Bad Patient: A Bad Boy Romance

CONTENTS

10.

Duvane

Cover by

Kasmit Covers

thereof may not be reproduced or used in any

manner whatsoever without the express

permission of the publisher .

This book is a work of fiction and is intended

only for adults over the age of 18.

All characters are 18 or over.

Kindle Edition

Bad Patient

Is he too good to be true … or is she?

Jess:

I’ve spent the last year paralyzed

by grief and guilt.

I need a way out, but there’s

nothing I can do.

The man in my ICU says he’s innocent.

He says he needs me.

He even says he’s in love with me.

They say he's a dangerous man. That

he's mix up with the mob.

I want to believe him.

But is that only because I want

him?

Brody:

I do need her … more than she

knows.

Maybe even more than I know.

I’ve got a job to do, and I can’t tell her

everything.

She wouldn’t like it if I did.

But she's the only one who can get

me out of here.

I have to trust her.

It's against the rules for me to want

her.

But it’s way too late for that.

JESS

o, what are we doing this

weekend?" I asked as I picked up a

pile of charts off the ER reception desk.

"A movie or drinks?"

"Let's do drinks at Captain Jack's. I

heard the EMTs talking about taking that

hot new trainee there tomorrow night."

The incessant ringing of the Lower

Keys Medical Center Emergency Room

telephone interrupted Madonna yet again

in the short amount of time we had been

talking and she held up her finger telling

me to hold that thought. Things were

really starting to pick up with the tourist

season under way. Spring break may

have been over, but in the Central and

Lower Keys the high season was still in

full swing. It was bringing in every kind

of vacation warrior and filling the ER

with wall-to-wall breaks, sprains and

jellyfish stings and the night shift was

always the worst. I didn't miss working

as a nurse in emergent care this time of

year one bit, but it was for more than one

reason.

"Lower Keys Medical ER. Let me

check. What was the first name? No, he's

been moved to the ICU. Hold one minute

and I'll transfer you." Madonna put the

caller on hold and looked back up at me.

"His name's Johnny and I think he's your

type, Jess," she said with a sly smile as

she passed the caller on to the ICU.

"Oh, come on, Maddy. Don't try to

set me up with someone again, ok? I'm

not in the mood."

"You're never in the mood, Jess.

What you need is a new man to help you

get over all the shit you've gone through

in the last year. Sad sacking around here

and holing up in your house all by

yourself isn't helping one bit if you ask

me."

Well, I wasn't asking you was on the

tip of my tongue but before I could get it

out the phone rang again and Madonna

was holding up her finger at me again.

She turned her back to me as she rifled

through a bunch of charts and spoke

sternly to someone from another

department.

"I'm telling you the chart you're

requesting hasn't been entered into the

system yet. You're just going to have to

wait. Every department is having a hard

time with the transition, you're not the

only one ...," she said as she waved one

of the nurses over to the reception desk.

"Can you run these charts up to the lab,

no one's here to enter them into the

system and I'm slammed," she said as

she rolled her eyes at me.

I turned around and leaned up against

the reception desk taking in the action

around me for a few more minutes

before I had to get back to the ICU. I

knew I had been moping around the

hospital for entirely too long, but I had to

get over things in my own way and

Madonna was just going to have to

accept that. Too much had happened

over the course of the last year and as

far as I was concerned the death of my

husband alone gave me license to be sad

for as long as I wanted to.

"Okay, so you're off at seven

tomorrow night, right?"

It took me a second to realize that

Madonna was talking to me again and I

turned around to see her looking at me

expectantly.

"Yeah, yeah, seven. Do you want me

to meet you down here?"

"Nah, the nurses lounge on five is

fine. How much longer are you gonna be

in the ICU? Has anyone talked to you

lately? It's been a year since they moved

you, right?"

"Yeah, my big anniversary is coming

up," I said with mock enthusiasm. It was

a year ago this week that I had been

removed from my position of primary

ER nurse to the ICU and I had just been

promoted to head nurse last month. I

didn't know if the hospital administration

wanted me back in the ER or if I even

wanted to come back to the insanity.

"Man, I always forget how crazy it is

down here," I said, laughing at myself

after jumping almost a foot off the

ground. The sound of a metal tray of

instruments crashing to the floor didn't

phase me one bit when I was in the

swing of things back then, but now it left

me wishing I was home in bed.

"So, you think you're ever going to

want to come back? We all really miss

you down here."

"I don't know, I'll just have to see

how things go," I said as I looked around

at the nurses and doctors running from

room to room. "I would never be able to

forgive myself if ... well, if I made

another mistake. I don't know if it's just

the fast pace or the fact that it's still the

same hospital, but it makes me feel a

little shaky just being down here."

"Has

the

superintendent

said

anything to you? He said he'd reevaluate

your case in about a year, didn't he?"

"Yeah, that's what he said. I haven't

heard anything ..."

The phone rang again just as the

ambulance sirens blared less than a

block away and I figured I should

probably get out of there while I had the

chance. Just as Madonna picked up the

phone the ambulance bay doors slid

open and the stretcher that came busting

through was met by one of the ER

doctors and a couple of nurses.

"What have we got?" a doctor I

didn't recognize said as he ran along

side the gurney. I was starting to get a

little overwhelmed by the activity and I

fell into a sort of trance, remembering

what it was like to be a part of the

trauma team but not wanting to be a part

of anything that was going on.

"Gunshot wound to the stomach.

Patient is shocky and tachycardic, bp is

eighty over forty and dropping. Pulse is

fifty ..."

It felt like it was just yesterday that I

had been a part of this madness, but back

then, back before my whole world came

crashing down around me, it felt more

like excitement. I was starting to feel

like I was going into shock like I had a

year ago because it was all suddenly

starting to feel eerily familiar.

"Alright, I'm gonna need a CBC and

CMP and get him down to X-ray for a

chest and pelvis and CT scan of the

belly. Then get him prepped for surgery."

Everything that was happening in front of

me slowed down and the room that just

seconds ago had been filled with loud

noises and yelling went silent. I looked

down at the man who passed right in

front of me on the stretcher with a blood

soaked abdomen and tears filled my

eyes. He looked so much like Marcus it

took my breath away and the feelings of

that day a year ago came rushing back.

He had the exact same dark hair and

chiseled features that my husband had,

but what really brought it all rushing

back was his wound and the intensity in

the room. That day a year ago when

Marcus had been brought in we were

slammed and everyone kept telling me to

leave, but we were short staffed and I

just couldn't abandon everyone like that.

But since then I had wished more than a

million times that I had taken their

advice. I'd wished as I lay in bed in the

dark and stared at the ceiling night after

night that I had let someone else take

care of the little boy with the bee sting

because if I had he would still be alive

today.

I couldn't take my eyes off of the man

they had just brought in. He was

incredibly pale and his entire chest and

abdomen were covered in blood, just

like Marcus had been. As the doctor and

nurses were working furiously to get him

into surgery all I could think about was

what kind of man he was. I wondered if

he was like Marcus, kind and gentle and

funny and always able to make me laugh

or at least smile. And I wondered if

anyone was worried about him or would

miss his smile the way I missed my

husband's. I hadn't felt any of those

feelings that Marcus had brought out in

me since the day he died and now all I

felt was a sickness that spread from my

stomach and up into my throat.

"Possible multiple organ lacerations

and pulmonary contusion, as well as

spinal cord injury. Do we have his blood

type?"

"Not yet, doctor, transport is ready

..."

I could still see the man from where

I was standing. They had taken him into

a curtained off room while he was

waiting to be transported to X-ray and

the curtain hadn't been drawn completely

closed. They were packing his wounds

with gauze to stop the bleeding, but there

was just so much blood. I tried to look

away but all I could do was stand there

and stare while I used the reception desk

to hold myself up. Just then another

stretcher rolled through the ambulance

bay doors, but it stopped right in front of

me. This one had a man in uniform on it.

A cop.

"Another gunshot wound to the chest.

No pulse or bp."

"We need the crash cart, STAT!"

I was completely caught off guard by

everything going on around me and felt

like if I didn't get out of there soon I was

going to wind up passed out on a

stretcher right next to these guys. I

watched them try to revive the man on

the gurney in front of me, and by the time

they gave up and called his death the

man with the stomach wound had

already been taken off to surgery.

"Do you know where they took that

guy?" I turned and asked Madonna after

the ER had cleared out.

"The guy that died? Down to the

basement, I guess."

"No, the one with the gunshot wound

to the stomach? What was his name?"

"Let me see if he's in the system yet.

Oh, yeah, here he is. He was just entered

in. Man, I wish all of our patients went

into the system this fast. I'm getting so

tired of this damn switchover to digital.

They should have just hired a group of

people to put in all the old ..."

"Madonna, I know about all that.

What's his name?"

"Oh, sorry, Carmichael. Brody

Carmichael. Why? Do you know him or

something?"

"No, I mean, I don't think so. I was

just curious. Okay, I'm gonna head out."

"Are you okay, Jess? You look a

little pale."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I skipped lunch

today and I'm a little tired. Plus, you

know what it's like for me when I come

down here," I said with a little laugh.

"Ok, I'll see you later. Don't forget

about Captain Jack's ... and Johnny," she

said with a smile.

"Sure thing," I said as I turned and

walked toward the elevators. I got off on

the fifth floor and made my way back to

the ICU but I couldn't shake the feeling

that I got from being down there in the

ER and from seeing that man. I didn't

know why he reminded me so much of

Marcus, or why all those feelings from

that day had come rushing back.

"You back from lunch, Jess?"

"Yeah, just let me put my stuff in my

locker and I'll be back on," I said as I

walked up to the ICU nurses station.

"Anything exciting happen while I was

gone?"

"Nope. The open heart in 512 asked

for some dinner but other than that it's

been pretty quiet."

"He only gets soft, bland foods for

the next day or two. Did you talk to

patient services?"

"Yeah, he won't be too happy about

that though."

"Well, he should have thought of that

when he was eating all those foot-long

baseball stadium hot dogs," I joked as I

walked away from the desk. I pushed

open the door that said Nurses' Lounge

ICU and listened to the noise blaring

from the TV that was always left on in

that room and for some reason was

always turned up to a deafening volume.

"Just across the horizon is the

private dock of one of the world's

richest men, a multi-millionaire tycoon

who happens to be the owner of his own

private island. And in our second

segment we'll take a look at resorts on

the Florida Keys that only the richest

of the rich have ever even heard about

..."

I stood there for about a minute

watching people in bathing suits

lounging on tropical beaches with

crystal clear blue water and I wondered

what it was that I was doing here. I

loved being a nurse, at least I used to,

but I just wasn't feeling it anymore like I

had in the beginning. This last year

hadn't gone the way I had hoped and

even though I was grateful to have this

job I still had to make myself get up and

come in to work every day.

I had wondered many times if maybe

I transferred to another hospital if that

would be the change I needed to get me

out of my funk. I had started filling out

applications at hospitals in Florida and

other states at least ten times in the last

few months, but something always

stopped me. Maybe it was the

knowledge that it's not the place that

changes you, it's something inside of you

that has to change. But no matter what I

did I felt like I couldn't get back to the

person I was before my husband died

and I let that little boy die.

"Boy, some people have it real

hard," one of the other nurses said as she

sat down on the couch with a cup of

coffee.

"Yeah, looks real tough to be them," I

said as I took one last look at the picture

of paradise on TV as I walked back out

into the ICU.

BRODY

felt my eyes open a little bit but I

couldn't see anything and I had no idea

where I was. My eyelids felt like

sandpaper and the room was so bright

that it sent a searing pain shooting into

my head every time I tried to open my

eyes the tiniest bit. I didn't think I was

dreaming because my dreams were

always vivid and filled with feelings of

paranoia and doom. My first thought was

that I was blind, or that my eyesight had

been damaged because everything had a

white haze around it. I was somehow

lucky enough to retain the feelings of

paranoia and doom though because of

the voices that were echoing around me.

"Get me an updated CMP. I want to

check

his

electrolytes

and

liver

function."

"Yes doctor, right away."

I saw vague outlines of bodies

moving around me but I couldn't make

out who or what they were. My throat

was dry and when I tried to lick my lips

my tongue kept getting stuck. Suddenly a

wet sponge was on my lips and I felt

liquid trickle into my mouth. It felt so

good I almost started to cry and when I

tried to open my eyes again to see who

was standing over me I got that same

searing pain.

"He's waking up doctor."

I turned my head from side to side

but I still couldn't seem to get my

bearings. The figures around me were

starting to appear less fuzzy, but that

didn't make identifying them any easier.

She said doctor. I'm in a hospital.

I heard other voices but I couldn't

understand anything they were saying.

Some of the voices sounded far away

and some sounded like they were right

next to my bed.

"Get them out of here. I told you guys

that you couldn't talk to him until he was

fully conscious. Yes, I am aware of that,

Officer, but he is my patient and I will

decide when he is well enough to have

visitors, even official visitors. Now you

and your partner need to step out into the

hall."

Officer. Oh fucking hell.

The half of the conversation that I

heard kick started my consciousness a

little bit, and when I opened my eyes

again things were appearing even

clearer. I could make out the doctor's

coat on one side of the bed and the

outline of a woman's figure on the other.

I could feel them poking and prodding

me and lifting my eyelids, which made

me wince.

"How

are

you

feeling

Mr.

Carmichael? Are you in any pain?" a

woman's voice asked.

I opened my mouth to say something

but all that came out was a scratchy

groan.

"Would you like some more water?"

Apparently it was a rhetorical

question because she immediately put

the sponge back on my lips and I felt the

cold water trickle into my mouth. The

watery sponge pressed into my lips a

few more times and I finally started to

feel like I could actually speak.

"Where am I?" I asked, still trying to

bring the outline of her body into focus.

"You're

the

hospital,

Mr.

Carmichael," the nurse said in a deep,

throaty voice.

"Yeah, but where? What hospital?

What city?" I asked still not entirely sure

where the hell I was or how I got there. I

was having a hard time remembering

anything.

"You're at the Lower Keys Medical

Center, Mr. Carmichael ..."

Oh, fuck, the job at the resort. The

poker game. That damn asshole Joe

Fontinella.

"You were shot in the stomach and

were brought into the ER ..."

Holy shit, that's right. The cop shot

me when I heard him behind us. Oh

fuck, what about Joe. Is that little

cocksucker here too?

"They operated and removed the

bullet and repaired the damage that was

done to your liver. You're in the ICU

now. My name is Jess and I'll be your

nurse for the rest of the day and this is

Dr. Maxwell. She will be taking care of

you while you're with us in the ICU," she

said as she put the wet sponge on my

lips again.

"Can you rate your pain for me, Mr.

Carmichael? One being very little or no

pain and ten ..."

