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Reunited by the Badge
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A megacorporation starts killing patients...
And two exes must reunite to save lives!
When he discovers his patients’ lives are threatened, Dr. Paul Reilly can turn to only one person: Simone Black. She will have his back, even if they don’t agree on much else. But as the former lovers work together to track down the evildoers who are tampering with medications, they rediscover unexpected feelings for one another...even as an enemy wants to silence them permanently.
Simone rested an elbow on the tabletop, turning flirtatiously toward Paul. “Do you know Tom and Jerry over there?” she asked softly. She reached a hand out, trailing her fingers against his arm.
Her touch proved just distracting enough to him that Paul didn’t turn abruptly to stare back, drawing even more attention in their direction. His focus shifted slowly from her toward the duo at the bar. He eyed them briefly before turning his attention back to Simone. He shook his head. “Should I?”
“It might be nothing, but they seem very interested in you.”
Paul’s gaze danced back in their direction and he took a swift inhale of air. One of the men was on a cell phone and both were still eyeing him intently.
“We need to leave,” he said, suddenly anxious. He began to gather his papers.
“What’s going on, Paul?”
“I don’t think we’re safe, Simone.”
* * *
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* * *
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Dear Reader,
I wish I had something profound to say about this story. Something that would have bells ringing and angels dancing. But I really don’t. This story, based in fact, made me a little sad. Medical and pharmaceutical abuse against patients is very real. Too often it flies under the radar, the public completely unaware. I appreciate being able to fictionalize and bring awareness to what is a very real problem. I wish I could do more.
I loved fleshing out Simone Black. She’s fire and her love affair with Dr. Paul Reilly made my heart sing. The two together are oil and water, and they mingle so perfectly, it made writing their story one enjoyable adventure. I absolutely adore the two, and I really love his philanthropic spirit and her devotion to her man! I hope you will enjoy them together as much as I enjoyed writing them!
Thank you so much for your support. I am humbled by all the love you keep showing me, my characters and our stories. I know that none of this would be possible without you.
Until the next time, please take care and may God’s blessings be with you always.
With much love,
Deborah Fletcher Mello
www.DeborahMello.blogspot.com
REUNITED
BY THE BADGE
Deborah Fletcher Mello
A true Renaissance woman, Deborah Fletcher Mello finds joy in crafting unique story lines and memorable characters. She’s received accolades from several publications, including Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and RT Book Reviews. Born and raised in Connecticut, Deborah now considers home to be wherever the moment moves her.
Books by Deborah Fletcher Mello
Harlequin Romantic Suspense
To Serve and Seduce
Seduced by the Badge
Tempted by the Badge
Reunited by the Badge
Harlequin Kimani Romance
Truly Yours
Hearts Afire
Twelve Days of Pleasure
My Stallion Heart
Stallion Magic
Tuscan Heat
A Stallion’s Touch
A Pleasing Temptation
Sweet Stallion
To Tempt a Stallion
A Stallion Dream
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To all my Jewels in The Reading Room
Know that you are much loved and valued!
You all make my heart sing!
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Excerpt from Colton Family Showdown by Regan Black
Chapter 1
Dr. Paul Reilly stood in front of his business-class seat, waiting anxiously to disembark the airplane. He’d been traveling for some thirty-plus hours, having started with an Air France flight from Accra, Ghana, to Paris, France, and ending with a Delta flight into Chicago. He was past the point of exhaustion and all he wanted was to be on firm ground, and home.
The cell phone in his hand began to beep and vibrate, an influx of incoming messages finally getting through after he’d taken the device out of airplane mode. He stole a quick glance at the lengthy list to determine the urgency of his responding, or not, and then he dropped the unit into the inner breast pocket of his blazer.
The line out of the aircraft began to move slowly. When he spied his first opportunity to make an exit, Paul stepped into the aisle. He reached for his carry-on bag out of the upper storage compartment and pushed forward, beating a woman who was whining about the heat and a couple with four unruly kids out the door. He moved swiftly down the Jetway to the terminal, exhaling a sigh of relief as he shifted out of the crowd toward the baggage reclaim area.
As he waited for the airlines to engage the luggage carousel, he pulled his cell back into his hands and dialed one of the first numbers in his call list. His brother Oliver answered on the second ring.
“Where are you?” Oliver questioned, a hint of stress in his tone.
Paul took a deep breath. “The airport. I just landed.”
“Did you get my text message?”
“I got a few dozen. I haven’t had an opportunity to read any of them since I left Ghana.”
“I sent you the lab results for those tissue samples you gave me. I haven’t had a chance to start testing the drug samples yet.”
