Her eyes filled with tears as she searched his face and saw nothing but truth. She knew this. She did. Sloan loved her… but the damage from her past still had a way of getting in her head.
“I know that, Sloan,” she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. “It’s just—” She stopped, the words sticking. Bringing up Frank now felt wrong… because Sloan had never made her feel that way. Not once.
Sloan’s eyes narrowed slightly as something clicked. “I’m not your fucking ex, Becky.”
Becky winced, guilt hitting hard. “I know you’re not. I’ve just… been messed up lately. I think some of it was the medication.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’ve always dealt with this stuff on my own. I didn’t want to be a bother.”
Becky could tell Sloan went from hurt to angry, even if he was holding it back trying to hide it from her.
“I’m sorry,” she said into the silence. “You’ve never given me a reason to think you wouldn’t take this seriously. You’ve just had so much on your shoulders and… I should have told you.”
“Yes, you should have,” Sloan said after a moment, his gaze still on her. “What happened after the procedure? Are you still having issues?”
Frowning, Becky nodded. “Yeah… but it’s not just that.” She cleared her throat. “I’ve always been able to check MyChart for results of tests, blood work and everything else. My appointments are there. My labs. Everything before…” She shook her head. “But the procedure? The cysts? There’s nothing.”
“So this MyChart should have all of that?” Sloan asked, his brows furrowing.
“Yes,” Becky nodded, then cursed under her breath as she started pacing again. “It usually takes three to seven days for pathology results, but it can take up to ten to fourteen if they need to run more tests.”
“Pathology?” Sloan frowned.
“They test the cyst after they remove it,” Becky said quietly. “To make sure it’s not something serious like cancer.”
She watched him process what she’d just said. He looked confused… but honestly, so was she.
“Did you call the doctor who did the procedure?” he asked, his voice low and controlled.
“Yes,” Becky nodded. “I was told he suddenly resigned. When I asked to speak to his assistant—the one who was there withhim, they said she’d left too.” She let out a breath. “I told the receptionist I was trying to get my results.”
“And?” Sloan’s eyes, which had almost gone back to gold, darkened again.
“They got one of the nurses on the line for me and she said there was nothing in my file,” Becky whispered. “Nothing about cysts… just my past history, appointments and what I saw when I looked it up.”
The room became silent as she watched Sloan try to process everything she just told him.
“I don’t know what they did to me.” Her hands twisted together without her realizing it. Sloan reached out clasping her hands stopping her.
“We are going to figure this out,” he said, reaching up cupping her chin. “But we need to bring Slade in. This is out of my realm, Becky, and Slade is the only one I would trust with you at this point.”
Becky knew him admitting that this was out of his realm wasn’t easy for him and she felt terrible. “Sloan, I’m?—”
“Don’t,” Sloan shook his head. “Just promise me that from here on out, no matter how little you think it is you always come to me about anything and everything. I will never judge you. If you get a splinter I want to know about it, is that understood?”
Becky nodded, then felt her lip curl up in a smile that had been missing from her face for weeks. “A splinter? Really?”
“Yes, a fucking splinter.” He cocked his eyebrow, then pulled her close. “I love you, Becky. You never have to face anything alone, ever.”
Laying her head against his chest, she held him as tight as she could. She’d been a fool keeping things from him, but old wounds had kept her silent. “I love you.”
He pulled away then led her to the bed. “Lay down for a while.” Sloan picked her up and laid her down, then kissed her. “Let me talk to Slade and I’ll be back. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said, trying to keep the shaking from her voice. She watched as he turned, walked across the room then disappeared through the door. Tears ran out of the corner of each eye disappearing into her hair as nausea hit her hard. Placing her hands on her stomach she applied pressure praying the feeling would go away as the tears fell faster.
CHAPTER 4
Sloan stepped out of the room, pulling the door shut quietly behind him before moving into his office. He stopped just inside, his jaw tightening as everything Becky had told him replayed in his head. The rage building inside him was like nothing he had ever felt before.
Sloan had enemies. A lot of them. And there wasn’t a single one who wouldn’t use whatever or whomever they could to get to him.
