Mia forced out a calming breath. “I’m surprised to see you here so late.”
“Insomnia. It usually sends me to the computer to play solitaire, but I get tired of beating myself, so I come here sometimes.”
“Did you...did you hear about Cora?”
He nodded, mournfully. “Tragic. Cora was an excellent lady and a noble spirit.” He shook his head. “Why do the good die before their time?”
It was a question she’d asked many times to a God who’d never given her a straight answer.
Dr. Elias cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’m glad you came so you could get your flowers, but why so late? Insomnia trouble for you also?”
She was about to tell him about the prearranged meeting with Cora, but something stopped her. “I just wanted to clean up Cora’s desk.”
“Looks clean already.” Something in his inflection made her wonder if he’d been looking through Cora’s belongings. Ridiculous. Crazy suspicion.
He surveyed the ceiling for a long moment. “It’s good, actually, that we have a private moment so we can talk. I feel as though I have treated you well, hired you on in spite of your criminal record.”
She winced. “Yes, you have. I appreciate that.”
“It was Cora who went to bat for you, you know. She felt passionately that you would be an asset to this clinic. I was reluctant, I’ll admit.”
Mia started. She hadn’t even known Cora when she moved to Spanish Canyon. She’d been following a lead on a job that her sister had dug up. Close to nursing school. Quiet town where nobody knew her.
“So I’m loathe to ask it, Mia, but when were you going to mention the truth about your criminal husband?”
She kept her chin high, even though at five three she barely reached his shoulder. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. “Ex-husband.”
He blinked, his smooth complexion bordered by a distinguished head of gray hair that went well with his stature as head of the town’s largest general medicine clinic. “I knew he was abusive, you were arrested for stabbing him I realize, but you didn’t quite tell me the whole story. The flowers got me curious and I did a little checking. Nosey, just like my wife says. He wasn’t just an abusive spouse. He’s a Miami drug kingpin with powerful friends.” His pale gray eyes locked on hers. “You didn’t feel like you should mention that?”
Mention it? She was too busy trying to forget it.
“Is that why you don’t use your married name? Sandoval?”
“It’s not my name because I’m not married anymore. I haven’t been for years. Simple as that.”
He looked at the ceiling again while he talked. “Not really so simple. I’ve tried to support you here, to give you the hours you need to get you through nursing school and help you earn some money to keep food on the table for Gracie.”
She didn’t like it when he said Gracie’s name, for some reason that she could not articulate. Did she feel the swell of distrust when she looked at him because he had the same self-assured manner as Hector? The doctor had been nothing but gracious.
“I would do anything for my own kids, as you know. It hasn’t always been easy to afford everything times two, but that’s the price of having twins. Jake and Renee are both in private high school now, so I understand wanting the best for your kids. But why lie? Especially to me.”
“I never lied. You asked about my ex-husband, and I told you the reason I was sent to jail.”
“You neglected to mention your husband is a Miami drug lord. You thought you’d pulled the wool over my eyes, didn’t you? Simple country doctor. Easy to do, you figured?”
“No, nothing like that, really,” she said.
The phone buzzed again.
Something sparked in his eyes. “Omissions are lies, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” His brow furrowed. “It pains me to do it, it really does, but I have a professional obligation, no matter what my personal feelings are. My patients have to have absolute trust in me and my staff, and if you’re still getting flowers from a drug kingpin, I can’t risk having you here.”
Mia would not let him see her cry. Head high, she nodded. “I’ll be out of here in fifteen minutes.” She went to the desk in the corner of the Spanish Canyon Clinic and shoved the picture of Gracie into a bag along with a collection of notepads. Cora’s Learn Italian Today book was on her desk, under a box of tissue, and she scooped it up as well. She’d never dropped a phone call, never misplaced a file or been anything but pleasant to everyone and even that wasn’t enough to overshadow her disastrous marriage.
Blinking to keep the tears at bay, her mind ran wild. No job. How would she finish school? Would it be the end of her dreams to finally give Gracie a stable, normal life? Her phone demanded her attention again and this time she yanked it from her pocket. It was a text from Dallas.
Ok?
Was she?
Dr. Elias still stood there, filling the doorway with his blocky shoulders, a look of indecision on his face. “This husband, Hector. He’s tracked you everywhere, hasn’t he?”
One of the notepads sliced into her finger giving her a paper cut. She shook off the sting angrily.
“Hector must be jealous.” The lamplight etched Dr. Elias in tight shadow. “Have you given him reason?”
She froze. “What?”
“The tough guy with the dog. I’ve seen him talking to you. Hector can’t be happy about this.”
Seen Dallas? Something cold trickled through her. Why had Dr. Elias noticed whom she’d been talking to?
He flicked a glance into her bag. “You’re not taking any clinic information, are you?”
She burned. “No, Doctor. I would not behave unethically, even after I’ve been wrongly terminated.”
A glimmer of a smile lit his face. “I always liked your spunk, Mia Verde Sandoval. Too bad.”
Mia grabbed her bag and purse and went to the door, but he barred her path.
He didn’t move, just watched her as if he was weighing something in his mind. He reached out a hand to touch her forearm, but she recoiled.
“Hold on. I can see the truth now. You didn’t lie to deceive, you lied because you’re afraid.”
Her breath caught and she shook her head.
“Yes, that’s it, isn’t it? You’re afraid that Hector will find you.” He stared closely at her. “No, you’re afraid that you can’t trust yourself, your choices, your judgments.” He took her arm.
The fingers felt cold there against her skin, her own feet rooted to the floor. It was as if he’d stepped inside her, peered into the cold dark place in her heart where she herself dared not go.
“I know what it’s like to be lied to. I’m so sorry, Mia,” he said, pupils glittering in the dimly lit office. He leaned toward her and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’m dense, sometimes. I didn’t realize. I can help you.”
Standing this close she realized how strong he looked. Her fingers clutched her car keys, and she raised them in front of her.
“I want to leave. Now.”
He laughed and moved a step closer. She was acutely aware of how empty the clinic was, how dark the outer corridors. “You’re a beautiful woman, you know that?” His gaze flickered up and down her body. “You deserve more. I can help you get your life back.”
She pressed back until she