CHAPTER ONE
HAILEY
I’d prepared for the last two weeks, and I was ready for the big moment. I flattened a hand on my stomach in an attempt to settle my nerves. I sat in my parked car, close to the hospital’s entrance, where I would meet my stepfather, nervous because I had to leave just the right impression.
I’d taken care with my outfit and not worn my typical jeans with holes at the knees and an oversized sweatshirt. Not this time. My curly hair was tamed as best as possible with a clip at my nape to secure the long mass. I’d even added mascara and a soft-pink lipstick to my arsenal of business attire—pencil skirt, blouse, and matching blazer—that was very unlike me.
The heat blasted through the car’s vents, and I wished I’d worn boots instead of the ridiculous heels, as it was icy out. January weather in Chicago was hell-frozen-over cold. I missed summer.
Movement near the entrance caught my eye, and I tensed and reached for the door handle as Mom’s second husband closed in on the building.
This is it.Allen Mitchel, you have no idea what you’re in for.
I opened the door, rounded the car, and kept my stepfather in sight as I hurried through the parking lot and across the street, toward the doors he was about to enter. My heels crunched over salt and pockets of ice that hadn’t yet melted. A shiver raced over me, and my breath formed a small misty cloud.
“Allen.” I still couldn’t call him Dad. He hadn’t even slowed, and I gritted my teeth before saying his name again, much louder this time. “Allen!”
He turned.Finally. Then his eyes widened, fixated on something past my shoulder, and my step faltered.
Tires screeched, and I froze. My heart skipped a beat—the car skidding behind me could have hit me. Then a door slammed. I took a step forward, looking over my shoulder only to glimpse a black ski mask.
Rough hands grabbed me and jerked my body back against a lean chest as I opened my mouth to scream.
CHAPTER TWO
TREY
Exhaustion shadowed my every step into the ER. The omnipresent scent of antiseptic enveloped me, and I inhaled its familiarity while heading to the nurses’ station for any new information about my patients.
Britney, one of the nurses, waved from down the corridor, quickening her pace the closer she got to me. “Dr. La Rosa.” Her mouth formed a small O as she tripped on nothing, but her eyes telegraphed excitement. I caught her by the arms, making sure she was steady and not about to fall into me before I removed my hands.
“Thank y—”
“Britney.” Sandy’s sharp tone preceded her as she drew alongside us, having just entered the ER floor. Her shift must have started at the same time as mine. “Go check on your patients.”
Brittney hesitated, her big doe eyes lingering before she reluctantly turned away when I didn’t contradict the head nurse’s orders.
“Honestly”—exasperation colored Sandy’s voice—“these young nurses have no shame.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad?” Her head whipped around until her sharp eyes landed on me. “When you’re not watching, they look at you like you’re a piece of meat. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve had to rearrange the schedule to make sure the worst of your fans aren’t on shift when you are. They need to stop planning their weddings with you and focus on their jobs.”
I offered a sheepish smile, itching to get started on rounds. Sandy was worth her weight in gold, but it wasn’t a conversation I liked having.
“You’re the trifecta of all catches, a dangling carrot to the younger ones.” She grunted as Peggy called a breathy good morning before going into one of the rooms. “And a few of the not so young ones too.”
I shouldn’t have asked but couldn’t help myself: “Trifecta?”
She ticked off her fingers as she listed them. “Gorgeous. A prestigious surgeon. And of course, the Mafia. All that with the added bonus of a surgeon’s salary and the substantial Mafia-funded bank account with a dash of white knight and a side of bad boy, and these women are toast.”
I chuckled. “Good thing I’ve got you on my side.” I meant it. She was the most efficient charge nurse in the hospital and kept her staff in line. I didn’t need to have a discussion with any of the nurses in question, whose seemingly innocent touches lingered a little too long.
She winked, clearly enjoying my discomfort, then stepped away as the phone on the main desk rang but flung her arm out toward one of the patient rooms. I followed her, needing to check the notes regarding any of the patients who hadn’t been discharged yet from the doctor who’d worked the shift before me.
Sandy was the only nurse I let in and cared enough for to ask how she was doing. I went about my job with efficiency and a demeanor that didn’t invite conversation from the hospital staff unless it was about work. Lately, I’d been like that in most areas of my life.
It hadn’t always been that way. I joked with my family and did everything I could to keep them from seeing how my heart had just about stopped beating after Teresa, the barista I’d dated from the Coffee Stop,died. Sofia, my sister, was the only one who knew how deeply her death slayed me or that I still hadn’t recovered from it. Our relationship had been a secret. Mostly. I’d wanted to keep her from my world, and all she’d wanted was me. She was pure. Happy. Innocent. A complete anomaly in my world.