Doctor Wolf’s Human Nurse (Fated To The Wolf #9)

4. Sawyer

4

Sawyer

S awyer ran his fingers through his hair, sat back in his chair, and sighed heavily. His stomach twisted and a sense of dread filled him. He just went through inventory again and several drugs were missing. On top of several morphine and fentanyl pills missing, there were also oxycodone, some medication that is typically used to treat ADHD, and even antibiotics that were unaccounted for. All of those had high street value.

There wasn’t a lot of one drug missing. Just a little bit of each.

I guess they are easily overlooked if someone isn’t paying close attention.

He blew a long breath out of his mouth and tapped his pen on his desk. He had gone far enough back to see that the drugs had started disappearing almost a year before Dr. Leonard left. According to what Sawyer could figure out, it started with a pill or two of the fentanyl and morphine every couple of weeks or so. Then, a couple pills of another drug would go missing.

It wasn’t enough to make someone a millionaire, but the thief was probably making a couple hundred each time something went missing.

Although Sawyer had been positive that Abby had nothing to do with the missing drugs, he was gratified to know his instincts were spot on.

A number of scenarios ran through his mind. He thought about asking Abby if she would help him do an investigation, but he didn’t want to stress her out too much, especially since she was new.

He thought about investing in one of the computer systems that would force people to log in with their individual code to access different drugs. They would have to put in their code, the name of the medication they were trying to withdraw, and the patient code who would receive the drug. However, he was pretty sure that certain staff members would find a way of getting others’ codes. Plus, he wanted to catch who was doing the stealing, and putting in the computer system would only hinder the thief.

I’ll figure something out. I just need to do it soon. This situation needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later.

A knock on his door startled him. “I’m sorry to startle you,” Abby said. “Barbara is ready to see you. I think she has a thing for the new doctor in town because this is her third time here in as many weeks.”

Sawyer groaned and shook his head. “Heavens to Betsy, I hope not.”

“Who’s Betsy?” Abby grinned.

“No one knows. I looked the phrase up once because my grandmother used it all the time. The term was first used in Ballou’s Dollar Monthly Magazine, in 1857, by Maturin Murray Ballou. No one knows who Betsy might be or even if she was a real person.”

“Interesting. My grandmother used to say it a lot, too. I guess that was her way of swearing because she never used those other bad words. I’ve never even heard her say damn or hell, unless she was talking about sending someone to the place.”

Sawyer stood up and walked with Abby to room three. Their arms brushed against each other, sending a flash of heat through him.

Barbara had a little cold.

“Go home and get some rest. You can breathe in steam, with eucalyptus oil, if you feel like you are congested. You should drink honey and lemon tea to relieve coughs and boost vitamin C. Gargling with salt water will help relieve sore throats. There really aren’t any prescription medications that help with colds.”

Barbara reached out and touched his arm. “Can I come see you if it gets worse?”

“Sure, but there’s not anything I can do about it. Just take care so that it doesn’t turn into pneumonia.”

They left and Abby smirked at him. “I told you so.”

Laughing, she went into the next patient’s room to get him prepped, while the doctor finished taking notes.

Later that afternoon, he was going into the supply closet to check on the logistics of putting in a locked drug cabinet so that only he and Martha had the key. He would make sure that he was the one putting the drugs into the cabinet, so he would have a full count of them and would be able to check them off the order sheet. He didn’t think that Martha was the thief, but then he got a good vibe from all of the staff.

His mind was a million miles away when he opened the door, stepped out of the room and slammed against Abby, almost knocking her down. He automatically reached for her and a bolt of electricity exploded inside of him. His heart thundered in his chest and he struggled to breathe.

Hastily, he let go of her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “I think so. It did feel like I just ran smack into a solid wall.”

Sawyer flexed his muscles and grinned. “That’s me, Dr. Wall.”

Georgia walked by them and raised her eyebrows.

Abby pointed at Sawyer and said, “He plowed over me like a freight train. It was a hard hit.”

“My brother said that you were a linebacker on the high school football team. I didn’t know you were practicing on staff.” Georgia laughed.

Sawyer shrugged. “It’s unethical to practice on patients.”

Martha put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Okay, children, playtime is over. Back to work.”

Sawyer stuck his tongue out at Martha. “Party pooper.”

Everyone laughed and went back to work. Abby smiled at him and went into the supply closet, and the other two women went into the rooms where patients were waiting.

His body still tingled from when Abby was pressed hard against his body. He closed his eyes for a second and thought about how amazing it felt to hold her when they danced together at the reception. He had thought about asking her out when Xyla told him that Abby was planning on moving to Angel’s Creek, but then she applied for a job. That made her his employee and as such, put her off limits.

He had already crossed the boundary by asking her to have dinner with him, but he had reasoned that there was no law about them forming a friendship. Judging by his physical reactions to her, though, he might want to take a step back.

