“Ah…” Linc’s head fell again, and he took a moment before lifting his eye back to hers. “Five.”
“So you’ve been on probation five times. Which means you’ve been suspended five times.”
Linc licked his lips, smiling softly into the distance. “I think we both know I haven’t always made the best decisions, Lieutenant.”
“I think that goes without saying.”
He cut his eyes at her. “But I’m really…” He clenched his fists. “I’m really, really…. Trying to be better.”
Chavez shifted. She crossed her arms, holding his gaze.
Linc held hers as well. He let a long moment pass, making sure his voice was devoid of any emotion or hostility before speaking again. “And I’d really like to sit for the sergeant’s exam… once I finish my 64th credit.”
“To be honest, Detective, five years ago? I wouldn’t have hesitated. But you haven’t been yourself since Lisa.”
His jaw clenched. Unlike Captain Fox, who’d been standing in for her during her leave, Lieutenant Chavez never bothered beating around the bush. She wasn’t subtle, and she wasn’t interested in sparing feelings. Though Linc was never excited to find himself on the receiving end of her brusqueness, he couldn’t help but say he respected it.
“I’m ready,” he insisted. “And I hope you’ll let me sit for the exam and prove it to you.”
“You really fell apart on us for a while there. Seems like you’re still stumbling. It’s going to take a lot more than a few community college credits and a multiple choice examination to prove to me that you’re ready for sergeant, Hill.”
“Name it.”
Chavez smiled at him, releasing her crossed arms. “Why don’t we start with who murdered the man at the bottom of that hill?” She nodded toward the edge of the water. “And why don’t we finish with The Shadow Rock Chopper?”
Linc’s chest expanded. Determination filled his eyes.
“Two big busts like that…” Chavez turned to the side while holding his eyes. “And it’d be pretty hard for me not to make you my new sergeant, detective.”
Linc breathed out a quiet laugh, nodding. “Then I guess I’d better get to work then.”
“I guess so.” Chavez gave him one last look before turning on her heel and beginning back up the hill, screaming up at her subordinates. “Where are we on the cliffs?”
Officers swarmed like ants at her raised voice, each of them doing whatever necessary to keep it from going any higher.
As Linc turned on his heel to rejoin Sam and Martin at the water’s edge, he couldn’t help the small smile on his face.
If finding The Shadow Rock Chopper—and finding out who’d thrown this man to his death—was what it took to get that promotion to sergeant and turn his life around, then he wouldn’t sleep until it was done.
——
“You’re on fire, baby,” Gage gasped against her lips, holding her eyes through every long stroke inside her slick walls, every searing kiss on her parted lips, and every slow caress over her deep brown skin. He took her thighs and pushed them against her bare chest, opening her pussy to him completely, thrusting with twice as much ferocity as he sucked her bottom lip between his. He trapped its plumpness under his teeth before releasing it with a plop, the erotic music of their bodies filling the bedroom as her wetness tugged him, drawing him in every time he pulled back. A new hiss tore up his throat with every thrust, but even as his hips sped up, filling her to the hilt as his orgasm approached, his eyes remained soft as they searched hers. “You feel so damn good.”
Veda cupped his jaw, her lips spreading wide to release her strangled purrs. She swirled her hips in the opposite direction of his, and the friction sent their passion-fueled groans soaring to another level.
“I love you,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers just as his eyebrows pinched together. His hips flinched, and his hands left her thighs, sinking into her black curls as he came, whispering those three words against her lips, over and over, until every blast had been expelled from his body into hers.
He smiled through one last, desperate thrust before covering her lips with his. He kissed her tenderly—the ecstasy-fueled tug he’d taken on her curls loosening, his strangled breath relaxing.
His eyes slowly fluttered shut.
For a moment, as Veda stroked the sides of his face, she was sure he was moments from collapsing into her bare bosom and drifting off to sleep.
But his heavy brown eyes eased opened and claimed her eyes once more.
