Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
“Damn it,” I muttered, pulling on my jeans and scanning the room for any signs of her departure. “She’s done a fuckin’ Houdini.”
I moved through the house, my heart pounding in my ears, hoping against hope that she’d simply wandered off to explore or take in the ocean view. But as I flung open the front door, the bitter taste of disappointment settled on my tongue. She was gone, vanished without a trace, leaving nothing behind but the ghost of her touch.
“Son of a bitch,” I growled, slamming my fist against the doorframe. Pain jarred up my arm, but I welcomed it. “You really did a fuckin’ number on me, didn’t you, little CeCe?”
More than my desire for her, a stronger need to keep her safe rose to the fore and threatened to consume me. Everything in me wanted to go hunting.
But I couldn’t. I knew I couldn’t keep a kitten who didn’t want to be kept. I’d see her again. When I did, we’d get a few things fucking straight.
Like how she was never in the fuck going back to Ettore Alfonso, even if it meant I had to raze the entire Italian mafia on the lower Eastern seaboard.
Chapter Five
Bullet
Mrs. Singleton was supposed to be released today if they got her pump ready and she was comfortable using it. I had made it my personal mission today to do what I had to in order for the elderly woman to be comfortable with her treatment. She deserved to have the best care I could give her, but my attention to Mrs. Singleton wasn’t purely selfless. I was trying to distract myself from the fact that I hadn’t seen CeCe in seven days.
I worked seven on, seven off. The night I’d spent with CeCe had been the end of my last day on shift. In the following days, I’d gone to the Goddamned café every fucking night, and no CeCe. She might have missed one or two days, but not more. Not unless she was avoiding me. While that was certainly possible, I didn’t think she’d completely ghost me. If for no other reason than she loved that fucking chocolate pie.
As I walked into the dictation room, I picked up my tablet, checking the status of Mrs. Singleton’s insulin pump. I wanted to speak with her before she left and reassure her I’d be by to check on her every day.
“You’ve only got three to sign off on, Atticus.” Dr. Mason was in his late fifties or early sixties. He was very much old school in that he liked to get to know his patients. He was one of the most intelligent clinical doctors I’d ever had the pleasure of working with. “Two will be going home. You already know Mrs. Singleton. By the way…” He grinned at me as we passed the room of the woman in question. “Thank you for convincing her to get the insulin pump. I hope you intend to follow through with your promises to her.” Yeah, the other man was calling me out, making sure I wasn’t just blowing smoke up the old woman’s ass.
“I do.” I shrugged. “I’ll have all the time in the world when I turn in my resignation.”
That caught the other man by surprise. “Atticus? Surely you’re not leaving. We need you here.”
“I can’t anymore, John. This whole place has been one fuckup after another.”
“I know they put some residents and interns under you, but it won’t be for long.”
“I’m not a teacher. I’m a soldier. Always have been.”
“Well, if you’re half as good a soldier as you are a doctor, the hospital could still use more of you. Not less.”
“Like I said. I’m not a teacher.”
“Yes, you are. You taught Phil not to be such an ass. He actually apologized to Mrs. Singleton the day after you called him out.” Dr. Mason chuckled. “He also tightened conduct for his interns and residents. So, you see? We need you.”
“I appreciate that, John. But my rare spots of joy are overshadowed by frustration. I have some things to finish, then I’m not renewing my contract.”
“Well, as long as I’m here, you’ll have an ally if you want to come back.” He took my arm and guided me toward a room to give me report on the last patient I’d receive from him before he went off shift.
“This is a sad case.” John took off his glasses and pulled a handkerchief then began polishing the lenses. He shook his head slightly as if that would negate what he was about to tell me. I could tell from the tight expression on his face whatever he was about to tell me would be bad. Also, that itching sensation between my shoulders got worse and I almost reached back to scratch it. “This young woman was found in an alley five nights ago, beaten and raped. She’s been in and out of consciousness for a couple of days now. This morning’s been the first she’s been awake more than a few minutes at a time, so everything up to this point has been under Jane Doe. I think they’re working to get that fixed but you know how it goes. It’ll take a few hours to get it all straightened out. We can sit down in the dictation room and I’ll go over it all with you before I leave.”