His stride stopped halfway through the doorway. Gavin’s hand was still on the doorknob, and he looked at us with surprise. “Well, good morning! What a welcoming party we have here.” He took a few steps in and shut the door.
Glancing down, I saw bags in his hand.
He passed me and put the sacks on his island. As he was pulling items from the bag, he froze. “What? I went and got us breakfast.” He pulled out a white box from a bakery and shrugged. “God, you’re all staring at me like I just went out and killed someone.”
“Oh, thank God,” I panted. “I thought you’d gone to get Dan.”
“Noooo,” he assured me as he pulled fruit from the bag. “I ran down to the market. I didn’t really have anything to cook, and since we all slept in, I thought something might be nice.” He narrowed his gaze at me and shook his head. “Trust me, the thought crossed my mind, but I’m not that rash. I’m going to confront him, but I’m going to have my wits about me when I do so.”
After breakfast we dropped Ashley and Constance off at Ashley’s apartment and got Gavin’s car. Gavin insisted that we go back to my apartment so that I could pack enough clothes to last through the week. He made it crystal clear that I was not allowed to stay by myself.
I opened the door to my apartment and we walked in.
Gavin closed the door behind him. “I just wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving you here. People aren’t always what they seem, you know?”
I went back to my bedroom and opened my closet to select some clothes. “I’m not arguing with you. I’d much rather stay with you, trust me.”
Gavin stopped in front of my entertainment center and looked at the collage of pictures. “You favor your mum.” He picked up the large, awkwardly-shaped black frame. “Who’s the little girl?”
“My niece,” I called out from my closet. “That’s an old picture. I think she was like, four in that one, she’s nine now.”
“So, when are you going to take me to meet your family? Hmmm?” Gavin placed the frame back on the top of my entertainment center and came into my bedroom.
Stopping in front of my dresser, he picked up a lacy black bra that was laid across the wooden top. He playfully threw it at me. “Does anyone in your family know I exist?” He smiled and leaned back against the edge of my dresser, crossing his feet over each other.
I glanced up from the bag I was packing. “Of course.” I paused, thinking of how my mother had been harassing me to bring him down to meet her. “Want to go down for the weekend next week?” I asked and put a pair of gray pants in the top of my bag.
“Sure. How long does it take to get there?”
“Like, six hours or so.” I stood up and put the bag on my shoulder.
Gavin reached over and grabbed the strap, slipping it from my arm. “Give me that bag.” Shaking his head, he said, “Honestly, what kind of men have you dated prior to me?” He grinned as he walked out of the room and back through my living room.
“Obviously, the kind that make me carry my own bags and open my own doors,” I said.
Gavin shook his head again, this time disapprovingly. “Such a shame.”
Chapter Forty-five
Brooke
September 1, 2014
That Monday morning I walked out of Gavin’s front door to get into my car, but was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a single red rose lying on my windshield. The hair on my arms stood up as apprehension lashed its way across my skin. I spun around, my feet almost sliding out from underneath me as I ran back into the house.
Gavin had just entered his living room carrying his satchel. He had on a pair of black slacks and his undershirt. Bending over his coffee table, he flipped through a file, and I just stared him. Although I was disturbed by what was on my windshield I couldn’t help but admire that man. I loved watching him when he wasn’t aware that I was. My fingers gripped the wooden door frame as I studied him. His flawless skin tone; the way his triceps popped out from the sleeve of his white shirt , his face was perfectly masculine – I had yet to find a flaw on him. Spellbound. It was almost as though I was spellbound by him – I could have any emotion flailing through me: fear, worry … it didn’t matter because the moment I looked at him I was unable to think of anything else.
He slid the file back into his satchel and looked up at me as he closed the flap. Straightening up, he asked me, “What’s wrong?”
I pointed to his open front door. “There’s another rose,” I said.
“What?” He brushed past me, taking large strides to the door and out into the driveway.
I quickly followed him outside. He stood in front of my car, a look of unrestrained anger on his face. “You still think this is Dan?” he asked as he pointed at the rose on my windshield.
