Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91504 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91504 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Gabriel.
I dart over to one side of the elevator and stand against the wall, sucking in my gut so he can’t see me. Then I frantically push the close button on the elevator panel—at least thirty times in ten seconds. I don’t breathe until the doors slide shut, and I’m still the only one inside. My body shakes as the car travels up to my floor, and the second the doors slide open, I sprint to the safety of my office.
Once I’m inside, I decide that the only thing I can do is pretend I’m not here. So I lock myself in my office and try to catch my breath so I can be quiet. But as I’m gulping for air, I realize I didn’t lock the outer door. I hate to go out there, but I don’t even want him in the reception area. Before I make a run for it, I press my ear to the door to listen for noise, and just as I do, I hear the door creak open.
My heart beats so fast I actually start to worry I could have a heart attack.
“Hello? Dr. McCall? Sarah?”
Shit. It’s not Gabriel. It’s Rebecca Jordan. My next patient.
I have no idea what to do. Do I let her in? Will having her here be a deterrent for Gabriel? Stop him from doing whatever he came to do because another person will see? Maybe. But then he’ll know I’m here, and Rebecca will eventually leave, and I’ll have to leave this office sometime. He could wait. And wait.
The handle to the door I’m pressed against jiggles, and I jump. I have to slap my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. I need to pretend I’m not here, even if it means standing up my patient.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Dr. McCall? Are you in there?”
I hold my breath, even under my covered mouth.
Then I hear the outer door creak open again. Is she leaving already? Or is it Gabriel coming in…
The question is answered when a man’s voice booms from the other room.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I—Dr. McCall is my psychiatrist,” Rebecca says. She sounds scared. Even though I’m out-of-my-mind terrified, I can’t let Gabriel intimidate my patient. My trembling hand goes for the doorknob. But I freeze when I hear what comes next.
“Bullshit, Rebecca!” Gabriel roars. “You’re following me again, aren’t you?”
CHAPTER 37 Now
I press against the door, barely breathing. What the hell is going on out there? My grip tightens on the knob, but I don’t dare twist it. Not yet.
After a long moment, Gabriel adds, “Answer me, goddamn it! Why are you following me again?”
Rebecca is silent.
I’m so lost. Following… again? Why would my patient be following him? I feel like I might jump out of my skin as I wait for more, but there’s nothing. Long seconds tick by. The anxiety inside me builds and builds. What if she’s not saying anything because his hands are around her throat? What if he’s snapped? After all, it’s clear I don’t know the real Gabriel. But this is my office, Rebecca is my patient, and I need to protect her.
I can’t wait any longer. I swing the door wide. “What’s going on out here?” I try to summon all my doctorly authority, but it falls flat. The two of them don’t even look my way. Gabriel and Rebecca are standing four or five feet apart, glaring at one another, almost like they didn’t notice my arrival.
“Don’t you get it?” Rebecca says. Her hands go wild, gesturing. “We can be together now. You’re finally free. You can tell me everything you couldn’t tell anyone else, the way you used to. I’ve missed you. I keep trying to get ahold of you, but…” Her chin wobbles.
Gabriel growls. Actually growls. “Get the fuck out of my life! It’s your fault they’re dead!”
Silence fills the space again. Without warning, Rebecca sobs and runs out of the office. I watch her go, my mind spinning, trying to make sense of the situation playing out before me.
Before I can say anything—or ask Gabriel to leave—he turns and locks eyes with me. My stomach swims, seeing the fury behind his gaze.
“What kind of sick game are you playing?” he demands.
“What?”
“You won’t answer my calls, you won’t answer my messages. I come to see you, and she’s here?”
I hesitate, because I don’t want to violate doctor-patient privacy. It’s not my place to say Rebecca is a patient. Except she said so, didn’t she?
“I don’t understand what’s happening.” I swallow. I’m still shaking. I want him to leave, but I’m also curious. “How do you know Rebecca?”
“She’s the woman who ruined my life. Who destroyed it. We were… together.” He hangs his head. “It wasn’t my wife who was the cheater. It was me. But it was a mistake, and I tried to fix it. I ended things with her.” He gestures to the door. “Rebecca. She refused to accept it was over. I wouldn’t see her. I refused to talk to her. Then one night, she came to the house and told my wife everything. Ellen left. She took my daughter and ran out, and”—he exhales, a shuddering breath—“the next thing I knew, they’d been hit, killed instantly by a drunk driver.”