Ruby by Kathi S. Barton Page B

some questions about one of the
boxes.
    “ You okay?” She nodded and
smiled at him. “There’s my girl. I want you to know that we’re here
for you. I know Josh is new to the family, but he’s pack too.
Sapphire said that you turned the other job down. I’m glad for
that. We need you here.”
    “ He wants me to convert
him.” Blair nodded as if he already knew, which she supposed he
did. “I told him a little about what was going to happen, but he
needs to talk to you. I don’t think he’s thought this through all
the way.”
    “ I bet he has. He doesn’t
strike me as a person who makes decisions lightly or quickly.”
Blair glanced at Josh, then looked back at her. “Can you do this?
Convert him? It’s not easy on a mate to do. And not that I think
that females are weak, but it’s usually harder on them than the
male. They’re a bit more squeamish on making their mate
hurt.”
    “ I’m a surgeon, Blair. I’m
in love with making others hurt.” He laughed, as she’d hoped he
would. “To be honest, I’m sort of nervous about it. Not the hurting
him part, but the conversion part. What if something happens and
we’re no longer together?”
    “ You won’t be able to
leave him. Not now.” That wasn’t what she meant, and she knew just
when it occurred to him what she did mean. “You won’t get killed
either. I know that there is a lot going on in that hospital right
now, but you’re as safe as you can be.”
    “ Cochran threatened a room
full of people, Blair. He told them that I was going to suffer in
ways that no one could imagine. And I can imagine a great deal.
What if he comes into the emergency room and shoots a bunch of us?
He could, you know? He probably knows that hospital better than
most.”
    Three days ago, Ronny Cochran had been
terminated. The board had had a great many meetings up until then,
going over paperwork, listening to the others tell them what had
been happening. But the real seal was when Mark Harlan sat down and
told them everything that he’d been told by Cochran, and what he
had assumed had been going on. He’d clued them in on the first time
he realized what they were doing, as well as taken notes on the
paperwork he’d been required to lie about when someone, one of the
doctors, needed a reference. Plus, Harlan had been sly enough to
record every conversation he’d had with Cochran and some that he
hadn’t. He’d even gone so far as to record Ruby in surgery just to
catch something that Cochran would say to her that might be
illegal. Harlan had apologized to her several times since Cochran
had been gone, about how he’d been moving Cochran in her direction
just to get some snippets of his conversations with her.
    The kicker was Cochran felt as if he
should have been promoted for the money that he saved the hospital
over the year he’d been in charge. He’d stood before the board and
a few police officers and told them that they should be happy he
was getting rid of the riff-raff and saving the wear and tear on
their equipment. Not only that, but he told them he was working on
a book deal to show other hospitals, ones that didn’t cater to the
human refuse of the world, about his methods. Josh had put an end
to that deal immediately after they heard about it.
    “ Are you happy?” She
looked at Blair when he asked her. As a smile spread over his face,
her blush deepened. “I meant as his mate, not how he can satisfy
you.”
    “ I know what you meant.”
She had to work hard at not blushing again. “And yes, I’m happy. I
wish all this was gone, but I know that he has to be a part of this
to make it work for his friend. And so you know, I’ve accepted the
chief of surgery job.”
    “ I know.” Of course he
would. As he stood up, he pulled her from the couch too. He put his
mouth by her ear as he hugged her to him. “I want to give you some
advice. Convert him as soon as possible. I don’t know this Teri
person, but from what Lila has said, she’s a