“And?”
“And, something is definitely not right. But you have a bigger problem.”
“What’s that?”
“The samples have disappeared. All of them. The tissue samples and the drug products.”
“What do you mean, disappeared?”
“I mean someone took them and now they’re gone.”
“But you have the results?”
“No. You have the only results. I emailed them to you first thing, before I even looked at them. Once I did read them, I needed to do some additional testing, but before that could happen it all vanished. Including the original first round of test results!”
“So, they got both shipments?”
“Both? You sent more than one shipment of samples?”
“Yeah. I mailed one to your office and I mailed the other to the house in Windsor, since I knew you had plans to be there.”
Paul blew a soft sigh, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of what his brother was telling him. Dr. Oliver Reilly worked for the federal government. He was a cancer research scientist reporting to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Like his brother, Paul had a medical degree, but specialized in emergency care and family practice. He’d chosen to be a public health practitioner over private practice.
Paul trusted Oliver, one of only a few people he knew who would have his back, whatever the situation. “Did you discuss this with anyone?”
“No. Not a soul. Which is also why I didn’t file a police report. Whoever knew the samples were here, also knew you sent them. Whoever took them has access to the government labs because there isn’t an ounce of evidence to point toward a break-in. Now, I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but something’s going on.”
Paul took another deep breath. The carousel had just begun to spin, the passengers from his international flight crowding around like a herd of cattle waiting for something to happen. As the first bags appeared out of a hole in the rear wall, the group drew closer, preparing to snatch their possessions as quickly as they could.
Oliver called his name. “Paul! You still there?”
“Sorry, yeah. Just trying to think.”
“Look, I’m here to help any way I can. But, this feels like it might be more than either one of us can handle. Have you talked to anyone? The police? An attorney, maybe?”
Paul shook his head, oblivious to the fact his brother couldn’t see him through the telephone line. His eyes were skating over the crowd, a sense of unease beginning to swell in his midsection. He was suddenly feeling slightly paranoid, like he needed to be looking over his shoulder. “I’ve got to run. I’ll call you as soon as I get to the house.”
“Be careful, please,” Oliver admonished as the line disconnected in his ear.
Minutes later, Paul sat in the back of an Uber. His preferred driver, a grandmother from the island of Haiti, was chatting him up about his trip. The older woman had been driving him back and forth for the last year, her wide smile always a welcome sight whether he was coming or going.
“You need a wife,” she said, the comment coming out of left field.
Paul laughed. “Why would I want to do something like that?”
“God didn’t make man to live his life alone. That’s why he gave Eve to Adam. Someone to be your helpmate. A partner to help carry some of the burden and provide comfort when you need it. It’s why you need a wife. God has ordained it!” she professed with an air of finality that suddenly had Paul considering the possibilities.
He thought about the women in his life—one woman in particular—then shook his head. “I don’t foresee that in my immediate future, Mrs. Pippin.”
“What about that beauty queen you were dating? Was she not wifey material?”
“No!” he exclaimed, his head waving from side to side. “She was definitely not wife material.” For a moment he thought about the Miss Illinois contestant he’d met in the hospital waiting room. She had captured his attention and then all focus had been lost two weeks later when she accused him of cheating because he hadn’t answered her call or returned it in a timely manner. She had keyed his car, stolen his phone and had poisoned his fish tank with bleach. He discovered later that he had fared better than her last boyfriend. That poor guy had suffered immeasurable damage when she’d superglued his junk to his leg after discovering he’d slept with her friend. Any man willing to make her his wife would have to sleep with both eyes open at night.
Mrs. Pippin interrupted his moment of reverie. “Your heart is still with that lawyer woman. The one you talk about, but don’t talk to,” she concluded, grunting slightly as she gave him a look through the rearview mirror.
The faintest hint of a smile lifted across Paul’s face. “She broke my heart, Mrs. Pippin. And she left it in a million pieces.”
The old woman grunted a second time. “She is still under your skin. She never leaves you. Like a bad juju. That is why all the other beauties you date don’t stand a chance. You should call her.”
Paul suddenly found himself pondering her suggestion, smiling at the thought of any woman being some kind of mystical charm that could sway him from other relationships. Maybe Mrs. Pippin was right, and he had himself a case of bad juju. He remembered how smitten he’d been, so possessed that he couldn’t begin to imagine his life without the beauty who’d felt like home in his small world.
That woman she referred to was Simone Black, daughter of Chicago’s illustrious police superintendent Jerome Black and his wife, federal court judge Judith Harmon Black. The last time he had spoken with Simone, their conversation had been tense, and he’d felt battered by the end of it. There had been an ultimatum, or two, and the predictable battle of wills when the two disagreed. Their communication had failed, and both had shut down.
