Ohmigod. Deputy Trevor was peering into a hospital room, his back to her.
Two more hospital rooms to get by and she’d reach Doc’s office at the end of the hall. She hurried past the deputy and into Doc’s office, then shut the door behind her. Her hands shaking, she took a steadying breath. Immaculately neat, everything was in its place. A brass caduceus sat on a stack of papers in the center of the mahogany desk, and she removed Caitlin’s gloves, shoved them in her pocket, then flipped through the papers. Current patient notes, nothing old enough to relate to Larissa’s case.
Certificates decorated the wails, and a portrait of a white-haired, elegant-looking woman and a distinguished- looking Doc was hanging on one of the walls opposite his desk over a file cabinet.
Trying the top drawer, she slid it open. Files of current patients. Files of more patients filled the second drawer also. No Wildhaven here though. No, it would be under Darien’s name, Silver.
And there it was. Lelandi Silver, DECEASED. Lelandi’s skin prickled. She slipped the file out of the drawer and opened it, her heart fluttering at a quickened pace.
9/6 Lelandi cut her wrists as a plea for help.
Her sister had attempted suicide? Hating how much her sister had to have suffered. Lelandi sat down hard on the doc’s chair.
She must have known she couldn’t die in that manner. I’ve tried speaking with her, but she won‘t tell me what’s going on. Nurse Grey spoke with her at some length, but couldn‘t determine the cause of depression. Probably brought on in part by fluctuating hormones from the pregnancy. Suspect underlying reason, but can‘t say without further information.
Lelandi’s eyes pricked with tears, and she wiped away a couple rolling down her cheeks. How could she not have been here for her sister?
9/8 Released Lelandi from the hospital. She seemed more upbeat and I had Doctor Craighton visit her from Green Valley. He’ll be seeing her once a week for a month to work with her through her psychological issues.
9/12 Lelandi seemed somewhat less distraught. Silva has made friends with her as well. I’m hoping that she will adjust to life here with the pack sooner than later as the pregnancy progresses.
10/6 Darien spoke to me about Lelandi’s crying spells. They‘re much more pronounced than for a normal pregnancy. The only thing I can attribute it to is the possibility that the babies aren‘t Darien‘s. I don‘t want to speculate further about that.
Lelandi reread the entry. Did Darien know? What about the rest of the pack? Silva. Maybe Larissa had told her. Or as bad as the news was, maybe not. No wonder Larlssa was so distressed.
10/20 Lelandi had to be hospitalized for dehydration. Darien says she‘s not eating properly. Too ill with morning sickness.
10/24 Autopsy revealed cause of death: broken neck from strangulation. Deemed a suicide, considering suicide note found in patient ‘s handwriting, past history of severe depression, and previous suicide attempt.
10/26 Autopsy of fetuses indicate the DNA does not match Darien‘s.
Tears streaked down Lelandi’s cheeks, and she quickly brushed them away. How could her sister have done this to Darien? To the family? She’d shamed them all. It was bad enough that she’d mated another wolf when she was already mated, although Lelandi could forgive Larissa’s transgressions considering how cruel Crassus was. But how could Larissa have conceived someone else’s babies?
And who was the villain who seduced her sister? Silva said Larissa was seeing a miner. The only one she knew was Joe Keily. If not him, would he know her sister’s lover?
She couldn’t believe how bad the situation with her sister was turning out.
“Doctor,” Ritka said from down the hall. Jarring Lelandi from her morbid thoughts. “Mrs. Waverly wants more medication, but she’s had enough morphine to put a cow under.
“Mrs. Waverly’s bone cancer has spread to many of her vital organs. She doesn’t have long to live. She’s entitled to whatever pain medication helps ease her suffering. Anything else?”
“Just Willy Wilkerson. His lungs sound like they’re full of fluid. Might be pneumonia. And Ural seems to be regaining consciousness.”
Ural was here? Unconscious’ Lelandi ground her teeth. That’s why Deputy Trevor was here. Damn Darien and his men.
The doctor and Ritka walked past the office and Lelandi didn’t stir.
Once they’d reached an exam room, Doc Oliver said. “Mrs. Wilkerson. Well have Willy on medication and better in no time.”
Lelandi refiled her sister’s health records and made for the door. Whether Trevor liked it or not, she was going to see her cousin and find out what they’d done to him.
The door eased open and Lelandi’s heart nearly quit. But it wasn’t Doc.
Joe Kelly hurried inside and shut the door. Snow covered his coat, hair and whiskers, and his eyes had a madman’s look. “Searching for Larissa’s file?” He pulled a gun out and motioned for Lelandi to back up against the wall.
A sickening feeling rippled through her. Her gaze shifted from the gun to his grim face. “You were the father of her triplets, weren’t you?”
‘We thought Darien knew. But he either pretended not to, or was too arrogant to believe someone else had captured his mate’s heart. All that crap about dream mating.”
Hoping for a distraction, Lelandi backed toward the desk where she could reach the caduceus paperweight. Then she recalled her gun. Hell, she could have used it on the wolf stalking her. Slipping her hand into her pocket, she realized with a sinking heart she’d exchanged jackets with Cody. Oh, god, an underage lupus garou had her gun filled with silver bullets. Darien would kill her if this lunatic didn’t beat him to it.
Joe waved his gun at her and spoke in a hushed voice. “Silver bullets, Lelandi. So don’t try me. She was my one true mate. She told me everything about that abusive red mate of hers, how she couldn’t stand Darien’s touch, but went along with the mating so he’d protect her against Crassus. Not to mention that Darien insisted she was his because he’d seen her in the damned dreams, When I saw you, I figured you were the one he dreamed of.
“What... what are you going to do?”
“Clean up loose ends.”
Which meant? He’d kill Doc because he’d known about the pregnancy. She lunged for the heavy brass paperweight, but Joe grabbed her arm, and they fell to the floor with a thud. “Shit, woman. I’m not going to kill you. I have to get rid of the medical records.”
She didn’t believe him for an instant. She and Doc knew about her sister’s babies. Why wouldn’t Joe kill them both? Hell, he had silver bullets in his gun. Why would he even be armed if he didn’t intend to murder someone?
She tried to squirm loose, but Joe kept her effectively pinned down.
“Listen. I’ll get the records for you and you can leave,” she coaxed.
“Nice try, Lelandi. What would prevent you from telling Darien everything you know? Even if you tried to keep your promise, he could force you to tell him the truth. I’ve made arrangements with your cousin Ural to take you away from here, and I want to stay with the pack. So you’ll have to leave,” he whispered against her ear.
And Doc? She wanted to ask him what he intended to do to Doc. but she had a pretty good idea. She feared Joe would be desperate enough to do anything to cover up his deeds.
“Okay, I’ll go quietly with you. Let’s get the files.” She hoped she could come up with a plan before anyone got hurt.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Ritka hollered down the hall at someone. “Visiting hours are from ten to five, and as far as I know you don’t have any relatives in the hospital.”