"I'm ok. When can I get out of here?"

I asked as I tried to move my arms to

push myself up in bed. Suddenly every

organ in my body felt like it was sinking

into my stomach when I realized that one

of my hands was cuffed to the side of the

bed.

Mother fucker, I'm toast.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Carmichael, you

won't be leaving here any time soon.

You're in the ICU. There was significant

damage to your liver and you lost a lot

of blood. I'm going to need to keep you

under observation for at least a week,"

the doctor said.

"Do you know what happened? Do

you know what happened before I got

here?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Carmichael, I don't

have any of that information. There were

some police officers here earlier and

they've

been

pretty

insistent

questioning you but I told them to come

back later. I don't want anything to

exacerbate your condition while you're

recovering and I'll decide when they

will be allowed back into your room."

"Thanks, doc," I said as I looked at

the two women who were standing over

me. The doctor wasn't bad, although she

was a little on the skinny side. But from

what I could see the nurse looked like

she had a body that wouldn't quit. I was

still confused and exhausted as hell, but I

definitely had enough energy to admire a

hot nurse when I saw one.

"You need to rest now, Mr.

Carmichael. We're doing everything we

can to take care of your injuries and you

need to help us by resting and getting

your strength back."

I looked up into the nurse's eyes,

suddenly seeing them for the first time

since I'd opened mine, and I was startled

by their kindness and catlike beauty. She

didn't appear to have any makeup on at

all but her eyes were framed by the

thickest lashes I'd ever seen that seemed

to get longer at the far edge of each eye.

"Brody."

"I'm sorry? What was that?" she

asked as she walked around to the other

side of the bed.

"You can call me Brody. I don't

respond to well to Mr. Carmichael."

"Ok, Brody. I'm Jess. My name is

written on the board up there in case you

forget. Is there any anything I can bring

you? Ice chips or another blanket?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Jess," I

said as I continued to stare up into her

eyes. What I really wanted was for her

to stay and talk to me for a while, but I

was starting to have a hard time keeping

my eyes open. Besides I figured she

probably had a lot of other patients to

take care of.

"I'll be back in to check on you

later," she said in a soft voice as she set

the cup with the sponge on a stick next to

my bed. "The water is right here. Just

press this button if you need anything at

all," she said as she smiled softly and

laid the call button next to my hand on

the bed, then walked across the room

and out the door.

I couldn't keep my eyes open a

second longer, and even though all I

really wanted was to drift off to sleep

all I could think about was how

unbelievably screwed I was.

How the fuck am I gonna get out of

this mess? I thought as the image of Joe

popped into my head again. I knew that

if they had any idea at all that Joe

Fontinella was involved with me the

cops were gonna keep a tight grip on my

room and I was pretty sure that they

already had one posted outside. I was

just going to have to wait to find out if

that bastard made it out of the resort

alive. I really hoped he was laying in a

morgue somewhere, not only because my

reputation and job were at stake, but

because that guy made me sick.

JESS

really hope that's not what you're

planning

wearing

tonight,"

Madonna said as she came busting into

the ICU nurses lounge in a skimpy

orange dress that clung to every curve of

her body.

"What's wrong with this?" I asked,

looking down at my jeans and striped t-

shirt.

"You've got a pair of mom jeans on

and a t-shirt that looks like you bought it

out of a fifty-five and over fashion

catalogue. You're only twenty-six, Jess,

and we're going dancing. You're not

going to need a sweater," Madonna said

as she picked a fuzz ball off the old gray

sweater I had just pulled on.

"What's wrong with this sweater? It's

my favorite. It's been with me through

hard times."

"Yeah, and it looks like it's seen a

hell of a lot better times too. You need to

put on something sexy Jess. You need to

get out there and have fun with a guy. I

know you still miss Marcus, but there's a

whole world out there that could

actually help you move forward."

"Looking good for some shallow

player isn't even in the top ten things I

think about, Madonna. I want someone

who's going to appreciate me for who I

am and when the time is right I will meet

him. I'm not interested in coming off as

anything but who I am. I'm comfortable

in this. If some dude doesn't like it that's

his problem."

"Yeah yeah, you are woman hear you

roar, I get it. But I still think you need to

get out there. Show a little skin. Have a

little fun. You never know, you might

actually have some. And don't forget

how long I've known you, lady. I've seen

you in some incredibly slinky dresses

that melted a few faces when you were

out on the dance floor before you even

met Marcus. I've seen you working it in

a pair of silver strap-ons and a tube top

dress that every man in the room was

praying would shimmy right down off

your tits and past your ass and then drop

to the floor. You've got it going on, girl,

and you're covering it all up with these

baggy-ass clothes that aren't gonna be

turning any heads."

"Yeah, you're right," I said as I shut

my locker and turned back to Madonna.

"I might need some help putting

something decent together, though."

"That's what I'm here for, sweetie.

I've got your back."

WALKED

into the flashing lights and

thumping base of Captain Jack's and I

felt an old familiar rush of excitement

that I hadn't allowed myself to feel in a

long time. Madonna was right, I used to

have a lot of fun when we would go out

dancing together and I really missed it.

And I had been so down in the dumps for

so long that I just didn't realize that I

might actually be ready to get out there

again.

Every night this last year I had

stayed home alone trying to soothe

myself over my loss and the loss that I

had caused and I didn't even realize that

I had gotten myself into a massive rut.

And after all this time that rut had

become my comfort zone. But that

comfort had been turning into a deeper

and deeper hole that I wasn't even sure I

could dig myself out of anymore. I

wanted to find someone that would make

me feel as good as Marcus did, but I just

wasn't sure how to do it.

"Everybody is over there," Madonna

said as she pointed across the club.

"That new EMT is here too," she said as

she jumped up and down and clapped

her hands like a little girl.

"Looks like you're getting some

tonight, Jess, whether you like it or not,"

she said as she did a little twist dance

and shook her ass.

"You better put a lid on those moves

if you know what's good for you. You're

gonna erupt right out of that teeny little

dress you've got on," I said as I watched

her breasts jiggle dangerously close to

the edge of the fabric that was holding

them in.

"How do you know he's even gonna

be interested in me?" I asked, but she

had already stopped listening. She was

scanning the room for prospective dance

partners and from what I could tell she

had the pick of the room. It looked to me

like every guy sitting within a ten-foot

radius of the club entrance felt the same

way. All eyes were on Madonna as we

descended the short flight of stairs to the

main floor of the club and made our way

to the bar. The music in the club was

pounding and every pair of eyes we

passed looked her up and down.

It's not that I didn't have the assets

that Madonna had, but I was a little

shorter and a little curvier and a lot less

confident so I never seemed to turn

heads the way she did. Plus, she really

knew how to sashay her ass through a

crowd.

grabbed

our

usual

margaritas, on the rocks with no salt. I

was shocked to see that I had already

sucked half my drink down before we

even got to the back of the bar where all

our friends were. As we approached the

table I realized just how nervous I was. I

hadn't seen a lot of these people in

months, a couple of them I hadn't seen

since the incident, and I realized how

afraid I was of being judged.

"Hey girl!" one of the nurses said to

Madonna. "Sit yourself down!" Madonna

made a bunch of noise, squealing and

kissing the other girls at the table then

walked over to two empty seats, and I

followed behind her but without all the

fanfare.

"Hey, Jess!" the nurse said with a

surprised look on her face. "I'm glad you

came out. I haven't seen you in so long."

"Hey, Angie. Yeah, it's been a while.

I guess I've been a little bit of a

homebody lately. It's really good to see

you."

"What's that?" she said as she held

her hand up to her ear.

"It's good to see you!" I said a little

louder with a smile. I was starting to

lose my motivation. Madonna could pull

off all this yelling and high-fiving, but it

just wasn't me. I kept wishing I was at

home wrapped up in an afghan and

reading a good book instead of

pretending to have a good time around a

bunch of people I barely knew anymore.

I felt like everyone here, including

Madonna, was in a big gang that didn't

include me. I wanted everything to be

like it used to be. I wanted to yell and

laugh and have fun and make jokes, but it

felt like that part had been sucked out of

me and I couldn't find it no matter how

hard I looked.

"Is anyone going to introduce me to

the new EMT?" Madonna asked while

staring right at two of the men across the

table from us.

"Yo, Madonna, this is Johnny," said

one of the EMTs that I recognized.

"Thanks Freddy, I owe you one," she

said with a wink as she leaned over the

table and dropped her cleavage down

right in front of Freddy's eyes. She had

been flirting with him for a while now

and I was pretty sure by the look on his

face that she had just caught his attention

for good. Madonna reached out and

shook Johnny's hand while she sat down

in her chair.

"Nice to meet you, Madonna. I see

you at the ER reception desk a lot."

"That's me, ER reception. Feels like

I'm there twenty-four hours a day every

day, that's for sure. And this is my friend

Jess."

"It's very nice to meet you, Jess," he

said as he reached his hand out to me

with a big grin on his face. He was

incredibly cute and had those giant arms

like tree trunks that usually drove me

crazy, but I just couldn't get excited

about anything tonight.

"It's nice to meet you too, Johnny," I

said a little too softly for Madonna's

taste. She put her arm around me and

pushed me forward so my breasts were

pressed together and resting right on top

of the table.

"She used to be primary trauma

nurse in the ER up until about a year ago.

Now she's head nurse in the ICU.

"I hope you save a dance for me

tonight," he said, his gaze wandering

down to the cleavage that was being

presented to him by the little black halter

dress Madonna had picked out for me. I

wasn't even sure if I was going to fit into

any of my old dresses. I had been sitting

at home on the couch on my days and

nights off for so long that I was sure I

had gained at least twenty pounds. But

the dress fit, and it and my old silver

strap-on sandals made me feel like I was

making an offer to Johnny that I knew my

brain wasn't willing to make good on.

"Oh, I don't know about that. It's

been a long time since I've been out on

the dance floor." I wanted to flirt with

Johnny. I wanted to cut loose and have

fun with everyone and forget about

everything that had happened in the last

year, but I just couldn't. The odd thing

was, even with this cute guy with

massive arms sitting in front of me, my

mind kept wandering to the man that I

had watched come into the ER the other

day. The man who was now handcuffed

to the bed in my ICU.

"You gotta be kidding. With a body

like that? You should be dancing up on

the tables where everyone can see you."

"Yeah, Jess. Get up and shake that

booty," Madonna said as she did a little

seat dance in her chair.

I started laughing and could feel my

face get hot as I sucked down the rest of

my margarita in one swallow.

"I'm gonna need another one of these

before I get out there," I said as I raised

my glass up. I was hoping some alcohol

would help get my spirits up, or at least

help me to stop thinking about things I

that I really shouldn't be thinking about.

Like the guy that reminded me so much

of Marcus.

"What're you drinking, Jess. I'll go

up to the bar and get you and Madonna

another round," Johnny said as he stood

up.

FTER

COUPLE

more drinks I was out on

the floor with Johnny and the longer we

danced the closer our bodies got. It

wasn't long at all before his arms were

wrapped around me and his hot breath

was on my neck and I was starting to

feel like I could get used to something

like this. His big arms felt so good

around my waist, his hard chest and

shoulders made me feel all safe and cozy

as I leaned up against him, and on top of

all that I could feel his cock getting hard

as it pressed into me.

"You're so beautiful, Jess," Johnny

said as he pushed his hand up into my

hair. "Your body is so amazing. It's

taking everything I've got to keep from

moving my hands down a little lower,"

he said as he started to kiss his way up

my neck.

It all felt so amazing and sounded so

good, but suddenly I felt like I had to get

out of there. I pushed Johnny back and

staggered a bit on the heels I hadn't worn

in over a year. Johnny grabbed me so I

wouldn't fall over then let go of my arms

when he saw that I was ok.

"What's the matter, Jess. Was I going

too fast? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ..."

"No, Johnny, I'm sorry. You weren't

at all. I'm flattered, but I ... I have to go. I

need to get out of here."

"Well, let me take you home. I mean,

I'll just take you home. Let me drive you

home," he said with a worried look on

his face. I knew I was being dramatic,

but I just didn't want to be there

anymore. I felt like I was going to burst

into tears at any second and I didn't want

to do it surrounded by a bunch of people

who I used to consider my friends but

who hadn't made any effort to talk to me

in the entire year since I had left the ER.

"No, really, I'm fine, Johnny. I'll take

a rain check on the dancing. It was really

nice," I said as I walked off to find

Madonna.

"Really? You're leaving? Are you

ok?"

"Yeah, I just need to be alone right

now. Everything was just harder than I

thought it would be. I just ... I can't stop

thinking about Marcus and everything

that happened."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry that I pushed

you into this. I thought you were feeling

better. Did something happen?" she

asked as she put her arms around me.

"No, it's not your fault. I just ... I've

just had Marcus on my mind lately and I

think this just intensified everything. I'm

just gonna head home."

"You want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll get a cab. I'm fine, Maddy,

really. I'll talk to you tomorrow," I said

as I gave her a hug. I walked out of the

club and into the night air wishing I

could get that guy in the ICU out of my

head. I felt like everything I had said to

Madonna just now was a lie. It wasn't

Marcus I couldn't stop thinking about, it

was Brody Carmichael.

BRODY

e are going to need your full

cooperation on this Carmichael.

You're in a hell of a lot of trouble. A cop

was shot and it's all on you if you don't

tell us exactly what was going on at the

Shady Palms. We have an eyewitness

who identified known mobster Joe

Fontinella as leaving the area in a black

2015 Lexus two door convertible with

plates that are registered under the name

Sasha DiFazio. That's Vinny DiFazio's

daughter. And in case this piece of

information has slipped past your radar,

Vinny DiFazio is not only the owner of

that resort hotel, but he's also the head of

the DiFazio family. You do know who

the DiFazio family is, don't you?"

"You're gonna have to enlighten me,

detective," I said to the stalky schmuck

that looked like he was taking a bath in

his own sweat. "I don't know any

DiFazio's. I'm kinda new to the area."

"You're gonna have to do better than

that. You were found at the scene of a

crime that involved a high stakes poker

game at a mob owned resort. You didn't

just wake up one day and decide to take

a stroll into the office where the safe

was. Look, DiFazio is claiming his

daughter was kidnapped and neither

Fontinella nor the daughter have been

seen or heard from since the robbery. If

you can tell us where they are your

charge will be reduced from first degree

murder to second degree or maybe even

manslaughter. We want to work with

you, Carmichael, are you willing to

cooperate?"

I was still groggy from the

painkillers and a bullet ripping through

my gut, but there was no way I was

gonna play that game with these

assholes. I knew they weren't going to let

me off that easy, and there was no way in

hell I was gonna spend even one night in

prison.

"I'm telling you. I didn't even know

the guy's name."

