” I explained.

“Okay, okay,” Gabby said and nodded her head a few times. “I’m not going to ask why she didn’t tell me. Even though she knew that’s where I was assigned. And now that I’m thinking about it, she was the one who suggested I ask Dr. Gordon about doing my clinical hours with him. Nope, I’m not going to ask why. I’m just going to assume it’s because the bitch is certifiable. Yep, that’s what I’m going with. What else?”

“You okay?” I asked after her tirade.

“Not at all,” she said and went back to the bar to make herself another drink.

“What else?” she asked again after she returned to her seat.

“I kind of wish I’d started with this one,” I mumbled and inhaled deeply before I delivered what I knew would be a shocking revelation. “Lauren Wiener isn’t in the nurse practitioner program at Cedar Valley University, or any other program.”

“What?” Gabby gasped.

“She’s not a student,” I repeated.

“Was she ever?”

“No, she’s never been enrolled at the university.”

Gabby sucked in a sharp breath and clasped her hands together tightly. “You’re telling me the girl I met at the library on campus, the girl with a stack of nursing books, the girl who asked for my help with a project, the girl I’ve been studying with for months isn’t really a student?”

“Yes,” I said carefully. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

“Holy fucking shit,” she breathed. “I thought we were friends, and she was stalking me the whole time. Who the hell is friends with their stalker? No, who the hell is friends with their stalkee? Is that even a word?” She picked up her glass and downed half the contents. “I think I’m having a panic attack. I feel like it’s hard to breathe, and my chest kind of hurts. That’s a panic attack, right? Because if it isn’t, something else is really wrong. But that’s how they work, right? You think you’re dying when you’re really just having a panic attack? Why do I keep saying panic attack? That’s just making it worse. I’ve got to calm down. But I can’t calm down. I don’t like this at all,” she rambled.

Shadow, who’d been quietly resting on the floor at her feet, jumped onto the couch and climbed into her lap before she could continue. She wrapped her arms around him and heaved in breath after breath.

“Flint, will you get a paper bag from the pantry in the kitchen?” I asked calmly.

He darted out of the room and returned seconds later with a bag in his outstretched hand.

“Breathe into this,” I instructed. “You’re hyperventilating. And yes, you’re having a panic attack.”

She took the bag from me and covered her mouth. After a few minutes of huffing and puffing, her breathing slowed to a manageable rate. I gently took the bag from her and smoothed my hand over her hair. I would have moved closer, but Shadow was in the way, and it was clear he was not moving. “Better?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” she said quietly, followed by a slight laugh. “Well, that sucked.”

17

GABBY

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