Page 18 of Shield
Everything fell into place—Jamie was the part of New York I’d missed most, and I needed my friend right now. I could tell him what happened at the clinic and get his support, chat about my nerves about being on the team, and hell, maybe even cover a certain green-eyed cop who took up too much space in my head.
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s tell the girls their Uncle Jamie is moving in!”
* * *
It was three days later,every muscle aching from practice this morning, when I walked into the clinic’s side room. Coach had had me and Ash facing off against Charles, with his wingers, and all three of them, plus damn cones placed all over the rink, meant my legs were doing the jelly thing, totally gassed. I had one meeting here now, and then, I had it in mind that I’d message Jackson again. Maybe get him to meet for coffee somewhere? To ask about the case, obviously.
Who am I kidding? I want to see the man again for a million other reasons.
Like kissing, maybe?
“Morning,” I called as I got closer to Lazlo.
“Hey,” he murmured, but there was no ready smile, no usual display of pep and cheer.
“You okay?”
He sighed with added drama and spun in his chair a full three-sixty before facing me again as he scrubbed his eyes.
“Cops were back,” he said under his voice, glancing out at the reception area where a small group of adults had gathered in one corner for the next session I was running, plus some other patients in the hard seats. My heart leaped at the idea that Jackson might still be in the building.
“Is he here? I mean, are they here? The cops, I mean… not just the one… both of them…” Wow, way to make things weird, which I clearly had, given Lazlo’s expression.
“The detectives left just now.”
And somehow, that had made the eternally smiling Lazlo lose his smile?
“Did they find out anything? Do they know who hurt Joe? Oh god, is it Joe? Is he okay?”
“Nope, nope, and Joe’s still under.” He sighed again. “It’s just, I dug out a photo of Joe at his desk and it had the missing picture in it, but it’s blurred, and the cops are asking about the picture again with all the people, and I’m stuck going through boxes because the idiot before me never filed anything, and it was so many volunteers, and I can’t track half of them down, and I hate the reminder that Joe isn’t here to ask.” Everything spilled out in a rush, and my heart ached for the kid who I think saw Joe as more of a father figure than a boss. “He’s always looking out for us, and we can’t do anything.”
I thumbed behind me. “You’re keeping the place ticking over. That’s what you’re doing for Joe, and you know how much this place means to him.”
He was thoughtful, and then he nodded. “I don’t know what else to do.”
Heloise came to stand next to us, then leaned over the counter. “Are you okay?” she asked Lazlo, and he nodded. “If you need my help, I can stay after. I’ll call my husband and let him know.”
She glanced at me, her blue eyes already tearing up, and I caught Lazlo’s compassionate gaze.
“It’s all good, Heloise, I promise.”
She gave us a watery smile, and I frowned after her.
“Maybe we should get her to talk to someone?”
Lazlo nodded. “I’ll mention it to Kev—he’s the on-call therapist we share with Mercy.”
“Cool. And you know if I can help…”
Lazlo shrugged. “It’ll be faster if I do it—I know what I’m looking for.”
The door opened and a small family with a squalling baby came in and headed straight for the front desk. Lazlo smiled then, and no one would realize the smile wasn’t wholly real.
“Welcome. How can I help?” he asked.
I backed away and headed into the small conference room with its oval table and ten chairs rammed around it. It was a plain space with a whiteboard and some medical posters on the wall. Two sets of parents were already in there, looking tired, but attentive. Nurse Maggie was ready to talk serious medical routines, and I was tagged in.
“Hi, everyone,” I waved and took a seat near Maggie.