Nodding, I said, “I don’t know who else it could be.”
Gavin snatched the rose from the glass and flung it across his yard, the petals ripping from the stem. “This is going to end,” he snarled, his pulse rapidly thumping across his neck. He walked over to my door and opened it for me.
I shot up on my toes to give him a soft kiss before climbing into my car.
Lowering his head down into my car, he closed his eyes to maintain his anger. The sun was rising behind him and I squinted my eyes to block some of the bright rays. Reaching into the car, he gently grabbed my chin and stared into my eyes as he said, “If he does or says anything out of line, you call me immediately. Do you hear me, Brooke?
“I will.” I turned the key to the ignition and he shut my door.
I watched as he made his way back to his front door, running his hands over the top of his head as he jogged up the stone steps and entered his house. I knew he was infuriated and I felt bad for enjoying his anger. I couldn’t help it though, I liked how possessive and protective he was of me.
I felt safe with him. Like nothing could touch me.
“Staff meeting,” Dan shouted down the hallway. I glanced up at the clock and hurried to finish typing the email I’d been working on.
I was dreading this meeting. I just knew Gavin would be watching Dan like a hawk. The image of Dan casting his eyes over at me and Gavin, in return, reaching across the table to punch him in the face had been playing in my head all morning.
One by one everyone filed into the conference room. It was ten after nine and Gavin still hadn’t come in. Dan kept glancing over at the clock, tapping his pen on the wooden table.
Dan coughed. “Does anyone know where Gavin is?”
I stared down at my pad and drew circles on the border of the paper.
Sherry pulled her glasses off and wiped them with a tissue. “Nope, haven’t seen him today,” she said, glancing over at me with a giddy smile on her face.
Dr. Knight’s eyes shot over to the clock. “Why don’t you call his office, Dan? I saw him in there earlier this morning.”
Dan picked up the receiver to the conference room phone. His eyes locked onto the table while he waited for Gavin to answer. Running his finger along the tabletop, his trail stopped abruptly when he came to the large scratch on the surface. One of Dan’s eyes narrowed and he rapidly rubbed his fingertip back and forth along the soft scratch. I found a sick satisfaction watching him inspect the scratch, racking his brain to try and figure out where the mark had come from.
Pulling his hand back, he cradled the receiver as he adjusted the black plastic piece to his ear.
“You comin’ to the meeting?” Dan snapped into the phone.
He was silent for a minute and then rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Okay, do you have any research updates?” He paused again, and this time his eyes focused on me. “Okay. I’ll ask her.”
Dan slammed the receiver down and pushed the phone back to the center of the table. The cord coiled up and covered the scratch.
Dan rose from his seat and pulled his pants back up around his waist, he tightened his belt by a notch, squeezing pudge over the leather of his belt.
“It’d be nice if people would let me know when they won’t be in attendance,” he said.
Dr. Knight folded his hands on the table. He did not seem amused by Dan’s little outburst. “Dan, the physicians don’t have to check in with you.”
Dan’s face turned bright pink and he plopped down in his seat. “Well, Gavin said Brooke could give us updates about the research.” He shot me a smug look, his head bobbing as he said, “Go ahead, Brooke.”
I cleared my throat. “Well, we have six patients enrolled in the 1075 trial, we have a total of twenty-two enrolled in the 6123 phase II trial, and Dr. Hunter has two patients scheduled for pituitary tumor surgery that look like promising participants for the new SUR-10 trial.”
“What about the CRX-1917 trial?” Dr. Knight asked. “Has the study drug shipped out from the supplier yet?”
“Not yet. It’s coming from Europe. We expect to receive that shipment within the next two weeks.”
Dr. Knight leaned back in his chair. “Good. The results have been very promising. I look forward to having that as an option to offer some of our oncology patients.”
The rest of the meeting was uneventful; Dr. Knight had managed to knock Dan off his pedestal for a minute.