He could barely remember who had started that fight or what they’d even fought about, just that it had been the end for their relationship and months of conflict between them. They had agreed to part ways, choosing to let go of each other, instead of battling for a happily-ever-after that could have lasted a lifetime.
A mission trip to Northern Thailand to treat the indigenous people of the Akha tribe, high in the Chiang Rai mountains, had kept him from falling into a fit of depression and crying into his cornflakes for months. Being able to provide medical treatment to patient populations that included local migrant workers, as well as refugee populations from bordering Myanmar, had kept him sane and balanced and unconcerned with whether the woman he had loved was moving on without him. He had regained focus and come back with a renewed sense of purpose. The spiritual journey that had been so much about expanding his horizon and answering a calling, had become a much needed balm, a bandage of sorts on an open wound. There had been five more mission trips since and no wailing over the loss of his woman.
Now, thinking about her was adding to the frustration he was already feeling. But calling Simone, a prominent lawyer with the state’s attorney’s office, suddenly made more sense than not. Despite their problems, he trusted her and right then, he needed counsel from someone he could trust.
Mrs. Pippin was rambling, sharing a story about one of her many grandchildren. Paul listened with half an ear as he considered his options. He needed help and Simone might be willing to point him in the right direction. She also had connections who might prove to be beneficial in helping him solve his problem. He knew he’d fare better with her than without her, if only to get a hint or two of advice.
Paul shifted forward in his seat. “Mrs. Pippin, change of plans. I need to grab a bite to eat. Do you mind taking me to West Bryn Mawr, please? Down near North Clark Street.”
“No problem at all. Just change the destination in the app for me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Minutes later she’d turned the burgundy Avalon he was riding in about and headed toward the North Side of town. He pushed the speed dial for the first number in his phone contacts and waited for it to be answered.
Simone Black answered just as he was about to hang up. “Why are you calling me, Paul?” Her tone was wary as she said hello.
Hearing her voice sent both a rumble of anxiety into the pit of his stomach and a blanket of calm across his back and shoulders. The conflicting emotions caused him to struggle to stay focused. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “It’s important, Simone. I really need your help.”
There was an awkward pause as the woman on the other end took time to ponder his comment. When she finally responded her voice was thick with attitude. “This better be good, Paul Reilly. Do not waste my time!”
“Can you meet me, please?”
“Now? Do you know what time it is?”
“I know it’s late, Simone, but I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important. And I mean life-and-death important. I really need to talk to you.”
There was another lengthy pause before she answered. “If it’s that important, I guess I can make the time. But you’d better not be playing games with me!”
He blew a soft sigh of relief. “I’m headed over to our place now. I should be there in ten minutes.”
“We have a place?” she replied sarcastically.
Paul shook his head. “I’ll be waiting, Simone. I’ll see you when you get there.”
As he disconnected the line, Paul noted the look Mrs. Pippin was giving him. The old woman eyed him with raised brows. Bemusement furrowed her forehead and there was a hint of hubris in her eyes. He was sure something snarky teased the tip of her tongue, but she bit back the quip, giving him an easy smile instead.
Paul chuckled. He hated admitting when the old woman was right and in the short time he’d known her, her instincts had often been spot-on. This time was no different. Because Simone Black did have his heart on lock. Even with the distance between them, and the young woman’s sometimes contentious demeanor that had him wanting to pull his hair out, Paul still loved Simone more than he had ever loved any other woman in his life.
* * *
Simone Black had needed to park her car around the corner from their favorite local restaurant. Walking the length of the block in high heels was proving to be quite the chore and she was kicking herself for choosing cute over comfort. But it had been quite some time since she and Paul had been in a room together and she was determined that he saw cute when they next met.
Just hearing his voice over the telephone had sent shivers of excitement down her spine. She hadn’t wanted to admit just how much she missed him, because admitting she missed him meant admitting she might have been wrong about breaking up with him. Simone had lost count of the number of times she’d kicked herself for that decision.
Since their separation almost one year ago and him leaving the country, Simone often claimed she’d been abandoned, left pining after a man who had loved his career more than he had loved her. She conveniently left out the fact that Paul had begged her to leave with him, wanting her to follow his dreams as they worked together to fulfill her own. She had always admired his humanitarian spirit but had been ill-prepared the day he announced he wanted to serve patients overseas in developing countries. It had been a calling on his heart that she’d found admirable, but she hadn’t been able to see how she might fit in the life he imagined.