Page 111 of Last Chance Love

That wouldn’t be too shocking, considering the ranch wasn’t the best place to hold onto a secret. There was rarely a moment of privacy outside bathing or if they were a Tier One with their own cabin. Otherwise, there were far too many people around for someone not to notice something. That and after a while, guys really did get a sense of loyalty for the ranch and the program and would happily help catch a problem maker.

“That doesn’t sound like Reed. Why would he do that?”

“Well, considering his history,” she said, then stopped and watched me.

“I’m aware of his charges,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “As if we would share a bed, but not that.”

“I presume nothing without necessary cause,” she said as if the woman didn’t operate on presumption all the damn time. “In any case, his history does not look good for him.”

“Hewasn’t the one selling them,” I countered. “He was the one who saw the screw-ups in the inventory and didn’t say anything because…because he was a blind idiot. Even he’ll tell you that.”

“Then perhaps he’s doing the same thing again,” she said with a shrug. “And if he knows the real person doing it, he needs to come forward. But I can tell you right now there were inventory changes and orders made under a doctor’s name, even when that doctor wasn’t around. So either he was using their login, or he was seriously slacking and ignored someone getting hold of the information to do it. And then ignoring them when they came to get the medication, and then ignoring a dozen other things he should have noticed.”

Okay, that did look bad, but…Reed wouldn’t. I couldn’t stand there and say my gut was telling me that, though I would swear it up and down if Mona asked. The fact of the matter was I trusted Reed completely and utterly. Not just with things like my life and well-being, but I trusted him as a person, as a decent man.

“So, what? You already have a couple of people you caught buying from here?” I asked with a straight face, praying she would say no.

“We do,” she said, my heart sinking but then stopping its descent when I saw the troubled expression on her face. “The problem is none of them saw the seller. They were given instructions where to get the meds and where to take them, as well as some pay, but they were…well, they never saw him.”

“So you have people here who somehow had cash? Because otherwise, you would have said there were strange transfers to and from accounts.”

“We get odd ones all the time, and sometimes I can’t help but think they’re sexual favors. Prostitution is alive and well in this place, even when we try to quash it.”

“Okay?”

“Point is, yes. We looked at the systems to make sure there were no odd transfers. The problem with that is there have been none. So you’re correct. I suspected it was cash. Which was confirmed when we caught up with, well, a couple of individuals involved.”

“Who?”

“That definitely doesn’t concern you. Plus, I’m sure the rumor mill will catch up with you, and you’ll discover who they are.”

I suppose that didn’t matter, but I suspected the real reason she wasn’t telling me was so I didn’t hunt them down, that was unless. “Did you lock them up as well?”

“I’m not answering any questions about them,” she said brusquely, which I thought was answer enough. So they probably weren’t locked up, and she didn’t want me to find and grill them.

“I’ll tell you the truth, Mona. There’s no way in hell Reed would do something like this,” I told her earnestly. “He’s never been a thief in his life. Why would he even need to do this?”

“I imagine being a doctor afforded him a certain lifestyle he was craving once he was out of here,” she said with a shrug. “I know he’s been getting payments from his parents every month, but even if all that plus what he earned here were rolled into his account when he got out, it wouldn’t compare to what he had before. And getting work, medical work, that paid well? We both know he’ll struggle when he’s back in the real world.”

“Money hasnevermotivated him,” I said with a scowl. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. You never really know someone,” she said, glancing at her phone. “And even if it’s not practical, it could simply be the thrill of getting away with it. Misguided belief that he’s able to help people with the medications when the on-staff doctors wouldn’t.”

“He’s not a thrill seeker, and he’s not going to go behind a doctor’s back when they’ve made a call. He respects other doctors way too much for something like that. Even that asshat Dr. Gideon.”

Something flickered behind her eyes at the doctor’s name but disappeared before I could determine what it was. “It doesn’t matter what his motivations for the crimes are, Leon. What matters is that the crime was committed, and the evidence points to him. Now, you can either accept that and continue being difficult, or you can accept it, andmaybeI can arrange for you to see him before they take him back to prison.”

“When?”

“What?”

“When can I see him?”

“Behave yourself, and I’ll allow you to see each other unsupervised for an hour or two on the day he’s set to leave.”

That wasn’t good enough, but I gritted my teeth. “Fine.”

“Good, now leave me in peace.”

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