Protecting Her(37)

“I would if I wasn’t still in love with her. I can’t go on a date with another woman while I’m still in love with Shelby. It wouldn’t be right. I’d be thinking about Shelby the entire time. So has she been dating much?”

“I’m not sure.” I should lie and say she is, just so he’ll move on.

“I still have the engagement ring,” he says, taking a piece of bread from the basket. “I keep hoping she’ll change her mind.”

Our lunch arrives and I steer the conversation back to his job to get his mind off Shelby. Logan has nothing else in his life right now except work, and it reminds me of how I used to be before meeting Rachel. I was miserable. At least Logan likes his job, but I know his life would be better if he were able to be with Shelby.

As we’re waiting for the check, an idea pops in my head. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. Probably because it wouldn’t work. But maybe it would, now that my father is sick and needs better medical treatment than the Clinic physicians or a hospital can currently offer. And this could benefit all the members, not just my father.

“Logan, if you could treat your patients using whatever method you thought was best, even if those treatments were not yet approved, and not face jail time for doing so, would you do it?”

He laughs. “Well, obviously, yes. That would be my dream job. Unfortunately, this is real life. Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering.” The check arrives and I set some cash out. “It’s on me today.”

“Thank you, Pearce.”

“Would you like to meet again next week?”

“I need to check my schedule, but let’s plan on it for now.”

“Very well. I need to get back to the office. I’ll see you next week.” I leave and drive to my parents’ house. I’m not sure if my father will be home. My mother didn’t specify what day his treatments start.

I’m greeted at the door by the maid.

“Is my father home?” I ask her.

“Yes. But he’s resting. He’s in his room.”

My father never rests. He barely even sleeps. So if he’s resting, it means he’s really not feeling well. I don’t like the way my father treats me, but I don’t want him to suffer, or die. He’s still my father and I do care about him.

“Father.” I enter his room. He’s lying in bed in his pajamas and robe, but he’s awake.

“Pearce.” He quickly sits up, then starts coughing. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I told you to call before coming over,” he scolds.

“I didn’t have time. This can’t wait.”

I sit in the chair by his bed and tell him about the new cancer treatment Logan told me about.

“So what do you think?” I ask. “Is this something you’d like to try?”

“I need to see the research before I decide. And I would like to talk to Logan’s colleagues in Europe who have actually tried this treatment on their patients. I would hope his colleagues are older than him. I’m not taking medical advice from some 30-year-old kid.”

“Logan is young, but very intelligent. But yes, I’m sure he could put you in touch with the physicians involved in the research. But he’d be the one administering the treatments.”

“He could go to jail for that. And lose his medical license. Why would he take the risk?”

“He wouldn’t, unless he had the organization’s protection from the law.”

I tell my father the idea I had when I was at the restaurant, which is that I want to invite Logan to work for the Clinic. The physicians who work there are not members, but they are given limited knowledge of Dunamis. They have to sign a contract before they receive that knowledge. The contract basically says they’ll be harmed if they ever tell our secrets, and yet we still find plenty of people to take these jobs, and not one physician has ever attempted to tell our secrets.

Being a doctor for us has many rewards. Large sums of money. Not having to deal with the hassle of insurance. And the freedom to treat your patients using whatever means necessary to keep them alive and well, even if those treatments aren’t approved. Our doctors can even work with the lab at Sinclair Pharmaceuticals, the company owned by Royce’s family, to develop their own drugs.

“Logan would be an excellent addition to the Clinic,” I say. “He has many innovative ideas and treatments that would benefit the other members.”