Page 72 of Savage Saint

Carefully, I untie the scarf and feel around the wrap without taking it down yet. Still smooth.

Exhaling slowly, I smile. “Perfect.”

First crisis of the day averted.

The second emergency I’ll deal with before my first cup of coffee is the missed call notification glowing across my screen. The number looks familiar, but it’s not saved on my phone, and luckily there’s a voicemail beneath it.

Pressing play, I place the phone down and begin to wash my face while it plays. Please don’t let them ask me to cover a shift. Luckily, it’s not, but there is urgency in the head nurse’s voice asking me to call her back as soon as I see this.

My brows furrow. Had it been about a shift, she would’ve just said so.

Rinsing my face with cold water, I dry my face before brushing my teeth and then applying moisturizer while staring at the mirror. The woman staring back at me is smiling, not rushing to call her supervisor back, because there’s another thought pushing to the forefront.

Santos De La Cruz said he’d be picking me up in exactly one week.

At six. Didn’t wait for me to agree or deny him.

Just a command. As if his words are law.

In his world, they are.

“Genesis Romero, you are shameless.” It’s the truth, and after walking back out to my living room, away from the truth staring back at me, right when I’m about to call the hospital back, a call comes in. Two rings and I answer. “Hello?”

“Good. You’re awake.” Cari’s voice is way too cheery for this time in the morning.

“Barely. Everything okay?”

“Nothing happened, per se…” she trails off, and in the background, the familiar sounds of a busy shift filter through as I sit on the couch. Get comfortable is more like it, the thick, fluffy blanket in a pretty purple color draped over me as I lie back. “I’m just calling to let you know you’re off this week. We’ll see you next week, regular schedule.”

I stop trying to find the most comfortable spot. Did I hear her right? “What?”

“You have PTO sitting here that you haven’t used, and some of it needs to be taken before you lose it. With Rosa back on schedule after being sick, we’re covered. Enjoy it and don’t argue.”

“But are you⁠—”

“It’s done, Genesis. Approved. You are officially off.”

“For a whole week? Need this verified, Cari?”

“The whole week, sweetie.” There’s a smile in her voice now. “Sleep, drink, and relax. That’s an order; I’ll have your favorite cookies in the nurses’ break room when you’re back.”

Then the line goes dead. She didn’t even give me the chance to mock-argue.

Like I’d ever be mad about time off.

A smile curls slowly before a giggle slips free. “I need to make her an award certificate for best phone call. She wins hands down.”

Giddy, I open Katia’s contact and send her a quick gloating message.

Guess who has the entire week off while you still have to work? ~Geni

I hit send before tossing the phone down beside me and getting comfortable beneath the soft blanket. Might as well celebrate with an earned early morning nap. My eyes close as I sink further into the plush cushions, and immediately my traitorous brain thinks of him.

Saint. His hand around my throat. The warmth of his palm beneath my jaw.

The way my body softened against him before common sense could catch up.

Heat spreads low and slow through me, and I don’t fight it.