Page 74 of Hide and Seek
“I’m not going to stop, Harper,” I tell her, easing out of her. “Not when it’s so clear that you and I . . . We both want this, and when I’m inside you. Fuck, doll, it’s too good to deny. But if you want space or to just need to lay low for a minute, then I’ll respect that. I’m not about to force you into something you’re not ready for.”
She nods, and it fucking kills me that this woman before me just happens to be my brother’s stepdaughter. Out of all the women on this Earth, why does this have to be the one I can’t have?
“We need to get out of here,” she finally says. “But don’t think for one second that you’re about to drive off into the sunset without telling me exactly what you said to my mother at that table.”
Laughter rumbles through my chest, and I lift Harper off the counter before placing her on her feet, not letting go until I know she’s balanced. “Hungry?” I ask.
She grins back at me, her eyes dancing with happiness, and despite knowing that spending more time together is going to make all of this so much worse, all she can do is nod. “I’m starving.”
26
HARPER-RAYN
Fuck, Mondays come around way too quickly.
One minute I was on my back, spending my weekend ignoring the fact that I shouldn’t have been in Knight’s bed, and the next, I’m here, swiping my access card over the security point at the doors of the dreaded morgue.
I don’t know when I started dreading coming to work. Maybe it was right at the beginning when I first realized I was being watched, or maybe it was when the two men I was dancing with showed up on my table. All I know is that this is slowly killing me. I’ve always loved my work. I love the challenge of pulling the body apart and scouring every inch of it. I love learning exactly what went wrong to cause a perfectly healthy person’s heart to spontaneously give out, and bringing justice to victims by collecting the evidence that helps capture their killers. But lately, I’ve been scared to walk through the door.
When I’m not at work, I can focus my attention on Knight and pretend like none of the bullshit is happening, but the minute I walk through these doors, it always comes right back.
With a heavy sigh, I push through the door, wondering what fresh hell I’ll be hit with tonight. The morgue is still buzzing with people, but it doesn’t take long to realize they’re all starting to pack up after their long shift.
“Ahhh, Dr. Madden. How are you doing tonight?” Dr. McKullan asks, looking worse for wear.
“Good,” I say. “Ready for a busy shift.”
“Oh, you better be,” he says, running his hand back through his hair. “It’s been a busy day, and I suspect it will be an even busier night. The criminals of Blackstone must have been out and about this past weekend.”
“Oh?” I question, striding deeper into the morgue and dropping my bag on my desk while glancing toward the bodies lined up on the tables. Shit. It really is going to be a busy night.
“Had three here waiting for us this morning. Another two came in at midday, and we’ve just had another one an hour ago. Preliminary reports have been started on all except the last body in bay six,” Dr. McKullan tells me. “If you could get started on that, that would be much appreciated. Then once you’re done there, I’ve organized everything into what I want prioritized. I doubt you’ll get through too much, but any kind of dent you can make will be helpful.”
“Sure thing,” I tell him, already feeling overwhelmed by everything on my to-do list, but that’s just the luck of the draw, right? “I’ll get straight to it.”
I don’t even bother waiting for everybody to finish filing out before I crank the music and start reviewing everything that needs to be done tonight. I quickly get lost in my work, focusing on the preliminary report for the man in bay six. There are signs of injury across his knuckles, looking as though he had beeninvolved in some kind of fight, but the injuries are a few days old. Apart from that, there are no obvious markings to determine if this was a homicide or just nature taking its course.
A thrill shoots through me. This is just the kind of case I’ve been needing. There’s nothing I love more than a challenge, but unfortunately for me, Mr. Bay Six isn’t at the top of my priority list.
I get him bagged up and deposited back into the refrigeration unit until he’s ready for a full autopsy, and I have to admit, with everything else on my list for tonight, I doubt I’ll get the chance to completely dive headfirst into this particular mystery. One of my colleagues will probably be awarded that honor during tomorrow’s day shift. Then come my next shift, I’ll be faced with a whole new array of bodies to challenge me. I hope.
Wanting to keep the ball rolling and smash out as much as I can, I jump straight into the first autopsy of the night. It’s a woman, and unfortunately, she looks as though her death was brutal.
My heart breaks for her as I document the finger-shaped bruises along the inside of her thighs and the scratches left across her chest. I have a good idea what happened to her, but it’s not my job to make assumption or declarations of rape. I just report on the facts.
As I complete the external portion of the autopsy, I go to reach for my scalpel when the sound of someone swiping their access key at the door sounds through the morgue. I’m too focused to worry about freaking out, and after my stalker left me alone all last week, I’m confident that it’s not him.
My gaze shifts back to the woman, and as I press the scalpel down at her shoulder, the door opens, quickly followed by the sound of the cleaning cart. A small smile lifts the corner of my lips, and I look up to say hi to Vincent, and just as the words areabout to fly out of my mouth, I find the scowling face of Vincent’s replacement.
“Just great,” I mutter under my breath.
I give him an awkward hello and keep working, knowing how uncomfortable dead bodies made him last time, but when his eyes linger on the woman’s naked body, I can’t help the protective instinct that comes over me.
I shift around the woman’s body, immediately covering her up. “There’s nothing for you here,” I tell him, moving quickly to place her back in the body bag. Last week, the janitor was here for almost an hour, and I’m not about to have her on display to be gawked at by the likes of this asshole, especially not for an hour.
He scowls at me, thankfully deciding to keep his mouth shut, and without skipping a beat, I pack up her file and notes and move on to the next item on my list.
Bay number two.
