Page 21 of Heal Me

He laughs as I give him a hand and he jumps up to his feet. “We might make a Destroyer out of you yet.”

“Rumel wishes,” I say, floating the staff back to the wall. “Why won’t he accept I’ve chosen my path?”

Sam shrugs. “Why I don’t have kids. Relationships are too fucking complicated.” That’s not entirely true, but I let it slide.

“Come out with me, Turek, and Amer tonight for a little R and R. It’s going to be good,” he says with that same hand clap and devious smile as he escorts me outside.

“Negative,” I steal Rumel’s line. Sam’s definition of good and my definition of good are two very different things. The last time I went out with them, I almost didn’t make it out alive. It’s a long story, but the abridged version is a Nephilim cannot keep pace with three angels when drinking tequila.

Sam pulls me in and gives me a head rub with so much friction that it would bald a mere mortal. “Don’t be so hard on that old man of yours.”

“See you later,” I say, ready to end this discussion.

“Say hi to Charlotte for me.”

I grit my teeth. “Did everyone read the report?” The Watchers have a necklace that when worn by Sam, gives them a hive-mind type ability.

“Not everyone. Just Rumel. And me, of course. Amer. Turek. Dane. Oh, and Vael, and Zkeel, and—”

“I get the picture. No need to go down the roster of seventy-six angels,” I grumble.

Chapter 10

Charlotte

Shadowing Dr. Tom Cooper for the day, I’ve increased my energetic shield around my aura, mentally checking it to make sure there are no holes for him to slip through. I feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with this man on a daily basis. I’m learning not all energy vampires realize they’re trying to steal energy from others. Some are just narcissists who feed off attention. The problem is I’m locked into this narcissist’s attention for the day. It’s been a long day.

“What’d you think about the excitement earlier?” he asks with a smug smile on his face as we take a seat in the break room.

“I’m glad you were able to report good news to the family of that young man,” I reply, sipping barely drinkable coffee. A gunshot victim was transported to the ER earlier this morning, and I got to watch Dr. Cooper in action. He’s an outstanding surgeon, there’s no dispute.

“That’s the takeaway?” he scoffs. “How about the fact I had to perform an emergency thoracotomy, and the survival rate on that is less than ten percent on a good day?”

“You did an amazing job,” I placate him.

“Damn right I did.”

I bite my tongue, but luckily for me, someone joins us. I’m surprised that someone is Jen. I haven’t seen much of her—she practically lives at Elliot’s place now. The fact that I don’t miss her should tell me all I need to know about the state of our friendship.

“Oh, hey, Charlotte. And Dr. Cooper,” she purrs his name in a completely unprofessional way. She shakes her hips to the vending machine, and Dr. Cooper likewise watches her in a completely unprofessional way. I glance at my watch. Oh my, a really long day.

My phone rings and I check the caller ID. “Excuse me,” I say, but Dr. Cooper isn’t concerned with me at the moment.

Entering the staff restroom, I lock the door. “Hi, Charlotte. How are you?” Karen, the Victim Liaison with the District Attorney’s office says.

“Fine, thanks. You have news about Brad Cunningham’s case?” I ask, skipping the pleasantries.

“Yes. I wanted to let you know the outcome of the competency hearing.”

I take a deep breath. “Okay.”

“The judge has deemed Mr. Cunningham incompetent and unable to stand trial at this time.”

“What?” I practically shout. “How is he incompetent?”

“That’s according to the psychiatrist’s testimony, and Mr. Cunningham’s psychological evaluation.”

“So he gets off the hook because one psychiatrist says he’s insane!” This time I do shout. I knew this was a possibility. Heck, I told Aubry I’d be okay with it. But that was talking about it in theory. Now that it’s playing out in real life, I’m pissed.

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