After we were dismissed I went to the restroom, stopping by Gavin’s office on the way back down the hallway.
I leaned my head in his door. “Too busy?” I asked.
Gavin didn’t look up at me. “No, I just haven’t calmed down enough to look Dan in the face.” Gavin’s eyes were locked on his computer screen and he was typing. “Has he said anything to you?”
“Nope.”
Gavin glanced up at me, a brief shadow of relief fell over his face. “Good. He better keep it that way.”
I spent the rest of the day inputting data with my ear buds lodged deep into my ears. Four-thirty rolled around and thankfully I hadn’t seen Dan. Picking up my phone to put it in my purse, I saw a missed text from Gavin.
Gavin: Clinic got behind. I put a key to my house in an envelope in your box. It’s yours now.
A key?
I shoved my phone into my purse, wound my ear buds around my iPod, turned my computer screen off, and exited the room. Flipping the lights off on my way out, I left Peggy at peace in the dark.
“You comin’?” I asked, stopping in Ashley’s doorway.
She looked up from a stack of files covering her desk. She was frazzled. “No. I’ve got to get these forms in before six or they’re gonna be delinquent and I’ll be screwed.”
“You need help?”
She looked helplessly at me. “Only if you want to…”
I sat my purse down and took a seat at the spare desk. “Give me some charts.”
She let out a sigh of relief and clapped her hands together. “Oh, my God, you’re so my favorite person ever.” She handed me several charts. “You sure you don’t mind?” she asked before releasing her grip on them.
“Nope, wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to.” I pulled my phone from my purse and texted Gavin.
Helping Ashley. Prob. be here til 6 or so.
At five-forty we’d managed to get down to one chart.
Ashley looked over at me. “Go ahead and go. I’ll be done in about fifteen minutes. Thanks so much, Brooke.” She threw her head back and relaxed her shoulders. “No way I could’ve done it without your help.”
I turned the computer off and stretched. “All right, well, I’ll see you later.”
“Yep. Tell Gav I said what’s up.” Ashley looked back down and ran her finger along the numbers in the thick file folder on her desk.
As I walked to the parking deck I stared at the envelope with Gavin’s key in it. Exiting the rickety elevator, I shoved the envelope in my purse and dug around for my keys.
The sun was already falling low in the sky and the lights flickered on in the parking deck as my heels clicked across the pavement. I stopped, placing my purse on my trunk to give myself more leverage as I reached down to the bottom feeling for my keys. I finally felt the jagged edges under my fingertips and pulled the keys from my bag. Readjusting the purse on my shoulder, I stuck the key into the lock and heard footsteps clanging up the metal stairwell behind me.
“Brooke?” I heard a man’s voice call out.
I spun around to see Dr. Knight walking toward me. My keys dangled in the lock as I turned to face him. My brows furrowed. I had no idea what Dr. Knight could possibly need from me.
He was slightly winded when he stopped at the back of my car, leaning against it briefly to regain his composure. “I tried to catch you before you left,” he said.
“Did you need something for one of the studies?”
Glaring at me, he bent down, and felt around on the pavement underneath my car. When he stood back up I noticed he was twirling a red rose in his hand. Fear hit me; my mind jumbled up and I lost my ability to think clearly. The contractions of my heart became fierce and uneven, my palms became clammy, and I realized I was trapped. There was a concrete wall behind me and Dr. Knight’s body blocked the path between my car and the one next to it. I walked backwards until my back hit the cold concrete.
Dr. Knight looked at me distantly as he dropped the rose to the ground and quickly moved in. He pushed his body up against mine. I defensively crossed my arms in front of me and shoved my hands on his chest in an effort to get him off of me. Grabbing my wrists, he encircled them with his hands and forced them down to my sides.
“What’s wrong?” he hissed as he moved his face closer to mine. “I know who you are, and I know about you and Gavin.”
I squirmed. “Get — off — of me!” I tried to kick my legs, but he dug his knees into both my thighs. I could feel the bulge in his pants pushing into me as he laid his body flush against mine.
