Page 120 of Healing the Heart

Stiffly, he rounded the end of the long conference table and came even with Noah from the other side, but he didn’t sit. He stood with his arms crossed, glaring.

“My twin boys are easier to wrangle,” Cap muttered. “Ax, it might take all of us to carry you outta here, but we’ll do it. If you want in on this discussion, you’ll sit. Now.”

He shot his boss a pissed-off look but pulled out a chair and flopped into it. At the ominous creak, Noah half expected him to be on the floor the next second when it collapsed, but it held.

Dex returned with glasses and a handle of Jack. “Could someone fill me in?” he asked as he poured and passed shots to everyone.

“I’m not up to speed, either,” Cap said, looking at Noah with a black brow arched.

“I’ll go,” Axyl stated. “He’s still in love with Claire.”

“Leave my wife out of this.”

“Why? You haven’t.”

“Who says?”

“Fiona.”

“You’re married?” Sean asked, joining Axyl in scowling at him.

Noah tossed back the shot, which was a healthy double. “I’m not anymore. She died five years ago.”

“Fiona said you’re broken. You never sleep, and more recently you’re having nightmares. That you’re still in love with your wife and didn’t have that to give her,” Jonas accused in a hushed tone, his words hanging heavy in the air.

“She assumed after two months and practically 24/7 that it was love, or heading that way, not just dick, because you were giving her plenty of that.”

“Shut up, Axyl,” Dex ordered, sounding much like Tony. He was also liberal with his pours and filled their glasses again.

“She told you all of this?” Noah asked, directing his question at Jonas.

“Me or Lexie, yes. She also says there’s nothing for her in LA any longer. She already gave up apartment and has given her notice at work. It hasn’t been easy, but she’s trying to move on. Unless you’ve got something concrete to offer, I think it would be best if you did too.”

“By not going there again, I didn’t mean not love her,” Noah blurted out. “I meant losing her.”

Silence descended on the room, broken only by his glass hitting the table after he downed his second doubled shot.

“Imagine losing Lexie,” he said, meeting Jonas’ gaze. “Or Megan,” he said, his eyes shifting to Tony. “And burying her with your child.” His voice broke. Someone slid a full shot glass in front of him, which he didn’t hesitate to toss back. “I was in my residency, working at the hospital. Back then, I worked more than I do now. I don’t know why Claire was out that late, except Leah had the sniffles. I was in surgery and couldn’t take a call. She knew that. Usually, she left a message. I assumed she was on her way to the after-hours clinic, but that’s just a guess. The traffic cameras picked up some of it.”

“What?” Axyl asked, sliding the bottle to him.

Noah forgot the glass and turned it up for a healthy swig. It burned all the way down. He could feel the numbing effect of the alcohol and welcomed it, because it was the only way he could finish the story.

“She had stopped at a light when someone ran up and got in on the passenger side.”

“Fuck, it was unlocked?” someone asked.

“I was a resident. They make shit money. Claire wasn’t working because of the baby. A twenty-year-old POS without auto locks is all we could afford as a second car.” And he had to suck up the guilt trip for that as well. “The police said the images were grainy, but they could tell he had a knife.”

One of them muttered, “Fuck me,” under their breath, but Noah couldn’t tell who. The enormous bottle of Jack was in his way as he chugged another generous swallow, trying to dispel the images forever emblazoned on his brain.

“Doc, you don’t have to—” Dex began, but Noah spoke over him.

“He made her drive him out of town, nearly sixty miles.” Untold to anyone before now. The cops knew, as did her family, but he never shared. It was too fucking painful. But, once he started, it was as if a floodgate had opened. “They found the car on a mountain road north of San Bernardino. The POS couldn’t make it. He abandoned it, but not before eliminating the witnesses. Claire was DOA.” His voice cracked, but he pushed through. “He’d slit her throat.”

“Jesus!” another faceless voice exclaimed.

Across from him, Axyl asked quietly, “What about Leah?”

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