The two cops looked at each other

like they had thought their strategy was

working for them but just realized that

they were going to have to up their game.

"We find that really hard to believe,

Carmichael," the other cop said. I

wondered if he was gonna play the good

cop or the bad cop, but it didn't really

matter, all cops were bad as far as I was

concerned. "We're not buying any of this

bullshit, Carmichael. You're telling us

that you traveled to a resort on a private

island in The Keys with this man, Joe

Fontinella, went directly to the office

where the safe was kept on a night with

a fifty-million-dollar poker game in

progress, and you didn't even know the

guy's name."

"I'm telling you, I met the guy in a

bar in Key West. We were talking about

being down on our luck and he told me

that he had this big idea. He said he

knew how to make a whole lot of money

in one night and that he just needed a

hand for a couple hours. He said it was a

sure thing, that I would walk away with

a couple hundred thousand dollars and

that I could start a new life. He told me

that there was no way we would get

caught because it was his girlfriend's

dad's hotel and he knew the combination

to the safe. I'm telling you, that's all I

know."

"Look, Carmichael, you are in some

deep shit. You're not getting out of here,

so why don't you just cooperate," the

sweaty cop said, sounding like he was

taking the part as the good cop.

"I told you, I didn't know the guy ..."

"We've had enough of this bullshit

about you not knowing who Joe

Fontinella or Vinny DiFazio are! You

need to start talking and it'd better be

now!" the other cop yelled as he kicked

the foot of the bed a couple feet across

the room.

Just then the door flew open and that

incredibly sexy nurse and the lady

doctor walked in.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask

you gentleman to leave, now. This

conversation is beyond inappropriate for

my patient. I've already explained to you

that you will have plenty of time to

interrogate him after he has recovered

..."

"Doctor, this man is dangerous and

you are obstructing our work here ..."

"I'm

not

obstructing

anything,

detectives. This man is handcuffed to the

bed. He's not going anywhere. He cannot

even sit up yet. If anything you are

obstructing my ability to properly care

for my patient. Now, please go out into

the hall. If you have anything else to say

we can discuss it out there."

"You're making a big mistake doctor.

We're just trying to protect you and

everyone else in this hospital."

"I'm willing to take that risk,

detective. This is my patient and my

rules. You'll have him in your custody

when he is ready to be transported, but

for now I am going to have to insist that

you both step outside."

That woman was not someone to be

messed with and I was suddenly

incredibly glad she was my doctor and

that she took her job so seriously. I

looked over at the nurse and her eyes

were already on me, like she had been

looking at me for a while. She suddenly

snapped out of her trance and looked at

the doctor.

"Jess, I want you to stay in here and

check Mr. Carmichael's vitals. I'll be

back in a few minutes," she said as she

narrowed her eyes at the detectives,

waiting for them to walk through the

door ahead of her.

"Gentlemen, please," she said as she

gestured out into the hall.

"We'll be back, Carmichael," the

sweaty one said as they walked to the

door. I didn't know if they actually

thought that sounded like a threat, but it

almost made me laugh.

"How are you feeling?" the sexy

nurse said as she wrapped a blood

pressure cuff around my arm. "You're

going to feel a little bit of pressure," she

said as she pushed the button and started

the machine.

"Not bad, considering," I said as I

watched her enter something into a

tablet. "So, am I right in assuming that

there's a guard outside the door?" I

asked when she ripped the cuff off my

arm and stuck it back on the wall.

"Yep, there's one out there twenty-

four hours a day. You're just lucky he's

not sitting in here with you," she said

with a faint smile.

She had a really nice smile, a kind

smile. That first day when I open my

eyes and asked her where I was, all I

really could see was her incredible

eyes. Now that I was a little more aware

of my surroundings, I could see that she

had a lot more going for her than just

that. She had all kinds of curves that

were visible no matter what angle you

looked at her from.

"Your name's Jess, right?" I asked,

studying her face as she concentrated on

putting info into the tablet in her hand.

"You look way too sexy to be a nurse," I

said as I watched her eyes look up at me

while her head stayed pointed down at

the tablet in her hands. A look of

amusement spread across her face and

her eyes flared a little, then she looked

back down and continued to type

something.

"Are you in any pain today, Mr.

Carmichael?"

she

asked,

clearly

ignoring my comment, but I could tell

she wasn't offended. In fact, she seemed

almost flattered. At least that's what I

was hoping.

"It's Brody," I said, watching her

reaction.

"Are you in any pain, Brody," she

asked again, looking up at me with those

gorgeous eyes. Her lashes almost looked

too heavy for her, the way her eyelids

swept up in that lazy way. It was so

incredibly sexy it almost made me hard

just looking at the way her damned

eyelids moved.

"How long have you been a nurse?"

"Long enough," she said, walking

over to a cabinet and pulling out a few

things before she returned to the side of

the bed.

"So this is a life choice? You really

like helping people?"

"Well, I'm not in it for the money, if

that's what you're asking. Yes, I do like

helping people. Open your mouth

please," she said as she looked down at

me with a thermometer in her hand.

"You're still using those old fashion

things? I thought they had infrared

models nowadays."

"You've been watching too much

TV," she said as a warm laugh spilled

out of her throat. "Besides, this is a

county funded hospital. We're lucky that

we're moving into the digital age with

our charts. Everything we have works

the way we need it to even though it isn't

exactly top of the line equipment.

Open..."

I opened my mouth and she slipped

the thermometer under my tongue and I

watched her as she put more data into

her tablet.

"That looks pretty fancy," I said

through clenched lips.

"Yes, well I didn't say we were still

in the dark ages." And there were those

sexy, lazy lids again. I could watch those

things go up and down for hours. The

thermometer beeped and she pulled it

out of my mouth then added more info

into the tablet.

"I don't see a ring, Jess. Do they not

allow you to wear jewelry while you're

at work?" I asked, clearly not interested

in the hospital's policies. She looked up

at me with a kind but stern look.

"I think it would be best for you to

keep your mind on your recovery, Brody.

That's the only thing in this room that

should concern you right now."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be ... I

guess having a beautiful woman taking

care of you really does a number on a

guy," I said with a weak smile. "I hope I

didn't offend you."

"Not at all. Is there anything I can get

you?"

"Do you happen to know where my

phone is? I had one on me when I ... the

last I remember."

"I'm sorry, they won't allow us to

bring in any personal items in for you. I

can get you a paper though, and there's a

TV. One hundred and fifty channels of

pure

unadulterated

crap

your

fingertips," she said with a much bigger

smile than before. I was really starting to

like her. I wanted to get to know her but I

didn't want to come off like a creep and

send her running for the hills. I had to

figure out how to play this.

"Yeah, the paper would be great.

And if you have any free time a chat

would be nice to," I said with a smile.

"I'll get you the newspaper. Why

don't you close your eyes and try to get

some rest," she said as she turned and

headed out the door.

I stared at the ceiling trying to figure

out what I was going to do next. I was

JESS

o what are you doing for lunch?"

Madonna asked as she wrestled

through some charts on the ER reception

desk. "I cannot wait until we are done

with this transition and I never have to

see another manila folder again," she

said as she picked up a few that had slid

onto the floor.

"I'm just gonna eat up in the ICU

today," I said as I watched her place the

charts precariously on the top of the pile

again.

"Ok, but I wanna take you out

someday this week. I got a bonus in my

paycheck for some overtime, I mean like

over the regular overtime I usually work,

and I thought maybe we could celebrate

a little."

"Thanks, Madonna, that's really

sweet. There's actually a patient up in

the ICU that wanted me to stop in and

have a chat during lunch."

"Oh, is it that kid with the appendix?

He's a real sweetie."

"No, it's not the little boy with the

ruptured appendix," I said as I quickly

looked down the hall, trying not to let

Madonna see the look on my face. I

knew I was still holding on to what

happened to that little boy a year ago,

and I also knew it was starting to get

ridiculous. I really needed to just let it

go but I couldn't figure out how.

"Come on, Jess. It's been a year, and

it was an accident. No one blames you

for what happened."

"His parents did. I saw in their eyes

that they blamed me for his death. And

he's never going to be able to grow up,

live his life and see all the beautiful

things there are to see in the world and

it's all my fault. I took his life away from

him because I was careless," I said as I

looked down at my feet. "But you're

right, I need to get over it, I know I do."

"So who's your lunch date then?" she

asked, thankfully changing the subject.

"It's the gunshot wound to the

abdomen."

"The guy they brought in with the

dead cop? Doesn't he have a guard

posted outside his room or something?"

she asked with big, round eyes.

"Yeah, he's cuffed to the bed too. He

actually seems like a nice guy, like

maybe he was just at the wrong place at

the wrong time," I said, hoping Madonna

would stop asking me questions. I wasn't

in the mood to be interrogated about my

choice for a lunch partner and maybe I

was just feeling defensive but it wasn't

very hard to imagine her getting carried

away.

"Well, if he's some kind of big-time

criminal he probably knows how to talk

to get people to believe what he wants

them to believe. Don'tcha think?" she

asked, but I was done with the

conversation.

"Yeah, probably. I'm going to head

up to the ICU. I'll talk to you later," I

said with a wave as I walked off. I didn't

need anyone telling me who I should and

shouldn't talk to, or date, for that matter.

Date? Who the hell said anything

about dating Brody. He's just a patient.

A patient that told you that you're too

sexy to be a nurse, though.

WALKED

toward Brody's door with a

lunch tray from the cafeteria I saw the

two detectives standing there talking to

the cop that was on watch.

"From now on, no one is admitted

into this room except for that nurse right

there," he said as he pointed at me, "and

Dr. Maxwell. You got that?"

"Yes sir," the uniformed cop said as

he looked me up and down.

"That's impossible, detective. I don't

work twenty-four hours a day," I said as

I approached the three men standing in

front of the door. "Mr. Carmichael still

needs twenty-four-hour observation and

care and there's no way he can get that

from one nurse. And even if I was the

only nurse to enter his room during my

shift that would put an incredible strain

on the rest of the staff in this unit. I have

many other patients that I see to

throughout my shift, detective. What

you're asking is unreasonable."

"I don't think you understand the

situation here, Ms. Hernandez. That

could be a very dangerous man in there

and we are just trying to protect you and

everyone else in this hospital."

"So, you've identified him? It's my

understanding that he didn't have any

official identification on him when he

was brought into the ER."

"He didn't. All we have is a couple

credit cards with his name that are

linked

hotel

address.

His

fingerprints don't match anything in our

databases and the phone he was using

was just a cheap disposable with no

recent calls. What it all boils down to,

Ms. Hernandez, is he's someone who

doesn't want to be identified.

He was brought in as a result of a

job that had gone bad at a resort hotel

that is owned by the head of the oldest

mob family in Florida. A private high

stakes poker game was taking place right

at the time of a heist that was planned on

the hotel safe. Somehow, that man in

there knew that there would be fifty

million dollars in the hotel safe. He and

his accomplice knew exactly where the

safe was as well as the combination.

They were interrupted by a cop that had

been hired for the night and he wound up

dead.

We still don't know if Carmichael

shot the cop or if it was his accomplice,

but we're pretty sure that he had one

because we have witnesses that saw

another known mobster leaving the

resort right at the time of the incident and

his fingerprints just happened to be all

over the safe."

"What do you mean another known

mobster? You just said you weren't sure

of this patient's identity."

"I was referring to the owner of the

resort. He's the head of the DiFazio

crime family. He hasn't been active for at

least a decade, although there are always

rumors of private poker games and a

very exclusive escort service. He's not

high on the list of wanted men these

days,

but

Carmichael's

alleged

accomplice is another story.

We're trying to find the connection

here because the man that was seen

leaving the resort is a very dangerous

man, and if Carmichael is involved with

him then there's no telling what he's

capable of."

"Do you think he's going to come

here to the hospital?"

"We don't know. We're just asking

for

your

cooperation

here,

Ms.

Hernandez. We would like as few

people in and out of this room as

possible and we would prefer it if only

you and Dr. Maxwell had access to

Carmichael's hospital records."

"I'm afraid this isn't my decision,

detective. The hospital administration is

going to have to ..."

"We've already cleared everything

with the chief of staff and the

administration. You can check with Dr.

Maxwell if you have any questions.

We've already spoken with her and she

is aware of who we talked to and what

decision was made."

"Ok, well, that means I'll have to

rearrange my staff and work every day

this week. But I can't work twenty-four

hours a day, gentlemen. That's just not

possible."

"If you have a nurse you can

recommend we'd be more than happy to

interview that person and consider

giving them access to the suspect's room.

But only with one of our men inside the

room and they won't have access to the

records."

"Well, I trust all of my nurses, I'll

just have to find one that is able to work

twelve hour shifts for a week straight," I

said as I looked down at the food on the

tray that was probably already cold.

"We

really

appreciate

your

cooperation here. This should only be

for about another week tops. That's what

Dr. Maxwell says and we'd like to get

him into custody as soon as possible.

Then you and your staff can return to

your normal schedule."

"I'm also going to need patient care

and nursing assistants in there with me at

times. I can't do it all myself."

"Alright, when you need assistance

I'm going to have to insist that you bring

the guard on duty into the room with you

and your staff. And only one additional

person can enter with you. And any

assistants you bring in with you are to

have no contact whatsoever with the

suspect. Is that understood?"

"Yes, detective, but why me? What

makes you trust me to be alone with

him?"

"Frankly, we don't, but Dr. Maxwell

says that she would trust you over

anyone in the hospital so we have to take

her word. She says that having the guard

in the room will compromise the

patient's recuperation and she insisted

that you be allowed in the room to do

your job alone."

"Ok, I'll see what I can do about

finding a nurse for the night shift. But

now I'd like to get this food to my

patient, ok?"

"Go right ahead," he said as he

pushed open the door for me. I walked in

and waited until he shut the door before I

went in any further. I just did not like

those detectives. They weren't making

my job very easy and they were causing

problems with my staff and their

schedules. I didn't really care what they

thought of Brody, he didn't seem like the

kind of guy that would be involved with

the mob.

BRODY

o, do you see a lot of death around

here? It seems like kind of a

depressing place to work, if you ask

me," I asked Jess as she started to spoon

some applesauce into my mouth. I've

never been fed by anyone before, not that

I could remember anyway, and even

though it was tempting to have this

gorgeous woman take care of me I

couldn't stand feeling so helpless. "I

think I can take care of that," I said as I

smiled at her. She put the spoon back in

the cup of applesauce and handed it to

me.

"Death? No, not so much in the ICU,"

she said as she took a bite of her

sandwich. I watched her as she talked a

bit about working in the ICU and I

couldn't help but feel drawn to her. I

liked this. I liked having a woman to talk

to and that thought almost made me

laugh. There had been plenty of women

in and out of my bed over the years, but

none of them mattered to me at all.