“That was almost as good as the first time,” he breathed, the smile on his face glowing brighter. “But you were a lot tighter ten years ago.”
Veda’s eyes flew open with a gasp.
She kicked the damp sheets and blankets off her sweaty body, another gasp coming right on the first one’s heels, tightening her throat. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, damp with sweat, making her red silk nighty cling to her skin. She couldn’t tell if her eyes were blurry from the tears, from the exhaustion, or from the darkness of her bedroom. She checked the alarm clock on her nightstand and the muddled numbers told her it was the middle of the night.
She had work in just a few short hours. Another day at the hospital on no sleep.
Her heart pummeled her chest like she’d just downed a triple espresso, making it impossible to even attempt closing her widened eyes. She sucked in each breath as if her lungs were sealing themselves shut, covered her lower belly with her hand, dug her nails in, and was unable to stop a soft sob from escaping her lips.
The dream—or better yet, the nightmare—she’d just had, stayed with her, staining her mind and her heart, reminding her of her new reality. She rolled over to the other side of her empty bed, the side that used to belong to him, and buried her head in “his” pillow.
After several washes, it still smelled like him.
She smothered her nose and mouth in its plushness, making it difficult to breathe through each heaving sob. She let it steal every other breath, believing even death would be better than the terrible feeling racing through her right then.
She warmed the pillow with her cries, more each second until she was sure her bedroom was on fire around her until her eyes finally fluttered once more, and she was asleep again.
3
“As many of you already know, after a short leave of absence, I’ve been reinstated as CEO of Shadow Rock Hospital,” Gage Blackwater took a deep breath from the stage, adjusting the red tie of his black business suit, the spotlights above nearly blinding him. “And while I’m very happy to be back, I have no intention of allowing my return to be in vain. I’ve called this meeting today to get you all up to speed on the changes that I plan to make, effective immediately. And there will be changes. Big changes.”
The auditorium air grew thick. Hundreds of hospital employees had filed in that morning, filling every seat in the house. The space had been reduced to standing room only. Some leaned against the walls. Some sat on the edge of armrests, and others on the staircases.
For the first time that morning, the room went dead silent. Not a single hushed whisper, not a single lone giggle, not even an isolated sneeze or cough filled the air.
Gage took a deep breath, allowing that moment of quiet to live long and prosper.
He swore he saw every eye in the room spreading wider as they all waited, horror filled, to hear more about these “big changes.”
He couldn’t help it as his gaze shot to her.
Her.
His teeth ground.
Veda Vandyke, sitting in the front row, wearing soft pink scrubs, slim arms and legs crossed, pink sneaker swinging through the air.
The moment his gaze found her, it fought to leave her, and whenever it managed to leave, it didn’t stay gone for long. Not even as hundreds of other eyes blinked up at him. White lab coats and colorful scrubs all shifted in their seats. Murmurs and worried whispers began filling the quiet. The spotlights blaring overhead seemed to illuminat
e every deep sigh, every frown line, every set shoulder, and every hard eye. Hard eyes that seemed to be both anticipating and dreading the terrible words that were about to come out of Gage Blackwater’s mouth.
“Unfortunately,” he started, holding Veda’s dark brown eyes. “Due to back-to-back negative quarters, and a huge dip in income over the past several months, from 9.8 billion to 5 billion, we have no choice but to cut 2.4 percent of the hospital workforce.”
Cries, screams, and gasps exploded from every corner, melding together to make one bone-chilling sound that filled the auditorium and lingered for several minutes. From the corners of his eyes, Gage saw a few employees shoot up from their seats. Some crumpled forward and buried their heads in their laps.
But he kept his eyes on her.
She stared right back at him but didn’t move. Didn’t shift. Didn’t make a peep. Her only reaction to the words he’d just said was the sudden halt in the swing of her crossed leg.
