Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Knight smirks, and I push up onto my tippy toes to press a kiss to his lips, but he’s so damn tall that he has to wind his arms around my waist and lift me off my feet just so I can reach. I give him a quick kiss, and before I know it, I’m back on my feet, making my way up the hallway as a deep excitement pulses through my veins.
My work is my life. It’s part of my identity and gives me something to be proud of. It makes me feel as though I’m doing something good in the world, and without it, I’d feel empty. Knight knows this. It’s the same with his job, which is why he isn’t putting up more of a fight.
Reaching the front door, I pause and glance back, a smile lingering on my lips. “I’ll be home just after four.”
“Try not to get yourself killed.”
I salute him but can’t help the stupid smile that stretches across my lips. “Yes, sir. Bossy, sir.”
Knight shakes his head, fighting a grin. “Get the fuck out of here before you make yourself late.”
“And if I don’t?” I ask, hunger pooling deep in my core as I watch him watching me. “Are you going to punish me? Whip that belt off and teach me a lesson?”
“Don’t fucking tempt me, Morticia.”
Laughter tears from deep in my chest as I step out of the house and happily make my way to my old Honda that’s been living at the top of the driveway, completely untouched for the past four weeks.
I climb in, and just as Knight had so politely requested, I get my ass to work, because it’s one thing for him to want me to take time off to heal, but if I say I’m going to show up at work and make a commitment to my team, then he’ll walk through the darkest pits of hell to ensure I keep my word.
It’s a quick drive to the hospital, and I spend every minute of it singing along to whatever’s being played through my speakers, and truth be told, I sound more like a screeching cat with rabies trying to resurrect the dead, but I’m having a good time all the same. That is until I turn into the hospital parking garage, and my good mood suddenly falters.
I haven’t been here since the attack, and because I’ve been so focused on how great it’d be to get out of the house and back to work, I didn’t take a moment to consider how it’d feel being back in this parking garage. I didn’t realize I was the type to hold on to my trauma like this. I always thought I was the chin-up kinda girl, the one who didn’t let things weigh her down, but the deeper I get into the parking garage, the harder it gets to keep going.
I find myself searching every dark corner, wondering if my attacker is waiting for me behind one of my colleagues’ cars, wanting to finish what he started, and as I reach the third floor and drive straight past the dark stain left on the dirty ground, a chill sweeps through my body.
I might be physically ready to go back to work, but it’s becoming more than clear that maybe I’m not mentally ready for this.
My chest heaves with shallow breaths as I finally find a parking space, and I quickly pull into it before looking around again. There are a few people wandering around, locking up their cars and striding toward the stairwell to start their shift, and as I watch them, my heart calms. These people are witnesses, and while they’re here, nothing could possibly happen to me.
I’m safe.
No stalker, not even one as brutal as the man who attacked me, is dumb enough to make a move with this many people around. If he’s going to strike again, it won’t be now.
With that in mind, I scramble from my car and hightail it toward the stairwell, diving into it behind the other night shift workers. I discreetly position myself right between them, forming a wall of protection around myself as we all make our way toward the main entrance of the hospital, and the moment I step over the threshold, all traces of fear fizzle out of my body, leaving me ready for the night ahead.
I arrive at the morgue barely three minutes later, and after swiping my access card and pushing through the big double doors, I step into my happy place to find Dr. McKullan busily working away.
“Dr. Madden,” he says with a fond smile. “Nice to have you back.”
“Good to be back,” I tell him. “I hope it hasn’t been too chaotic while I’ve been gone.”
“Oh, nothing that we can’t handle,” he says, though the way his brows arch and the stack of untouched files sitting in the to-do pile suggests that these past few weeks have been more than just chaotic. On a normal day, Blackstone’s one and only morgue is run off its feet, and being down a doctor for four weeks could only result in disaster, and because of that, I don’t hesitate to drop my things on the edge of my desk and get busy.