Page 49 of Ice
“Jesus, Ice. All I’m saying is, with all you’ve been through, isn’t it possible that this was a possible side-effect or consequence?”
I sat up again, the room staying more stable this time.
“She deserved to be fucked by a man, Reacher. Instead she got fucking schoolboy leg-humper, and then I lost it, didn’t I? Because how the fuck was I supposed to look her in the eye after that? Huh? She tried. She tried to stop me, but I ran out on her.”
He cursed. “I’m still not letting her back here. She nearly lost us a brother tonight. And I’m reporting her to that clinic she works for. She’s not fit to be alone with people while they’re vulnerable. She’s practically a fucking predator.”
“Fuck’s sake, Reacher! That’s bullshit! She’s a gentle, sweet woman, who’s way too fucking good for me, but she sees something in me. She… I don’t know… she doesn’t fear me, or what this club represents. She doesn’t judge me for the way I feel, or the things I come out with when we’re talking. She knows about the… she knows me better than you all do, and that helps.Pres, I need her. Please don’t take her away. She may be the only person who can get me through this.”
Twenty-Three
Ihadtogetataxi to the clinic, but when I got there, I was in for a shock. The practice manager asked to see me, and led me into her office.
“Take a seat, Dr Chase.”
I did so, wringing my hands nervously while her back was turned. This wasn’t a good sign.
She sat down, and stared at me.
“I’ve had some information sent to me, and I must say it’s very disappointing.”
No. God no.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what information that might be, Mrs Keller.”
She stared at something on her desk.
“Then let me elaborate. Driving under the influence of alcohol. A potential driving ban. And worse than that, there’s a suggestion of inappropriate behaviour with one of the recovering addicts under your care. A man called Damon Silver.” I wanted to die, right there in that chair.
“What do you have to say for yourself.”
I swallowed hard. “You’ve already decided I’m guilty of these things, so what is there to say? I made a mistake. It was wrong to get in the car last night. I just needed to check on someone who needed me. If I could redo it, I’d get a taxi, but it… it was a big mistake.”
“And the alleged abuse of your position with regard to Mr Silver?”
My god. I felt sick. “Is this coming from him? He’s saying I did that?”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Are you asking me to divulge confidential information? Or should I be worried that that’s another rule you’d break to suit your own purposes?”
I lifted a hand to my face, felt it tremble as I rubbed my eyes.
“I haven’t done anything that anyone could consider to be abuse of my position. I’ve given extra time to Mr Silver, when he’s needed to talk. He has complex issues. He needs… needed to talk out of hours.”
She sniffed. She was one of those uppity bitches who always looked down her nose at people. Especially me. I usually tolerated it because I loved my work, but right now, I wanted to slap that hoity-toity look off her face.
“Even if that were true, you were unable to prevent his relapse into drug use. I’ve been made aware of an incident last night that left him hospitalised. Do you care to address that at all?”
I stood up, smoothing my skirt with both hands.
“Is there any point? I tried my best to stop him, but he got away from his clubhouse, and found an opportunity to use. Is… is he okay?”
She stood up too. “I’m suspending you from seeing patients while I discuss this with my business partner. If our investors found out that one of our therapists was caught drink driving,and abusing her role with one of her patients, who then relapsed, we’d probably lose vital funding. You know we can’t afford that.”
I did know that. I hated the fact that it was a business, rather than a government funded clinic. I hated that people like her were able to make decisions about people’s care, based on what was lucrative and what wasn’t, rather than their health and their best interests.
“I understand.” I pulled my ID badge from my lapel, and dropped it on her desk.
