Page 47 of The Chance

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“What are you fucking doing?”Justin Michaels almost yelled.

Aubrey tried to push herself up—but her arm… if it hadn’t been broken before, it was definitely broken now. She’d landed so hard…

She fought the pain, the nausea. She… things had changed now. With Mandy and Dr. Michaels here.

Unless they were in on whatever Howard had been doing, too.

She looked between the three of them, her mind racing to piece together what she was seeing. Then she wished she hadn’t looked, honestly. Mandy Kirby was completely naked, clutching Justin Michaels’s shirt to her chest.

Mandy just stared at Aubrey—Aubrey stared back, hand wrapped around her hurting arm. It was broken—she just knew it was. The pain—she was trying not to vomit. She could get through this. She could.

Howard stepped closer, blocking her view of the others. “You should’ve kept to your charts and your protocols, Fisher. Now it’s too late.”

He kicked out. Aubrey didn’t get out of the way in time. Mandy screamed again. Dr. Michaels cursed.

He stepped toward the other man.

“What the hell are you doing, Dale? I told you to leave Dr. Fisher the hell alone.” He was trying to block Mandy from view. And he sounded so angry. Like he had that night in Aubrey’s driveway.

His pants were still unzipped. The arrogant jerk Justin Michaels wore Spongebob boxers. And—Aubrey gasped and turned away—things were poking out.

How often had Michaels and Mandy Kirby snuck away for a little fun in the boiler room?

Talk about nauseating.

Howard shifted his weight. “She’s been digging into things she shouldn’t. This is on her. I’m probably going to jail because of her.”

“You’ve been digging your own grave for years. Don’t pin this on her. I know what you’ve been doing, Dale. I’ve seen the proof myself.”

Howard’s lip curled. “You think you’re above it all? You wouldn’t even have your fancy orthopedic practice here if it weren’t for me, good old Uncle Dale.”

“I owed you once. For helping me after my mom married into your circus. But I don’t owe you my integrity. And I’m not letting you drag me or anyone else down with you. Mandy, sweetheart, put your clothes back on.”

Aubrey staggered when Justin turned, catching her good arm and pulling her upright. “Shit. It’s bad. I’m sorry, Aubrey. He broke your arm. We’ll get you upstairs, and get you taken care of.”

He nudged her toward Mandy. “Stay here. Mandy, keep her steady. Keep her from going into shock.”

Dale Howard let out a nasty string of curses.

Mandy flinched. “Justin, make him leave. He’s crazy.”

Howard whirled on Mandy. “You think you’re safe? You’ve been up to your neck in hospital politics. The gossip. Those fucking rumors you like to spread everywhere. I’ll make it known. How do you think that’ll look when the truth comes out?”

Mandy’s grip on Justin’s shirt tightened. “I didn’t do anything illegal.”

Howard’s laugh was sharp. “Illegal doesn’t matter when people start asking questions. Rumors and speculation are enough. I have been so careful, for years. Even before Henedy…and this is what I get. Some damned little slut digging into things she shouldn’t.”

He turned back to Aubrey. “Why couldn’t you have just been content screwing every guy who looks at you, like this little bitch? That would have gotten you just as far. Instead, you brought in those damned Laughlins. And ruined everything.”

Aubrey stepped in front of Mandy. The movement sent pain radiating up her arm, but she refused to back down. “You’ve made yourself the target, Howard. This isn’t about anyone else. You’ve been stealing from patients, the hospital, who else? I really need you to catch me up here. Because guess what—I didn’t know. I am not involved in that investigation. I’ve been focused on missing pills.”

“I think he’s been doing that, too,” Dr. Michaels said. “I just haven’t been able to prove it yet. I’ve been trying. I think he’s been using Mandy to cover it, writing scripts with her cress, too. I was going to go to Alvaro when I had enough. I had to make sure. He’s… family. And… he’s family. What else was I supposed to do? This will hurt people I care about, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.”

Howard stared at him, breathing hard. “You’re a traitor, Justin. Or just led by your dick like every other idiot around this place now.”

“Maybe. But I’m not the one stealing from people, or selling drugs, or hurting people, and I’m not the one who shoved her down here. You did this. Own it. I think he is the one who trashed your house, too. I just can’t prove it.”

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