Page 44 of The Criminal’s Cure

“Are you sure you have to go?” Peyton squeezes my shoulders tightly, locking me into a hug and refusing to let go of me.

“It’s not like I’m leaving forever. You can come visit me whenever you want!

” I insist, trying to ease her mind a bit.

Peyton’s become somewhat of a mother hen towards me, and I know she’s worried about me moving to San Francisco.

She’s been constantly trying to change my mind since I told her, but at this point I’m set.

The last few days have been rough. When I told Roman about my part in Talia’s death, I was a little disappointed in his reaction.

It’s not like I was expecting his gratitude or even his acceptance, but I also wasn’t expecting him to be so harsh either.

Regardless, I knew I needed to make it right, so when Roman kicked me out, I went straight to the police and gave them everything I had.

By the end of our conversation, they said they had enough to put Bauer away for murder and a host of other charges.

It’s a small consolation, but it’s the only thing I have left to give Roman and Ty.

Coming clean to the police also meant that the hospital board was made aware of what happened, and they politely asked me to leave.

Even without a plan, I was happy to, because so much about this hospital—medicine in general—has been ruined for me.

I wanted to help people, and instead, I was part of a murder.

One that I knew about, at least. God only knew what else Bauer did.

In my heart, I know it isn’t my fault, but I still feel partly responsible and I know I’ll never be able to completely shake that feeling.

My first call was to the doctor who runs the LA program, but they’d already filled the fast track position.

Instead, he gave me the number of a friend of his who runs a trauma center in San Francisco.

It won’t be as fast-paced, but I can start right away and the best part is, it has nothing to do with my dad or with Bauer.

Putting some distance between me and Roman sounds pretty good, too.

I love him, more than I even want to admit, and cutting him and Ty out of my life will be torturous, but in the long run, it’s for the best. I’ll just be a painful reminder to them.

“I know,” Peyton whines, finally pulling away. “I’m just going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you, too.” I sigh, letting my new reality sink in.

It’s going to be tough starting over. I have friends here in Vegas, I have a life here, and now I’m picking up and moving to another state, without much of a plan.

The girl I was a few months ago wouldn’t even recognize me now.

I showed up in Vegas with my life completely planned out—my job, my career path.

I thought I had it all together. And now, I’m leaving with no idea what the rest of my life will look like.

It was a little exciting, but mostly terrifying.

“I just think it’s best for me to get out of here for a while. ”

“Because of Roman?” She arches her eyebrow at me.

“No, not because of Roman,” I lie. “Just because, okay?”

“He was here looking for you last night.”

My heart nearly stopped. He was looking for me? “He was here? At the hospital?”

She nods. “Well, actually, Ty faked a stomach sickness to get Roman to bring him here so he could ask about you. He really wants to talk to you, Maddie. I think you’re making a mistake by not doing that before you go.”

I can’t help but laugh at Ty’s attempt to take matters into his own hands. I didn't get to say goodbye, and the poor kid was probably confused and hurt. It’s so sweet that it almost makes me cry, but I take a deep breath and push the thought away.

Of course I want to talk to Roman. I want him to forgive me and tell me he doesn’t blame me and that nothing has changed between us.

But hearing those words will only make leaving harder.

“Peyton, I think it’s best if I just go at this point.

It’s too complicated right now and I don’t want to hurt him or Ty worse than I already have. ”

“But Maddie, you haven’t hurt them. I got the impression that he just wants to make things right with you. He loves you, Mads, and you leaving isn’t going to help things, it’s going to make things harder on you both,” she persists.

“I appreciate the thought, but I don’t think—”

All of a sudden, an alarm blares over the loudspeaker. “Attention all staff, we have a Code Black. Please adhere to department evacuation plans immediately.”

“Stupid kids.” Peyton rolls her eyes. “Do you know this is the third time this month we’ve had a fake bomb threat? Every time I take all my patients out, then back in, just to find out it’s a bunch of dumb high school kids that think they’re funny.”

“Attention all staff, we have a Code Black. Please adhere to department evacuation plans immediately,” the speaker repeats.

“How about I help you get your patients out for old time’s sake?

” I offer with a smile. I know how irritating things like this are.

