Page 37 of Inevitable Dream

She greets me with a grin. “Welcome to the team, Sadie. You’re a little early for your shift, though, aren’t you?” she teases. I know immediately I’m going to love working with Veronica.

“Just a tad. The reason I’m here, though, is that one of my dearest friends is being cared for at the hospital, and her parents over there”—I turn and nod at the Fontaines—“are worried sick.” I know it’s a lie, but I see how upset her family is, and I want to help ease their minds.

“Remmi Fontaine?”

“Yes.” I give her my pleading eyes. “Please, can I see her for a moment? Maybe get an update on her status?”

Veronica bites her bottom lip and gives me a nod. “Two minutes. Not a second longer. Dr. Martin is an ass. A great doctor but an ass, and he’ll bite my head off if he knows I let you in without his approval.”

I cross my fingers over my heart. “I swear, if I hear him come, I’ll hide in a closet.”

Veronica leads me through the double doors. I glance over my shoulder and see Rebel give me a wink. Wire comes to the edge of his chair, watching as I walk through. Police are guarding the door, but Veronica explains that I’m with her family.

Veronica comes in with me and goes through the routine of taking Remmi’s vitals as I sneak a peek at the chart. A high dose of Rohypnol was found in Remmi’s blood. It’s enough to knock her out for quite a while. That explains why she’s still not conscious. Remmi looks haggard but is still extremely beautiful. I’ll bet her long, chestnut-brown hair is gorgeous when she’s at her best. She has the imprint of a hand on her face. Someone slapped her pretty hard to leave that kind of a mark.

“The doctor had us run a rape kit.” Veronica comes close to me and quietly whispers, “We haven’t told her parents because we were waiting for the results. She wasn’t raped, and the doctor will be confirming this with her parents shortly. Something or someone interrupted it from happening. Her panties were torn, which was what alerted us to the possibility.”

I move beside the bed, taking Remmi’s hand. “You’re safe now, sweet girl,” I say softly.

“She fought like hell. She had the guy’s skin under her nails. She’s going to need a friend. She’s lucky to have you,” Veronica says.

I manage a smile in her direction, but my heart is breaking for this beautiful woman who didn’t give up. They had to roofie her to get her to submit. Thank God the team arrived when they did.

“I’m sorry, Sadie, but we have to go,” Veronica says.

“Don’t be sorry. Thank you for doing this,” I tell her. I can’t help but brush the back of my hand over Remmi’s cool cheek. “You’re so brave, Remmi.”

We slink out, and once we’re back at the nurses’ station, I give Veronica a hug and thank her again, telling her how happy I am to be working with such an amazing woman. Now for the hard part: telling Rebel what I found out. I’ll leave it to him to decide how much he wants to tell the others.

I inhale deeply and turn to walk toward Mitchell and Mary. Rebel instantly falls in next to me, sliding his arm around me. Everyone huddles around, waiting for me to speak.

“Remmi was drugged with Rohypnol. There was a fairly large dose in her system. She’s going to be out for a while. The doctors are taking good care of her, and she will wake up. It just might take longer than we would all want. She has a few bruises, but nothing permanent. No broken bones, thank goodness. We need to be patient,” I tell them.

Mitchell breaks down sobbing, “They took her away from me. They’d never done that before. I heard her fighting and screaming. I tried so hard to get to her. They wouldn’t let me go. Those men held me down while they hurt my girl.” He covers his face, looking desolate and defeated.

Mary comforts her husband. Phineas sits next to Mitchell, his arm around his shoulders, speaking quietly, trying to settle him down. When I turn to Wire, he searches my face and gets up from his chair. His jaw is tight and he looks murderous, and he’s heading straight for me.

Falcon notices and comes to stand closer. Phoenix and Bull see what’s happening, and they move in as well.

Wire bends down, and in a quietly restrained tone, he asks, “What aren’t you saying?”

I look up at Rebel, who has tightened his hold around my waist and is staring back at me. “Sweetheart, Wire’s a hacker. He can probably get into the hospital computer system in less than an hour.”

That’s very true, and it’s better coming from me. “All right, then, the doctors found signs that she may have been…violated.” I quickly add, “But she wasn’t.” I take a deep breath. “Remmi was fighting him off, and that’s when she was drugged. This man would have raped her if he had the time.”

Well, now all the men look fit to kill.

“Jesus!” Falcon exclaims under his breath, careful not to let the Fontaines hear.

“I say we find the lot of them and finish them off,” Bull exclaims.

Phoenix shakes his head, but his expression is nothing less than pained. Rebel dips his head and kisses the top of mine.

Wire looks like he’s a bomb about to go off. I call his name softly.

“What signs?” Wire asks, and I look at him, confused.

“Pardon?”

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