Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
I’m done with talking. I didn’t travel non-stop for the last twenty-two hours to be stopped by a half-doctor at the stairs of my own goddamned house. “Where is she? I need to see her.”
Professor Roberts crosses her arms over her chest. “No, you want to see her. There’s a difference.”
“Well, Prof.,” I say, moving around her to get to the stairs, “nice knowing ya. Thanks for your services. You’ve been a real gem. Just lemme know where I can send your bill, and I’ll make sure you’re paid handsomely for your services.”
But she just scoots up the stairs to block my path.
“You’re such an asshole,” she says, eyes flashing. “I don’t care if you’re paying me. My loyalty is to my patient first.”
“You aren’t even a doctor,” I remind her contemptuously.
“But I am,” comes a deep voice from the top of the stairs. “And you’d do well to kindly stop attempting to intimidate my best student with your superior size.”
My head swings to see who else is in my fucking house. He’s a tall, lanky fucker with a square jaw and thick, black-frame glasses. The kind of bookish-look I guess some women may find attractive, but I’d snap him in half in about two seconds in any pub brawl.
He jogs down and holds out a hand with an easy smile. “Dr. Nathan Ezra.”
I ignore his hand and glare.
He continues on as if I’m not being a grumpy bastard. “It’s been a joy to work with Anna this week while you’ve been attending to business matters.”
Is this fucker trying to intimidate me? What exactly does he know? We didn’t tell Professor Roberts where I was while I was away, but god knows what Anna’s been saying about what she saw and did while at the airfield. Professor Roberts, at least, we felt confident we could control. But this new guy…
I scowl at him. “Where is she?”
“Resting. I think it best not to disturb her. She hasn’t been sleeping well at night—”
“Because I haven’t been here to hold her.” Does this dickwad really think he knows my girl better than me? “I need to see her. She needs to know I’m here.”
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dickwad says. “We’ve been making progress the last few days, and any disruptions might—”
I shove Dr. Dickwad out of the way and stomp upstairs. We vanquished the monster, and I got rid of any other potential problems in our way. We can finally be together. I’m not letting anything hold us back anymore.
I’m running again by the time I get to the guest wing. It’s like I can feel the nearness of her thrumming through my veins. I have to shove several doors open before I finally find her.
She shoots up in bed, screaming as soon as I do.
I sprint across the room and grab her up into my arms. “It’s okay, love. I’m here. I’m back, and I swear I’ll never fucking leave you again. Ever.”
But unlike usual, she’s not squeezing me back. Her arms are limp around me.
“Brooke?” I ask, cupping her whole head in my hand as I cling to her. Then, when she still doesn’t respond, I pull back and look into her dull, lifeless eyes. “Anna?”
Still nothing. Feeling desperate, I try, “Kitten?”
But she won’t look at me. Her eyes stay cast towards the wall. As if she’s some other place. Not here.
I spin angrily towards the doorway, Anna still in my arms. “What did you do to her? What fucking meds did you put her on? I said no meds!”
It’s Professor Roberts who walks into the room, slipping around Dr. Ezra. “We didn’t give her anything—not yet, anyway. Dr. Ezra thinks it might be a good idea to start her on some low dose antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication.”
“No,” I say staunchly. “No meds that will have her all whacked out and non-responsive.”
“Domhnall,” Professor Roberts says gently. “Look at her now.”
And I do. Fuck me, but I do. I pull back so that we’re just sitting on the bed, side by side. She stares dully at the wall.
She’s nothing like the vibrant, feisty woman I first brought down to my dungeon all those weeks ago. She looks like a machine someone unplugged. She’s just barely still in motion but it’s like her battery’s almost drained.
“I don’t get it,” I say, clutching her hand in mine as I look to the head doctors at the door. “She looked fine when I last saw her.”
“Can you really say that?” Professor Roberts asks. “Can you really say she was fine?”
She was covered in her father’s blood, all but hyperventilating, and begging me not to leave her alone.
But I did anyway.
“What can we do?” I look desperately first at Professor Roberts, who looks at Dr. Ezra.
“Wait,” he says gently, with a kindness in his eyes I naturally despise. “And continue with treatment. The kind of trauma she’s endured leaves its mark on the psyche. She’s going to need time.” He looks down to where I still have Anna’s hand gripped in mine. “And space.”