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“But he was moved to a different facility.”
“What do you mean different?” My anxiety was already on the rise.
“Minimum security. He has certain privileges.”
The words seemed muddled at first. “Did he escape?” I took a deep breath, uncertain I wanted the answer.
“No,” the detective said, the same edge to her voice as when I’d talked to her before. “He hasn’t left. I made certain of that.”
“There’s another but.”
She sighed and I heard noise like she was drumming her fingers on her desk. “He’s allowed a pass once a month to leave, but he’s supervised twenty-four hours a day.”
The lump in my throat grew, leaving me completely suffocated. I was forced to sit down, every muscle in my body tense. “So a monster who kidnapped and held and tortured me for two months was allowed to walk out of a facility? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“He’s had a year of treatment and the doctors believe he’s no longer suffering from the same psychosis as before.”
“They are fucking insane!” I shouted, dropping my head into my hand. “He’s an amazing con artist. You and I know that. Hell, the jurors saw that firsthand at trial!” I couldn’t calm down, my entire body shaking so badly my teeth were chattering. My entire world had just been turned upside down, the system failing me. I’d warned everyone what he would do, the lengths he’d go in order to be set free.
“I know,” she said calmly. “I already have an appointment with the psychiatrist treating him, but you know HIPPA laws. I likely won’t get very far.”
“Of course you won’t. No one will because we’re not family and his mother and father turned a blind eye, acting as if their decorated war hero of a son wasn’t capable of what he did to me.” Tears formed in my eyes, and I refused to allow them to fall. I’d been stupid enough to blurt out my fear in front of Snake, allowing a single tear to fall, but he’d seen it. No one was ever going to think of me as weak again. Not ever.
“Just try and calm down. There are only a few places he’s allowed to go, and his parents have full responsibility of him when he’s on leave. I did check. He hasn’t been out of the area. Not once.”
But he had access to a phone.
Snorting, I fisted my hand, doing my best to keep a rational mind. “You don’t seem to understand that Lance has both his parents and the doctors wrapped around his little finger. And you don’t seem very concerned.”
“I am concerned, Chasity, and I’ll do everything I can to keep him from being set free, but I’m not the attorney nor am I the victim. You should consider returning to Baltimore even for a few days so you can talk to the judge and his doctors.”
“I am not returning to Maryland. I have a life and thatbastardisn’t going to take anything else from me.” Now I was yelling, spots of red forming in front of my eyes from the rage.
“Just calm down. Let me see what I can do. Okay?”
All I could do was laugh. “Sure. Thank you very much.” Anxiety rolling through me, I ended the call, holding the phone to my head. I couldn’t go through it again. I didn’t have the strength. When I heard a knock on my office door, I was ready to launch into whoever dared to do so.
The poor receptionist saw my face and I was certain she was going to pass out.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Garrington, but there’s this… man out here who refuses to leave, and he doesn’t have an appointment. I didn’t know what to do.”
A man, huh? I had a feeling I knew exactly who it was. Maybe sparring with him again was exactly what had been needed. “Show him in.” The dark tone in my voice was almost unrecognizable.
She opened her eyes wide, never having seen me this upset. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
I stood, brushing my hands down my jacket then folding my arms. Why was Snake intent on driving me crazy with every action he took? I kept a cold expression on my face as he barged in, and it was obvious he was looking to pick a fight.
“Close the door, Amanda,” I told the poor girl, reminding myself to apologize for my behavior later.
The second she did, he advanced like a predator. I hadn’t really paid any attention to just how tall he was, so much so I was forced to look up into his eyes. The same tingling sensations were there, another shot of electricity, but I was finished playing his ugly game.
“You listen up, Nurse Ratched.”
“Don’t you ever call me that again.”
“I will if I want to.”
“And I can slap you if I want to.” My last retort seemed to catch him by surprise, the same sexy curl of his lip creating a sickening wave of desire.
