Page 90 of Bleed with Me

I hit send before I could add more, glaring at the screen, but nothing else came. Well, it would be much easier to live up to my promise to Malin and not talk to her if I were mad at her.

Well, mad was a strong word. I was irritated by my memory lapse and her sharp reply. She’d placed an annoying bug in my brain to unsettle me, and it worked all day. My concentration was nonexistent, and my reactions were slow. At least I didn’t have any planned or emergency surgeries until the late afternoon. Actually, my day was pretty dull for a trauma surgeon. Not even the chief of surgery came to ask for assistance on a case.

The whole wing was unusually quiet. Aryna played in her room with toys Zara brought her. I read her a story, then we had lunch and another marathon of doll-dressing, and finally Melody showed up. But only to tell me that the boy from a car crash we’d saved the previous day couldn’t undergo another surgery because his heart was too weak. The planned surgery was canceled; no date was set yet.

“Have you ever had such a calm shift?” one of the residents asked, tapping the table with a pen next to my ankles. I read a sports magazine with my feet up, enjoying the moment of my mind finally giving up on my wife.

“Don’t jinx it!” Melody hissed, appearing at the nurse’s desk with yet another cup of coffee. I swore caffeine ran through her veins instead of blood. “The last time we had a quiet day at the clinic,” she cast me a sharp look, “we ended up helping during a train crash. Imagine stitching people in the hallway because this one,” she pointed a finger at me, “decided it was a terrific idea to do a thoracotomy in the only emergency room there.”

The resident cast me an admiring look, and I winked at her before putting my feet down off the table and closing the magazine.

“Don’t forget I was in Africa.” I looked at Melody, who rolled her eyes theatrically. “I removed a leg from a ten-year-old boy in the field because it was either that or watching him bleed out.”

“Reckless,” the head nurse singsonged.

“I prefer brilliant.” I smiled, checking my buzzing phone. After the whole day, Malin finally texted me.

Sunshine: Outside your place at eight. Wear black.

My heart missed a beat, a grin tugging at my lips. This could only mean one thing. I will find out tonight!

Dorian: The usual?

Sunshine: 👍

Three hours later, I got inside a black Range Rover and fastened my seatbelt on the passenger seat. My feet bounced against the floor as I scanned his face for any clues, but it was as emotionless as ever.

“Stop staring at me,” he ground out, handing me a pair of gloves. My last ones burned in a fire after the chase.

“Then tell me already!” I demanded, unable to wait any longer. “You promised.”

“I told you that I’ll show you who she is,” he corrected me, his voice dripping with annoyance. He never understood my inability to contain my emotions at times. “We’re not there yet.”

“Oh, c’moooon,” I whined, leaning my head back. “I want to know!”

“Patience,” was his last word, his detached expression telling me he wouldn’t reveal more no matter what I did. So I watched the outside world, realizing I had surveyed a few apartment complexes in this part of Manhattan about eight months ago.

“This building belongs to the Valentino family,” I said, scanning the tall glass tower where Giovanni Valentino hid his mistresses from the public and showered them in luxury. Everyone in the Upper East Side knew not to set foot inside if they didn’t want to get in trouble.

“Does it?” Malin turned to me with surprise written all over his face. “I didn’t know.”

“Sure,” I groaned, forcing my brain to cooperate, but the imbecile refused to consider ma vilaine as one of old Valentino’s girls. “Why are we here?”

“You’ll see.” Malin smirked, his chilling tone wrapping around the base of my spine. An unpleasant shiver ran through me as I followed him out of the car and behind the building.

What the fuck was he up to?

“Ready?” he asked, dispersing my erratic thoughts. I nodded, and two seconds later, the whole building, and two more on each side, went dark for a second, but then emergency lights bled dim red across the stairwell.

“Oh,” I exhaled, entering the building behind my brother. “Nice.”

“It’ll be nice when we’re up there,” Malin grunted, jogging up the stairs. Thirty floors later, I panted, holding my right side, and sweat beaded on my face under the mask. My skin itched, my boots felt heavy, and my tight pants were uncomfortable.

“How many more?” I leaned against the wall, catching my breath in my depleted lungs.

“Tired?” Malin teased, turning to me, and I groaned in discomfort. I hated these crazy, physically demanding missions.

“Yes! I’m too old for this shit.” I bumped his shoulder as I passed, ignoring the low chuckle lingering behind me. Seriously, the guy was mental. He only enjoyed other people’s misery.