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)
I nod just as a soft knock sounds at the door, and Dr. McKullan strides in, a strange hesitance about him. “Dr. Madden,” he says with a polite smile, welcoming himself in before sending a questioning glance toward Diesel.
“Protection detail,” I tell him.
“Uhhh, understood,” he says before awkwardly standing at the foot of my bed and looking around as though unsure of why he’s here. “I just thought I’d come see how you were doing before my shift.”
“Alright,” I say, choosing not to call him on his bullshit, seeing as it’s first thing on a Saturday morning, and as long as I have known Dr. McKullan, he’s never once volunteered to work a weekend. “I didn’t need to have emergency surgery or be forced into a psych hold, so that’s a nice change of pace.”
Dr. McKullan smirks. “I don’t know whether I should be pleased for you or angered that this happened in the first place.”
“Angered,” I say with a small smile. “When in doubt, always go with angered. People tend to leave you alone when they think you’re pissed off.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that,” he says, scooping up the chart at the end of my bed and quickly scanning over it. “Concussion?”
“Yeah. It’s nothing too serious, but I suppose that’s bound to happen when a psychopath slams your head against a toilet bowl.”
“Very true,” he says, dropping the chart back into place before stepping around the edge of the bed and offering me an uncomfortable smile that sends a wave of nervousness crashing through me. “Listen, Harper. I think it’s in not only yours, but everyone’s best interest, if you were to return to day shift until your attacker has been caught and dealt with.”
“Why do I feel like I don’t get a say in the matter?”
“You don’t,” he tells me. “I should have listened to my gut after you were stabbed. I should have pushed harder for you to return to day shift then, but I didn’t, and that’s on me. As the head of the department, I am responsible for the safety of my team, and I let you down by allowing you to continue on the night shift. You were left vulnerable, and I won’t allow it any longer.”
The need to burst into tears rips through me, but I manage to keep my cool and force a weak smile. While I don’t like it, I’m also not willing to risk my career over it, so if day shift is what I have to do for the time being, then that’s exactly what I’ll do. “It’s okay. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t see this coming,” I tell him, hoping like hell he truly is open to discussing returning to night shift after Elias has been put away.
“Good, it’ll be nice not to have to worry about you dying every time you step into my morgue.”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to that too,” I say. “But is it too much to ask that the day shift be brought into the twenty-first century and listen to music while we work?”
“Of course,” Dr. McKullan says. “Music, yes. Your music, no. I don’t need to be listening to some woman sing about a WAP while I’m trying to dissect a brain. I have some beautiful classical music from my childhood that I can bring in. The team will love it.”
Ahh, fuck. But also, he knows what a WAP is?
“Great,” I say. “Looking forward to it.”
“Wonderful.” Dr. McKullan gives me a firm smile before nodding toward my security detail, turning on his heel, and making his way back to the door. Only he pauses with his hand on the door. “Don’t hurry back, Harper. I know you too well. If you’re given two weeks of bed rest, then I expect you to use every one of those two weeks before you return. Understood?”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“Good.”
He pulls open the door, and with one last smile, he slips out of the room, but before the door gets a chance to slam shut, it swings open again. Knight appears a moment later, and as if on cue, Diesel gets to his feet. “How’d it go?”
“It’s done,” Knight says with a nod, his gaze shifting to me and checking me over as though counting every single one of the bruises decorating my face. “Thanks for staying with her.”
“Sure, man,” Diesel says before striding past him to the door. “Let me know if you need anything,” he adds before stepping over the threshold and pulling the door closed behind him, leaving me and Knight alone.
“You were gone,” I say, clearly stating the obvious but unsure how to bring this up.
Knight nods and comes to sit at the edge of my bed, his hand resting on my thigh. Only as my gaze sweeps over his knuckles, I find them split and covered in blood. I suck in a gasp. “You’re hurt.”