Gage’s eyes fell to that leg, and he let it drive him. “Fifty percent of the departures will be non-clinical. These cost-cutting measures are expected to produce 25 million in savings and will be implemented effective immediately. Starting with the downsizing of our student nursing staff.” He waited for Veda to realize this change would affect one of her only friends. If she had that realization, it didn’t show on her face, but her arms did cross tighter. The sight helped him draw in his next breath. “We’ll also be introducing certified Nurse Practitioners.”
More horror-laden reactions. This time from the white coats in the room.
But none from her.
Gage’s heart tightened. “Primarily to our Neonatal, Psychiatric, and Acute Care Departments…”
New screams and cries rang out with each department he named. Terrified eyes waited, with baited breath, for their department to be called next.
His own eyes went wide when Veda remained stoic. “Furthermore, we’ll also be introducing Certified Nurse Anesthetists.”
Profanities flew left and right. Some employees left the auditorium entirely, apparently having heard enough.
Tough questions and venomous insults were hurled his way, but he couldn’t hear them. He’d become blind to the ferocious screams and eyes hitting him from every corner of the room, more with each passing second, so desperate he was for her response.
As Veda looked back at him, her arms still crossed tight, he knew he’d wait a lifetime. He’d wait a lifetime for her baby face—in full view underneath the bun she’d tied high on her head—to clench tight. For her dark brown skin to glow red to its deepest depths. For her full lips to pull into a tight line. For her hot pink nails to dig into the skin of her arms. For her arched brows to clench. For her eyes to glimmer with tears.
When he received none of the above, his own lips drew into a hard line, and his blood went into a boil. “The anesthesia residents will be the first to experience a cut in hours… And these cuts will commence within the month.”
Employees left their seats, bumping into each other in their haste to approach the stage. Pointed fingers jabbed in his direction. Reddened faces. Glassy eyes.
Gage held his hands out. “I understand this is difficult news for some of you to hear. But in order to protect the hospital and ensure our patient care remains competitive in the long term, these are decisions that need to be made.”
“How many of your hours are being cut, Blackwater?” a random voice screamed from the crowd.
“What percentage of your million dollar salary is getting slashed?”
“Bet your trust fund is still safe and sound, right?”
He nodded at every impassioned word being hurled at him. “I want to assure you all that this is a business decision, and is by no means a reflection of the exceptional performance delivered by the outstanding healthcare providers who give their all for this hospital, every single day. These are simply steps we must take in response to an exceedingly price sensitive market in the face of diminishing returns.”
Boos. From all around. In seconds, the room was filled with them.
Gage’s hard eyes shot to Veda, and when all he got was the slightest twitch of her lips, he clutched the stand and bared his teeth, the heat in his heart going into overdrive until every breath he expelled came out as a gasp.
He didn’t even look away from her when a hand clapped down on his shoulder, and a whispered voice came into his ear. “We never talked about cuts in the Anesthesiologist Department.”
Gage covered the microphone with his hand, happy for the distraction from the poisonous eyes and words hitting him and getting more powerful by the moment. He met eyes with the man next to him, the hospital’s new chief of staff, Dr. Jerome Byrne, who’d been introduced earlier in the meeting. Jerome was shorter than most women, with dark brown skin and brown eyes, but his grip was as strong as a weight lifter’s.
He squeezed Gage’s shoulder, looking up at him while whispering over the enraged crowd. “Anesthesiology isn’t even one of the departments hemorrhaging money. It wasn’t on the table during the meeting yesterday. What changed?”
Gage glared, still covering the microphone with his hand, even as the auditorium was crawling toward an all out madhouse. “I’m the CEO of this hospital, and I decide what’s on the table.”
Dr. Byrne’s eyebrows shot up.
Only when Gage felt his words had sunk in did he move his gaze back to the crowd, where employees were beginning to resemble mosh-pit fans at a rock concert, their protests nearly deafening.
Gage’s eyes shot straight back to Veda, his hand still over the microphone.
