Page 99 of Night Moves
“Actually, I didn’t.” Natalie lifted her chin. “The mother is The Clipper, and the dad knew about it and covered it up, allowing her to go on killing. They’ll both be serving time, and the children will need placements.”
Melinda gasped. “The mother? A serial killer?” She shook her head. “Not many female serial killers, are there?”
“I looked it up last night when I couldn’t sleep, and there are more than you might think.” Natalie didn’t want to talk about the parents anymore. She wanted to get straight to work and do her job the best she could. If she had a job. “I’d like to get started on placing the children.”
“No,” Melinda stated firmly.
So, Natalie was fired. She’d expected that. But she wouldn’t go without a fight. She opened her mouth to speak.
Melinda lifted a hand. “Save your argument. You’re too close to the situation to make an informed placement. This is going to be high-profile. I’ll place them myself.”
“But I’m—”
“Lucky these parents turned out to be unfit and you were removing the children for their own safety.” She shook her head. “I’ll be suggesting we take disciplinary actions and give you some time off to get your head on straight.”
Wait. What? She wasn’t fired. That meant she could at least track what happened to the children.Ifshe was in the office not lounging at home on some enforced time off. “I don’t need a break.”
“Either you take unpaid time off or you’re fired. You’re a good worker, Natalie. Dedicated. Honest. Hardworking. And that’s the only reason I’m not booting you right now. So take the leave or be fired. It’s as simple as that.”
Nothing was as simple as that. Natalie didn’t want time on her hands right now. She wanted to throw herself into her work so she didn’t have time to think about the Gentry children, but on the bright side maybe she could spend the time with Drake.
“Just in case it turned out that you were right, I arranged emergency placement for the children and have a strong lead on a long-term one. Have them in the office by lunchtime.” She locked gazes, her message clear. This was not negotiable.
“Can you tell me where they will be going?”
“No.” Melinda crossed her arms.
Her supervisor’s signal told Natalie not to bother delving deeper. She’d done all she could. It was time to move on. “When can I come back to work?”
“A month off should allow you to recoup and for all of this to blow over, but we’ll play it by ear.” Melinda stood. “Enjoy the time.”
Enjoy it? Sure, she now had more time to get to know Drake, but she wouldn’t know what happened to the Gentry children, and that would eat away at her very being. Eat away at her for one very long month at the very least.
25
Sunny and seventy degrees with no humidity, the weather was perfect for a barbecue, and Drake was stoked for everyone in the family to meet Natalie at his parents’ house. He’d only been away from her for a day, but it had felt like a lifetime. She’d been quiet ever since he’d picked her up, an unusual thing for her. Or at least he thought it was unusual. He couldn’t be sure, considering they’d known each other for less than a week.
With the depth of his feelings for her, how could that even be possible?
He glanced across his pickup. She wore denim shorts and a soft pink top that should clash with the reddish hints in her hair but looked great. Not that he spent a lot of time looking at her clothing when her legs were the big attraction.
She turned and caught him watching. A soft smile formed on her face.
“You okay?” he asked. “You’ve been pretty quiet.”
“I was thinking about the Gentry children.” She frowned and recounted what happened at work the prior day.
“Not knowing has got to be hard.”
“I understand why Melinda did it. I’m way too attached to the children to be impartial. But she could tell me where they are. It’s as if she’s afraid I’ll kidnap them again.”
Drake squeezed out his frustration on the gear shift. “I wish I could’ve kept my promise to find them a forever home.”
She rested her hand over his. “I know your heart was in the right place, but I also knew you couldn’t really do anything so I didn’t get my hopes up.”
“Still, I’m sorry.”
“No,I’msorry.” She took a long breath. “We’re headed to your family’s barbeque, and I don’t want to ruin the day. From this moment forward, I’m going to think positively about the children and be happy.”
