“
I said, what are you doing in here, Amanda?” Waiting for an
answer, he scanned the office. Everything seemed to be in
order, including his gun still locked in the glass cabinet.
“Nothing. I was just checking out the apartment.” She walked
up to him and stood inches away from him. She looked up at him
with a smile and opened the front of her shirt. She was braless.
She gave a little shake and wrapped her arms around his neck,
pulling his face down to her chest.
They moved into his bedroom, stripped, and had sex for the
third time in twelve hours. Damn, she was good. He moved to
get up. She patted the pillow and asked him to stay just a little
longer.
“I really do have to go this time.” He kissed her on the nose.
“I’ll catch you later.”
The dinners and drinks continued for the next week, each
enjoying the other’s company more than they’d ever expected.
Amanda returned to work once she’d used up her few vacation
days. She returned to Mitch’s apartment in the evenings after her
shift was over. Each night, he greeted her with fresh flowers and a
new bottle of wine. For the first time since becoming a doctor, he
was able to relax and have fun. She was starting to grow on him.
One night, with two bottles of wine nearly gone, they had
another round of particularly rousing sex. Amanda checked her
phone briefly, then lay back down with him on the couch. While
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THE VERY BEST OF CARE
they cooled off next to each other, they talked about the hospital
and how things were running without Mitch there. She asked
if he knew anything about Sophie getting hit by a car. No, he
hadn’t heard about that.
“What about their dog getting attacked?”
“No, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Why are you
asking me these things?”
“No reason.” She rolled away from him and fell into a deep,
cabernet-induced slumber.
Mitch lay awake while Amanda lightly snored next to him. Why
did she ask about the dog? And Sophie getting hit by a car?
Had she been talking with the Youngs? He didn’t like it. As much
as he liked their time together, he was starting to wonder about
her. She used to play it cool with him. But now, here she was,
readily available. She’d been quick to take him up on his over
night invitations and his apartment keys. What was she up to?
Mitch watched Amanda sleep. He rubbed the back of his
neck, hoping to stop the headache he could feel coming on. He
cursed himself. He’d allowed himself to believe he might actually
be in love, that they could have a real relationship, even a future
together. He laughed out loud. You idiot.
Once he was sure that Amanda was sound asleep, he got off
the couch in search of his briefcase. A corner of her phone poked
out from under the couch. He grabbed it and opened it. It was
locked. While he punched in possible codes, Amanda stirred. He
paused until her snoring started up again. On the fifth try, he had
the code—the last four digits of triage’s phone number.
He cringed as he flipped through her phone. She had
recorded all their conversations. Then he opened her photo
library. There he saw it all: the statements and proof of his finan
cial links to the census project. He also found messages to Josh
and calls to an outgoing number that looked like an extension to
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JULIE HATCH
a hospital line—whose number was that?—as well as other ran
dom numbers, most of them attached to her contact list. Friends,
coworkers? Family? He doubted she had any family that she was
still in touch with. What were these other numbers?
In an instant, he knew his time with Amanda was over. They
were done. If he couldn’t trust her, then he wanted her gone.
Mitch sat in the living room, alone and in the dark. His anger
smoldered. How had he allowed this bitch to infiltrate his life?
This was what he got for letting his guard down. What was her
plan? He stood over her as she slept, snoring into the pillow. He
pulled a vial and syringe from his briefcase.
“Here, try this.” He injected the liquid between her toes,
then put on his jacket, ready to leave the apartment. But first he
smashed her phone, leaving the pieces scattered across her naked
back
