Page 59 of Collateral Claim

I sit up straight and pull back my shoulders. “Did something happen to her?”

Fiada nods. “She died a few years back. It was a peaceful death, but we miss her.”

“Yes, we do,” Rie confirms.

“Do you think Endo misses her?” I ask.

“For sure,” Brenda says. “They were very close.”

Oh God. “Well, okay.” I’m getting a headache. “You know, Endo was right. I really should head home early.”

“We didn’t even get to the dress. Not even the design basics. If you tell me what the dress looks like in your head, I’ll know which of our designers can make it.”

Suppressed anger breaks through as well. “I’ve never actually considered marriage.”

Shock registers on their faces. I push forward. I’m angry at Endo, that’s true. But I’ve got no reason to be angry with him for having an ex or a baby. That’s childish and unlike me. I need to get ahold of myself.

“I dream of spending my life in service to people. Most, if not all, men would want me to give up my work or at least compromise for them or their ambitions. I don’t want to do that. The kind of work that I want to do won’t allow me to have a husband or a family.”

“You are doing good work here, Doc,” Emily says. “Is this not the kind of service work you had in mind?”

I grit my teeth, struggling with how much I should say. “Before I met Endo, I wanted to work in the communities that needed doctors most.”

Brenda and Emily exchange looks. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

Rie snorts.

Fiada laughs, and then they all start laughing. “You think we’re middle class? Do you think any of us can afford insurance or the cost of coming here to see you? You are working on the Macarley dime, and if that dime disappears, the corporate assholes will come here to tell us how we can’t chew tobacco while working the graveyard shift, stocking the shelves and minding our business, hurting literally nobody.”

“Endo is not paying me.”

“Then, if that’s not charity work, I don’t know what is,” Brenda says bluntly.

Rie gasps.

I pinch my lips, trying not to laugh. When I can’t hold it, they burst into laughter, and Fiada slaps me on the shoulder. “There you go, Doc. Let’s get the basics out of the way today, and we can get together again. Maybe you could invite me for lunch at the Keep?”

Rie raises his hand, as do the nurses. “Us too.”

“Definitely,” I lie.

Chapter 25

It has to be you

Endo

Scarlett’s kiss lingered on my lips after I rinsed my mouth.

She tasted of strawberry cheesecake, and after I rinsed my mouth, her taste reminded me of strawberry toothpaste. I tried to get rid of it by brushing my teeth with peppermint toothpaste. When that didn’t work, I rinsed my mouth with spearmint mouthwash again.

Since the various mints proved ineffective, I washed her taste down with whiskey. Repeatedly. Every night since I first kissed her. Without a doubt, that woman has driven me to drink. At this pace, I’ll destroy my pancreas in thirty days and still won’t get the taste of her out of my mouth.

It’s been over an hour since we left the clinic, and we’re driving by the marina while Philip packs for the temporary move to the Keep. The window is down, my elbow resting on the ledge as I watch the boats, scanning them for suspicious activity.

“You think Philip wants to stay at the Keep?” Connor asks his brother from the front passenger seat. Scarlett asked Dec,who asked me if I could release his brother from the dungeons yesterday. I obliged. The time in the dungeons taught him a valuable lesson: I mean business, and I’m not in the mood for family theatrics.

“I don’t, no.”