Page 62 of Carnal Urges

Or Kage.

No wonder Declan looks at me with so much… whatever it is. I’m Natalie’s best friend. I said I was friends with Kage. I dated Stavros. Even if he admits I didn’t start a war, he still thinks I’m his enemy.

An enemy he’s going to an awful lot of trouble to protect.

The question is: why?

“Excuse me?”

Startled from my thoughts, I realize I spoke that last part out loud. “Nothing. Sorry. I’m just all up in my head. Things are a bit complicated at the moment.”

Nancy sidesteps that minefield and says she’ll get me a wheelchair for our trip to Radiology, which is on the second floor.

“Do I look that bad?”

“No.” She pauses. “But…” She clears her throat. “If you were to fall and hurt yourself, I’d have to explain to Mr. O’Donnell how I let that happen. And he left rather specific instructions that you were to be well taken care of.” She pauses again. “To be perfectly honest, he told Dr. Callahan that if you died, he would, too. I’m guessing the same standard applies to me.”

Declan threatened the doctor’s life? I can’t decide if that’s awful or sweet.

“Gotcha. No worries. He’s not going to kill anyone. He just likes to throw that around to scare people.”

Nancy looks doubtful. “I don’t mean to contradict you, but he didn’t earn his position with Boy Scout badges.”

She leaves me to mull that over while she gets the wheelchair. When she returns, Kieran is all in a huff.

“What’s this, then?” he growls, crowding in the doorway with the rest of the gang. He eyes the wheelchair suspiciously, like it’s wired with explosives.

“I’m going down to the radiation department to get more tests.”

His brows draw together. He doesn’t like the idea. “Declan said nothin’ about lettin’ ye outta the room.”

“Why don’t you come with? We’ll make it a field trip.”

“Or ye can just wait till he gets back.”

To ask permission, he means. As if.

I say blithely, “Oh, I’ll leave it up to you. He said he wanted me to get all the tests I needed done as soon as possible to make sure this brain bleed thing isn’t going to kill me, but if you think it’s best for me not to, that’s fine.”

I wait, smiling expectantly.

Two minutes later, all six of us are crowded into the hospital elevator, headed down.

When the doors open on the second floor, Kieran and his men exit first, weapons drawn. They conduct a sweep of the corridor before they let Nancy and me off the elevator. Then they walk on either side of us like the president’s personal field agents, glaring daggers at anyone who dares to look our way.

I hate to admit I love the drama of it. I feel like a celebrity. It’s a good thing I’m not, because I’d be a horrible diva. Two flights on aprivate jet—one of them while in captivity—and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fly economy again.

The ultrasound goes without a hitch. There are no tumors or cysts on my ovaries, and my uterus is as barren as the Sahara. I leave smiling.

The smiling ends when we’re back in my room and Nancy tells me the results of the blood tests.

NINETEEN

DECLAN

The warehouse is near the docks. It’s cold, dank, and smells like rancid seawater and rotting wood. But it’s not close to any other buildings, which makes it a convenient spot for interrogations.

Screams get lost here. Blood washes easily off the cement, into the sewer, and out to sea.