Angel had no idea what was going on. He was a famous ballplayer. Why wouldn’t Duke pay him, get it out of the way? It was odd enough that Duke was trying to hide his medical visits—which she only half agreed with—but why give the doctor so much leverage? It had to be exhausting to live life under the shadow of being caught in a lie.

She refused to carry that thought any further, afraid it might lead to self-analysis.

She was heading down the back hallway when Theresa caught up with her. “Whatcha doin’? Ms. Rodriguez is waiting for you. And, um, I’m sorry, she needs her toenails cut again.”

Angel sighed. “If I ever get that heavy and can’t cut my own toenails, please, just shoot me.”

“I feel sorry for her,” Theresa said.

“Yeah, me too. Until I have to saw through her yellow goat hooves.”

Angel again found herself wanting to confide in a friend, this time the other student nurse. It would be a relief to share her burden, to ask advice about the weird situation. But no. It was bad enough that she was allowing herself to be roped back into this stupid charade, she couldn’t bring her friends into her problems.

I’m letting Duke in, then he’s on his own.

“I’ll be there in a second,” she said to Theresa. She couldn’t come up with any reason why she’d be heading out the back door, so she didn’t bother explaining. She heard the girl jog toward the exam rooms, going back to her patients, as Angel should be doing.

She used her badge to turn off the door alarm. She was surprised to find Willis, not Duke, sitting on the back stoop. Before she could say anything, the older man stood up and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Peering down the narrow alley, she spied a guy with a hoodie drawn tight over his head, crouched behind a Dumpster. Her stomach dropped. Something was terribly wrong if this was a successful ballplayer, stooping to such lows.

“Hey,” Duke’s father said at her in a low hiss. “Is anyone else around?”

She refused to whisper. “You’re clear.” Louder, she said, “Get in here already.” She held the door as Willis and then Duke shuffled through the back entrance. Without a word, Willis strode a few steps ahead of them, as if he were in charge. Duke, meanwhile, repeatedly peeked behind him. Checking for witnesses, she guessed.

“You look completely crazy, you know.”

“I might be.” His green eyes lit on her, wide and alert. “Angel, does Dr. Collins know I’m here?”

“No. I figured I’d get you into an exam room first. I didn’t want to give him time to stew. Or do anything stupid.”