Page 38 of Cursed Touch
Carter: Please tell me we’re closer to knowing who’s going after Vanessa.
After slipping his phone, wallet, and keys into his pocket, he placed the strap to his bag over his shoulder and headed for the door. Thinking on his upcoming workload, he was thankful he wasn’t scheduled in the ICU.
He squeezed the steering wheel in his hands, the music filling the car yet doing nothing to soothe his rough edges. Releasing a breath, he reminded himself outpatient care or not, his patients expected and deserved one hundred and ten percent of the best possible care he could provide them. His personal issues were just that, his.
Twenty minutes later, he parked in his spot and unlocked his phone.
Ethan: Working on it…
“Fucking hell,” he muttered, frustration consuming him.
Carter collected his things and went inside. He knew his family and friends would do everything to keep Vanessa safe, but he hated every minute. His mate was in danger, and he could not do anything but go to work and wait.
The waiting was going to kill him. Unlike some of his siblings, he did not have the benefit of telekinesis to protect her. Carter had never been a fighter, and he regretted it then. Scuffling with his brothers would not be enough to keep a supernatural being from exacting some form of punishment on Vanessa.
“Maybe Serena can help,” he mumbled.
“What?” his nurse asked, accepting the file in his hand.
Carter shook his head. “Sorry, working a problem in my head.”
His day became progressively worse. He got through his patients with minimal annoyance, but by the sideways glances his staff directed at him, he must have been more of a bear than normal.
“Anyone else?” he asked.
“No.”
He nodded. “Once y’all are done, close up and head home,” he said and started toward his office.
“He needs to get laid,” one nurse muttered softly.
“No shit. Something crawled up his ass. He’s never like that,” another replied as he stepped into his office.
Carter did not blame them for their comments. He would let it slide this once, but he made a mental note to both talk to them about being careless with their words around patients and to work harder at compartmentalizing his life. Sitting in his chair, he pulled up his last patient’s file and then unlocked his phone.
Carter: How’s your day going?
He set it down and typed out a few additional notes before saving the file. Carter looked at his schedule for the week and sighed. His poor staff had a few more crappy days ahead of them if he could not get himself sorted.
His phone vibrated loudly on the wood desk. His heart raced, and he grinned at the sight of her name.
Vanessa: Busy, thanks to more of Serena’s customers coming by. Yours?
Carter: Long. Any chance you’ll be up for dinner?
Vanessa: I need to work late after closing. I have some items I need to finish.
Carter: I’ll bring you some food so you can focus on working. Tacos?
Vanessa: I wouldn’t dare say no to tacos!
Carter: Can’t wait to see you, sweetheart.
Leaning back in his chair, he sucked in a deep breath. He’d dated many women, but none of them had ever fit. Some wonderful women had come into his life and he’d had to be the asshole passing on them. One ex had even recommended him to his current hospital admin, allowing him to change hospitals and work with the best of his field in the area—an opportunity that would have taken years to sow. But now, he’d finally found the mythical woman who had slid right into his heart.
This woman did not care he was a doctor, unlike the one-night stands who wanted more so they could be a doctor’s wife. She valued her business as much as he valued his. She was a woman he vowed to keep safe as long as he had breath in his lungs.
Knowing what he needed to do, he pushed to his feet after securing his computer. The office was quiet, and he made a mental note to do something kind for his staff.
