A Daughter's Perfect Secret by Kimberly Van Meter Page B

office.
    “Maybe I ought to take a look.”
    “Be my guest. She’s finally stopped crying. It wasn’t even that vigorous. I hardly used the cat-o’-nine-tails.”
    Bo winced. The cat-o’-nine was a vicious whip. He wouldn’t want that sucker striking on his butt, that was for sure. He pushed on the false wall and it swung open, revealing a young woman lying facedown on the bed, bloody welts and gashes lacing her exposed flesh. Bo rolled her over and bit back a few curses when he saw her fat lip and black eye. “Was that really necessary?” he asked, irritated at the mess he’d have to clean up.
    Grayson considered the question as if it hadn’t been rhetorical, then shrugged. He either didn’t have an answer or didn’t care to offer one. It didn’t matter. Bo would be the one cleaning up his dirty work. “She needs a doctor now,” he said, eyeing the unconscious girl with a critical eye. “If we wait until tomorrow, she could be dead.”
    “Really? I didn’t think it was that serious.”
    “Well, it is,” Bo snapped. “I’ll have someone from the clinic bring a car. I can’t very well load her into my cruiser, looking the way she does.”
    “Good thinking. Now back to the issue at hand. As you can see, I’ve lost my companion for the evenings. Seeing as I have an opening now with my personal assistants, perhaps we can offer Darcy a compelling reason to leave Dr. Black’s employment and join mine?”
    Bo refrained from snarling that he wasn’t his secretary and sure as hell wouldn’t start acting like one, but his patience was sorely tried. This little mess was already flaring his ulcer. Stomach acid had begun to churn the minute Grayson had said Penny would need some “aftercare,” which was code for hospital time in the infirmary. When he saw the girl naked, spread-eagle and unconscious, his stomach went into high gear. He’d be lucky by night’s end if he could choke down enough antacid to get some sleep.
    “Listen, do yourself a favor…no more of these little parties. There’s a lot of heat coming down and a lot of attention on you. If you don’t want to spend the rest of your life sitting in a ten-by-ten cell, you’d better start towing the line.”
    Grayson’s stare narrowed, plainly not happy with the way Bo was talking to him, but that was too damn bad. Bo’s gut ached and his head hurt and it was all because Grayson couldn’t keep his extracurricular activities from doing bodily damage.
    Lord help them if the FBI found Grayson’s DNA on Johanna Tate’s body. Damn that snot-nosed kid officer poking his nose where it didn’t belong. Just one more thing to make his life difficult.

Chapter 12
    R afe received the call he’d been waiting for at 4:45 p.m., right after his last patient said goodbye.
    “Someone made a good impression,” Virgil said on the other line. “Ready to sign your life away in service?” he joked, but Rafe knew the jest held some truth and he was prepared. “We can’t wait to put you to good work. The Saturday clinic is just the place for you, and it won’t interfere with your weekday patients. Best of both worlds.”
    “I’m overjoyed to join the team,” Rafe said, truly meaning it. One of the biggest hurdles of gaining access to records was being trusted enough to work there. He’d just been given the golden ticket. “This Saturday to start?”
    “Absolutely. Come an hour or so early so I can introduce you to your team and I’ll make them spring for donuts. Just don’t tell Heidi. She’ll have a fit about all that sugar, but once in a while isn’t going to kill you, right?”
    “Everything in Moderation is my motto,” he said good-naturedly. “See you on Saturday, bright and early.”
    Rafe exited his office, still crowing about his stealth victory, and was surprised to see Darcy hadn’t left. “Everything okay?” he asked, concerned.
    “Actually I have a dilemma, and it’s a little embarrassing.”
    “Oh?”
    “I’m about to be