Page 14 of Ignite

He scratches at his stubble; it’s slightly darker than his dirty brown hair.

“Shift doesn’t start for another hour. I came in early for you.”

He stares into my soul for what feels like a lifetime. I’m holding my breath until he clears his throat.

“Thank you for patching me up. Can I have your phone?”

I blink at him. “Why?”

He flashes me a menacing grin.

“I wanna add my number to your contacts. If you ever need anything, I owe you one favor. You call me, I’ll do whatever you need.”

I frown and shake my head.

“Being a nurse is literally my job, Conan. I don’t need favors, honestly.”

His face becomes stern. This darkness flashes across it that makes me shiver as he opens his palm and holds it out.

“This is how I work, trouble. You scratch my back, I’ll one day scratch yours. You never know when you’ll need me to fix something for ya.”

Letting out a huff, I slide my phone out of my white coat pocket, unlock it, and place it in his ginormous palm.

Did he just call me trouble?

He’s busy tapping away and I just stare around the room, waiting.

“Done. I’m saved as Beast.”

I laugh, looking at his name on my screen and hit edit, then type ‘ie’ at the end.

“Beastie sounds better.”

Grabbing my keys from the side, Conan opens the door for me. As I walk through, his hand grazes along my lower back as he guides me back to my car.

“Need any pain meds?” I ask as we get to the reception area.

“Nah. A whiskey will sort it later.”

Chapter 5

CONAN

Hallie chats away about how her friend has an art gallery show tomorrow night and how her calves are killing her from Pilates.

I haven’t spoken back much, because quite honestly, just hearing her yap her heart away is soothing.

She’s happy to chat, I’m good with keeping my mouth shut and listening. Although her phone keeps buzzing in the cup holder, but no calls are coming through her system. It’s irritating.

“You wanna see what it is?” I ask.

She keeps glancing at it and frowning.

“You wanna just look for me? I can’t be bothered to pull over. My passcode is 141069.”

“Sure.”

I type it in and swipe at the notifications. Some sort of security camera app telling her someone is in her house.

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