Page 28 of Hacker Auction

A young man in his early twenties sat behind a large oval desk on the top floor of the hospital. His black rimmed glasses covered up his face. “I’m here to see Rachelle Carlton.”

He glanced down at his computer. “She doesn’t have anything on her calendar this afternoon.”

“I’m with Blackwood Security. It’s regarding a case we are working on. Do you think she can fit me in for ten minutes?”

“She was in mediation an hour ago. Let me see if she is done.” His voice came out squeaky as he picked up his phone and called. “You can head into her office.”

The double doors were partially open, and her head was down. I stopped and watched her for a few seconds. She was the most breathtaking woman I’d ever seen. I tapped on the door, and her head shot up. “Wes? I thought it would be Brock.”

“Sorry to disappoint.” I wanted to ask if she would’ve denied the meeting if she knew it was me, but I didn’t want to hear her say it. “We got a couple leads on a case we are working on and wanted to ask you for some information in regards to the hospital.”

Her eyes dimmed, and she glanced out the windows for a second. “What can I help you with, Mr. Barley?”

Oh, she thought using my last name would put a boundary between us. The one word triggered something inside of me, and I wanted to take a chance. I wanted to spend more time with this woman. Maybe Paxton was right about taking a chance.

She might not know it, but Rachelle would be mine, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever stop chasing her. I finally understood what it meant to truly know when you found the one. There was nothing she could do to push me away.

“I think we are on first name basis. Only a couple of weeks ago, I had my head between your legs.”

“Wes! You can’t speak to people like that.”

“I think what you are saying and thinking are two different things. Especially since your nipples pebbled.”

Her arms went across her shirt, covering up her breasts. “Did you forget about your one date rule?”

“People can change.” I wasn’t about to admit out loud I changed my mind only a second ago when my eyes landed on her, and a client’s words floated through my mind.

Rachelle’s green eyes bored into me as I sat in the chair across from her. “I have a hard time believing you drove all the way down here to have this conversation. I’m guessing you are here to discuss something else.”

“I could’ve sent someone else, but I think it’s time we talk.” I wanted to do a lot more than talk, but I could still tell how pissed she was at me.

“Our personal life is not up for discussion, Wes. I have a son to think about and can’t have you changing your mind in a week that you can’t date again. Now, what can I help you with?”

I let her think she’d won the conversation for a second. I didn’t plan on leaving the room without discussing our future. “We found some data today that linked two women who have gone missing to this hospital. The third woman died from a beating she received. Brock already accessed the patient records, and there was no sign of any of the woman.”

“Then no way they could have ever come here. Each patient is checked in the second they arrive.”

“Is it possible to delete a patient’s records?”

Rachelle tapped her finger on her desk. “Yes and no.”

“Can you explain that to me more?”

“When a patient comes in, they fill out a paper form, and then it’s entered into the system. Even if they were deleted from the system, we might have a paper hard copy.”

“But if a person is willing to risk deleting the file, you really think they would let the paper copy go.”

“Once again, I could say yes and no. The paper copies are left with records under tight lock and key after they are filled out. The doctors and nurses don’t have access to these copies. During orientation, I was told that many doctors accidentally deleted records and lost the paper copy. If a file is deleted, a request has to be put in for the records staff to reenter.”

“So if the person who deleted the file was a doctor or nurse, you should still have the record.”

“Yes. If you give me the patient information, I can ask the records clerk and send anything I find to Brock.”

“Or you could call me.” I hated how she immediately said she planned to send the information to Brock. The only person to blame was me for pushing her away. “Rachelle, can we talk about us? You seemed to have built up a huge wall over the last couple weeks between us. I didn’t bring a hammer to knock it down.”

“Wes, you were the one who engraved the rules,” Rachelle shot back. “Sorry if it’s hard for me to believe things changed overnight, and you all of a sudden don’t have the one night rule.”

“You changed me.”

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