and then back up. “You in your pretty suit with your pretty hair and your pretty life. You leave here and go home and smile, smile, smile . . . and me, I’m haunted. Just … haunted . . .” His words faded away as his gaze halted on a ray of sunlight filtering through the window.
“By what? What are you haunted by?”
His knee began bouncing and he started chewing on his thumbnail again.
Liza flipped his file open. “You lived with your mother before you came here?”
Simon’s knee picked up speed.
“Do you have a good relationship with your mother? She hasn’t been to visit you, I see—”
The man moved like a bolt of lightning, springing from his chair, and grabbing her shoulders. Liza’s surprised scream wavered and filled the room as he shook her. He leaned in, eyes wild, spit flying from his mouth as he yelled, “You don’t see, you don’t see, you don’t see!”
The door crashed open and one of the orderlies rushed into her office, grabbing Simon, and pulling him away from Liza easily. Liza jumped to her feet, shaking as she attempted to catch her breath. Tears were streaking down Simon’s face. “You don’t see!” he cried.
The orderly, a muscular man named Jon, held Simon’s hands behind his back, with seemingly little effort. Simon looked drained, broken, as though the outburst had used up every bit of energy in his underweight body. “Are you okay, Dr. Nolan?”
“Yes. Yes, I’m fine. I—”
“Liza, what the hell happened?” Chad appeared in her doorway, his gaze flying from her to a restrained Simon. His mouth set in a thin line. “Take him back to his room,” he told Jon. Jon nodded, leading Simon out.
Chad approached Liza. “Are you all right?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes. I will be. He just . . . took me by surprise.”
Chad took hold of her upper arms, stepping closer to her. “You shouldn’t be alone with patients who have already proven to be violent.”
She frowned. “He hasn’t proven to be violent though.” Or if he had, he’d only ever tried to harm himself. She thought back to what had happened a few minutes before. He’d shaken her and yelled—scared her—yes, but had he actually been violent with her? Actually harmed her? No.
What had he said? You don’t see, you don’t see. A shiver went down her spine.
“Liza,” Chad said softly, bringing her from her thoughts. She focused back on him. He was standing very close. She began to step back, seeking distance from him, but he pulled her forward and wrapped his arms around her. Liza stiffened but allowed the embrace. They were friends; she’d told him they could be friends.
He rubbed her back in slow, circular motions. “I care so much for you, Liza. I don’t want to see you hurt. If one of those animals hurts you—”
Liza pulled back, making a sound of disagreement in the back of her throat. “They’re not animals, Chad. Simon is not an animal. He’s a kid. And he’s very hurt, confused—”
“Sick.”
Liza cast her eyes to the side. “Perhaps.”
“He needs to be medicated.”
“I don’t disagree, Chad. Perhaps medication is necessary, especially now. But there are other things there too. Other root causes for his behavior. Things I might be able to help him with if he would trust me.” Medication worked best when combined with therapy. They were supposed to be a team.
Chad moved a piece of hair off her cheek, his eyes softening as he gazed at her. “You have too much empathy for your patients, Liza. I understand why but . . . I don’t want it to end up making you blind to what these people are capable of. They’re very sick individuals. Very sick.”
“This isn’t Ward Five, Chad. I’m not dealing with psychopaths.”
“No, but they’re still unpredictable.”
She exhaled a breath, casting her eyes to the side. Hadn’t Reed Davies said something similar when he’d interviewed her? But Reed’s question had been directed at her. He’d been alluding to her own behavior . . .
Reed. Why did the very thought of him cause an electric thrill to vibrate in her belly?
Movement made her focus back on Chad just as his face came forward, his lips meeting hers. He grasped her head in his hands and tilted it so he could deepen the kiss. Just as his tongue probed her closed lips, she pulled back, stepping away from him. His eyes snapped open, tongue partially sticking from his mouth, creating a comical expression that caused