“I’ll be damned if I’m going to let this happen. Do you understand me?” he panted into my ear.
Fear pulsated through my body. Although he didn’t look strong, he overpowered me. He was pressed against me with such strength I couldn’t budge a part of my body. I screamed loudly, my voice straining as I pleaded for someone to save me.
Dr. Knight laughed maniacally, the sinister sound echoing throughout the near empty parking deck. His laughter ceased and he glared at me. One brow pointed down and the other arched. His stare shot back and forth between my eyes, glaring into me with resentment. “You have no idea what you are, do you, child?”
I screamed louder, fiercely struggling to free myself from him.
His fingers dug deeper into the flesh of my arm. Wetting his thin lips with his tongue, he lowered his face to mine. “I suggest you tone it down a little there, Brooke,” he warned.
“Scott!” I heard Gavin yell out from the stairwell, his voice overflowing with pure wrath.
Dr. Knight released his grip on me and I immediately clamored over the hood of my car, tripping over my feet as I fled toward Gavin.
As I was running to him I saw his fingers flex and bend into his palm. His entire body became rigid and stoic, almost like a stone statue. A deep red flushed over his face and his eyes darkened as he narrowed his sight on Dr. Knight.
Gavin sprinted toward Dr. Knight, a savage cry bellowing out of him as he coiled his arm back and punched Dr. Knight hard in the face. The sound of the contact reflected from the walls and Dr. Knight fell to all fours, stunned from the power of Gavin’s blow.
“You mother fucker!” Gavin kicked his face and then reached down, grabbing Dr. Knight by the shoulders. “I will fucking murder you! I will squeeze each last ounce of life from you.”
Blood seeped from a gash in Dr. Knight’s brow and poured from his nose. He glared at Gavin. “You know you can’t go against the agreement. You can’t kill me,” Dr. Knight mumbled out.
Fearing Gavin would really kill him, I ran over to the emergency station set up by the stairwell and pressed the red alarm that notified campus police. Gavin seemed delirious from rage; his voice sho
ok with anger, and I knew Dr. Knight didn’t stand a chance against him.
I watched, completely horrified, as Gavin picked Dr. Knight up from the ground and slammed his body against the concrete wall. Gavin wrapped the fingers of his right hand around Dr. Knight’s throat. Dr. Knight’s feet kicked wildly and his hands grasped at Gavin’s fingers in an effort to pry their hold loose from his neck.
Dr. Knight tried to speak, but all that came out was a gurgled, choking sound.
Gavin let out a demonic growl, “Who the hell do you think you are?” I could see Gavin’s chest heaving and his fingers digging deeper into Dr. Knight’s throat. “You don’t fuck with her. You don’t take what’s mine, do you understand me?”
I panicked as I watched the blood continued to pour from Dr. Knight’s face. His eyes kept rolling back in his head and his movements grew weaker. His hands were no longer frantically pulling at Gavin’s fingers. Dr. Knight raised his arm in one last attempt to free himself from Gavin’s grasp, but his arm only rose a few inches from his side before falling weightlessly back down. His fingers curled up into his palm and then relaxed. Dr. Knight’s entire body went limp.
Gavin released his hold and Dr. Knight collapsed lifelessly to the pavement.
I couldn’t move. I just stood there, completely still, staring in disbelief at what had just happened. A lump of nausea rose from my stomach as Gavin turned around and calmly walked toward me. His white dress shirt was saturated with blood. Sweat poured from Gavin’s forehead, and his hand had deep scratch marks across the knuckles. He held his right arm up to inspect it, and blood trickled down.
“You okay?” He asked and sat down on the metal stair behind me.
My gaze was still locked onto Dr. Knight’s body. “Did you kill him?” I screeched.
I became hysterical. My voice sounded desperate and horrified as I yelled, “Gavin, you’re going to go to jail for murder!” Tears streamed down my face. My chest constricted and my heart palpitated as it raced faster and faster.
Bound to the Fallen (Prophecy #2) Page 38
