Bianca Sullivan was dead and her blood was on his hands. How he was going to explain this to Reynolds and the others he didn’t know, but he knew he had to make himself scarce before the train operator called it in and the police arrived to investigate what happened. Her death was a tragedy, but it couldn’t get in the way of the higher purpose he served; to rid the streets of New York of the ruthless criminals that escaped the punishment they deserved.
THE NEWS OF Bianca’s death rocked the hospital. Athena was playing cards with Sebastian early one morning before finishing a night shift rotation when Sabine came to the door, her complexion gray and her eyes glazed over. Instantly concerned, she ruffled Sebastian’s hair, which was getting thinner by the day, and told him she’d be back to see him the following afternoon. He nodded and gave her a brave smile, trying not to show his disappointment. Feeling her heart crack a little, she pulled a baseball card from her pocket and slid it across the bedside table for him.
“Ellsbury!” he cried out. “My favorite player, thank you, Athena!” This time his smile lit up his whole face and warmed Athena’s heart. She really did love that little boy.
Following Sabine out into the hall, she reached out and rubbed her arm, concerned about what was going on that had her best friend so distraught.
“What is it? What happened, Sab?”
“Bianca’s dead.” she said it simply, no leading up to it, just a one-two punch that hit Athena right in the gut.
“Wh—what? Dead? What do you mean she’s dead? I just saw her yesterday.” Tears sprang to her eyes and spilled over, as she fought to understand what Sabine was telling her.
“They found her...on the train tracks.”
Horror filled her and she covered her mouth to keep from being sick. “Oh, God no. Sabine, tell me that’s not true.”
“I wish I could, Thene. I don’t know all the details but the rumors say she was stuck. The operator saw her trying to get free to run, but...”
“Stop. I can’t. Oh, Jesus fuck, no.” Images of Bianca trying to get herself free to run flashed across her face and had her heart dropping down to her stomach. The sheer torture she must have felt, the panic to try and get free before the train...
“Athena.” She turned at the sound of someone calling her name and spotted Seth standing a few feet away. She immediately rushed over to him, hoping for a miracle.
“Tell me it’s not true, Seth, please. It can’t be true.”
“I wish I could do that, but I can’t. We confirmed that the remains are hers. I’m so sorry, I know she was your friend.” He cupped her face in his hand and rubbed his thumb lightly across her cheek, catching one of her tears.
“What happens now?” she asked.
“Well, I needed to get a few statements to find out why she was still here so late, but it’s an open and shut case as far as we’re concerned. The operator states she was stuck on the tracks, trying to get away. We confirmed his story with the evidence that was left behind.” He didn’t go into it any further, wanting to spare her the graphic details. “This is just a senseless tragedy. I wish I had more to tell you, to offer you some comfort, but all I can say is that you should know that she didn’t suffer. It would have been very quick.” Athena nodded, grateful for what little information he gave her. It was still a shock, but it helped some knowing that she didn’t suffer.
“Listen, I’ve got to get going. There’s been another abduction and Babbs and I split up to cover both cases.”
“Another abduction? But I thought those killers left town,” Sabine said.
“We thought so as well, but this is the same MO as the previous abductions. We’re concerned after the...outcome of the last kidnappings.” Seth sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. For the first time, Athena noticed how haggard he looked and her heart went out to him. Working as a detective in New York City couldn’t have been an easy job, not with the rising crime rate.
“Let me know if you need anything,” she told him sincerely. “And thank you, for the information about Bianca.”
He squeezed her hand and then left them, promising to get in touch later that week. She locked arms with Sabine and they headed to the locker room, intent on finding Webster and the others. When they entered, Clarence, Dick and Oscar were all there and Webster was seated with them on one of the wooden benches. Dick’s eyes were bruised and his nose had a thin strip of white tape across it from where he’d been hit by Oscar.
The room was filled with a somber silence. No one needed to say a word to know that they were all affected the same way by the news of Bianca. Shock and sadness hung in the air like a black cloud, clinging to each of them. After several moments, Webster finally spoke.
“Bian—” her voice broke and she took a steadying breath. “Bianca was a wonderful girl with a bright future in surgery. What happened to her was a tragedy and no matter what I say, it’s not going to make it hurt any less. All we can do now is keep pushing forward. She had a love for this program and we can honor her by continuing to do what she no longer has the luxury of doing—be surgeons.”
The locker room door opened again and Chief Murphy stepped in, followed by Cian. Both had grim looks on their faces as the took in the group of interns.
“By now I’m sure you’ve all heard what happened to Bianca. This is a terrible loss and I want you to know that I’ve arranged for grief counsellors to be brought in and be available to talk with you, should you feel the need to do so. I’ve been in touch with her family and once we know the arrangements, you’ll be free to attend the service; we all will. From what I know, this was possibly an accident, but police are still investigating.” Chief Murphy informed them.
“It was ruled an accident,” Athena blurted out. All eyes turned to her and she fought to keep her voice even as she clarified. “Se—Detective Holloway was here. He let us know that it was in fact an accident as far as their department is concerned.”