It happens a lot in Las Vegas because the city is a breeding ground for crazies.

It never amounts to anything more than an annoyance for hospital staff and a fun trip outside for the patients.

“You’re an angel. I’m supposed to clear the third floor. Why don’t you take that one and I’ll get the rest?”

“You got it.”

“I owe you!” she yells over her shoulder and heads down the hall.

Many of the patients can walk out on their own, and our job is just to assist and direct them to the evacuation route.

I take the stairs to the third floor and start scanning rooms. The third floor is post-op recovery, so it’ll be pretty empty at this time of day.

I check each room, but quicken my pace when I hear a little girl crying down the hall.

I get to the last room on the right and open the door. “Is everything—”

My eyes widen as I process the scene before me. A little girl, about ten, sits next to the window, tears dripping down her cheeks. Bauer stands behind her, holding onto a ticking backpack. A timer on the front reads 15:48 and it’s continuously counting down.

“Well, if this isn’t just divine intervention.” His face curls into a sickening smile. “I had no idea you were going to be here today, but it just makes it all that much sweeter.”

“Dr. Bauer, what are you doing?” I ask, taking cautious steps into the room with my hands up.

“Don’t come any closer, Madison. One push of this button and the three of us and this entire building go out with a bang.”

The little girl starts to wail, his words terrifying her.

“It’s okay, sweetie.” I reach out, trying to soothe her. “That’s not going to happen. He’s going to let you out of here, aren’t you, Bauer?”

My heart thunders in my chest, but I try as hard as I possibly can to remain calm.

“Now, why would I do that?” he snickers.

“Because this isn’t about her. It’s about you and me and this hospital. It has nothing to do with her.”

“Shut up,” he hisses. “It’s your fault we’re in this mess to begin with. If you had just let things play out as they should have, none of this would have ever happened. You would be on your way to LA and I would be well on my way to tenure. But you had to go and open your big mouth.”

“Bauer, you need to let her go, and then you and I can have this conversation,” I say quietly, careful not to escalate him even further.

“You chose a criminal over your career, your family. Everything!” he continues, ignoring anything that I have to say.

“I did what was right, Dr. Bauer. Talia’s death was—”

“An unfortunate side effect,” he interjects. “But it was a piece of something much bigger than you could ever imagine.”

“What are you talking about?”

He throws his head back and cackles; the sound making me sick to my stomach.

I use the opportunity to move a bit closer to the little girl, who’s staring wide-eyed at me in complete terror.

“Oh Madison, I really appreciate your naivety, but it’s getting old.

Roman started this war a long time ago, and it’s time I finish it.

I thought I had shut him down with Talia, but then I found out that he was dating you.

..derailing everything I had worked so hard for. ”

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t.” He rolls his eyes.

“Well, let me spell it out for you. Before your boyfriend moved into town, I ran the top drug ring in the region. Not that hard to do when you’re a respected doctor.

” He chuckles to himself. “I had the entire area cornered, and then came Roman Molanari, Mr. Holier-than-thou, and his crusade to take the drugs off the streets. He thinks he’s better than me because his group doesn’t deal drugs, but he’s just as much at fault.

What does he think his clients do with the guns they buy from him?

Target shooting? Roman came in here and my business plummeted.

Everyone was too scared to cross him with his Italian Mafia ties.

I thought if I could just force him out, we’d be back on track.

I nearly did it too, when his kid got shot.

But then Roman met you and, of course, the stone-cold mafia leader gets heart eyes for a resident in my program. It’s almost laughable.”

“It was you all along,” I say breathlessly. Everything begins to click. Bauer was after us all along in his attempt to force Roman out.

He narrows his eyes at me. “My last ditch effort was to get you to go to LA. I saw him with you that day, and I knew he was falling for you. That this was my chance and he might follow you out there. So I called your dad and raved about how amazing you were doing. I couldn’t tell him the truth, of course, but it got the job done, and he made some calls.

You can imagine how surprised I was to hear you turn down the job. ”

“You’re disgusting.” I glare, tears stinging my eyes. “You’re going to rot in jail for all of this.”

“I’d have to be alive in order for them to throw me in jail, Madison.” He smirks. “And neither of us are walking out of here alive.”