Page 12 of Lake's Legacy

“She transferred over to Omega from Tulane, like the other victims. Maybe that’s the connection?” Zip offers.

“I can access the staff records for Omega. I can check for anyone born or living in the south before moving to Louisiana,” Pirate says. “I’ll do the same when I get into Tulane’s records. Maybe someone targets recent transfers because the staff may think they just took off?”

“We’re looking at someone familiar with both hospitals and their staff,” Hex confirms. “We’ll start our search there. Anything else?”

“Yeah, I’ve got something. I know the timing is bad, but my brother called. He needs me to come home and provide medical assistance to the tribe. Someone destroyed their clinic and roughed up the doctor who operated it. They have two pregnant women who need ultrasounds and exams, along with kids who need vaccines. I can try to postpone for a few days if you need me to be around. However, Olivia is off for the next four days. I was thinking of taking her with me. Maybe a change of scenery will help.”

“Plus, it will keep the assholes from finding her,” Abra says.

“Good idea,” Hex says. “You’ll only be a few hours away if we need you back here. Who took out the clinic? Kids or someone causing trouble for the tribe?”

“I don’t know. I plan on asking Toff about it when I see him. He didn’t tell me much over the phone, but I know him. He sounded worried about something.”

“Let us know if there is more going on than just an isolated case of vandalism,” Hex says. “We may have our hands full with these assholes kidnapping women, but the tribe is your family, too. We’ll be there if you need us.”

CHAPTER EIGHT: OLIVIA

Before I met Lake, I never saw myself riding on the back of a motorcycle. They were death traps—donor cycles. So, I was unprepared for the first time I climbed behind Lake. Unprepared for the feeling of freedom. I was certainly unprepared to enjoy it as much as I did. There is something intimate about wrapping yourself around your man, feeling the throbbing machine between your legs, and the sexiness of watching him easily control the powerful machine. My analytical mind knows that we’re one careless driver away from death, but I still feel safe riding behind Lake.

Much too soon, we pull up at Tulane Hospital. Cleo and Delphine climb off their men’s bikes to join me as we enter the hospital lobby. The guys come in behind us but sit to wait for us while I take the girls up to the second floor.

I go straight to my locker and check inside. Since I’ve only worked there for a week, I haven’t had much time to accumulate too many things. I have travel-size bottles of soap, shampoo, conditioner, and an extra pair of scrubs. As I expected, I didn’t find my phone. The girls and I search the locker room. Lockers line the walls with benches in between. We searched under the benches and tried each locker with no luck.

“Try calling her phone,” Cleo suggests to Delphine. “Maybe whoever took it didn’t turn it off.”

Delphine takes out her phone and makes the call. We hear a phone ring and follow the sound to the laundry cart outside the shower. The cart is half full of damp towels and dirty scrubs. Digging through them to the bottom of the cart, my hand brushes over something hard. Grabbing it, I pull out my phone.

The door to the nurse’s lounge opens, and Joyce steps in. Her eyes go wide when she spots Cleo and Delphine. I’m guessing she’s wondering why two biker chicks wearing property carts are in the lounge.

“Hi, Joyce.”

Her eyes snap to me and widen further. “Olivia? What are you doing here? I thought you were off for a few days.”

“I am, but I lost my phone. The last time I had it was at the hospital, so I returned to look for it.” I show her my phone before stepping over to the hand sanitizer dispenser. I pump out a couple of dollops, which I use to sanitize my hands and my phone.

“You found it? That’s good. I’ve lost my phone once or twice. What a pain. I once dropped it in the laundry cart with my scrubs and a towel. I didn’t realize what I’d done until the next day. Luckily, I got back here just as they were wheeling out the cart,” Joyce says before moving to her locker and pulling out her purse. “Is that what happened to you?”

“No. I didn’t put anything in the cart, so I do not know how it happened. Look, Joyce, you and the other nurses need to be careful. Someone tampered with my car last night, so I broke down a few blocks from here. Two men wearing scrubs and masks arrived in a van. They were looking for me. I hid and managed to avoid them before my friends showed up.”

Joyce’s eyes grow wider as I tell her my story. Then she shakes her head. “Are you sure they weren’t just doctors stopping to offer their help? Why would they try to kidnap you?”

“Someone tampered with her car,” Cleo says. “The same way someone tampered with Talia’s cars. Possibly Marcia’s as well.”

Joyce narrows her eyes at Cleo. I can see the argument forming in her mind. “Joyce, they almost ran me down, and they tried to drag me into the van. They would have succeeded if it wasn’t for the Demon Dawgs.”

“The Demon Dawgs?” Joyce looks at me, her eyes going wide again. She’s certainly giving them a workout.

Cleo turns so Joyce can see the club logo on the back of her property kutte. “Demon Dawgs. My man is Hex. He’s the President and Delphine’s son. Delphine is with Hex’s vice president, Dixie. Olivia is with Lake.”

“You don’t have on a vest,” Joyce says.

“Lake and I have only been together for a few weeks. He hasn’t claimed me.”

“Yet,” adds Delphine. “Soon, though.”

While I want to believe she’s right, I can’t think about it now. I need to ensure Joyce understands the danger she and the rest of the nurses face. “Just be careful, okay? If you break down, get out of your car and hide. Maybe carpool with other staff members if you can. I don’t know how they disabled my car, so I can’t tell you what to look for under the hood.”

Joyce shrugs. “I wouldn’t know what I was looking for. Okay, I’ll be careful. Did you tell the cops?”