None of them stuck around for more

than one night and that's because I made

sure of it. One piece of ass was just like

the next so if I didn't think about it too

much it was really like having the same

woman with me all the time. A nice,

quiet woman that I never had to talk or

listen to or put up with. To me a

relationship meant nothing but screaming

and crying and blame and I didn't need

any of that.

So, I always had a woman on my

arm when I was out and whenever I

wanted one in my bed, but not a single

one of them ever got my phone number. I

had arranged my life so I never had to

get uncomfortably close to anyone, but

when I watched Jess I realized that I was

really getting tired of the solitary life I'd

perfected over the last decade.

"Yeah, but there's sick people all

over the place in hospitals. At least in

all of the hospitals I've ever been too."

"Well, every once in a while

someone comes to the ICU and for

whatever reason they're not strong

enough to recover from surgery no

matter how much we try to help them.

Maybe they're at the end of their life or

one of their systems is compromised.

But for the most part people move on

from here and get better. The ER is a

different story though."

I watched Jess's eyes go dark and my

curiosity got the better of me. She

seemed like a strong, capable woman,

but she had a sadness that lingered in her

eyes that I found captivating. I was

exhausted and could barely keep my

eyes open but I wanted to know more

about her. I wanted her to sit next to my

bed all day and just tell me about

herself.

"So you've worked in the ER? Is that

where you got your start in nursing?"

"No, I was a home health nurse for a

couple years before I started training as

an ER nurse. For some reason I thought

working in the ER would get me away

from all the death that comes with the

territory of home health care. I've

always wanted to make a difference in

people's lives but watching people die is

really hard work."

"I can't even imagine. I think it takes

a special person to do that sort of work,"

I said as I watched her face warm up a

bit.

"It was difficult, especially with the

patients that were near the end. When

they were going downhill fast there were

usually a lot of signs and I would always

be there with them until the end."

"What kind of signs?"

"Oh, you know, hallucinations,

agitation, the death rattle. There's also

this one behavior that I've seen in quite a

few people where they stare up at the

ceiling and repeatedly smooth the edge

of the sheet ... over and over ... for hours

or even days. It's sad because you can

tell that they're already gone at that point

and it's just a matter of time."

"I've seen that before," I said as I

looked down at my own hands. "I didn't

realize what it was at the time, but I

never forgot it."

"Was it a relative?"

"Yeah, it was my mother. My parents

were in a car accident when I was a kid,

we were all in the accident. My mother,

my father and me. I was in the back seat

and my parents were fighting in the front.

They always fought and I would always

just sit there by myself and pray for it to

end. I hated it so much when they

fought."

"You were an only child?"

"Yeah, no brothers or sisters and we

moved around a lot so I never had any

friends that I could really trust," I said as

I looked back up into Jess's eyes. She

had the kind of eyes I felt like I could

tell anything to. Even though I barely

knew her, I felt like I could trust her

more than just about anyone I'd had any

kind of relationship with since my

parents had died.

"So what happened after the

accident?"

"Well, my father was killed on

impact and my mother was left in a

coma. When she came out of it, she was

taken to another hospital where she lived

until she died. My mother's sister and

her husband took me in and we would go

visit her every weekend. And that's what

she did towards the end - smoothing the

sheets over and over.

After she awoke from the coma, she

was never the same. She never

recognized me or even talked to me

again, but in the end when she was

staring and smoothing her sheets it

scared me more than any of the rest of it

had. I was just a kid that understand most

of what was going on anyway."

"I'm so sorry, Brody. That must have

been really hard on you," she said as she

put her hand on my arm. "My parents

also died when I was fairly young and I

know how hard it can be."

"So, anyway, you were telling me

about working in the ER," I said,

changing the subject. I didn't want to

dwell on my painful childhood and I

wasn't interested in hearing my own

stories anyway. I wanted to know about

Jess.

"Yeah, I was. Are you sure you're

really interested in hearing about this?

All we've been talking about is death

and I thought that's what you're trying to

avoid," she said with a laugh.

"No, I am interested. Mostly I'm

interested in you, though. It makes me

feel better when you sit here and talk to

me."

She looked down at the tray of food

for a few seconds then picked up a

container.

"I have some yogurt here if you're

interested in that," she said as she held it

up to me with a smile.

"No, that applesauce really did the

trick. If you don't feel like talking about

it though that's ok. I just thought ..."

"No, it's ok. It's not something I like

to talk about much ... it's hard because I

still ... it's still painful for me to think

about. I was moved to the ICU after an

accident in the ER. My husband was

brought in by ambulance one day ... it

was almost exactly a year ago actually.

He had been involved in an accident on

the highway, a semi truck carrying a load

of rebar lost a strap and the entire thing

came crashing down onto the highway.

One of the bars went through my

husband's windshield at an angle and

down through his stomach. They

removed the rebar at the scene but by the

time they got him here he had already

lost a lot of blood.

I was on duty and saw him come in.

They told me to leave the ER but I didn't

listen. We were severely short staffed

that day and I had been working on a

little boy who had come in with a bee

sting. I thought I was fine. I mistakenly

thought I could do my job with my

husband bleeding to death just a curtain

away from me. But before I knew it the

little boy had gone into cardiac arrest.

I had given him an overdose of

epinephrine and he died right there in

front of me. One of the ER doctors was

rushing my husband into surgery while

another one was trying to revive this

little boy and all I could do was stand

there, shaking and crying. I fell apart on

the job and I don't know if I can ever

forgive myself for that.

The next thing I knew I was waking

up in one of the patient rooms near the

ER. I had apparently gone into shock and

they had kept me there for observation

overnight. After I was released I went

through quite a few meetings with the

hospital administration. They wanted to

keep me on not only because I had been

the primary trauma nurse in the ER, but

also because they knew that it was the

extenuating circumstances that had been

the real cause of the accident with the

boy.

They felt that the best course of

action was to move me to a lower level

nursing position in the ICU so I could

start out slow and work my way back up.

And now here I am, head nurse of the

ICU," she said with a faint smile but

with tears in her eyes. I wanted to put my

arms around her and pull her into the bed

with me but I knew that was ridiculous.

She wasn't mine to hold.

"I'm really sorry that happened, Jess,

but it wasn't your fault. You can't blame

yourself."

"I know. It's been a year since I

moved here and I've been pretty happy.

It's really been a relief not to have to

deal with emergency situations and I'm

still able to feel like I can contribute and

help, but I just don't know if I have it in

be to be a nurse anymore. Not the way I

used to anyway."

"So, you don't think you want to go

back to the ER?"

"I don't know. When I think about it

... when I try to imagine myself there, I

wind up with a sick feeling inside. I

would never want anything like that to

happen again."

"But you're a human being, Jess.

Nobody's perfect." I said as I looked

down. I was starting to feel silly doling

out advice when one of my hands was

cuffed to the bed.

Jess looked at me for a minute like

she wasn't sure if she should ask what

was on her mind, what had probably

been on her mind since I got here.

"Sounds to me like you might know

from experience about making mistakes,"

she said as she looked down. I had a

feeling that wasn't quite what she had

wanted to say, but I didn't really know

how to respond. Part of me wanted to

tell her the truth but I knew it was too

dangerous.

"Yeah, well, I guess I've never been

the brightest bulb in the box when it

comes to making the right choice, as you

can see by what I'm wearing on my

wrist," I said as I rattled the handcuff

that was attached to the bed.

"Do you want to tell me what

happened? I don't want to pry, after all,

it's not really any of my business."

"Oh you know; I was in the wrong

place at the wrong time. I drank too

much, and made some really bad

decisions. I was flat broke, and I met a

guy in a bar who told me I could make a

lot of money quick. He said it was a sure

thing, that he knew the layout of the

place and the safe combination so I

figured what did I have to lose. I had no

idea it was my entire future, my entire

life. He said he just needed a hand and it

would only take a couple of hours so I

followed him to this private island

resort and before I knew it I was I was

waking up in the ICU ... looking at you."

"So did you know this guy was with

the mob?"

"No, I didn't, but I have to admit I

don't know if that would've changed my

mind much if I had known. The money

was sounding pretty good and I wasn't

thinking too straight. But now ... now I

would do just about anything to go back

and change what happened.

I would never have done it if I'd

known I was going to wind up here with

a guard posted outside my door looking

at a lifetime in prison for a crime I didn't

even

commit.

mind

the

possibilities were that I would maybe go

to jail for a little while if I was caught or

wind up with a pile of dough, and the

pile of dough won. But if I had known, I

swear to God ....

And when I think about the rest of my

life ... how it's all over now because of

one stupid choice. No more chance of

marriage, no kids, no house. I'm going to

go to prison for the rest of my life

because of one stupid decision that I

made."

"I'm sorry, Brody. I wish there was

something I could do to help," she said

with her eyes filling with tears again.

Suddenly I didn't feel like talking

anymore, because the more I talked the

more I realized that I actually wanted all

of it. The house and the kids and ...

maybe even with someone like Jess.

"I'm not really all that hungry

anymore, Jess. Thanks for talking to me

though. It really helped a lot, but I'm

getting pretty tired now," I said as I look

down at my hands. I didn't think I could

take looking into her tear-filled eyes

anymore. I felt more trapped than I ever

had in my life and there was nothing I

could do to comfort her or myself. If I

didn't get out of this place my life really

was going to be over.

"Ok, Brody. I'll be back in to check

on you in a little while," she said as she

lowered the head of my bed down. Then

she took the tray and left the room.

JESS

s I left Brody's room I couldn't stop

thinking about what he had just said.

I couldn't help but identify with the

feeling of being trapped and the results

of a bad choice having been made. It

didn't really matter if that choice was an

accident, because no matter how much

you wanted to you couldn't take it back.

I went to the nurses' station to look

through some charts on the computer,

then called all of the nurses in my

department and found one that agreed to

take the night shift. Then, I quickly went

around and checked on the other patients

in the ICU. I wanted to be available to

Brody if he needed me and I knew I was

going to be stretched thin if I was the

only nurse allowed in Brody's room

throughout my shift.

THE

AFTERNOON

I accompanied one of

the nurse's assistants into Brody's room,

along with the cop who was on duty, and

waited while he changed the sheets and

cleaned the room. Then after everybody

was gone, I changed Brody's dressing

and looked at his chart.

"It looks like you're scheduled for a

sponge bath this afternoon," I said as I

cleaned the wound and looked at it for

any signs of infection.

"Sounds refreshing. Especially if

you're the one that's going to be giving

me the bath," he said with a big grin on

his face.

I started to feel my face get warm

and I was mortified to realize that I was

blushing. This was my job and suddenly

I wasn't able to keep my feelings in

check. There was just something about

him that made me feel giddy.

I was startled to realized that my

heart rate would elevate whenever I

came anywhere near his room which

wasn't a very good sign since I was

going to be spending twelve hours a day

with him every day for the next week. I

really needed to keep up a certain level

of professionalism.

"Yes, Mr. Carmichael, I'm the one

that's going to be giving you your bath."

"Oh, we're back to Mr. Carmichael

now are we?" he said as he grabbed his

stomach like he had just been punched in

the gut. "What happened to Brody?"

"Alright, Brody," I said with a smile

as I taped up the gauze on his rippled

stomach.

Come on, Jess. Hold it together.

You're a professional nurse, I told

myself, but I could still feel the color

staining my face.

"Ok, just relax. I'll be back in a

second with the water," I said as I

grabbed a basin and took it into the

bathroom.

"Is there anything you want me to do

to get ready for you?" I heard him say

from the other room.

"No, I think I've got this covered."

I looked at myself in the mirror as I

filled up the basin and tried to plan out

my strategy.

Just don't look at his face. You can

do this. You don't know this guy at all

and you can't let him get to you. Just go

in, wash his body really fast, and leave.

Five minutes tops.

I gripped the sides of the sink and

took a few deep breaths, then carried the

basin into the other room without

looking him in the eyes once.

"The water should be warm enough,

but let me know if you need it hotter or

colder. Now, I'm going to start with your

chest and your arms so I'm going to pull

your gown down. Here's a blanket to

cover yourself with, if you'd like," I said

as I unfolded a blanket and placed it

over Brody's legs.

"I'm perfectly fine," he said with a

smile still plastered on his face. When I

pulled the gown down off his shoulders

and freed his left arm he put it behind his

head. He looked like he was enjoying

himself immensely and for some reason

that made it even harder for me to focus.

I pulled the gown out from under him

and brought it down to just below his

bandage, and left it there because his

cuffed hand prevented me from removing

it entirely. When my gaze moved back up

from the gown I had a hard time not

staring at his beautifully sculpted chest

and it took me a second to remember

what I was doing. I took a washcloth

from the pile on the table and wet it with

the soapy water then held it out to him.

"You can use this on your face, and

I'll put a towel down for you to dry off

with."

"It would be easier to do this without

the handcuffs," he said as he took the

washcloth and wiped his face down.

"I can ask the cop to remove them,

but I'm sure he'd insist on staying in the

room."

"Yeah, don't bother. I don't want him

in here watching me get a bath. I'll suffer

through it with the cuffs on," he said with

a smile as he rubbed the wet washcloth

all over his face and neck, and I just

stood there like an idiot watching him.

When he was done he handed it back to

me and dried off his face, then put his

arm back behind his head, smiling and

looking like he couldn't wait to see what

was going to happen next.

I dipped the washcloth in the water

again and pulled his arm down to his

side, then ran the soapy water from his

well-developed shoulder down his arm

to his hand. I was amazed by his arms.

They were long and kind of wiry, but

they were also very muscular and strong.

My face was starting to feel really warm

again and I wished that the windows in

this hospital opened more than two

inches. I dried off Brody's arm and then

ran the warm washcloth along his armpit

and down the side of his body.

"Is the water warm enough?" I asked,

hoping to break the uncomfortable

silence.

"Yeah, that feels really nice, Jess,"

he said. I could feel him watching me as

I worked but I was terrified of looking

up into his eyes. I had given hundreds of

sponge baths throughout my career and I

didn't understand why this one was so

different. I didn't understand why he was

effecting me the way he was.

He's just some guy, Jess. Just a guy

that's handcuffed to the bed for crying

out loud. But what if he's innocent ... I

thought as I continued to get hotter under

my scrubs.

I barely knew this man that everyone

was saying could be a dangerous

criminal, and yet whenever I knew I was

going to be near him my heart started

racing. The minute I opened the door to

his room my stomach would jump up

into my throat the way it had when I was

in high school whenever I saw a boy in

the hallway that I had a crush on.

I had been a long time since I had

felt this way. I didn't understand how I

could feel like this about someone I

knew absolutely nothing about - other

than what he had told me about the job at

the resort and the story about his parents

of course. But there was something about

him, something about his stories and the

way he talked and listened to me that

made me want to trust him. I didn't care

what the cops suspected. I didn't think

Brody was mixed up with the mob.

