Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
The only downside to working the day shift again is that I no longer get to spend my evenings with Tank. I mean, it’s a good sign, since it means Banger is out of the clinic and well on his way to a full recovery.
I’m happy for him and Willow, but I hope this means I’ll get some uninterrupted time with Tank. Go on a real date or two, catch a movie, and go out to a long romantic dinner where we both smile so much our cheeks hurt.
Maybe he’ll stay the night at my place. We can fall asleep together, exhausted and satisfied, his big arms wrapped around me with my face pressed against his chest. The soothing beat of his heart lulling me to sleep.
When I go to the breakroom, I pour myself a generous cup of black coffee, letting the hot liquid prepare me for the whirlwind shift ahead. Days at the clinic are always hectic, and I need to get my head in the game.
Hannah comes to a skidding stop in the break room, a wary expression on her face. Her almond-shaped eyes are wide and perfectly smudged with brown and beige eyeshadow, her rosebud lips parted into a shocked ‘O’. “Sophie,” she sighs. “There you are.”
“Here I am,” I tell her with a smile. At twenty-four, everything in the world seems like an emergency to Hannah.
“Have you heard about Tank?”
My brows crinkle. “Just walked in. Heard what?”
Hannah’s sleek brows dip, and her lips twist into a frown. “Tank got arrested.”
She continues talking, but her words become distant noise as the world around me shatters. Tank got arrested? “What? When?”
“Last night,” she answers matter-of-factly. “But I don’t know any details, not even why.”
“Then how do you know he was arrested?” This could all be some giant mistake, office gossip that gets everything backward.
“Willow called this morning to thank us for caring for Banger, and she told me.”
Shit. I sip the coffee that now tastes bitter and lukewarm, setting it aside because my appetite disappeared. Hannah’s stare is more than I can take right now. She suspects something is going on with Tank and me, but given her penchant for gossip, I don’t share it with her.
“Wow,” I respond with a sigh because I know Hannah, and she won’t go away until she gets some sort of reaction.
“Right? I mean, it has to be a mistake, doesn’t it?”
Exactly. Tank isn’t some criminal mastermind. Well, technically, he’s a criminal, but it’s all for a good cause. I need answers, so I abandon the coffee and search for Nova. He’s not in his office, and the examination room doors are wide open. I dart past each one, holding my breath because I know Nova will have the scoop. But he’s nowhere to be found.
Damn it.
I slip into one of the empty exam rooms and pull out my phone, staring at Nova’s number in my contacts. Nova and I have known each other for years and are pretty close. I don’t think he’d care if I called to ask about Tank, even if it’s not work-related.
I hit call on Nova’s number. It rings a few times before going to voicemail. That’s weird. Nova always answers my calls. “Hey, Nova, it’s Sophie. Give me a call when you get this. I just wanted to check in and see if you know what’s going on with Tank. Hope all is okay. Talk soon.”
I tap the red button and sigh. Then I open up a new text to Nova:
Sorry to bug you, but I heard about Tank. Do you know anything about it? Thx.
I hit send and wait anxiously for a response. Nova has always gotten back to me quickly in the past. I just hope he has news about Tank. My gut is telling me something serious is happening. I’ll just have to wait and see what Nova texts back. In the meantime, I’ll keep searching online for any news.
Lunch comes and goes, but I hardly notice because my stomach is too twisted up to eat or think about anything other than Tank. Nova hasn’t responded, which is weird in itself. Makes me wonder what’s really going on.
Tank dominates my thoughts, and I’m not sure if I’ve dodged a bullet or lost my shot at something that could’ve been amazing.
That’s always how it is, though, isn’t it? When we don’t get something, we romanticize it and turn it into the best thing that could ever happen.
But I feel like Tank and I had a connection, physical and emotional, and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt with another man.
“Hey, Soph, how’s it going?”
I look up at Diesel’s smiling face and Olly’s stern expression. “Hey, guys. What are you doing here?”
Seeing them puts me on edge because Banger isn’t here, and the clinic doesn’t usually have this kind of security.