Page 41 of Savage Peril

“No, not that. Of course I want him,” Lori said. “But I’m so different; I work in a medical clinic. I don’t rock-climb or camp out. I stay in five-star hotels.”

“You have lost it, girl,” Jess said. “What does rock climbing have to do with anything? You need to admit that you want Gunner. Shred your list of reasons why it won’t work. Since when do you need a list before you fall in love?”

That gave Lori pause. What was she thinking? “You’re right, I’m a mess. It doesn’t matter anyway, because I have much more pressing problems.”

“I get that,” Jess said. “Once you know about your father, you’ll be able to move on.”

Lori hoped so, but she feared it might not be that simple.

After the call, Lori went to deal with another matter that nagged at her. She met with Sarah to get an update on the medical supply records. The inconsistencies had continued, even after Matt had been made aware of the situation. Sarah had kept track of all orders that were excessive, and of items that had arrived but couldn’t be located.

“I haven’t mentioned any of this to Matt,” Sarah said.

“You did the right thing,” Lori said. “I’ll deal with this. I appreciate you watching and reporting.”

When Sarah left, Lori sat at the desk. On the weekend, the other administrative personnel were off duty. That gave her a chance to look around. She lost track of time as she plowed through the records. If Matt had made improvements, it wasn’t readily apparent.

Then Lori noticed something strange. Numbers didn’t add up as they should, but there was a new slant on the process. Lori wasn’t an accountant, but she could swear that the records she accessed were only part of the picture. She wondered if there was another set of books with the real set with actual numbers and complete tallies.

Lori didn’t hear Matt enter, but when she looked up, he was standing over her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s good that you’re here,” Lori said. “I need to talk to you.”

“I’m sick of you meddling,” Matt said, then slammed his fist on the metal desk.

Lori jumped, then rolled the chair back to get out of his way. “Meddling? Have you lost your mind?”

“It’s my department, and I told you that I’d take care of it.”

“Well, you haven’t,” Lori said. “It’s hard to decipher all of this, but it looks to me like the books are an effort to hide what’s really going on.”

Matt’s eyes flared with anger, making Lori flinch. “What are you accusing me of?”

“You have to admit that this is incriminating.”

When Matt stepped closer, Lori stood up and moved back. She didn’t like the look in his eyes. “This is unprofessional.”

“I’ll tell you what’s unprofessional,” Matt said, stabbing a finger at her. “You and your behavior, that’s what. I resent you looking over my shoulder and digging through the records in my department.”

“You…work for me,” Lori said.

Matt moved so fast that Lori didn’t see him coming. He had his hand around her neck as he thrust her against the wall. “You’ll learn who you’re dealing with. I’ll show you…”

Lori gasped, and Matt released her. “Don’t touch me ever again.”

Matt stepped in front of her. “Or what?”

“Move aside,” Lori said, trying to sound confident. “I will get to the bottom of this, whether you like it or not.”

Matt grabbed Lori’s shoulders and shoved. She staggered backward and fell against metal shelves, hitting the back of her head on a sharp corner. She put her hand at the base of her skull and pulled back blood.

Lori stared at Matt, but he didn’t make another move.

“You pushed me too far,” Matt said, then spun around and left the room.

Lori put her hand over her chest and tried to steady her breathing. Then she went to the nurses’ station to treat her injury. Whatever Matt was up to, it wasn’t good. He had been many things, but he hadn’t been violent before. He would have to go.

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