I washed one leg then moved to the

opposite side the bed and took care of

his other arm and leg. Then I rewet the

washcloth and ran it down his chest. I

watched the water glisten over the

ripples of muscle on his chest and

partway down his abdomen. When my

eyes moved past the bandage to the

gown gathered below I stopped. I

dreaded having to pull the gown down

any further. I knew where my movements

were heading and I felt silly but

suddenly I became incredibly shy.

"Seems like you've had quite a bit of

practice at this," Brody said. I jumped a

little when I heard his voice and walked

back to the other side of the bed to

camouflage my reaction.

"It's not usually my job, but yes, I

have given quite a few. Mostly when I

was doing home health care and in my

early months in the ICU," I said hoping

the conversation would continue. The

silence and suspense over removing his

gown were just about killing me.

"Well, it feels nice. I think you're

doing a really good job," Brody said

with a smile, his white teeth showing

even though he still looked very weak. I

was being ridiculous and I knew I just

needed to finish my job. I grabbed the

gown and pulled the upper half back up

over his chest, then quickly, like pulling

off a bandage, I pulled the bottom of the

gown up and exposed what appeared to

be the most enormous cock I had ever

seen in my life.

I turned back to the basin of water

and stood there for a moment while I

tried to catch my breath. As hard as I

tried I could not turn back around and

face Brody.

"Why don't you use the railing on the

other side of the bed and pull yourself

over so I can wash your back.

"If I didn't know any better, Jess, I'd

say your face is turning a little red

through that gorgeous caramel colored

skin of yours. Are you sure this isn't your

first time?" he asked in an incredibly

sexy tone that made me want to

disappear under the bed and never come

out.

"Of course not, Mr. Car ... er ...

Brody. I'd like to wash your back now if

you think you'll be able to hold yourself

up on your side." I was so embarrassed I

just wanted to get out of his room but I

still had a ways to go before I was done

with the bath.

"Sure, maybe you could give me a

hand ..." he said as he started to pull

himself over.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you

to do it yourself. I don't know what I was

thinking," I said as I pushed his hip over

so that he was laying on his side. I was

acting like a teenager and I was ashamed

of myself.

I finished washing Brody's backside,

then let him down easy so that he was

laying on his back again, but now I was

faced with the the dreaded area again.

And to my complete horror, when I

placed the wet washcloth over his penis

he started to get hard.

"Sorry about that. You know what

warm water and gentle hands can do to a

guy," he said with a soft laugh and when

I looked up into his eyes they were

almost completely black. He was staring

at me so intently that I almost couldn't

look away, but I forced myself to. I made

myself run the warm washcloth up and

down the length of his hard cock and

down around his balls without going into

cardiac arrest. I didn't say another word

or look back up into his eyes while I

dried him off and pulled his gown down.

I covered him up with the blankets and

dumped the basin in the bathroom, then

grabbed the laundry bin and walked out

the door.

It took me almost five minutes to

catch my breath once I ducked into the

utility closet to dispose of the basin and

BRODY

entlemen, I would like you all to

step out into the hall right now,"

the lady doctor said after she opened the

door to my room and found the two cops

and the goddamned owner of the resort

hovering over my bed. I really liked the

way she talked to those guys. She didn't

take any shit from them and I knew that I

was at least somewhat safe while I was

still weak enough to stay in the ICU.

Jess had been in earlier trying to get

them to leave but they didn't give a shit

about what some nurse said to them, but

luckily she had found the doctor. I had no

interest in talking to that Vinnie DiFazio

asshole. He didn't say much, he didn't

even tell the cops that he knew who I

was, but he knew alright, and now that

he had seen my face I knew that I was

one hundred percent screwed.

"Gentlemen..." she said as she

gestured for the three men to precede

them out into the hall.

"I'll be right back in, Brody. Can I

get you anything?" Jess asked as she

stood by the door. It was so good to see

her beautiful face that though I was

feeling like total shit, I told her no.

"I'm fine," I said, my voice sounding

like it was being scraped up off the

bottom of a quarry. Jess looked at me

with concern in her eyes and told me

again that she would be right back.

"You are clearly disregarding my

orders and jeopardizing the health of my

patient. Every time you've come in here I

have given you the benefit of the doubt

because of your claims about Mr.

Carmichael, but all of that ends today."

I could hear the doctor clearly even

with the door closed. She didn't seem

even remotely concerned about how

loud her voice was or who heard her

telling off those cops.

"Dr. Maxwell, we have reason to

believe that the man in there has ties to a

very dangerous organized crime group

and we are simply trying to get some

form of identification on him. This man

is the owner of the resort where the

suspect was apprehended and we were

simply trying to find out ..."

"You will not use this hospital for

one of your lineups, detective. And you

will not harass my patient any longer.

That man is under my care and he is still

recovering, in fact, by the looks of him

his recovery has been set back by this

little stunt of yours. If either of you

disobey my orders one more time I will

have you banned from this hospital."

"You have no idea how big of a

mistake you're making, doctor, but it's

your funeral. If that man kills anyone in

this hospital, it'll be on your head."

All I heard next was Jess saying

something to the doctor, then the door

opened and she came back into the room.

"How are you feeling today?" she

asked with a furrowed brow while she

touched her hand to my forehead. "You

look a little pale."

She walked across the room and

took the thermometer out of a drawer

and put a plastic cover over it.

"Not too bad. A little weak, I guess,"

I said as she slipped the thermometer

into my mouth.

She put the blood pressure cuff

around my arm and typed some

information into her tablet then pulled

my gown up over my wound. She didn't

seem shy about it at all like she had the

other day, in fact she was very serious

and had a worried look in her eyes.

The doctor walked into the room and

Jess immediately started talking to her.

"His temperature is two degrees

above normal and his blood pressure is

slightly elevated. There's also visible

irritation around the wound."

"Let's start him on an iv drip of

vancomycin and see if we can reduce the

inflammation. Also, get me a CBC and

CMP and I'll be back later to check on

them."

"Right away, doctor," Jess said as

she put a new bandage on my stomach.

"We're going to run some tests. It

looks like we might need to put you on a

different string of antibiotics. Maybe

intravenously so that it will stop any

problems quickly" she said as she pulled

my gown back down, then pulled the

covers up over me. She could see that I

was shivering.

"Let me get you another blanket," she

said but I grabbed her arm before she

could leave the side of the bed.

"I'm scared, Jess. I can't go to prison.

Do you know what they're going to do to

me in there?" I said, terrified of letting

her go. In that moment I realized she was

all I had. There was no one else that

cared whether I lived or died. Not in this

goddamned hospital and not in my whole

life. Sure, the doctor wanted to make

sure I lived, but that was her job. But

Jess actually seemed to care, I could see

it in her eyes. And her caring about me

suddenly seemed like the only thing that

was keeping me alive.

"They can't put you in prison for a

crime you didn't commit, Brody. There's

going to be a trial and the jury will see

that there isn't enough evidence to

convict you. But it might not even get

that far. They could still find the guy who

killed the cop and then they'll have to let

you go," she said as she wrapped both of

her hands around mine.

"Do you really believe that, Jess?" I

asked, wanting to believe her but

knowing how easy it would be for them

to just throw me behind bars and forget

about me.

"I don't know," she said as she

looked down at my hand cuffed to the

side of the bed. "Part of me wants to, but

another part of me knows that it doesn't

always work out the way it's supposed

to."

"I can't go to prison, Jess. I can't. I

don't know if I should tell you this but I

feel like I can trust you. Maybe it's

because you've defended me against

those cops that keep coming in here and

harassing me, or maybe it's because

you're such a kind person ..."

"Yes, of course you can trust me,"

she said, her eyes widening.

"I haven't been taking the antibiotics.

I stopped yesterday. That's why they

don't seem like they're working. I figured

... if I could stay in here a little bit

longer ... if I could stay away from

wherever they're gonna lock me up ...

that I might have a chance. But if they

take me out of here, Jess, I'm dead."

"What do you mean you haven't been

taking them?"

"I put them under my tongue and spit

them back out after I swallowed the

water. It's an old trick."

"Brody, do you have any idea how

dangerous that is? You have a serious

wound you're recovering from. An

infection could easily lead to sepsis.

And sepsis could lead to death. The

doctor is starting you on the intravenous

antibiotics immediately. I know you're

scared, Brody, but ..."

"You have to help me, Jess," I said

as I put my other hand on her arm and

pulled her closer to me. "Please help

me."

"I'm doing everything I can to help

you, Brody. I want to see you get better

and get out of here. What else do you

want me to do?"

I let go of her hands and turned my

head toward the window trying to figure

out how to ask her.

"I don't know, Jess. I don't know

anything anymore. My life wasn't

anything special. I was still trying to

figure a lot of it out and I thought maybe

... I mean, I've never even been married,

Jess," I said as I looked back at her, "and

I don't have any kids and I've thought that

those were things I'd really like

someday. But now ... my life is over,

Jess. I won't get to do any of those

things. I'm going to prison for the rest of

my life and I'll never know what it's like

to hold my own baby in my arms. I just

keep thinking over and over ... if I just

hadn't gotten so drunk and made that bad

decision. All it took was one bad

decision ..."

"Brody, I'm so sorry," she said as

tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Do you think I'm a bad person,

Jess? Do you think that I'm just a

worthless criminal?" I asked as I put my

hand over hers again. "Because I don't

feel like a bad guy. But maybe I've been

wrong all these years and I'm getting

exactly what I deserve."

"I don't think you're a bad guy. I

mean, what you did was wrong. You did

intend to commit a crime, but I don't

think you're a worthless criminal. I don't

think anyone's worthless and I don't think

anyone's beyond saving."

"How can I possibly hope to be

saved if I wind up in a place that's full of

other guys that have done way worse

than me? They're gonna find out real

quick that I don't belong there and you

know what's going to happen to me? I'll

be at the very bottom of the heap, Jess. I

won't be able to fight off those guys."

"What do you want me to do, Brody?

I want to help you in any way I can, but I

don't know what you want."

I looked up into her eyes and knew

that I could trust her. Maybe I just

wanted to believe it because she was

JESS

avoided talking to Brody for the rest

of the day. Whenever I went in there to

check his vitals or his IV, I kept contact

to a minimum and just answered him

with a yes or a no. He was still

incredibly weak so he wasn't talking

much, but I didn't know what to think

about what he had asked of me.

I wanted to believe that he was a

good guy and that what happened at the

resort was all just a big mistake, I really

wanted to believe that. And when I

looked into his eyes, when he was

telling me about wanting a family and a

life, I did believe him. But I was also

scared now. I was scared of what he

was asking me to do and I was scared

that he might be using me to escape.

I had never done anything wrong in

my life. Not intentionally, anyway. I was

always the perfect daughter and the

perfect employee and now I was being

asked to go against all that and break the

law. I didn't understand how he expected

me to help him escape from a room

where he was being guarded twenty-four

hours a day, and I was afraid to find out.

I decided to text Madonna and see if

she was up for a drink after work. I

really needed to talk to someone and

even though I knew she usually gave

really stern advice, I needed someone to

help me think this through. I wasn't even

sure how much I was going to tell her

but I figured even a little bit was better

than having these crazy circular thoughts

spinning through my head over and over.

Everything Brody had said to me

kept playing in my head like a broken

record and all I could see were his eyes

when he asked me to help him. But he

didn't just ask me, he begged me. The

fear in his eyes sent chills down my

spine and no matter what I did for the

rest of the day I could not get that image

out of my head.

Before I left for the evening I

stopped in to make sure that Brody was

set for the night.

"Can I get you anything before I

leave tonight?" I asked as I checked the

chart to see if the newest test results

were in.

"It looks like the new antibiotics are

really kicking in. Your white cell count

is already down," I said as I smiled at

him, trying to comfort him a bit. But he

didn't look at me at all. He just stared

out the window.

"Thanks, Jess," he said with a weak

voice, but I knew that it wasn't the

infection that had taken away his spirit

though.

"That's a good thing, Brody. It's good

that you're getting better," I said as I put

the chart down.

"I really do appreciate everything

that you've done for me, Jess, but I just

don't see the point. I just can't get my

mind around the fact that my life is over

so what does it matter which way it

ends," he said as he looked up at me. His

eyes looked sunken in and dark, like he

had already wished himself halfway to

death.

"Don't talk like that, Brody. You

don't know what's going to happen. You

have no way of knowing how a jury is

going to see your case and you have no

idea what could happen after that."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Jess," he

said, looking away from me again. I felt

horrible. The logical part of my brain

was still trying to convince me that, if he

were truly innocent, he wouldn't wind up

in jail, but my emotions were telling me

something different. When I looked into

his eyes I saw the sadness and the fear

and I was filled with a horrible feeling

that he might be right. He could very

easily wind up in prison, and if he did

his life really would be over.

It didn't matter to the detectives

whether Brody had actually shot that cop

or not. They had already made up their

minds about him and were going to make

sure someone paid for that crime,

whether they could prove he had actually

done it or not. And sending Brody to

prison was basically like taking him off

the antibiotics and letting him die a

slow, painful death.

"I'll be back in the morning, Brody.

Please, try and get some sleep and try to

eat something," I said as I touched the

arm that was cuffed to the bed. "The

night nurse should be in in a little while

and I'm going to leave instructions for

her to bring you something easy to

digest," I said as I turned to leave.

"Jess." I stopped walking but I kept

my back turned to Brody. I felt like I was

going to start crying at any second and I

didn't want to do that in front of him. I

needed to be strong. He was my patient

and crying in front of him would just

make everything worse.

"I really do appreciate everything

you've done for me. I want you to know

that. It means a lot to me that you ... that

you seem to care what happens to me.

I'm not saying this so that you will feel

sorry for me or ... I'm not saying this for

any reason other than I want you to

know. I don't have anyone else in my life

that would give a shit if I went to prison

or died and everything you have done for

me has really meant a lot to me. Thank

you, Jess."

I looked back at him and the sadness

in his eyes made my heart break.

"I'll see you in the morning, ok?" I

said as I touched his arm again, then I

walked out the door.

WHAT

BEEN

GOING

on with you?

Have you been seeing someone I don't

know about? Don't tell me, it's that new

EMT. That dude is hot, and he really had

some big eyes for you the other night,"

Madonna said as she finished off the last

of her hurricane.

"No," I said as I looked down at my

drink, "nothing like that."

But after I said it I realized that it

wasn't far from the truth. Over the last

few days I had actually begun to feel like

I was seeing someone. I'd been spending

so much time and having such intimate

conversations with Brody that I felt like

I knew him better than most of the

people that had been in my life for years.

