Page 7 of Mountain Freedom
“That’s pretty much exactly what he told me.” Fury unlike anything I’d ever felt before boiled up inside me. I couldn’t believe that Dr. Barkley would keep getting away with this simply because everyone else seemed willing to go along with it instead of fighting to make it better. If this was how it worked, then the system was broken. And if Mike wanted me to go along with it, then we were broken too.
“So what are you going to do now?” His disappointment was clear.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I’ll have to throw out more applications.”
“Good luck with that,” he said. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got a meeting.”
He hung up the phone and I just sat there staring at it.
I’m notsure how long I sat there leaning against the front door, but I was still in the same place when my roommate Jen walked out of her bedroom.
“Honey, what happened?” She pulled out her earbuds.
“I just got off the phone with Mike,” I said, feeling oddly numb.
“Oh no. I’m sorry. I guess you heard.”
“Heard what?” I looked up at her, confused.
“About Mike and Dr. Fountain’s daughter.” She bit her lip as awareness crept into her gaze. “Oh no. You were talking about something else.”
I stood up, with a sinking feeling about what was coming. “What about them?”
Jen held up her hands. “Don’t shoot the messenger, okay? But several of us have seen them together. We weren’t sure how to tell you.”
I closed my eyes, feeling sadness but not shock—the news made me realize why Mike couldn’t have cared less if I had slept with Dr. Barkley. Dr. Fountain was over the surgical department. Mike’s dream was to be a cardiac surgeon at the hospital where we had completed residency. It was a highly desired position with a lot of competition, and Mike wasn’t even close to being a competitor for it. A connection to Dr. Fountain would give him an edge his performance as a resident hadn’t.
“Are you sure?” I asked. The fury from earlier was gone. All that was left was deep and utter disappointment.
“Yeah,” she said slowly. “I’m sure.” She picked up her phone and opened her photo gallery, swiping to a photo before passing it to me. It was clearly Mike, and he clearly had his tongue down the throat of another woman.
“Wow.” I was at a loss for words.
“I’m sorry. I saw them having dinner a few nights ago. I wanted to tell you right away, but we didn’t want to knock you off your game while we’re trying to land jobs.”
“I understand,” I said, knowing I might have thought the same thing in her place. “I didn’t know. But it doesn’t matter. It was over anyway.”
“I was heading to the gym, but I can stay if you need me…”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, holding up a hand. “You go. I’ll be okay. I have a lot of work to do.”
“Work?” She cocked her head. “What kind of work?”
“Job hunting,” I replied. Because after everything today, I felt like I didn’t know anything anymore.
Except that I wanted to get out of this city as fast as I could.
Chapter Two
Jackson
I staredthrough the glass at the suspect sitting at my interrogation table. Legally speaking, he was an adult—but just barely. His tough-guy attitude didn’t quite match his baby-face features, and I might have felt sorry for him if I hadn’t seen the victim. He’d beaten his ex-girlfriend so badly she was in a coma and might not recover.
My suspect was twitchy and tired. Guilt was painted all over his face, but he hadn’t talked yet. He hadn’t lawyered up yet, either, so I didn’t care how tired he was. We’d been here all night, and we’d stay here all day too, if that’s what it took.
Sheriff Morrison walked in, whistling a tune. “You still here?” he asked, though we both knew he wasn’t surprised.
“Yep. Too stupid to lawyer up, but too smart to talk.”
