Her phone, which she’d set on the table, began to buzz, and she stared at it, her heart pounding painfully. She didn’t want to avoid her family, but she didn’t know how she could pick up without crying, and that would make everything worse.
She still had a surgery to assist on.
Her phone stopped ringing, and she barely had time to let out a sigh of relief before it began ringing again.
She picked it up, knowing her family wouldn’t call repeatedly unless it was urgent and hoping nothing had already happened to Katie.
When she answered, her mom’s voice was breathy, excited, intense.
“Ada, we found a surgeon. Our prayers are answered.”
She blinked slowly. “What? I thought you said it was inoperable.”
“That’s what we were told. Our regular surgeon said no one would touch it, but we were wrong. Oh, thank heaven that you went and worked at that hospital, Ada.”
Confusion washed through Ada as she tried to work out what her mother was saying. “Slow down, Mom. What do you mean?”
Her mother took a deep breath. “I just got a call from that surgeon you work for. Theo or something. He’s going to do Katie’s surgery, and since he’s considering it experimental, he’s going to do it for free.”
Ada nearly dropped her phone and fumbled while trying to stop it from hitting the hospital floor. “Wait. What do you mean? Dr. Lancaster is doing the surgery?”
“Did you tell him? It’s a miracle, so I don’t mind if you did.”
“Not on purpose,” Ada muttered. “But I mean… I’m glad.” That didn’t even explain how she felt. Rescued. Happy. Like the sun was rising on a beautiful day when a moment ago it had felt like everything was exploding in a catastrophic nightmare.
“Tell him thank you, honey. And make sure you do a good job for him. It’s the least we can do.” Her mom let out a happy sigh. “He hires one daughter, saves the life of the other. I really don’t know what to say.”
“Me neither.”
“Is he single?”
“Mom!”
“I know. I’m just kidding.”
Dr. Lancaster might be single, but based on his bedside manner with patients, nurses, other surgeons, and, face it, everyone, he would probably stay that way.
But Ada didn’t care. If what her mother had said was true, she had obviously misjudged him. And if he was really the kind of man who could do that for a needy family, perhaps he was the type she didn’t mind working for after all.
She hung up with her mom and got ready for the next surgery almost numbly, wondering what she should say to the man who was so different on the inside than he appeared.
She went to the scrub room, knowing he would be there and she could help him prepare.
He was already rubbing up with iodine up to his elbows, and he glanced at her as she came in, his mask obscuring the bottom part of his face.
“Ah, Ada, so about this next surgery. I’m going to need to—”
“Is it true?” Ada asked softly. “Are you going to save my sister?”
“I think so,” Theo said mildly. “Is that a problem?”
“No, but are you sure you should be giving them hope? No other surgeon can do it. They say it can’t be done.”
He raised an eyebrow, and for some reason, she found it almost charming. “I guess it’s good for your sister that I’m better than everyone else.”
There it was. That mouth.
But this time she smiled. “I’m going to check in on our patient, and I’ll be back to scrub up. I’ll make sure Natalie is coming in to help.”
“Fine,” Theo said. “Might not be a bad idea. They didn’t seem to really enjoy my approach when I went to check in.”
Ada couldn’t resist grinning as she left the scrub room in search of the patient and their family. If Theo had been his usual self, she was sure they were probably rethinking this, and it was her job to make sure they didn’t back out.
Because despite his horrible personality, Theo was a good person. And when it came to surgery, he was right. He was better than anyone else.
Chapter 3
Present Day
Ada could hardly believe she’d officially quit at the hospital. After five years, it had become her whole life, and it would be hard to move on.
For some reason, she couldn’t forget Theo’s eyes. The crazy look in those icy-blue depths.
She shook her head and pushed away the thought as she sipped at her herbal tea she made every night to help herself sleep.
She’d justified her workaholic behavior by saying she helped people, by telling herself Theo had incredible talent and it was her job not to let it go to waste.
She hadn’t calculated how dangerous it would be to stay so close to him. To become his friend. To depend on him and let him depend on her.
They’d become a team, begrudgingly, and then slowly, she’d fallen in love.
He had no idea; she was sure. After his initial warnings when hiring her, she knew just how unwelcome her feelings would be.
Still, she’d come to see a different side of him than many others. A quiet, lonely side that wasn’t as hard as he wanted to be. A needy part that wanted her nearby.
He’d been there for her through thick and thin, starting with saving her sister’s life and helping with various things since then.
She sighed, not knowing what to do with him.
She knew he would hate that she was leaving, but she hadn’t expected his reaction to be quite so strong. Still, she knew this was best for her.
At least that’s what she kept trying to tell herself.
She couldn’t move on while she was in love with him. Working alongside him with no time for a social life. No time to get over him or look for someone else.