"Then what's going on? It sure as

hell seems like it's about a guy cause if I

didn't know you better I'd say you're

blushing right now, girl," she said as she

waved the bartender over to us.

"Two more?" he asked and Madonna

gave him her sexiest smile and nod

while she looked him up and down. He

almost fell over a case of beer as he

walked backwards wearing a goofy

smile on his face on his way to the

blender.

"Well, this is a little embarrassing

but I really do need your advice."

"Ok, tell me what's going on,

sweetie. You know I'm always here for

you."

"Well, you know that patient that's

been in the ICU this week, the one that

came in with a gunshot wound ...?"

"You mean the mobster?"

"He's not a mobster, Maddy. At least,

I don't think he is. From what he's told

me, he got involved in something that

was way over his head. He made a

really bad decision and now he's being

blamed for all of it."

"Well, wait, that's not what I've

heard. Haven't the police been here

repeatedly to talk to him? Isn't he the one

that's handcuffed to the bed?"

"Yeah, they've been here every day

harassing him."

"What do you mean harassing him?

Isn't he a criminal?"

"Well, they're not paying attention to

Dr. Maxwell's orders at all. They keep

coming in and getting Brody all worked

up which isn't good for him. He needs

time to recover and they just don't seem

willing to give it to him. And then today,

they brought in some guy from the resort

where the robbery took place to see if he

recognized Brody and Dr. Maxwell just

flipped. She said she wasn't going to let

them back into the hospital if they pulled

anything like that again."

"Whoa, that's crazy. What a bunch of

drama. But it sounds like the cops are

pretty serious though. Does this Brody

guy have a record?"

"No, that's the thing. The detectives

can't find anything on him. They want to

minimize the amount of people that come

into contact with him, so I've been on the

day shift every day and I've got one of

my nurses on the night shift. We're the

only ones that are allowed in there at all,

other than Dr. Maxwell.

I don't know what to believe, Maddy.

He told me that he had been really down

on his luck and had a few too many

drinks at a bar when he got into a

conversation with some guy that told him

he could make a lot of money in just a

couple of hours. That it would be a

piece of cake and no big deal and Brody

says it was the worst decision he has

ever made in his life.

He says the guy that organized

everything, the guy that the cops are

after, who they say is a mobster, got

away and Brody is terrified that he's

going to be blamed for the cop's murder.

He's sure he's going to go to prison for

the rest of his life and he scared to death,

Madonna. I feel so sorry for him and I

don't know what to do."

"Holy shit, Jess. He told you all that?

But what do you mean you don't know

what to do? There's nothing for you to

do. You're just his nurse, right? I mean,

when he gets better he's going to be

taken away and the cops or whoever is

going to figure out if he really did it or

not. You don't have anything to do with

any of this."

"Yeah, I know. He just seems like a

really nice guy, Maddy."

"Oh, fuck, Jess. Are you falling for

him or something? What else did he say

to you?"

"Nothing really. Mostly just personal

stuff ... stuff about his childhood and

wanting to have a family someday. I

don't know, Madonna, I feel like maybe

he was just in the wrong place at the

wrong time. No one deserves to go to

prison for that."

"Yeah, but what if he's conning you?

What if he's trying to get you to feel

sorry for him? Have you thought of that?

What if he tries to get you to help him

escape?"

I looked up at her and her eyes got

big.

"He didn't already ask you that did

he, Jess? Did he ask you to help him

escape from the hospital?"

"No, no," I said as I look back down

at my drink. "I just feel really bad for

him, you know? I don't really even know

why I'm talking to you about it, it's silly."

The bartender brought our drinks and

Madonna waited until he left to continue

the conversation.

"I don't know, Jess. I think you need

to be really careful. I mean, you've had a

really hard time over the last year and I

think you might still be vulnerable. I

don't want to see you get hurt or go to

jail over this guy. I mean, you're not

falling in love with him or anything are

you?"

"Of course not. Don't be silly," I said

a little too emphatically. "Look, I don't

even know why I brought this up. I guess

I just felt a little confused. I mean, as

much as we all like to think it, most

things aren't as black-and-white as they

seem. I guess I just wanted to get a little

perspective. Don't worry about me. I'm

totally fine."

"Yeah, you're right. And it sounds

like there's not much of a future with this

guy anyway. I mean, even if he doesn't

go to prison he'll be in jail for a while

until he goes to trial and whatnot. And if

he does somehow manage to escape

from the hospital he'll be on the run for

the rest of his life probably. So either

way he's kind of a losing proposition.

Besides, if he was so down on his luck

that he decided to pull a robbery in the

first place why would you even be

interested?"

"Well, I'm not only interested in a

guy for his money, Madonna," I said,

sounding a little more defensive than I

had intended. "But, yeah, you're right. I

just need to forget about him and let the

cops take care of everything. I'm

starving. Are you ready to order some

food?"

"Definitely, this place has awesome

Cuban food."

I was glad Madonna had dropped the

subject so quickly. Now I knew that

there was no way I could tell her how I

was really feeling. I had to make this

decision all on my own, and I was pretty

sure that I had already made it by the

way I skirted the subject with Madonna.

BRODY

ood morning, Jess. I was just going

over Mr. Carmichael's chart with

him," the doctor said as Jess walked into

the room and stood at the end of my bed.

"It looks like the new antibiotics that

we started him on have done really well.

I'm going to order a couple more tests,

but he might be able to leave the hospital

in a day or two. I don't want to jump the

gun though. We'll just see how things go

today and I'll make the decision this

afternoon or tomorrow morning," the

doctor said. She was talking about me,

but she was looking at her tablet and I

had a feeling that I wasn't anything more

to her than the set of numbers that she

was holding in her hand.

I didn't really care though because

Jess was here. The minute she walked

into the room I felt like my day had

finally begun. I had nothing to look

forward in my entire life anymore except

her presence in my room. And just

knowing that she was in the building on

duty had the power to make me feel

better.

"That's so great, Brody. I'm really

glad to hear that you're getting better,"

Jess said as she smiled down at me. I

was happy to see the kindness in her

eyes again instead of the tears that had

been there yesterday. I had hoped all

night that she didn't think I was just a

despicable criminal that was using her. I

didn't know what I was doing anymore, I

was so scared and so confused, but for

some reason it really would have killed

me if I thought she hated me.

"We're going to need to get Mr.

Carmichael up and around a little bit

today and tomorrow. He may still be a

little weak, but we need to make sure

that he's okay to leave. I'd like you to do

five minutes of physical therapy with

him every two hours today and walk him

around. If he can stand and walk a little

by tomorrow, we should definitely be

able to release him in the next couple of

days. I think you're going to come out of

this okay, Mr. Carmichael," the doctor

said to me as she patted me on the arm

then turned and left the room.

I felt like I had just been awarded the

blue ribbon for sucker of the year. It

seemed like everything that lady had

done had been more for herself than my

benefit, but I didn't know what I was

expecting. She was just doing her job

and as far as she was concerned I should

be happy that I was leaving the hospital,

even though that meant I would be going

straight into a cell from here. I had no

interest in trying to rationalize her

patronizing behavior though. She helped

keep those assholes out of my room and

that was more than I could ask for.

"So how are you feeling today,

Brody? You look a lot better," Jess said

with that beautiful smile of her's. I was

really relieved to see that she didn't look

anywhere near as worried or upset as

she had yesterday. Even though it made

me feel better to see her smiling like

that, I still had no idea how to get myself

out of the deep shit that I had gotten

myself into.

"I'm feeling better," I said, not sure if

I should even bring up what happened

yesterday. I didn't want to freak her out

again, but I was still desperate. "I ... I

want to apologize for what I asked you

yesterday, Jess. I shouldn't have done

that. I shouldn't have put you in that

position. I just wasn't thinking very

clearly and I was scared.

I was the one that made the mistake

and I need to pay for it, even if it is with

the rest of my life. I don't want you to

throw your life or your career away for

someone like me. And I wouldn't be able

to forgive myself if I did anything to ruin

your life or make you hate me ..."

"I don't hate you Brody. I don't hate

you at all. And I don't think you're a bad

guy. I wish I could do something to help

you. I really do," she said as she came

closer to the head of the bed. "But you're

right I would be throwing my life away

if I tried to help you escape. I don't see

any way around them finding out that I

helped you and then they would be after

me too."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I could make it

look like I was holding you hostage and

that I had forced you to help me escape.

Then they couldn't blame you for

anything," I said as I looked into her

eyes. I was walking a fine line and I

knew it. But I had to get out of that

hospital.

"I don't know what I'm even talking

about," I said as I looked out the

window. "I don't even know how I

would get these damned cuffs off my

wrist anyway."

"I would probably have to get the

key off the guard out there," she said in

almost a whisper. I turned and looked at

her and saw in her eyes that I might just

have a chance.

"We would have to come up with

some kind of plan, Jess. You would have

to get the key off of the guard. I don't

know if I can ask that of you. I don't even

know if I'm worth it, Jess."

"Don't say that, Brody. Of course

you're worth it. You're worth it to me,"

she said as she held my cuffed hand. Do

you really think you could pull

something like that off? Make them think

that you held me hostage?"

"Well, it's an idea. Pretty much my

only idea. But I can't believe how fucked

up this is. It's just my luck to wind up in

a hospital with a bullet in my gut, getting

pinched for someone else's crime, and

then to top it off, I have to ask the

woman of my dreams to help me escape.

Having to ask you to do this makes me

feel like the biggest loser on the planet."

"What do you mean, the woman of

your dreams? Are you pulling my leg?

You don't have to lie, Brody. I would

prefer it if you didn't ..."

"I'm not lying, Jess. But none of it

matters anyway. I know you wouldn't

want a man like me. That's what makes it

all so horribly ironic. I've met and fallen

in love with you, Jess, but I know I can't

have you. I'm just a low life criminal. A

guy who was down on his luck and

wouldn't be a prize for any woman, even

if he wasn't on his way to prison. I can't

ask you to stay with me and I'm pretty

sure you wouldn't want anything to do

with someone who's going to be on the

run for the rest of his life.

Look, I'm just feeling sorry for

myself is all. I don't expect you to help

me Jess, but if you do you won't have

anything to worry about. I will make

sure it looks like you were my hostage

and after that you won't ever have to see

me again. I promise."

Jess stood there for a long time not

saying anything. She kept her eyes down

and continued to hold my hand and then

finally brought those beautiful lashes up

and her eyes met mine.

"But what if I wanted to see you

again?"

"Does that mean you want to go

through with it?"

She looked at me for a long time like

she was trying to convince herself to do

something but I didn't know which thing

it was. I hoped against hope that she

would want to help me, but I knew that

no matter what it probably wasn't going

to end very well for the both of us.

"Yes, I'll help you, Brody."

BRODY

ell, we have to work really fast

now. I mean, I'm feeling better

and better all the time. Those antibiotics

really kicked ass on whatever was going

on in my body and I can't fake being

sick. The doctor said she might even

release me tomorrow."

"But she also said that the next day

was a possibility too. I'll talk to her and

make it sound like you aren't up for

being moved yet. I'm sure we can keep

you through tomorrow. I can also stall

the test results. I'm the only one that has

access to your chart while I'm on my

shift so if I order hard copies but don't

enter them into the computer no one else

will and Dr. Maxwell won't know the

results."

"So, then this is going to have to

happen tomorrow night. There's no way I

can risk trying to stall another day. We're

going to have to get everything set up

tomorrow evening and be ready to get

me out of here after it quiets down."

"But what are we going to do? How

are we going to get you out of here?"

"Well, the main things we have to

worry about are getting that cop out of

the way and getting these cuffs off of me.

After those two things are taken care of

it should be a piece of cake. You just

have to get me out of the hospital and

away from here. I'll just be a patient

you're moving and ..."

"Wait, Brody. What you mean out of

the way? You don't mean you're going to

kill him? I can't be a part of that, Brody.

I want to help you but I won't be part of

any murder."

"No, I won't have to do anything like

that. You just have to get him in here and

over to the bed. Say that you need my

cuffs unlocked so you can get me up for

some physical therapy and to practice

walking. After he unlocks the cuffs, I'll

grab him around the neck just long

enough to put him out. Then we'll cuff

him to the bed and leave him in here.

Maybe tape his mouth shut so no one

hears him," I said as I got more and more

excited. I was feeling so much better that

I almost wanted to jump out of the

window right then but I knew it didn't

even open more than a couple of inches.

Plus, I was still cuffed to the damned

bed.

I just had to be patient. This was

going to work. Jess was a smart girl and

I felt like I could trust her. I knew

everything was going to work out.

"We won't have much time so

everything will have to be set up ahead

of time. I'm going to need some clothes

and shoes. I'm pretty sure I can't leave

here in the clothes I came in with."

"I still have my husband's clothes in

my apartment. I think they should fit

you."

"Ok, that's great. So, then I'll need a

wheelchair and something to cover my

face, like a surgical mask maybe or

some gauze. I'll take the gun off the cop

so it'll look like I got ahold of it

somehow and used it on you. After I get

dressed you'll just wheel me out to your

car and then we'll drive away. Is there a

back exit you can park near? So that not

too many people will be coming and

going and your car will be close to the

building?"

"Yeah, there's an entrance on the east

side of the hospital. I can park in the lot

over there, no problem."

"Ok, great. So it sounds like it's

going to be pretty simple once we get the

cop out of the way."

Jess looked at me in a daze and I

was afraid for a second that I was losing

her.

"Are you ok, Jess?"

"Then what? What will happen after

we leave?"

"We'll just keep driving. I don't

know, that's too far ahead for me to plan

right now. We just need to get to that

point and then we'll figure it out, ok? We

just need to make this as simple as

possible right now. Don't worry about

what's going to happen after, just focus

on what we're going to be doing

tomorrow night," I said as I squeezed her

hand. "It doesn't matter where we go,

does it? It'll just be you and me and we

can figure it out together."

She smiled and looked down at the

bed but then got a panicked look on her

face.

"But Brody, what about your injury?

You still need to be on antibiotics and

you'll need painkillers."

"Do you think you can get those for

me?" I asked, knowing that would be

tricky. It's the one thing that might make

her look suspicious. She was starting to

look scared, like this was more than she

signed on for, but I was so close. If she

wouldn't get the drugs, I would just have

to risk it without them.

"But won't they think I had something

to do with it, then? They'll know you

didn't follow me in there with the gun."

"You just tell them that I threatened

you. That I had the cop's gun and I told

you that if you didn't come back with the

drugs that I would start shooting up the

place. No matter what they ask you, all

you have to do is say that I threatened

you. You got that?"

"No matter what who asks me?

Where do you think I'm going to be?

You're not just going to leave me on the

street somewhere, are you?"

