Page 7 of Betting Blind

“Everyone is on their lunch break anyway. This isn’t a trauma ER so there is no hustle and bustle, but the staff will start coming back from lunch soon.”

“Dude, it looks like the fucking apocalypse in here. I’m waiting for a zombie to burst out of one of these closets and try to suck my brains out through my eyeballs.” I look over my shoulder, you know, just to be safe.

“You seriously need to lay off the SCI-FI movies. I’m genuinely worried for your mental health.”

I grin because I can tell what he’s doing by the tone of his voice. Silas and I have always had this strong connection, and I can tell his mood by just the sound of his breathing sometimes. Like now, for instance, he’s breathing deeply and slowly. Inhaling and exhaling through his nose. I would bet money that he is pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger with his eyes closed. It’s like he’s willing the universe to give him patience to deal with my dumbass.

“The front door, Hayden. Just use the front door so we can get this done.” He sounds exhausted already. The line clicks and I’m left holding the phone to my ear with a smirk.

“Aye Aye, Captain,” I mutter and follow the red emergency exit signs on the ceiling until I am outside. Silas was right. I am at the back of the building. I blink up into the bright sunlight and take in the multi-level brick building in front of me.

What room was I supposed to go to again? Fuck me, this whole assignment feels so rushed and unorganized. My mind is reeling with the onslaught of details that were shoved in my face this morning. I’m trying to keep everything straight without seeming like a total fuck up at this point, but I cannot for the life of me remember what floor or room I’m going to.

I briefly consider calling Silas again to get the details, but I don’t because even though Declan and Silas are my family, I don’t want them to see how fucked up I am. Did I even eat breakfast this morning? My stomach answers by cramping and gurgling. Of course, I didn’t because Declan interrupted us. “Fucking prick,” I mutter and shove my hands in the pockets of the too-tight scrubs and make my way around to the sliding glass doors at the front of the building.

Silas was right again. The staff are slowly trickling back in from their break. Since this is more of a long-term care facility instead of a trauma ER, there is no chaos and the staff seems calm. A few of them are fishing face masks out of their bags as they reenter the building and that’s when an idea hits me.

I swipe a disposable mask from one of the insurance check-in desks and as I’m putting the loops around my ears, my phone vibrates.

Bless him and his nerdy little soul. Silas is a real keeper. I head for the steps and take them two at a time, heading for the third floor. When the door closes behind me I find myself in a maze. There are short hallways everywhere with closed doors that all look the same and the signs on the wall do little to direct. This is what I imagine a hospital to look like, but it’s still missing the screaming patients, the shouting medical personnel, and the emergency sirens. And the zombies. I would prefer them at this point.

I peek down one hallway to my left and resign myself to walk the labyrinth until I find Giordano, but voices drift fromanother hallway just as I take my first step. I spin and head down the hall opposite of where I was planning to go and stop short, keeping my body hidden by the corner as I cut my eyes around to see what I’m dealing with.

Two women in bright blue scrubs are sitting behind a long desk at the nurse’s station. One is clicking away on the keyboard of a computer, her blonde hair swept up into a messy bun. The other is leaning back in her chair with a stack of charts in front of her and a pen twirling in her fingers. They both seem casual, like they are just chatting and charting, unaware that death is lurking just around the corner. Luckily for them, it’s not their time yet and I’m only here to reap one soul today.

Just as I’m about to step away to continue my search, a young woman appears from around another corner. The scratchy material of the mask sucks into my mouth as I inhale. She is stunning despite the sweatpants and hoodie she is wearing. I can tell from the way that she carries herself that she is strong and confident. I find myself wondering what she is hiding beneath that worn fabric.

I can also tell from where I’m standing that her eyes are misty and her lower lip is quivering slightly. Her short blonde hair is tousled like she’s been flipping it from side to side and running her hands through it constantly. She appears to be the embodiment of grief.

One of the nurses stands and offers her a box of tissues. “Oh, sweetheart, I am so sorry you have to be here. It will be okay. He’s not in any pain. They are keeping him comfortable until he is strong enough to wake up.” She hugs the young woman and gives her back a few soothing strokes.

“Thank you,” she whispers, and her voice cracks. She takes a few tissues and dabs the tears from underneath her lashes. Her face is flushed, and her eyes look puffy like she has been crying for some time now. I get this strange stirring in my stomach and my arms itch to wrap themselves around her.

“Focus, you idiot,” I hiss and tear my eyes away from the stunning woman that is trying to pull herself together. I blame Declan. He interrupted my time this morning and now I apparently just want to ravish anything that moves. But that’s not entirely true, is it? The other women that I have been watching did nothing for me, but this… this goddess is stealing the breath from my very lungs, and I want nothing more than to worship every inch of her.

My cock stirs behind the tight fabric, and I stifle a groan. Fuck that HURTS. This is why I hate tight pants and skinny jeans. No room for the boys. I need to focus on anything besides that woman or I am going to lose my shit. My eyes scan the walls, trying to find the room I’m looking for so I can get out of this fucking place and bury my dick in someone so I can lose this feeling. I don’t like it.

I find the range of numbers that include room 346 and a string of curses leaves my lips. It’s on the other side of the nurse’s station where the stunner just came from. Fate can have a terrible sense of humor sometimes.

“You can call anytime to check on him, hun, okay? The elevators are right down that hallway on the left. Try to have a good day,” the nurse says and places the tissue box back on the desk before pointing in my direction. I take that back. Fate can be a real bitch, and I do not find this situation humorous at all.

My feet shuffle and I take several steps backward so that when she rounds the corner it doesn’t look like I’ve beenstalking her from around the corner, even though that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the last several minutes. I start walking forward just as she comes into view, but her head is turned, and she isn’t looking where she’s walking. I can’t over-correct in time and she smashes right into my chest.

“Fuck,” she hisses and whirls to face me. “Sorry. So sorry,” she says as she looks me up and down, taking in the scrubs and mask. Her eyes narrow slightly as she meets my eyes and fuck, it hurts to breathe. I’m lost in the depths of her striking green irises and time seems to all but stop as we size each other up.

A siren sounds above us, echoing down every hallway, pulling my focus back to the present task. The speakers drone on about a code blue and I can hear the squeaking of shoes on the waxed floor as people rush to the source. Her green eyes flash, and I swear I see a brief moment of panic before she fixes her hair and lifts her chin. “Excuse me.”

“No worries,” I mumble and can’t help but stare at her retreating figure. The swaying of her hips alone is a distraction. It’s almost enough to distract me from the fact that from this close it didn’t actually look like she’d been crying. Almost. She steps into the elevator and turns back to face me while pushing the buttons. As the doors slowly slide closed, she meets my eyes with a slight smirk and blows me a kiss. I’m too stunned to even move and the atrophied muscle in my chest clenches. What the FUCK just happened?

The blaring of ‘CODE BLUE’ pulls me out of my daydream and I lunge forward. I’m going to take advantage of this distraction to finish what I came here for. I follow the sign to room 346 but stop short when I see the staff pulling a white sheet over Giordano’s lifeless body.

What the fuck just happened? It appears this is my new tagline for the day.

One of the nurses from the nurse’s station meets me at the door. “They just called it. Thank you for coming to lend a hand. Poor man. His niece was just in here visiting him too. Poor girl will be so upset,” she says and hugs her arms across her chest.

I have a sinking feeling that I will, in fact, be seeing my mystery goddess again. Soon. She took something that belonged to me, and I don’t do well when people mess with my work. My work is my life; it’s the only real thing that brings me any sense of purpose.

This was my job. I was supposed to be his end. His life was supposed to be mine to take. His soul was mine to reap.

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