Page 13 of The Phyre that Burns

“I don’t have the answer to either of those questions, but some strange things have happened since I arrived.”

“Are you in danger?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not in danger.”

“Tell me what’s been going on.”

I shared everything with my friend that had happened since my plane landed, but I kept my suspicions to myself. I wanted to see if she would come to the same conclusion without me nudging her in that direction. She listened intently, making very few comments until I finished.

“I think I know what you’re getting at, but I want you to say it,” Devyn urged.

“No. I want you to tell me what you’re thinking based on what I’ve shared.”

“It’s Phyre. That’s the only explanation.”

I sighed and blew out a breath. “It has to be him because nothing else makes sense.”

“Doesn’t the staffing agency usually send you the name and address of the hospital or doctor’s office?”

“They sent the specifics when I accepted the assignment, but it just has the address of the office where I’ll be working.”

“Did you look it up?”

“Only to see how far it is from my lodging. Can we get back to my dilemma now?”

“My bad, sis. Before you panic, let’s see if we can figure out who owns or works from the office.”

“Let me log into my email and get the address.”

I opened my laptop and logged in. My email was already open because I rarely closed the window. I went to the last email from the staffing agency and scrolled to the section where they discussed the assignment location. I copied the address and pasted it into my web browser.

When the results appeared, my eyes bounced over the words, and when I saw Dr. Phyre Jordan, OB-GYN, I gasped and put my hand over my mouth as my stomach dropped. I had to be reading it wrong, so I read it at least three more times to ensure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. The excitement I had about spending the next six months in one of my favorite cities quickly turned into fear.

“You don’t even have to tell me, sis. You’ve been assigned to work with Phyre. How do you want to handle this? Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“He was studying to be a pediatrician or primary care physician.”

“I guess he changed his mind.”

“Why would he do that? Oh my God! When I got this assignment, I was okay with the possibility of seeing him out and about, but I didn’t think beyond that, because he’s not supposed to be an ob-gyn. Running into him at the grocery store isn’t the same as working by his side. I didn’t prepare myself for this.”

“Do you want to come home? We can come up with a legitimate reason as to why you can’t see this through, and you can come back home.”

“We could,” I whispered.

“Is that what you want to do?”

“I don’t know, sis. A part of me is terrified to face him. The thought of it is almost debilitating.”

“You know I got your back. Let’s come up with a plan.”

“But—”

“Oh, shit. There’s a but? I wasn’t expecting a but, sis.”

“Maybe God put me in this position for a reason.”

“What reason do you think that is?”