“I decide what’s on the table,” he said again, without looking back at Dr. Bryne. “And I’ve decided we’re making serious cuts to the anesthesia staff, effective immediately.”
Anything, he thought, as his fingers dug into the podium, so hard the tips of his nails nearly punctured the wood.
Anything to get rid of Veda Gabriella Vandyke.
Anything to get her out of his hospital and out of his life. For good.
4
All men were terrible.
All men were savages.
Animals.
Heathens, pigs, dogs.
Veda couldn’t believe she’d allowed herself to believe anything otherwise. What an idiot she’d been. As she stomped out of the hospital’s auditorium and through its expansive courtyard, she made a silent vow never to be so stupid again.
Jake Jones, lead pharmacist and one of Veda’s closest friends, raced up from behind, shaking his shaggy blond bangs out of his blue eyes while squinting under the morning sun.
“My God, Vandyke, what in the world have you done to our sweet, docile Gage Blackwater?” he begged. “For God’s sakes, you broke him.”
“I didn’t break him.” Veda’s worried eyes searched the courtyard. Hundreds of hospital employees were scattered about. Some looked furious and some downright terrified. Gage Blackwater was the name on every pair of downturned lips, including hers. “Linc got me the prototype names. Gage is the Blackwater who purchased the jigsaw puzzle sneakers. He’s the only one who lived in Shadow Rock on date of the sale.”
“Damn…” Jake’s pace slowed. He took her arm, forcing her to stop walking and face him, cringing. “That makes me want to throw up.”
“Welcome to the club.” She patted her belly. “We throw up every morning at six on the dot, and then one more time after lunch. You’re more than welcome to join us.”
“Damn…”
Veda’s voice hitched with emotion, a soft vibrato shaking it. “He’s ten. So, no, Jake, I didn’t break him. He’s been broken. Long before I came along. I didn’t break him. He broke me.” She gasped, feeling the tears threatening her eyes making her throat wobble.
Jake grabbed her arms. He licked his lips while shaking her softly, his eyes searching hers. “How long have you known he’s ten?”
“Few days.”
“You called to tell me you might be pregnant with his kid
… but you didn’t tell me he’s ten? How could you not tell me the moment you found out? I would’ve dropped everything and flown right over to your place to be there for you.”
I was a little busy getting rid of a dead body. Knowing she couldn’t say that, Veda tried to take a deep breath, but her lungs wouldn’t allow it.
“I was such an idiot,” she said. “I was such an idiot to believe he could be different. That any man could be different. They’re all animals. I got proof of that when I was eighteen. I let that proof get away from me… all because of a good lay. But I’ll be damned if I let myself forget it twice.”
“Damn…” Jake breathed again, his grip on her arms moving into a soothing stroke. “I’m really sorry things didn’t work out differently, Veda. I wouldn’t even blame you if you hated me too. As a man, I guess I’m automatically on your list of irredeemable people.”
She sputtered, her lips puckering. “I could never hate you. You’re the rare exception. You’d never hurt any woman the way they hurt me.” She slammed her eyes closed when they began to burn. “Fuck… I can’t believe I didn’t see it all along. How did I not know from the moment I met him? He was always so… so spit-shined. So perfect. Nobody’s that perfect unless they’re hiding a monster underneath, right?” She shrugged, going off in her own thoughts. “Or maybe I did know. Maybe I did see it… but I just didn’t want to.”
“And now you might be preggers.” Jake hissed softly.
She dry heaved. “God, I can’t be pregnant. I really can’t. Is this real life? Am I that girl?”
“What are you going to do?”
“First, I’m going to beg you to keep your mouth shut. I still have to get a legitimate test to confirm it. I have an appointment in obstetrics tonight. My one last ray of hope. If there is a God, I might not be pregnant at all.”
“Because the ten store-bought tests you took—ten different brands—all gave you a false positive?”
“I don’t need this negativity right now.”
Yearn (Revenge Book 4) Page 2