Cian’s stare burned into her when she mentioned Seth’s name and if she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he was jealous. The Chief nodded and then asked them if they had any questions. When everyone mumbled no, he waved Webster out into the hall with him and left with Cian.
The five of them stared at each other, not sure what to say. Finally, after several long, uncomfortable moments, Athena broke the ice.
“She was amazing. I’m definitely going to miss her and I know you all will too. What we need to do now is focus on the future. Dick, it’s time you stop being such an asshole to all of us. You don’t have to be our best friend, but we certainly deserve to be treated with respect.”
Dick nodded and for once didn’t comeback with a smartass remark.
“You’re right, Athena. We need to stick together and remember what we’re here for. To become the best surgeons we can be,” Clarence spoke up.
“Agreed,” Sabine said, offering him a slow smile. No matter what they said in the locker room, or what was said out in the hallways, the fact of the matter was that they’d lost one of their own. Bianca was dead and nothing about that was right. Nothing about their lives in the hospital would ever be the same.
Towards the end of her shift, Athena was walking down the hall after checking on her last patient of the day, a young woman who’d suffered a bad fall and needed orthopedic surgery to repair a nasty break on her left leg. She’d be immobile for a few weeks but she was in good spirits about it which helped to lift Athena’s melancholy mood.
She let out a muffled yelp when a hand darted out and she was dragged into an on-call room, the door slamming shut and locking behind her. Her heart leaped into her throat and she dragged in the breath to let out a scream for help.
“It’s me, Athena.” Oh, Cian.
“Oh, my God, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” she swatted him on the arm and paced away, furious at him for scaring her. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay. To have a few minutes to talk to you in private. I’m truly sorry
about your friend, Athena. I mean that,” his eyes searched hers, looking for some sort of validation that she accepted his apology as sincere.
“Thank you, Dr. O’Reilly. That really means a lot.” She smiled at him and then turned to leave, startled when he grabbed her by the arm and spun her, pushing her up against the door.
“Don’t go.” he whispered and lowered his nose to her ear, breathing in her scent, his breath sending a wave a tingles down her spine. He took one hand and stretched it out above her head, pinning it to the door and locking their fingers together.
“Cian,” she breathed, knowing that she should push him away, but instead arching her back and thrusting her breasts into his chest, needing to feel more of a connection to him.
“I want to spend some time with you. Take you on a date,” he whispered as he let his mouth fall to her lips. He gently tugged her bottom lip between his teeth and bit down lightly, darting his tongue out to trace her upper lip. She sighed and he took advantage and slipped his tongue into her mouth, in and out over and over he made love to her mouth until she was panting beneath him and starting to grind her hips into his.
“Have dinner with me tomorrow night.” He placed light kisses from her lips to her ear and then ran his hand down the length of her arm to caress her breast through her top.
“Okay,” she agreed, against every instinct screaming at her that it was a bad idea. But no matter how much she knew it was a mistake, a larger part of her argued that it wasn’t. That being in his arms was where she was meant to be. The darkness that she saw in him, it called to the light that lived in her. They fit together as though they belonged. She wanted to see what else he kept hidden from the outside world. What other parts of him were carefully concealed under the facade he had firmly in place. She should probably be terrified of what she might discover but instead she was excited, enthralled and ready to experience anything he would share with her.
His lips smashed back to hers and this time his kiss was anything but soft and exploring. It was hard and demanding, brutal and erotic. His body was pressed so close to hers it was as though they were one and she couldn’t wait to feel him when he was pressing he down into her mattress, driving his cock into her over and over again.
Pulling back, he looked her dead in the eye, delighting in the way she looked completely disoriented; his lips rosy from his attention.
“Tomorrow. Dinner, seven p.m., your place. I’ll bring the wine.” He gently moved her aside and then opened the door and left without another word, leaving Athena staring after him wondering what in hell just happened.
THE PASTA SAUCE was simmering in the pan and the fresh bread had just been popped in the over to melt the cheese on her homemade garlic bread. Pasta was her favorite meal and she hoped that Cian wouldn’t mind something as simple as that for their date. It wasn’t often that she had a chance to spend any time in the kitchen due to her busy schedule, most nights she just made a peanut butter sandwich for dinner or grabbed something quick on the drive home, so getting a chance to cook—she wanted to make one of her favorites.
She’d lived in her apartment for four years and absolutely loved it. It was a modest size with two bedrooms and one bathroom; the perfect amount of space just for her. When she’d first moved in, she’d thought about getting a cat or a small dog to help combat the loneliness, but quickly realized that it wouldn’t be fair to an animal as she wouldn’t be home enough to give him or her the love and attention it deserved.
Her cell rang and she knew without even looking at it that it’d be Sabine. She’d called seven times in the last hour, barking orders on how to style her hair, to pick up fresh flowers for the table, how to apply the perfect smoky eye for her make-up. She was furious that she had to work and couldn’t be over there bossing her around on how to get ready for her date.
Athena hit the speaker button on the phone to answer the call. “Yes, dear.” she teased, knowing it would drive Sabine nuts.
