Page 98 of Her Only Hero

This was the first time I heard Patrick ramble. I put a finger to his lips to stop him from talking. ”You were right about what you said. Aram was the one who had ‘effed me up.’”

Patrick lowered his head. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“But you were right. Aram and I used to be involved. I thought we were happy until he broke it off. I hadn’t seen it coming. It happens, right?”

Patrick nodded. “It happens.”

“That’s when I decided it wouldn’t happen to me ever again and I focused on work, not dating.”

He thought for a bit and then shook his head. “And all those times I had asked you out, I thought you didn’t like me.”

“It wasn’t personal.”

“Why did you finally agree to go out with me?”

I shrugged. “Because I missed my bus.”

“Yes, I recall that well. I have to thank that bus driver for running ahead of schedule that day.”

I thought for a moment about an enormous revelation. “Patrick, until that day, I’d been holding out on life, on love, on you. I have to thank that bus driver, too.”

Chapter Forty-Two

The next morning, I awoke nestled beside Patrick. Just the two of us—nothing between us—no secrets, ties, or handcuffs. Not anymore. Not ever again, unless…

“Patrick, I still have so many questions. What’s happening with your job? Are you in danger from that previous case?”

“The force is tracking the situation. We’ll continue being cautious, vigilant, the opposite of what you were when you went to see Crawford. June, what possessed you to go there alone?”

“I went alone because we were broken up.”

He sighed.

“I want to explain what happened these past couple of days, starting with the evening I was at Aram’s.”

“Tell me, my love.”

“When I had told you I’d be at a friend’s house for the evening, that friend was Aram, which you already know.”

I peeked at Patrick to see his reaction, but he remained immobile with a poker face.

“Aram and I were on the computer all evening, looking at the files on the flash drive. Case by case, reviewing results. He behaved appropriately, but then we reminisced. I made it clear how you and I were together. When I left, he followed me outside and kissed me. It was then I knew.”

“Knew what?” Patrick stroked my arm.

“He wasn’t you.”

I sensed honesty, love, and passion glowing in Patrick’s deep blue eyes. He was all I wanted, and I snuggled closer.

“After that horrible night, I went back to my apartment, distraught about having lost you. Thoughts about the case circulated in my head, and I recalled something distinct when I went to the hospital to visit David Moreno. Dr. Crawford had been in David’s room and asked the nurse for David’s personalpossessions, and if he had a ball bead keychain. That detail struck me as being very specific because the USB had been on a chain just like that.

“The next day I called Dr. Crawford and told him I had a memory stick and asked if he’d look at it and give his opinion about what it contained. He suggested we meet at the hospital, which sounded logical. Never would I have imagined he was evil. But then when I got to the clinic, nobody was there. I got a weird sensation inside.

“We chatted; he gave me bottled water. I cracked open the lid and drank a few sips. As I was about to leave, he said he’d look into billing discrepancies and fraudulent treatments. But I hadn’t mentioned anything about either. Suddenly, I knew something was very wrong, and I had to get out of there. But I became very dizzy. Things are hazy after that.”

“Because he drugged your water.” Patrick’s body tensed.

“That’s one thing I don’t understand. When I opened the water bottle, the seal cracked open. How could the water have been drugged if the cap hadn’t been tampered with?”

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