My mind is burning from all this information and the puzzle pieces I’m trying to align in the appropriate blocks so the picture in my head fits together, but before I go, I have one last thing to say to him. “Thank you for your help. I appreciate it.” Considering we are not even close friends and he could have told me to fuck myself, this is a win with a man like Lachlan.
But then again, one might never know where his true agenda lies.
His eyes stay absolutely cold as he replies with his emotionless tone that has the power to freeze everything around. “If you catch him, then you can thank me. I’ll contact you if I find anything useful. I’ll be happy when this particular psycho dies and stops messing around in my town.” With this, he motions with his hand for me to get the hell out of his office and shuts the door in my face.
I think he is the only fucking person on the planet who can get away with that.
On my way to the car, a chuckle slips past my lips and reverberates around the walls of his enormous house when his words ring in my ears.
His town.
Leave it to one of the most notorious serial killers to claim New York and act like the king when the King himself is treated like an object.
Ah, Lachlan.
In another life, we could have been friends, but in this one, we will always be acquaintances.
For there cannot be two kings who coexist with each other.
Phoenix
“So, in short, there is nothing to worry about,” Rafe concludes. “Doctors said I was lucky the sharp object didn’t touch the C something artery, or it might have started some major bleeding.”
“Carotid artery,” I correct him as a habit. It used to drive me nuts when people couldn’t properly use medical terms. But I’m still not convinced by his words, as he is a bit too pale.
His head is wrapped in a bandage, probably more a precaution, since the wound is still new and they don’t want it to get infected.
And at this moment, a nurse steps inside the hospital room, holding a tray with food to my surprise, since hospitals usually have special staff to deliver it, and I ask her, “Was a CT scan done on him? What are the results?”
She blinks. “The doctor said there was no reason for it.”
“No reason?” Disbelief coats my voice while anger sparks inside me at such foolishness. Rafe might be all right on the surface, but the fall along with the hit could have resulted in several kinds of brain or blood vessel injuries.
If he has an undiagnosed brain bleed, they won’t be able to do shit to save him.
“Told you I’m good,” Rafe says and then winks at the young nurse who blushes under his stare. “Are these mashed potatoes? I’m all for it. God, if I knew coming to the hospital would mean eating like a king, I’d have broken something a long time ago.”
“Could you please call the doctor who is on call right now? I’d like to ask about a CT scan.”
“Sure, of course. Dr. Sawyer should be around here somewhere.”
I still at the mention of the familiar name, wondering if it’s possible for her to be here of all places, but then chuckle under my breath.
Leiken got the position as the staff psychiatrist in our old hospital the minute they took away my license. Working there was a dream come true for her; no way would she have given up a job in one of the best hospitals in the country to come here. They had one of the best fellowship programs in the US. The seat was too comfortable for her to ever give it up.
The nurse disappears, and Rafe grabs my hands, squeezing it. “I’m all right, Phoenix. The fucker just surprised me. Otherwise, trust me, he would have been the one lying on the floor,” he reassures me with a boyish smile, and I relax a little bit; some part of me has been tense ever since he was sent to the hospital.
“We need to tell your sister about this.”
Rafe almost jumps up from the bed at this, and I have to push him back to rest on the pillow. “No!” he shouts, and I frown. “Let’s not call her, okay? She’ll worry for nothing.”
“You’re hurt.”
“Yeah, and she can’t help me from prison, can she? So let’s just drop it.” Anger flashes in his eyes—such a contrast to his previous mood—and he must realize it too as he softens his tone. “I just don’t want to make her feel as if she’s helpless by not being able to do anything for me.”
Everything inside me rebels at the idea. Had I been in her place, I would have preferred to know, but maybe there is some merit in his words? He is all right, so why worry her?
“Okay, if you say so.” He exhales in relief, ready to add something else, when we hear voices coming from the distance, closer and closer to the door.
“So she asked if a CT scan was done,” the nurse says, “and it wasn’t.”
“Who was on shift during that time?”
“Dr. Smith.”
“Ugh, yeah, okay. Then let’s schedule a CT scan first thing and call me with the results once it’s done.”
“Sure thing.”
In a second, they walk into the room. The sound of her voice was enough for me to confirm who it was.
She transferred here after all.
Leiken smiles brightly, the typical doctor smile that you have to train yourself to have in order to ease the patients, even if you are having a shitty day with lost causes. “I want to apologize for—” She stops abruptly, her eyes widening when they land on me, and she covers her mouth with her palm, staring at me in shock, while the nurse and Rafe look between us probably trying to guess what’s going on.
We’d been friends for years before the accident happened, inseparable despite our three-year-old age difference, and always stuck together no matter what.
Countless memories together, the good, the bad, and the ugly wrapped in a beautiful world called friendship that we had vowed would last a lifetime.
But with her now in front of me, among all these memories, only one stands out in my mind, rotten in its nature and that spoiled everything that came before it.
The pouring rain cascades down on me as I blindly follow the path to Leiken’s home, not paying attention to the passing cars that send water from under the tires splashing in my direction.
I’m soaking wet; a few more drops and the stains won’t matter.
The sidewalk is lit by several streetlamps above me, the only source of light in my miserable state right now after Sebastian left me and sent divorce papers along with a note to get the hell out of the penthouse that belongs to him.
The red suitcase trails after me as I pull it, rolling on the sidewalk heavily, bumping over each crack in the concrete.
I’ve managed to pack some papers along with my diplomas and pajamas. Everything else, he destroyed, so I saw no point grabbing torn clothes.
Nothing to salvage, just like our marriage.
Tears stream down my cheek. I don’t bother to wipe them away while I think how I’m going to explain it all to my best friend who will probably kill Sebastian once she hears about it.
She is fiercely protective of me, claiming that I’m too nice for my own good and that’s why people take advantage of me.
At least in this good-for-nothing life right now, I have her in my corner, someone with whom I can stay until all this is over.
I believe in justice and true investigation. I believe they will find out what really happened that night and free me from all these accusations.