Page 93 of The Night Shift

The name hits me like a slap. My eyes snap back to his face, searching for any hint that this is some sort of joke, but his expression is steady, unreadable. “What?”

“No, please don’t thank me,” he drawls, sarcasm dripping from his words. “It was no trouble at all. It’s actually quite easy to get an ex-convict’s home address —”

His voice starts to blur, the edges of his words smudging into background noise as my attention shifts back to the paper in my hands. I stare at it, the letters and numbers swimming before my eyes, as if they’re trying to rearrange themselves into something less horrifying.

My mind blanks. It’s like my thoughts have been unplugged, yanked out of their sockets and left to dangle uselessly. Nate Lawson’saddress?His fucking address?! The trembling starts in my fingertips, spreading up my hands and into my wrists as I grip the paper tighter, crumpling the edges.

I try to focus, to string together a coherent thought, but the address seems to expand, taking up all the space in my head. The lines of ink almost feel alive, writhing on the page, mocking me.

“So?” Theo says. “Up for a little road trip?”

The fact that we’re surrounded by people is starting to matter less and less by each passing second. I don’t care if anyone sees. I want to shove a fork through his throat, and I want to do it now. My gaze snaps back up to meet his and I glare so hard it feels like my eyes are being serrated. “I amnotgoing anywhere with you.”

Theo rolls his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips as if he’s dealing with a petulant child. “Okay, can I please know how long our back and forth is going to last this time until you finally cave and say yes?”

My pager buzzes erratically in my pocket, but I ignore it. “How about never?”

“I don’t understand what the issue is. It’s just an address. I’ll be there with you the entire time.”

“Or you could just leave a note and some shitty pancakes.”

Theo doesn’t take the bait. “Holly, I found the guy who's been sending you those messages. We need to go confront him.”

Eyes still locked to his, my hands ball into fists, my nails digging into my palms, crumpling the stupid piece of paper. The cut near my thumb starts to burn like a thousand fires set ablaze at once. A sharp probing pain goes up my arm. My chest aches. The world shrinks to a single memory and a single voice, one I haven't thought about in years.

“I was just trying to protect her.”

“She wanted it.”

“No one will believe you.”

The taste of bile rises up my throat along with searing hot shame.

I draw in a quick, sharp breath, blinking back the tears that prick at my eyes, then look away. I’d kill myself before givingTheo Carter the satisfaction of seeing me break. Especially over something that I’ve trained myself to nevereverthink about again. “So, you’re the one who told Audrey about the texts.” My voice is barely a whisper.

He frowns. “Who’s Audrey?”

Of course. Lies, lies and more lies. A fucking never-ending cycle with this guy.

Just then a panicked voice cuts through the tense air. “Dr. Moore!”

We both turn towards the source. It’s Jennie. My intern. She rushes towards us, her ponytail bouncing wildly. She skids to a halt in front of us, gasping for breath. “Dr. Moore…” she pants, her voice ragged.

What fresh hell is this now? “What’s wrong?”

She bends over, hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath. “Dr. Corbin needs you in the ER…” she sputters, finally straightening up. “There are some people asking for you.”

“What people?” Theo asks.

Jennie pants some more, before grabbing a bottle of water from someone else’s table, and drinking it all. She wipes her mouth and then answers, “The police.”

Chapter 17

Theo

Now

EGH