Free Mind Over Mind by Karina L. Fabian Page A

that Joshua had to concentrate on holding back his pace. The young patient seemed to be gathering his nerve to say something, so Joshua let the silence build until Ydrel had to break it.
    “I. I— Look, I don’t know what you did yesterday, but you’re the first person who’s really helped me in a long time and I, well, I want you to do it again.”
    “That’s what I’m here for.” He slid the tie back on, but decided to wait on the jacket until they were inside and the fabric had a chance to cool off some, too.
    “It’s not that easy. Malachai’s watching us now. You’re a threat to his pet project. He’s a dangerous man, and there’s not a person in this facility who’ll stand up against him.”
    Yeah, I noticed that . “Tell you what. Let me think on it.” Then he shrugged in the same manner he had when he’d built Ydrel’s confidence the night before. “We’ll find a way to work it out.”
    The anchor was still in place. Ydrel relaxed into a smile, which he kept even after they were back inside the building and among the surveillance and scrutiny.
    “OK. Hey, can you bring a Frisbee? They don’t have one here, and since you’re so good at it, you can teach me.”
    “How did you know?”
    Ydrel rolled his eyes, and Joshua mimicked the gesture and laughed.

     

CHAPTER 7
    Joshua peered into the nurse’s lounge and smiled. Sachiko was eating dinner and studying. Alone.
    Earlier in her shift, he’d spent about half an hour with her and Monique, learning about their routine: shift change procedures, when and how they made their rounds, how they handled emergencies, what they did for dinner breaks. He’d asked Rita Sanchez similar questions about the housekeeping staff and planned to get to know the orderlies tomorrow or the next day. His father had impressed upon him the importance of meeting the support staff and learning how they worked. Today, though, he had to admit to an ulterior motive.
    “Mind if I interrupt?”
    He took her preoccupied flick of the head as assent and sat down across from her with his tray. It was already 6:30 and the smells from the cafeteria had enticed him to try the “institutional” food. Besides, it gave him a good excuse to join Sachiko.
    Sachiko was reading a medical text, occasionally pausing to close her eyes and repeat something silently, committing it to memory. While he waited, Joshua bit into his venison stew and bit back a hum of appreciation. The staff could get their meals from the same cafeteria as the patients and, as with everything else, the patients were paying for the best.
    Sachiko came to the end of a section and used a napkin to mark her place, putting the book aside. “What are you still doing here?”
    “Writing up notes for Dr. Hoffman, studying up on a few cases.”
    “You a workaholic?”
    Yes. “No, just new in town and enthusiastic about the job. Besides,” he paused to pick at his food, “I have some kind of stupid questions…“
    “And you don’t want to look foolish to your mentors?”
    “Well, yeah.”
    “But a nurse is OK?” Her wry grin took some of the venom from her words.
    “Actually,” Joshua grinned back, “I figured after last night, nothing I could say could make me look more foolish to you.”
    Her grin softened to a genuine smile and he felt his heart skip. “I like your honesty,” she said quietly.
    He was finding it very hard to look into her eyes and still breathe. He turned his gaze to her book instead. “What’re you studying?”
    She sighed. “Procedures in the Reproductive System.”
    “Pardon?”
    “You know—cancer screenings, Paps…” She smiled wickedly. “Vasectomies.”
    He gave the expected wince. “So is this continuing ed, or are you working on a medical degree?”
    Her smile disappeared. “An MD, but only if I pass this time. I’ve taken this stupid course three times already. If I fail again, I’ll have to drop the program.”
    Now Joshua’s wince was genuine. “Listen, if