“Don’t dear me. Okay, you’ve got less than thirty minutes before he gets there and Cian doesn’t strike me as the kind of man that’s late to things. In the bathroom, in the second drawer behind the eye mask pads is a bottle of vanilla scented body lotion. Use it. Everywhere. And don’t argue,” she added as Athena opened her mouth to do just that. “Next, break out that sexy black lace set that I know you have from Victoria’s Secret. It’s subtle and perfect for under your dress.”
“Dress? But I was just going to wear—”
“Yeah, I know. You were just going to wear some stuffy dress shirt and pants and look like it was time to be interviewed for a position in HR instead of dressing to impress and have him imagining what positions he’s going to be lucky enough to get you in tonight. You’re wearing the black one with the lace cut-out back. I wanted you in the white, but knowing you, you’ll spill your damn dinner all over it.”
“Since when did you get so bossy? And mean?” Athena moved to the bathroom and opening the second drawer, found the body lotion and yanked the top off to give it a sniff. It smelled good she grudgingly admitted to herself.
“You’d be a mess without me and you damn well know it.”
Athena rolled her eyes, but deep down she knew Sabine was right. She’d been a nervous wreck ever since she’d come out of her desire-filled fog and realized that she’d agreed to a date with Cian. A date for God’s sake. With a man she wasn’t even sure she liked no less.
“You’re right, Sab. I really wish you were here. Am I an idiot to be doing this?” She lathered her hands up with the lotion and began to apply it. Its sweet aroma filled her nostrils and she had to admit it was pleasant.
“No. Thene, you two have been doing this dance for months. With all the shit that’s happened, you deserve a little mindless fun. Just relax and don’t overthink things.”
“But you’ve heard about his reputation just the same as I have,” she voiced her main concern about letting Cian in as she entered her bedroom and pulled out the black lace set that she saved for special occasions. Pitifully, those had been few and far between lately as she tried to remember the last time she’d had a need to wear sexy lingerie. At least a year. Jesus.
“His reputation is for exactly the opposite of this. He never dates. Or chases, or is even nice to women. He’s interested, Athena. You owe it to yourself to see what could be. If not for you, then dammit for me. I need details! That man is sexy as fuck and I’m not the only one that’s totally jealous of you.”
“I just don’t need any more gossip than I already have.” She rooted through her closet until she pulled out the dress that Sabine had instructed her to wear, taking a second to admire it. It had been a rare find at a department store several months ago. As soon as she’d spotted it, she knew it was meant to be hers. As she slid the material over her head, she again marveled at the way it fit her like a glove; hugging her trim waste and accentuating her high breasts without being over-the-top slutty. The cut-out back with the hint of lace gave it that suble sex appeal and the material whispered over her skin where it ended just above her knee. She sent a silent prayer of thanks to whoever it was that invented side zippers as she pulled the clasp closed.
“Don’t forget the heels. The red ones, not those ugly black flats.” Sabine’s voice called out from the bed where she’d tossed the phone.
Athena frowned. She liked her flats. But she obeyed and dug the red ones out to slip her feet into. Finished, she moved her closet door to take a look in the full-length mirror.
“Fluff up your hair a bit. You’re lucky enough that you get that sexy, tousled look without having to work for it like the rest of us. Bitch.” Athena laughed and ran her hands through her long, dark hair, giving her head a tiny shake to have the locks falling back into place.
“What about—”
“No jewelry. It’s only going to get in the way later.” The woman was a damn mind-reader. There was a knock at the door and her heart skipped a beat. That would be Cian. And ten minutes early just as S
abine predicted.
“Oh, God, he’s here. This is a mistake. I can’t do this. What was I thinking?”
“Stop. Relax, you got this. Just hang up the phone and go and open the door...it’ll all fall into place from there. I promise. And if he fucks up, don’t worry, I’m ready to kick his ass. Have fun, love you, Thene.”
“Love you too. Thank you, Sab.”
“Yeah, yeah, all you people would be lost without me.” She disconnected the call on Athena’s laugh.
She took a deep breath and pulled the door open, pleased to see him dressed semi-casually in a fitted dress shirt and a pair of dark jeans. He held a bottle of red wine and a slow, sexy, smile passed over his face as he looked her up and down.
“Hi,” she said shyly and opened the door to let him in.
“Hi, back. You look gorgeous,” he told her as he stepped inside and kissed her cheek. She sighed and she closed the door behind him.
“Thank you.” She took the wine and headed into the kitchen to check on dinner. “Make yourself at home and I’ll pour us a glass.”
Cian roamed around her small living area, checking out her space. He’d been there once before but hadn’t taken the time to really look at the place. Unlike his apartment, pieces of Athena were everywhere. Framed photographs of her and Sabine covered almost every surface and there was even one of the six interns, likely from their first day since Bianca was in it. His heart twisted seeing her face and the guilt at what had happened to her started to rise up again. He shoved it aside, reminding himself for the millionth time that he’d tried to get to her in time. He was inadvertently at fault, but her death was more a tragic accident.
Lincoln Hospital (Trauma #1) Page 11
