Page 11 of Hart's Redemption

One minute Josh was staring at me with such intensity I thought it would shatter the glass. The next, he was advancing on Dr. Florence with murderous intent.

“What the hell?” I asked at the same time Dr. Lyons said, “Oh, no.”

A light flashed above the door to the lab, bathing the hall in red, and an ear-piercing wail sliced through the air. In less than a heartbeat, half a dozen people converged on the room.

I cleared the distance without thinking. But despite being closer, I couldn’t see anything. The siren cut out mid-wail, and the halls returned to their normal sterile white. My heart skipped a beat, automatically fearing the worst. I shoved past the army of nurses that had answered the call, but it was too late.

Josh slumped in the arms of a burly orderly, his entire body reduced to the equivalent of boneless jelly by the needle the man removed from his arm.

Fear strangled my lungs, and it took me a moment to find my words. “Give him to me.”

The nurse grunted as he shifted Josh’s dead weight into my arms.

“It’s okay, moonbeam, I’ve got you.” Josh’s eyelids fluttered, but remained firmly closed. I gently lowered him to the table, then turned to growl at the doctor. “Complete sedation? A tad excessive, don’t you think?”

Dr. Florence didn’t look the least bit apologetic. “Nothing is excessive when lives are on the line.”

“Yours or his?”

She looked down at Josh’s prone form draped across the exam table.

Another growl lodged in my throat at the sheer dismissive disdain she gave him. Thankfully, before I could give voice to my anger and receive the same treatment, Dr. Lyons appeared in the doorway.

“What happened? Was he turning? Is he escalating? What triggered the transition?” While professional, concern tinged each of Dr. Lyons’ questions.

Dr. Florence gave an exasperated sigh and smacked a data-tab on the pristine counter. “Congratulations, Dr. Lyons, you’ve got your wish.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s your problem now. Detective Hart made it abundantly clear that he does not believe me qualified to execute his care. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more appreciative patients in need of my time.” Dr. Florence marched towards the door, forcing Dr. Lyons to hop out of the way lest she be run over.

“Well, I never…”

Dr. Lyons’ response to Dr. Florence’s poor behavior dwindled to obscurity as I focused my gaze on Josh. He didn’t so much as twitch when I brushed a knuckle along his high cheekbone. While stubble darkened his jaw, it was clear that Josh was not the sort of man who could grow a full beard. I brushed the hair back from his forehead, noting just how long it had gotten in the last three and a half months.

“What did they do to you?”

The sigh at my shoulder had my muscles tensing in an instant. This whole place was virtually devoid of scent, scrubbed away by the disinfectants employed by the staff. Even Dr. Lyons barely registered as human. Small wonder she’d been able to sneak up on me.

Her delicate fingers checked his pulse, opting for the personal touch over the screen that provided much the same information. “Readings suggest it was nothing more than a strong sedative. However, the stark effect has me questioning the appropriateness of the dosage. He’s not an Anóteros, just moonstruck.”

Hearing the term repeated for the thousandth time didn’t make it any easier to swallow. Josh was sick, and he would stay that way for the rest of his life. I squeezed his hand, surprised tofind it so warm. He looked completely devoid of life, lying there so drugged he couldn’t twitch a muscle.

“It’s not his fault. The full moon is next week. I’ve seen… I’ve seen what Mien Zeke does to Tommy. Every day it gets closer, he becomes a little more hyperactive, more sensitive to everything. His energy is off the charts, like someone hooked an IV of moonlight to him and is injecting it directly into his system.”

Dr. Lyons rested a hand on my shoulder. “I know. How is Tommy doing, by the way?”

“He’s… managing. Kale has him trying all these eccentric methods to keep calm. Honestly, I think Tommy’s love for his brother is the only reason he hasn’t stuffed some of those foul concoctions down his brother’s well-meaning throat. At least there’s Sabrina.”

Dr. Lyons nodded appreciatively. “Dr. Langdon is a superior physician and has chosen her specialty well. The pack is lucky to have someone of her caliber fighting for them. I told her so myself last night.”

I glanced at Dr. Lyons out of the corner of my eye. “Did you now?”

Pink darkened Dr. Lyons’ sienna skin. She coughed and unlocked the data-tab onto what appeared to be Josh’s file. “This is all nonsense.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ugh, I knew I should have trusted my instincts. Dr. Florence has been administering tests that have no correlation to Josh’s condition. This is absolutely absurd. It’s almost as if she wanted to provoke him into pulling her off his detail.”