"Of course not, Jess. I don't even

know if I can drive right now. I'm just

saying that in case something does

happen ... in case we get pulled over or

caught somehow. If anything ever

happens, I want you to put all of the

responsibility on me. Blame me for

everything. Scream and yell and tell

them that I dragged you by your hair and

forced you to do everything at gunpoint. I

don't want you taking the blame for any

of this.

And who knows, after we've been

together for a while you may just want to

come back to your old life. It might not

take you very long at all before you get

sick of hiding out with me.

To be honest, a part of me feels like I

should just leave you out on the street

somewhere. If you come with me there's

a much greater chance that you'll just be

ruining your life, that they'll know that

you're staying with me by choice. But I'm

a selfish guy. I want you to be with me,

Jess."

"Really?" she said with that sweet

smile of hers, but her eyes looked

concerned, like she was worried about

my true motives. But I knew that no

matter what was going on right now, no

matter what I was doing to get out of this

place, I knew that what I was feeling for

Jess was real. Not that it mattered in the

long run. But at least I knew that I wasn't

a total monster.

"Yes, really," I said as I looked into

her eyes. I reached my hand up and

touched the soft skin of her cheek and

pushed some stray hairs out of her eye.

"I want to be with you, Jess. I know I

don't have anything to offer you right

now, but I can make a life for us, I know

I can. If you just trust me and stick with

me ..."

My words were cut off by Jess's soft

lips touching mine. Her kiss started off

so soft, like she was testing the waters,

unsure of what she was doing. But then

when her mouth covered mine and her

tongue entered my mouth and her hands

wrapped themselves around my neck I

felt a surge of heat flood through my

body. I wanted more than anything to rip

her clothes off and feel her body

straddling mine.

I wanted to feel the soft warmth of

her body moving with me and grinding

against me, taking away my fear and

filling that space up with her kindness

and beauty. I wanted to know that she

was always going to be there, that her

soft touch and shy smile would never

leave my side and that somehow we

would both be stronger together than we

had ever been apart.

Suddenly she broke away from me

and I was left gasping for breath with a

rock hard throbbing cock.

"Dr. Maxwell might come in," she

said, her face beautifully flushed and her

eyelids lowered.

"That's ok. We'll have plenty of time

for that," I said with a smile, wanting to

convince myself more than anyone that

that was true. "I want you with me,

Jess."

"Do you really?" she asked, looking

at me like she still wasn't sure if she

could believe what I was saying to her.

"Yes, Jess, I do want you with me.

As crazy as it sounds, I think I've

actually fallen in love with you. I didn't

think that would ever be possible for me.

I thought maybe I just wasn't capable of

loving anyone, but I do Jess. I can't

imagine leaving here without you. I just

don't know if I'm doing the right thing by

asking you to come with me."

"Why don't you let me worry about

that," she said with eyes that sparkled

intensely. "So, what else do we need to

do? Have we covered everything?"

"Well, you're going to have to be on

the night shift tomorrow. Can you

arrange that?"

"I don't think it will be a problem.

I'll make some calls this morning."

"Ok, let's go over this one more time.

You tell me what you're going to do."

"I'll come in at eight p.m. for the

night shift with some clothes and shoes

for you."

"You'd better pack some things for

yourself too, but don't make it look like

you packed. Just bring a few things,

some clothes and your toothbrush."

"I might need a little bit more than

that," she laughed, "but I'll pack very

light. I'll park at the east entrance and

bring our clothes in and put them in my

locker in the nurses' lounge. Then I'll go

into the meds room and get the

antibiotics and some pain killers. I'll

also grab some supplies for your wound

and a surgical mask and I'll put

everything in the bag. Then I'll come in

and see you and sometime after that,

around midnight, I'll go and get a

wheelchair and put the bag on the chair

under a blanket. I'll bring it to the room

and tell the guard to come into the room

with me."

"Yeah, tell him you need him to

uncuff me and you need his help getting

me up out of the bed for my exercises."

"Then while he is unlocking the

handcuffs I just wait behind him until

you ... choke him?"

"Yeah, don't look so worried, Jess.

It'll be ok. I can handle one guy. Besides,

he'll be caught off guard. He won't be

expecting me to do anything while you're

there. Don't worry about it."

"Ok," she said with a smile. "I'm just

nervous."

"I know you are. I'm sorry I'm doing

this to you. If there was any other way

..."

"I know, Brody. I can do it. So, then

after the cop is out you get dressed."

"And while I'm getting dressed you

put the handcuffs on the cop, and put

some of that bandage tape on his mouth

..."

"And you get in the wheelchair under

the blanket and put on the mask, and I

wheel you out to the car. Then we leave,

right?"

"Right. Piece of cake."

"Yeah, piece of cake," she said with

a faint smile.

I just hoped it was going to be as

easy to pull off as it sounded coming out

of her perfect mouth.

JESS

went straight home after work that

night, got in bed and pulled the covers

up around my head. I didn't know what

to do or what to think. I knew that there

was a possibility that Brody might be

conning me, that he wasn't really who he

said he was. I may have been vulnerable

because of the trauma I had experienced,

but I wasn't stupid. The problem was I

just didn't know.

There was just something about

Brody that made me trust him, though.

There was something inside me that was

telling me that he wasn't lying. A gut

feeling or intuition or something, but I

couldn't deny that it was there. Maybe he

was lying about some of the stuff he told

me, but not about everything. I could see

in his eyes that he was terrified of being

sent to prison, and I truly felt that

sending him there would be a mistake.

But it wasn't just that. I could see

something else in his eyes when he told

me about his dreams, about wanting a

family and a life. There was something

real there, something kind and sincere.

Something that had made me fall in love

with him.

Brody wasn't a bad man. At least not

from what I could see. It was hard for

me to imagine any of the things that those

detectives had said about him, but they

even admitted themselves that they didn't

know the truth.

Maybe Brody was right. Maybe they

were so eager to catch a cop killer that

they had tried and convicted him even

before he got to the hospital. Maybe he

wouldn't stand a chance once he was in

their custody.

It's not that I completely distrusted

the authorities but I'd heard of plenty of

people who were accused of something

they didn't do or had gone to prison for

mistakes they had made. Sometimes

justice didn't seem like it was always

fair and once you were in prison it was

probably a whole hell of a lot harder to

get out than to just not go there in the

first place. I didn't understand why, but I

just felt like I couldn't let Brody down.

And on top of everything, I kept

thinking about what I had done. What if

someone had told me that I was going to

have to go to prison because of the little

boy that I had killed? What if I had no

choice, that the law stated that because I

killed someone I had to be put away? To

me that seemed like what was happening

to Brody. He said he didn't kill that cop

and I believed him. But it didn't seem

like anyone else did.

I didn't really realize it until just

then, but I had been in a prison of my

own even since the night that little boy

died. I had blamed myself for what

happened and I had sentenced myself to

no life. I had spent this last year

punishing myself for what I had done, for

a mistake I had made, and I wanted to

make it right with myself.

I wanted to allow myself to live my

own life, and I was starting to think that

running away with Brody and hiding out

with him didn't seem like such a bad

idea after all. As crazy as it sounded,

living the rest of my life on the run with

that man seemed a lot freer to me than

staying in the safety of the prison I had

made out of my life.

I had thought that playing it safe and

living by other people's definition of

what a good citizen was would bring me

happiness, but all it brought me was the

inability to forgive myself for my own

mistakes. I felt like I had been duped.

That being the good girl would

automatically bring me everything I

wanted in life. What I hadn't realized

until now was that I wasn't living by my

own definition of good. I had spent so

much time trying to be everyone else's

good girl that, in the end, I wasn't being

good or kind to myself.

While I laid there in bed I couldn't

stop thinking about what Brody had said

to me. About me being the woman of his

dreams. About him telling me that he

loved me. I would have almost thought

what he was saying was something out

of a movie if I hadn't seen the look in his

eyes when he said it. Maybe I was just a

gullible fool, but I know what I saw.

And I didn't believe that his eyes were

lying to me. But then again maybe I

wanted to see it there. Maybe because I

had developed such strong feelings for

him in such a short amount of time I saw

what I wanted to see. I felt so mixed up

about everything and I wished I had

someone to tell me what to do.

Everything seemed so simple when I

was with Brody, but the minute I left the

hospital I started to have second

thoughts.

I wanted to call Madonna and talk to

her again, but I knew she would just say

the same thing she had said earlier. That

I was vulnerable and I needed to be

careful and that there was no future with

a criminal anyway. And besides, deep

down I knew I didn't want anybody to

talk me out of this. I didn't want anyone

to ask me the logical questions like how

will you survive? How will you make

money? If you're both on the run from the

authorities how will you ever get a job

again?

I was trading my entire life for a

completely unknown future. If I decided

to go with Brody, I would never see this

apartment or any of my possessions

again. I would never be able to go back

to the hospital; hell I probably wouldn't

ever be able to come back into the

country.

I didn't have any close family that I

would be leaving behind, but I had

friends. I had Madonna. It was sad to

think that I might never see her again, but

I had to make a choice and to me that

choice was becoming crystal clear.

If I helped Brody escape, if I went

on the run with him, I would not only be

preventing someone from being punished

for a mistake they made, but I would

also be freeing myself and I knew I

needed Brody's help as much as he

needed mine.

JESS

ey, girl, what are you doing here so

late," Madonna asked as she

walked up to me in the hall at the east

entrance of the hospital. I'd parked my

car in the east lot and come in that

entrance not only so that it would be

nearby when Brody and I left in a few

hours, but also because I had hoped I

wouldn't run into anyone, especially her.

I didn't know what to say to

Madonna as she stood in front of me,

waiting for me to answer her. What I

really wanted to do was hug her and say

goodbye to her and tell her that I was

really going to miss her. I wanted to tell

her that she had helped me so much over

the last year, more than all of the other

people I knew in the hospital or in my

entire life, for that matter.

She was my best friend, and I didn't

want to lie to her but I couldn't tell her

that I would probably never see her

again.

"Oh, I decided to give the night nurse

a break. We switched it up so that I'm on

nights for the next week until the patient

in the ICU is released into police

custody."

"Oh, so, he's still here? Did they

ever figure out who he was?"

"No, there's never been any word on

his real identity, but then again, they

probably wouldn't tell us."

"Yeah, right. Well, I guess it will

probably be a relief when he's gone,

won't it?" she asked with a tone that was

trying to tell me something without

actually saying it out loud. I knew what

she wanted to say to me was that no

matter what I was feeling about him, no

matter how much I thought I trusted him,

that he was no good for me and my life

would be better when he was out of it. I

could just hear the words oozing out of

her brain ... You'll be better off, Jess,

you'll see.

"Yeah, there's been too much drama

in the ICU lately. I'll be happy when

things settle back down to normal," I

said, figuring that was what she wanted

to hear.

"Ok, sweetie ... well, I'm off. I was

just heading back here to talk to someone

in oncology and then I'm outta here. We

should go out some night soon. As soon

as you're off the night shift. I'm still not

giving up on finding you a new guy," she

said as she nudged my arm.

"Yeah, totally. I think I'm finally

getting ready to meet someone new," I

said as I turned to head towards the ICU

because I didn't want her to see my eyes

filling with tears. Maybe someday down

the road I would be able to tell her what

happened but for now I had to just let my

old life go.

I didn't know where I was going or

what was going to happen to me, but for

the first time in a long time I felt like I

was actually doing something. Like I

was somehow taking control of my life

and making things happen, even though

my choices weren't the ones that a lot of

people would have made. They were

still my choices and they somehow made

me feel like I was participating in life

again.

I walked into the nurses' lounge in

the ICU with a duffel bag filled with

clothes for both Brody and myself and I

put it in my locker. There was no one

around so I figured it would be a good

time to go to the meds room and get the

drugs Brody was going to need.

I left the lounge and walked down

the hall to the room where all the meds

were kept locked up. For some reason

this was the scariest part of the night for

me and the part that I had been dreading

the most.

I had been in and out of this cabinet

hundreds, maybe thousands of times and

had never thought twice about what

anyone would think if they saw me

unlocking the glass doors. I was the head

nurse in the ICU and of any member of

this department's staff, I was the most

trusted and exacting when it came to

rules and regulations. But now as I

opened the cabinet to remove the pain

killers my hands were shaking and I was

terrified that someone was going to walk

in and ask me what I was doing.

There was no way that anyone could

possibly guess that what I was doing

was illegal, that I was stealing

prescription narcotics, but I felt like it

was written all over my face and maybe

even all over my back as it faced the

entrance to the room. I grabbed a full

round of the same antibiotics Brody had

been put on and then a month's worth of

the painkillers I knew he would need.

I locked the cabinet back up and left

the room without a single person looking

in my direction or even passing the meds

room the entire time I was in there. As I

walked back to the nurses' lounge with

the pills in my pockets a wave of

complete relief rushed over me. I

wondered if it was even possible that I

would be connected with the missing

drugs but I decided not to think about it.

There wasn't anything I could do about it

now. I had started the plan in motion and

I could feel the momentum of the night

building.

I walked down towards the end of

the hall where Brody's room was and

stopped dead in my tracks. The chair that

had been sitting out in the hall occupied

by an armed cop for the last week was

gone. I quickly walked down to the

room, opened the door and wanted to

scream when I saw an elderly woman on

a ventilator in Brody's bed.

Oh no, oh no! Did they move him

today? Oh my God I didn't think they

would have done it without the labs! Oh

God, please don't let Brody be gone!

I walked back to the nurses' station

and tried to act as calm as possible even

though I wanted to scream and cry and

shake the nurse who was on duty.

"Hey, Trish, what happened with the

patient in 515? The one with the guard

that was posted outside the door?"

"Oh, hey Jess. Yeah, you were off

today. Let's see ... Dr. Maxwell gave

orders for him to be discharged ... she

gave me access to his records since he

was being removed ..."

Discharged? How? How did this

happen?

"I thought she wanted to wait until he

had completely stabilized and was a

little stronger," I said, my voice starting

to shake. I suddenly felt hot and faint; I

just wanted the ground to open up

underneath me. I had let Brody down and

now I would probably never see him

again. I was horrified at the thought of

him being taken away while I wasn't

here, and I could barely breathe as I

listened to what Trish was telling me.

"Yeah, she did, but we got a few new

patients and we really needed the room.

But ... oh, wait. Here he is. It looks like

he's still in the building. They moved

him to 324 in patient recovery. It looks

like the order is still in for him to be

transported. Might not happen until

tomorrow morning though."

I didn't even look at Trish as I

practically ran down the hall to the

emergency stairway.

"Are you on now?" she yelled after

me. "I have to get my kids from the

sitter."

"I'll be back in a few minutes,

Trish," I called over my shoulder as I

rounded the corner and ducked into the

stairwell. I ran down the stairs and out

the door on the third floor and just down

the hall was the cop sitting on a chair

outside room 324.

