Page 14 of Midnight Between Us
“If someone already briefed you ...then why do you need me here?”I cut in, not in the mood to spar.“Actually, I don’t care.I have something more pressing.There was a bad crash on Route Seven.There was no driver or passenger.”
“Why do I care?”he asks flatly.
There’s typing in the background.No doubt he’s at his desk trying to figure out what he missed.He thinks he knows everything.Maybe he does, but surprisingly, I have something only I know.“According to the reports, they cleared the wreckage hours ago.No one was at the scene.It was just a car.Again—why the fuck do I care?”
I take a breath, then let it drop.“Unless you count the guy in the trunk.”
“Fuck.So we have a body?—”
“I’m not finished,” I snap.
“Then speak faster, Simone.I don’t have time.”
Of course.God forbid someone breathes while he’s doing something more important.
I walk him through everything—the car, the restraints, the blood.How Keir flatlined.How I brought him back, one heartbeat at a time, with whatever was left in me.Then I say it.
“It’s Keir Timberbridge.”
He doesn’t say anything right away, until he asks, “Are you sure?How can you recognize him?”
“Believe me, it’s him.”
Then, there’s a low and resigned, “Fuck.”
Yeah.That about covers it.
“I should’ve known,” he mutters.“When are you waking him?”
“I’m reassessing in seventy-two hours,” I say, already worn out.“But I’ll need a neurologist.Probably an orthopedic surgeon to double-check the leg.If he pulls through, it’s going to take more than stitches and hope.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“No.I should probably tell his brothers, but ...”I trail off.“They’ve been through enough.The warehouse fire.Blythe’s ex.It’s like the second they all came back to this town, they brought trouble with them.”
There’s a huff.Then, surprisingly: “Good, don’t tell anyone.When he’s stable enough to leave the clinic, take him with you.”
“He’s in my clinic,” I say, just in case he assumes I’m at Larkspur General.
“I get it, but afterward, we’ll move him with you.”
“Not sure what that means, but may I remind you that I have a clinic to run,” I say, feigning ignorance.I understand what he’s implying, but there’s no way I’m in charge of him.Nope.
“I’ll assign enough personnel to cover for you while you monitor him—at home.”
Is he fucking kidding?He wants me to take him home?My house?
“No.”
A pause.Then his voice drops—low, gravel-thick, not quite human.“That’s not a suggestion, Dr.Moreau.You’ll do as you’re told.”
There it is.The beast shows his teeth.He’s always growling.Always circling.I want to ask if I can speak to his partner—the one who’s less shouty and more civilized.
“Am I clear?”he asks.
There has to be a way out of this.I rub my eyes with the back of my hand.“I could lose my license.”
“You won’t.I’m not asking you to take him now.Just when he’s stable enough to be discharged.”
