Page 157 of The Night Shift
“Ten, nine, eight…”
Her brows pull together. “What are you —”
“Five, four, three, two…”
I turn the phone back toward us. Video Holly’s done changing now. She’s applying lipstick with slow, practiced strokes.
“I absolutely love that outfit. Though that skirt would look much better on my bedroom floor.”
Her gaze snaps to mine. “Did you just…how did you know when I’d be done changing?”
“Because I’ve timed it before.”
Her eyes widen slightly. A pause.
“Just because I didn’t watchthistime, doesn’t mean I haven’t before.”
She stares at me, disbelief flickering across her face. “You’re fucked in the head.”
“Irrelevant.” I fast-forward the footage to a few hours later. She’s back and drenched in blood head to toe. Her hair clings to her face, crimson streaks smeared across her cheeks. She’s grinning.
The blood isn’t hers. I know because Camille is with her, drinking beer, laughing like they’ve just had the best night of their lives. The timestamp reads3:20 a.m.
“Sleeping, huh?” I ask, pausing the footage.
“What I do in my time is none of your business.”
“Did you kill him?”
“No.”
Too quick. I put my phone back inside my pocket. “You can tell me, I won’t be mad.”
She scoffs. “How gracious of you.”
I take a step forward. My eyes never leave hers. “Why did you do it?”
Holly swallows, tipping her chin up in defiance, like she’s daring me to push her further.
My left hand skims past the outside of her thigh, the fabric of her scrubs thin beneath my fingertips. I slide underneath, hiking it up inch by inch until her ankle hooks around my leg. “Why did you do it, Holly?”
Her breath stutters. Her lips part, the pink of her tongue darting out just briefly, as if she’s about to wet them but stops herself at the last second. Her eyes flicker down to my mouth.
“I didn’t do anything,” she whispers.
“Try again.”
“Theo, let me go.”
“Stop lying to me first.” My index finger glides over the side of her ankle.T-H-E-O.I carve each letter into her skin with lazy precision, branding her with an invisible mark. “Why’d you do it, love?”
Her throat bobs as she swallows. “I wanted to stab something.”
My fingers tighten, just slightly, my grip now firm against her skin. “Did you now?”
Holly nods. Her chest is rising and falling fast, her pulse hammering under my touch.
I shift closer, pressing against her just enough to feel the warmth between us. “Am I not enough for that?”