She had to stop pretending there was something between them more than working together, scrubbing up together, talking at work together.
She’d grown downright delusional in her fantasies over the years.
Them married and living together, saving lives and coming home to recover together.
What a wonderful life that would be.
But it wasn’t for Theo. He had made it clear to everyone around him he wasn’t looking for relationship, either with friends or anyone else. He was an island, and no ships were allowed to approach without being fired upon.
It was weird that now that she was leaving, she kept thinking about the event that led her to commit to really working with him. The day he had surprised her by offering to save her sister when everyone else had given up.
If she were honest, she might have been in love with him ever since.
It was stupid, but he was handsome and good at heart and needy in that way that just drew her, as if he were a lost little boy inside who somehow could benefit from having her close.
But that was another delusion because he was a full-grown man, a scary one, and he would be fine on his own.
And even if he did do better work with her, that wasn’t a reason to stay. She needed to have a life of her own, one that wasn’t about him. A family and everything that entailed.
If she kept going as she did with Theo, she would just end up the same as him. Bitter and alone.
She supposed a part of her had hoped to change him, make him see her, see a life that didn’t have to be spent alone. Sometimes little things he said or did sparked an odd bit of hope.
But after five years, she knew that was as far as things were going to go.
She’d helped a lot of people, gotten a great amount of experience, and now it was time to move on. She put away the tea and got ready to head to bed.
She’d just begun pulling her nightgown over her head when she heard pounding on her front door. Like someone had tried to break in.
She wasn’t a stranger to rough characters. She didn’t live in the best part of town, and working the ER shift sometimes led to meeting some… interesting people at times.
But she’d never experienced something like this.
He was probably at home, relaxing or sulking about her quitting. He wouldn’t be up waiting for a call from a nurse.
She finished pulling her nightgown on and then threw on a robe, belting it around her waist in a hurry.
Then she grabbed a bat she kept by the door of her bedroom and crept down the stairs toward the front door.
If someone was going to try to break in, she would at least be ready for them.
But then the pounding stopped, and a voice called out to her.
“Ada? You inside?”
She let out a sigh, feeling like her heart was about to fall out of her chest as she reached for the doorknob. “Theo? You scared me to death.”
And sure enough, he stood there on the doorstep, hair extra mussed, helmet in one hand, blue eyes lit by the moon.
“You can’t leave,” he said.
She looked out and saw his bike parked outside her house. “Dear God, have you been just riding around?”
He nodded.
Though they’d been working together for five years, it was the first time he’d been to her house. He never came to parties hosted by her or other nurses or surgeons. Never showed up late at night.
“What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?”
He held up his phone, showing an old party invitation text she’d sent some time ago.
She folded her arms, moving so he could come into the living room, shutting the door behind him. “So you do get them.”
He raised an eyebrow. “The invites? Yes, of course.”
“But you never come,” she said drily.
“True, and…?” He looked around the room pensively. “Not too bad. Quaint.”
“Thanks, your majesty, for your patronage in visiting it,” she said, sitting on her couch with a huff. “Now why have you come here?”
He turned to her with a scowl. God, he was just too handsome. “I don’t think I’ve ever implied that I’m better than you.”
“That’s true because you’ve outright said it. You’re better than everyone.”
He squinted, confused. “At surgery. Not in general. You’re better with people than I ever could be. You have to stay.” He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. It was crinkled but stuffed. He handed it over. “That’s for you, if you’ll stay.”
She gasped as she opened it, seeing countless crisp thousand-dollar bills inside. “I… I can’t.”
“I can get more if you need it. Money is no object.”
She didn’t know how he could have so much money when he so often waived his charge for pediatric surgeries. “It’s not the money. I already told you that.” She handed him the envelope reluctantly, thinking of everything that money could buy.
But it couldn’t buy the only thing she wanted. Freedom. The ability to move on.
He surprised her by chucking the envelope in the air angrily, letting the money flutter to the ground dramatically as he began to curse and pace.
She’d never seen him like this and couldn’t resist gaping in shock.
He whirled to face her, hands tightening into fists. “I know you don’t understand this, but I really need you. And I think you owe me an explanation if you’re going to leave after all we’ve done together.”
She took a deep breath, knowing truth was probably the only way out. Even if she could only give part of it. “I need to move on. I need to get my own life.”
“You have a life. Here.”
“No,” she said. “I have a job. And yes, friends, but I want a family. I want to date. I want a fresh start for that.”
“You can date here,” he said.
“I really can’t. I just… need to start over. Somewhere new.”
“Is it because I’m too demanding with my surgery schedule?” He stared at nothing in particular, folding his arms. “I can ease off a little.”
“No,” she said. “It’s not that.”
“Then what? What is it? Tell me what it is, and I’ll fix it. You know I’m good at that.”
