Page 4 of Taken By the Biker Daddies

I could tell from the crease on her forehead that she was debating whether or not to share information with us, and from the way Max had his thumb tucked and twisting inside the pocket of his jeans, he wanted her to. What to do?

The young doctor seemed similarly at a loss, pursing her lips and lifting a hand to tuck a loose coil of hair behind her ear. The angel wings tattoo on her wrist caught my eye.

I grinned, knowing I had just found a way in.

“Dr. Mathers, I’m Jake Willis.” I offered the doctor my hand, which she shook reluctantly. “I believe you were the one who stitched up my arm a few years ago in the ER.”

I showed her the scar.

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I…”

“Don’t remember because you have too many patients. I know. But if it helps, you were having a rough night. You looked like you’d been crying. I pried. You said something about a messy break-up and how you thought about getting a tattoo. I told youI’d be happy to give you one for free, and you showed up at my shop a few days later.”

“Oh.” She touched her nape. “That was you.”

“Yup. And like I said that day, the ink suits you. Do you still like it?”

“Yes.” She smiled a little. “I thought I’d regret it, but I never did. Some of my patients like it, too.”

“Sounds great.”

“Yeah.” She pursed her lips once more.

I cleared my throat. “Anyway, is it possible for my friend and I to see Lauren? We’re just worried about her.”

The corners of Dr. Mathers’ mouth twitched. “Well, I don’t really feel comfortable letting non-family members see patients or sharing medical information with them, but since she doesn’t seem to have any family…”

And my little recollection about her convinced her that we’re not bad guys.

“I guess you’ll have to do. She needs someone right now.”

“And I don’t want her to feel alone,” Max said.

Dr. Mathers let out a breath. “All right then. Please follow me.”

She started walking, and Max and I followed, though I grabbed his shoulder so we could hang back because I wanted to ask him something.

“Are you sure she has no family?”

“I checked her wallet while waiting for the ambulance. I saw a folded memorial card from the funeral for a couple, Melinda and Terry Andrews. Nothing about a sibling.”

Wow. Talk about thorough.

Max scratched the back of his head. “I’ve really screwed up this time, haven’t I? This woman has already lost so much.”

I looked at him, finding it odd that he sounded upset. He almost sounded like he cared. And about a complete stranger, no less. It made me curious to meet this Lauren.

I patted his back. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“I hope so. I saw some cuts that happened even before I hit her. And she just suddenly showed up on the road out of nowhere.”

That did sound concerning.

“Well, we can ask her what happened, and we’ll help her however we can.”

“Everything okay?” Dr. Mathers asked, stopping to check on us.

I nodded. “All good, doc. We’re right behind you.”

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