Page 45 of Fixation
“Look.” His grip on my neck is rough as he puts the thermometer’s digital screen in my face. “102.5. You have any idea how high it was three hours ago when I brought you here?”
“When you kidnapped me.”
“104.3.” When he switches to his self-assured voice, I’m still panicking. I’ll never be reassured around this man, not in the slightest. “That’s why you’re here, in my home. Where I can help you. And you’ll still be here twenty-four hours after the fever is down. Then I’ll let you go.”
“You’re a liar.” For the love of everything holy, I have to stop crying around him. Ugh. Stupid, defiant tears. “It’s not a secret what happens next. I’ve seen your face. There’s no way out of this for me. You’ll kill me. Or keep me forever.”
“Wrong.” The corner of his lips tugs up in a terrifying smirk. “A less confident man probably would. Not me. By the time I release you, you won’t even think about pressing charges.” Thethermometer goes back into his pocket. A small syringe comes out of it. “It’s a promise.”
“Like hell.”
The needle of the syringe comes dangerously close to my neck. Not my IV bag.
That small fact only offers me the mildest relief.
Dad explained to me how different sedatives work. He was excited about the horror movie he produced, which taught him about anesthetics.
Some will put you under for hours, like the ones they use in surgeries.
Some take you out for minutes, thirty or forty-five max. Those are usually injected directly into the person.
Once he injects it into me, I won’t be out for long.
I’ll still be out of it. At his mercy.
He can’t do it. I won’t let him. “Wait!”
His long, elegant fingers gently wrap around my bicep. “What is it?”
I flinch at the sharp edge of his tone. At the swift change in him.
Befriending him isn’t something I’ll ever want. But doing so could be my ticket out of here.
“What’s your name? Are you really a physician? What an amazing career choice. Helping people, saving?—”
“Anderson Maguire and, yes, I am a physician,” he snaps, and this time, his harshness sends a thrill through me. My nipples harden.Sick, Harper. So sick.“An ER surgeon. We’ll talk more later. And since you won’t rest on your own, I’m here to help you do just that.”
A surgeon. He said that in the ER.
Which, again—who authorized this? Who in their right mind would let this man cut into people?
The question is pointless. I won’t ever get the answer.
Especially not now.
Anderson empties the needle into my neck.
In less than ten seconds, I start feeling the effects of the sedative.
Pressure builds at the back of my head.
Insane exhaustion pummels into me.
Can’t keep my eyes open.
He strokes my cheek, and it’s so nice…
I have to get him to stop…
