Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 72401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Cody nodded. “Do you want me to order for you?”
I nodded. “Yes, please.”
Cody knew what I liked. Just as I knew what he liked.
I hurried out of the room, trying my hardest not to stare at the table in the corner, but failing miserably.
He was still sitting next to his sister, his arm slung around her shoulders as they both spoke to Detective Rector and Torren.
Torren’s best feature was his hair. It was the color of black licorice, and there was just something about the way he always had it spiked up, whether he tried to make it that way or not, that I found so sexy.
He was cute, too.
Dark gray black eyes, an angular chin, dark stubbled jaw, and the cutest cleft chin that I’d ever seen.
His eyes were on Molly as if she were a mug of beer in the middle of a frat party.
In fact, if I had to make an educated guess, I’d bet that Torren was just as in love with Molly now as he was a couple of years ago.
If she wasn’t careful, she’d lose him before she even got him.
Which, I thought, she had a very good chance of doing.
The air was cool once I hit the outside air, and it was extra dark due to the storm still ravaging the night sky.
Opening my flimsy umbrella, I made my way to my car cursing myself for not bringing my good umbrella that spanned about four feet.
“Hey, you got a light?” A man said from his car as I passed.
I shook my head. “Nope. Sorry.”
A fat droplet of rain hit me in the face just as I reached the car, and I opened the door without looking, dropping down into the opening.
I lost the grasp I had on the umbrella as the wind gusted particularly hard, and I slammed my car door shut.
“I should just go home,” I grumbled as I watched my pretty pink umbrella tumble down the parking lot.
Sighing, I reached for my bag, digging down to the very bottom.
“There you are, you slippery little bastard,” I murmured.
Clicking the center button, my phone lit up.
Four missed calls.
“Oops,” I said as I opened the phone app.
It wasn’t who I’d thought it was, though. It was Audrey telling me she was running a few minutes late.
Clicking Audrey’s name, I listened to the phone as it rang and rang, finally being picked up by her voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. I was just returning your call. I’m not going to be at the bar. I think I’m just going to go home.”
My next call was to Cody.
“Hello?” He answered on the fourth ring.
“Hey,” I hesitated. “I might have accidentally lost my umbrella...and I’m wearing white scrubs, so there’s no way I’m coming back in there.”
“It’s okay,” he laughed. “Dooley walked in right after you left. It works out. Be careful driving home. Text me when you get there so I know you’re safe.”
I felt warmed by his concern.
It’d been just me taking care of the world so long that it felt nice to be cared after.
“Okay, thanks Cody. I’ll see you in two days,” I said just before hanging up.
Starting my car, I pulled through the parking space and straight into the street.
My drive home was luckily short, but I knew as soon as I got out of the car that I’d be soaked.
I stuffed my phone down deep into my bag, followed by my jacket before I zipped it up, perused the distance to my door, opened the car door, and flung myself out.
I slammed the door shut behind me, but the sound was lost in the howl of the wind.
I started running up the stairs two at a time, and finally came to a stop under my awning, soaked through and through.
“Fuck me in the ass,” I groaned as I missed the lock twice, before finally sliding it all the way in.
I turned it quickly, and had just turned the front light on when my pager went off in the bottom of the bag.
My state pager.
The one that told me when I had a case.
I slapped my hand against my forehead.
Dropping my things down on the couch, I dried off my arm with the afghan laying over the back of the couch before I dug for my phone and called into work.
“Christus Health, this is Erma,” a voice answered cheerfully
“Hi, this is Rue Loden. I was just paged for a sexual assault. May I speak to the supervisor please?” I asked Erma.
Erma was one of the ER’s newest nurses, and hadn’t yet gotten that jadedness that most of the nurses got once they’d worked in the ER environment for a long time.
“Sure,” Erma said sadly. “I’ll get her now.”
It took less than two minutes before Mona was on the line. “This is Mona speaking.”
“Hi, Mona. This is Rue. I was paged,” I went straight to the point.
“Yes, dear. I have a case for you. I know you’re not on call, but...I need you. I don’t trust anybody else for this,” Mona said softly.
I stopped for a heartbeat, waiting for her to explain, but she never did. “Mona...what’s going on?”
“Just...get here. The sooner the better,” she replied quietly.
I blinked.
“I had a drink a little over thirty minutes ago. Only one though. I’ll need some coffee and some water. Maybe about thirty minutes for my head to be on straight again,” I explained.
“You got it. She only wants you,” Mona said before hanging up.
I blinked rapidly. She only wanted me?
***
“Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded.
Mona sat down at the table with me and handed me a cup of coffee that was so strong I’d probably see hair on my chest in the morning.
Then all my joking took a flying leap out a fifteen story window when I heard what she had to say next.
“Audrey was sexually assaulted on the way to her car today. She’s okay, physically, other than the obvious, and she only wants you,” Mona said softly.
I closed my eyes, trying in vain to shut out the infuriated scream that threatened to burst free of my lips.