That evening, he went to Howlers’ after Sean sent him a text suggesting he join him and some other pack members . Zac beckoned him over to the table where he sat with Josiah, Rory, Connor, and Sebastian. Sean joined the group a few minutes later.

“We have a bit of a situation,” Zac said. “A ten-year-old bear shifter youngling disappeared from his backyard this morning. His mother said he was there one minute playing with his trucks and when she looked out five minutes later, he was gone. She called Matthias, the alpha of the bear shifter clan, and we all formed a search party.”

Sebastian, who owned a globally recognized security company, said, “The boy’s scent ended about ten feet away from the yard. However, we found traces of a chemical compound in the area where he disappeared. I took samples and our lab got the results back pretty quickly. It was Anthera-X.”

Sean frowned. “What’s that?”

Josiah grimaced. “Anthera-X is a naturally derived compound from a rare plant species found deep within remote, high-altitude forests. The plant, known as Lupinthera , produces pollen that interacts with the pheromones and scent glands of shifters, neutralizing their distinctive scent. Heat activated, ability to be quickly applied, so that shifters can spray it on right before they need it. It is a very rare, underground type product, often purchased on the black market. The lab would be able to produce it.”

“Someone went to great lengths to hide their scent so that they couldn’t be detected,” Conner said. “The question is whether the boy was specifically targeted or if the kidnappers were watching the area and waiting for a shifter to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“You would think that if they wanted to kidnap a shifter youngling, they would go to the park.”

“Parents are too watchful there. No one thinks that their cub is going to get kidnapped right out of their backyard,” Rory said. “I’ll make sure that Savvy and my folks keep an extra close eye on the pups until we figure this out.”

Sawyer rubbed his chin. “You mentioned that Anthera-X is manufactured in a lab. I wonder if there is any connection between the kidnapping and the new facilities built on the hill outside of town.”

Sean nodded. “I’ve heard people talking about it when they came in. The rumor is that everything is supposed to be top secret at that place and no one who works at the lab is allowed outside of the premises for now.”

“I’ve heard whispers that they are studying viruses and deadly bacteria at the facilities, and even have samples of some very deadly diseases. Word is that they are also creating variants of these diseases so that they can find cures for them,” Sebastian said. “The company who owns this facility has one in a couple of other remote locations as well.”

“Lovely, that’s all we need here,” Zac groaned.

“I did some research. The guy running the place is Dr. Rick Rogers. According to what I could find out, he was allowed to turn in his resignation instead of being fired from the last facilities he worked at. I wasn’t able to find out the details – just that he had been acting unethically, and the lab didn’t want that stain on their reputation,” Rory said.

“It either wasn’t enough for his medical license to be revoked or the old lab didn’t report it,” Sawyer said thoughtfully.

“I’ll do some digging and see what I can find out. Maybe someone from his old lab would be willing to talk if I can get them alone and grease some palms,” Sebastian said.

“I hope so,” Zac said. “I have a very bad feeling about that place. I don’t know if it’s related to the missing bear cub or not, but it is a coincidence that he went missing a week after they finished building that place and started trucking in personnel.”

Sawyer got a sick feeling in his gut. He was sure that something evil was coming out of that lab. They talked a little while longer about the lab and then started talking about their families. Everyone at the table was happily mated with little ones running around.

Sean looked at Sawyer and grinned. “You’re next.”

Sawyer shook his head. “Not happening. I only see patients these days. I don’t get out much and would have likely ordered something to be delivered if Sean hadn’t summoned me here.”

“Maybe we should take you on a vacation and find you a woman there,” Sean joked.

Sawyer waved his arms in the air vigorously. “No. Nope. No way. Not a chance. I learned my lesson. I may not ever go on another vacation ever again. I won’t be going in the mountains, I won’t be going camping, or anything else.”

Everyone laughed.

“Was it that bad?” Sebastian asked.

“Worse. I might be a man of science, but I’m never going to discount any place that’s labeled as cursed again,” Sawyer said.

“That’s really too bad,” Zac said. “I was thinking of organizing a pack field trip to some local haunted places. You know the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, about an hour away from here. Zak Bagans and his crew from Ghost Adventures did an investigation there, so it must be good.”

Sawyer set his fork on his plate and folded his napkin, dropping it on the plate, too, before he answered. “It’s permanently closed. I’m good, anyway.”

It was starting to get late, so they settled their bill and went their separate ways. Sawyer drove past Abby’s house. The living room light was on, and he was tempted to stop by and say hello. Then, she would invite him in, they would talk, and likely things would happen that shouldn’t.

With a feeling of deep regret, he went home, wishing that he had stopped. Instead, he jumped into a cold shower and purposely thought of everything else under the sun besides his sweet, sexy nurse.