“What I want is… something you can’t give me,” she said quietly. “And you need to calm down. You really will be fine.” She walked over to him and couldn’t resist putting a hand on his face, cupping it.
She was leaving. What did it hurt to touch him now?
He jerked back, looking cautious. “Don’t patronize me. I won’t be fine, and you can’t make it better unless you’re willing to stay. Look, you can date. Just come to my late-night surgeries. Just… don’t go.”
Her eyes widened. Theo Lancaster, cold, precise surgeon, was actually begging her to stay.
But she’d already made up her mind. “I’m sorry, Theo.” She gently pushed his back toward the door, then opened it and shoved him out onto the porch. She hated doing it to him, but she had to watch out for herself for once.
Staying here—hoping for something with Theo, working alongside him, stuck in her own painful love—would only end badly.
He looked at her, forlorn, as she got ready to shut the door on him. She really couldn’t take any more of this right now. “You can’t go… You make things… calm inside me. You don’t understand.”
She closed her eyes at the pain in that. Knowing she helped him, truly helped him, how could she move on? “Don’t say things like that. You’re making it hard.”
“It’s true,” Theo said firmly. “All of it. Whatever is wrong here, I can fix it. You know I can fix anything, Ada. You’ve always believed in me that way.”
She shook her head slowly, steeling her heart. “Not this.”
Then she slowly closed the door, trying not to think of his stunned, disappointed face.
Chapter 4
Theo parked his bike in the garage, jerked the key out, and walked irritably into the house he owned on the outskirts of town.
At least the space and wide-open air out here allowed for a large garage he could cram with dozens of motorcycles.
He’d done well for himself in the hundred years he’d been in the human world, compiling enough money so he could work as he chose and take payment from surgeries electively.
He unlocked his door, letting himself into the dark, vacant-looking house. He’d never bothered to decorate it because he didn’t spend much time here. He worked a lot, and when he wasn’t sleeping, he was out on his bike.
It was the only time he felt alive, and since the main downside to motorcycles was the fragility of human bodies, which he was exempt from, why not?
He shut the door and did up the deadbolt and then looked around the house as moonlight poured in from the semi-open shutters.
Not quite midnight yet.
He didn’t shift every night. He didn’t know if his surgeries helped with the bloodlust or if he’d just developed more control, but he only had to hunt a couple times a week and seemed to transform about as often.
Not that he was going to take any chances.
He looked down at the phone in his hand and scrolled to one of the many unanswered invites from Ada that she’d sent over the years.
It was too late now to regret not answering them.
She was leaving him. She was set on it, and his heart didn’t know how to cope.
When she’d told him, and he’d realized she wasn’t joking, he’d felt as if he were having a heart attack. How would he do surgeries after midnight?
It had started a few years back when he’d gotten a desperate emergency call asking him to make an exception to his policy of not working past midnight.
He’d been in the parking lot with Ada at the time, and despite the approaching hour, he hadn’t felt an oncoming transformation.
There was no one else available to do the surgery and the child would die without it, so Theo decided the least he could do was try. If he started to transform as he scrubbed, he would simply have to disappear.
His reput
ation might be wrecked, but that was all he was risking. And Ada had looked at him with such shining, hopeful eyes, so it was good that it had all worked out in the end.
She made him feel like a hero at times, though he was nothing like it.
She’d taught him the importance of kindness in a world that had been nothing but cruel. A world he knew would still hate him if it discovered what he was.
He never wanted Ada to find out.
Theo thought his brothers were beyond stupid, getting close to humans intimately, letting them see their monsters. It was all too risky for Theo. Then again, Theo knew his brothers had never been able to find a life like his. One of balance.
He’d never told them about Ada stopping his transformation because he’d worried about Dare going out and kidnapping some human woman just for that purpose.
Now he didn’t have to worry about that, he guessed.
Theo ran a hand through his hair as he sat in the lone recliner in front of his large flat-screen TV mounted on the wall.
He flicked it on, just so the sound could keep him company in the darkness, and continued to think.
If she didn’t want money, how could he keep her there?
He could tell she was defiant, but he couldn’t sense anything from her mind. Sometimes he could read thoughts easily. Sometimes it was like people had guards around their minds.
Why would she want to be hiding something from him?
He scrubbed his hands over his face. He supposed it wasn’t that odd that Ada wanted to move on and find someone to date. Most humans did. He shouldn’t have thought having her at his constant beck and call would go on forever.
But at the same time, with her, things could be normal. Well, as close to normal as Theo could have ever hoped for.
Having her around made him feel more… human. She was his link to the world, a source of warm light beside him that seemed to lessen the need to feed and keep him more than the monster he knew he was.
Though, he still hunted nightly sometimes. It was the call of the darkness out there, the need of his nightmare creature.
And honestly, the only people he hunted were people who needed to get got.
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