"Hello," I said as I tried to catch my

breath and walk nonchalantly into the

room.

"Hold on, miss. This is a restricted

room. Only authorized personnel are

allowed in."

"I should be on the list. Jess

Hernandez. I've been this patient's nurse

during the day shift all week."

"Oh yeah, here you are. Sorry about

that. I've only been on at night. Go right

in."

I walked into the room and saw

Brody sitting up in bed and almost

doubled over from relief.

"Oh God, Brody, I thought they had

taken you away. I was so scared," I said

as I approached his bed and grabbed his

hand.

"Jess, thank God. I thought I was

dead," he said as his head fell back

against the pillow behind him. "They

were taking me out of the hospital. They

almost had me out the door ... but the

transport vehicle couldn't make it. There

was an accident on the seven-mile

bridge and no traffic could get through

for hours. All this time I've been sitting

here thinking that they're just going to

show up any minute. That some cops are

going to walk in through that door and

everything will be over. I'm still afraid

they're going to come Jess," he said with

a panicked look on his face. "I don't

think it matters to them what time they do

the transport. They could just send some

cops here now and throw me into the

back of a squad car."

"I don't think they will, Brody.

They'll probably wait until the morning,

and besides, you have to be checked out

of the hospital. They can't just take you.

But we should just get out of here as

soon as possible just in case ..."

"Yes. Let's do this now, Jess. I have

to get out of here. Please, just go and get

the wheelchair and let's go."

"Ok, just try to calm down a little. I

was really shaken up too, Brody. I

thought I'd never see you again," I said

as I looked into his eyes. "It looks like

they took out your IV, so I won't have to

worry about that. Ok, I'll go and get the

wheelchair now. Just try and stay calm."

"I'm trying Jess, but I'm still ... I

wanted to call you or ask about you, but

... I couldn't. I'm just so glad you're

here."

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Just

sit tight, ok?" I said as I ran my fingers

through his hair. "We're gonna get you

out of here."

WAS

RELIEVED

as I walked back to the

ICU that the rest of the plan for the

evening seemed like nothing. I knew one

of the hardest parts was coming up, but

now that I was in the middle of it, I

didn't care about anything except getting

Brody out.

There was another nurse at the desk

when I got back up there, so I just went

straight to the lounge and grabbed my

bag. Then I found a wheelchair and a

blanket and looked around one last time.

As I walked onto the elevator and

away from the ICU I knew I would never

see it again. I had thought that when this

moment finally came I would feel sad,

but instead all I felt was relief. I had

enjoyed being a nurse - it had been my

life for almost ten years. But the idea

that I still had my whole future ahead of

me - that I didn't have to be a nurse, or

any one thing, for the rest of my life

almost made me feel giddy. I was tired

of being defined by my profession. From

now on, I wanted to be defined by all of

the amazing things I was going to do and

all of the amazing places I was going to

see.

I wanted to experience life. I wanted

to experience things that I never even

imagined I could. And the more I thought

about it, the more the idea of not being

tied down, of wandering aimlessly

throughout the world with this man,

appealed to me and excited me. I knew

then that I wasn't going to let him ditch

me by the side of any road. I was going

to go with him wherever he went. I

didn't care if we were constantly being

hunted by the police or detectives or the

FBI. All of that sounded a hell of a lot

more interesting and exciting to me then

spending the rest of my life looking at

these depressing walls.

I took the elevator down to three and

got off with the wheelchair, then walked

up to the guard outside of Brody's room.

"I'm going to need your help with my

patient in here ... I'm sorry, what was

your name?" I asked the guard.

"It's Jason," he said with a big smile

as he looked up at me. "And you're Jess,

right? What can I help you with?"

"I need to get the patient up for a

little while for some exercise to build

his strength up for his move. I just need

you to unlock the handcuffs and I might

need your help getting him up off the

bed."

"No problem. Are you ready to do it

right now?"

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind getting

the door for me that would be great."

The cop got up and pushed the door

open, then held it for me as I pushed the

wheelchair over to the corner of the

room. I took the duffel bag off the chair

and put it on the floor.

"What I think we're going to do

tonight, Mr. Carmichael, is get you up off

the bed and walk you back and forth

between the bed and the wheelchair over

here. We'll do that a few times and see

how you feel, and then maybe we'll do

some physical therapy while you're

sitting down on the chair. How does that

sound?"

"Sure, I think I'm up for that," Brody

said as he sat up in bed a little. I could

tell he was getting ready for the moment

when the cop would unlock the

handcuffs by the way his eyes became

black and intensely focused.

I watched Brody's eyes as he

watched the cop walk over to the bed

and pull out his keys, and just as he bent

over the bed railing and unlocked the

handcuffs, I came up behind him and hit

him over the head with a vase I had

grabbed off the table in the nurses'

lounge. Glass shattered all over the bed

and floor. The cop slumped over on top

of Brodie's legs and then fell to the

ground completely unconscious.

"Holy shit, Jess! I can't believe you

did that! That was perfect!"

"I can't believe I did that either. It

was just an impulse. I grabbed the vase

when I was picking up the duffel bag and

... man I can't believe I did that," I said

with my hands over my mouth. I bent

down and felt the cops pulse and even

though he had blood trickling out of the

back of his head, he was still breathing

with a strong pulse so I wasn't too

worried about him. I hadn't planned on

hurting anyone. I just wanted to help

Brody get out of there.

BRODY

hrow me the bag with the clothes," I

said as I tossed the glass covered

blanket off the bed. "And get the cuffs on

him." Jess brought the bag to the bed and

I pulled some jeans and a shirt off the

top. It was a little weird to put on

another man's underwear, but I didn't

have the luxury of being picky just then. I

threw on the socks and sneakers, that fit

surprisingly well, and started to get up

off the edge of the bed.

"Grab his gun for me, will ya? And

don't forget to tape his mouth," I said as I

tried to stand. Jess grabbed the gun and

laid it on the bed then came rushing over

to me.

"How does your stomach feel? Are

you doing okay?" she asked as she tried

to help me stand up. "Here, let me help

you over to the wheelchair."

"I think I'm doing okay ... it's still

pretty painful," I said as I wrapped my

arm across my stomach, "but ... I think

once I get used to being up and around ...

I'll be ok," I said through gritted teeth as

I walked slowly across the room. I

lowered

myself

down

onto

the

wheelchair, but even with Jess helping I

was still in a lot of pain. I thought I'd be

doing a lot better by now, but it was still

hard for me to even hold myself upright.

I wasn't looking forward to what was

ahead of me when Jess and I got to

where we were headed.

"Oh God, Brody, are you okay?" Jess

asked after I let out a loud groan. I sank

into the wheelchair, gripping the

armrests and wishing this was already

over. How the hell was I going to

confront Joe Fontinella in this shape?

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just get me out of

here."

Jess put the gun in the duffel bag and

set it on my lap, then covered me up to

my shoulders with a blanket. She opened

the door and looked out into the hall to

make sure it was clear and as she did I

put the gun down the back of my pants. It

wasn't very comfortable at all but there

was no way I was leaving it in the bag

where it would be almost useless to me

if I needed it. I put the surgical mask

over my face just as Jess pushed me out

into the hall and before I knew it we

were in the elevator and were heading

down to the ground floor.

"Hey! Wait up, Jess! I finally found

you!"

The wheelchair came to a stop and I

heard Jess curse under her breath. I had

no idea what was going on but I had to

just sit there and pray that I was going to

get out of that damned place.

"Hey Monica, what's up?" Jess

asked in a somewhat impatient tone.

"We just got these test results back

for the patients in 515 and Dr. Maxwell

instructed us to make sure that we got

any of the test results for that patient to

you ASAP. I just wanted to make sure

that you got these."

"Oh thanks, Trish. I think he's

already been released. He's not in our

department anymore. You might want to

check in recovery."

"Oh thanks, Jess. I was wondering

where that cop went that had been

outside his door. I got the creeps every

time I walked past his room.

"Well, now we don't have anything to

worry about. He's not our patient

anymore. I really have to get this patient

over to oncology. You know how they

hate to be kept waiting."

"Yeah, ok, Jess. I'll see you back up

on five."

I felt the wheelchair moving again

and I was finally able to breathe.

"Holy shit, I thought we were toast."

"Don't worry about it, Brody, we're

almost

there,"

she

said

approached a set of sliding glass doors.

They opened up in front of us and then

we were outside in the cool night air. I

was so happy I wanted to jump up out of

the wheelchair and run to the car, but I

knew that wasn't going to happen.

But I was free. I had been thinking

about this moment since I woke up in

that damned place and the feeling of

leaving through those doors was a

million times better than I could have

imagined.

Jess wheeled me over to a mid-sized

SUV and threw her duffel bag in the

back seat, then helped me into the

passenger

seat.

She

ditched

the

wheelchair in some bushes then ran

around the car and got in and started it

up. She looked over at me with big,

worried eyes but then a warm smile

spread across her face. It was at that

moment that I really hated myself for

what I was going to have to do to her.

What I had already done.

"So where are we going?" she asked

and even though my eyes were closed I

could still see hers in my mind. Those

big, beautiful, trusting eyes.

"Just drive out to the highway and

head east," I said, with a sick feeling in

my stomach.

"Ok," she said, and by the sound of

her voice I could tell that she was still

JESS

o, where are we going?" I asked as

I followed Brody's directions. The

windows in the car were down and a

cool breeze was flowing through my

hair. It had been a long time since I'd felt

this good, like I was going somewhere

and I had something to look forward to. I

didn't know what was going to happen

but just the knowledge that I wasn't just

on one of my trips back and forth to

work gave me a feeling of excitement for

my future. And I was with Brody. I

looked over at him because he hadn't

answered my question.

"Are we going somewhere in

particular? Are we headed up to the

mainland?"

"There's a house ... a hideout that

was set up before the job went down. It's

not too much further, we'll be getting off

the highway in a couple of exits. "

"What do you mean a hideout? I

thought you said you didn't have anything

planned with this guy, that you just went

with him on the spur of the moment."

"Yeah, that's right. I didn't know

anything at the time. He mentioned

something about a place that he had set

up in case something went wrong and he

told me where it was. It's this exit here."

"Oh, ok," I said as I turned off the

highway onto a secluded road that ran

along the water. I didn't want to think

about it, but I was starting to wonder

what was going on. What Brody was

saying didn't sound right. He didn't

sound the way he had when he was in the

hospital. And he didn't seem to care that

I was there with him. He wouldn't look

at me at all.

I didn't say much the rest of the way.

I just let him give me directions and

eventually after driving quite some

distance

along

thick

forests

mangroves and lagoons we came to a

narrow dirt road and Brody told me to

turn in and stop the car. I could just see

the edge of a house about a hundred feet

up ahead and around a bend.

"Turn off the engine and kill the

lights," he said.

"What's going on, Brody? What are

we doing here?"

"Look, Jess. I'm sorry. You'd be

better off just turning around right now

and going back to the hospital. We made

it look like I forced you to help me so

you

shouldn't

have

any

trouble

convincing the police. You might have

some explaining to do about the smashed

vase when the cop wakes up, but I think

you can do a good job of convincing

them. You're a smart girl."

I looked at Brody in disbelief. I

could hear what he was saying but my

mind wouldn't allow me to accept that it

had all been a lie, that he wasn't really

interested in spending the rest of his life

with me. That he wasn't fantasizing like I

was about the two of us being on the run

together and hiding out in secret places

and making love on secluded beaches

and staying in little huts on islands that

we had found together.

"Not smart enough, I guess," I said as

I stared straight ahead into the black

night.

I had always known that I was a

little bit gullible, but now I realized that

I had been utterly ridiculous. I wanted so

badly to believe that someone loved me

and was going to take me away from my

sad life, that I had built all these

impossible fantasies up in my head. I

knew that the small amount of money that

I had pulled from my savings wouldn't

have lasted us very long. And I knew

that being on the run was probably

nowhere near as romantic as I had made

it out to be in my head. But worst of all,

I knew a man like Brody could never

have fallen for someone like me.

Even though he was apparently

everything that the cops said he was, a

criminal and probably involved with the

mafia, he was still the kind of man I had

always wanted. He was exciting and

interesting and incredibly sexy, but even

more than that he had a kindness about

him.

I saw it when he was talking about

his childhood and the things that were

painful for him and I saw it in the way he

looked at me and seemed interested in

me. And as crazy as it seemed, the things

that I saw in him were the things that

made me fall for him, even though he

was being held for possible connections

to the mob. But maybe the whole thing

had been in my head. Maybe I wanted to

believe him so badly that I had only seen

what I wanted to.

"So now that you don't need me

anymore, you're throwing me away?" I

asked, too ashamed of myself to look at

him anymore.

"Jess, I don't want to get you any

further involved in this than you already

are. You've done enough for me. You've

helped me more than you can imagine,

and I will always be grateful to you for

that. But now you have to go back to

your own life. You don't deserve the

kind of life that you're in store for if you

stick around me, and you don't deserve

what is going to happen to you if you

walk into that house.

You're a good person and a very

special woman and I swear if my life

was different I would have you turn this

car around right now and never let you

leave my side. But there are things I

have to do and I don't want you to get

hurt. I don't want your life to be ruined

because of me."

"I don't want to go back, Brody. I

don't know what to do or what to think. I

thought you wanted me to be with you," I

said as tears started to stream down my

face.

"Look, I don't expect you to believe

anything that I say to you now. I'm sorry

about everything that has happened, Jess,

but if you come in that house with me

you're as good as dead."

"What do you think I have to look

forward to if I go back to my life?" I

said as I looked over at him. "I don't

think they're going to believe that I was

forced to help you, not with the way

we've been talking all week. The

detectives have noticed. And I'm sure the

guards have noticed how much time I've

spent in there with you. If I go back, I

might be the one that winds up in prison.

Is that what you want? Now that you're

free you don't seem very concerned with

who else goes to prison. Just as long as

it's not you," I said as I turned my head

back to the steering wheel and started to

cry.

"Jess, please, you have to listen to

me. You're not safe here and I don't

know if I can ..."

Just then there was a sound like a

piece of metal tapping on the glass of the

driver's side window.

"Oh fuck," I heard Brody say under

his breath. "Just follow my lead, Jess.

You're my hostage and I need you to take

care of me. Got it? Put the window

down."

My hand was shaking as I pushed the

button and as I turned my head I saw the

barrel of a gun poking through the top of

the window.

"Joe! It's me, Brody!"

"I thought I heard your voice, Brody.

Man, I thought you were dead. Turn on

the light so I can get a better look at

you."

Brody opened his car door and the

overhead light went on.

"Who's this with you?" the man

outside the car asked.

"A nurse from the hospital. I'm still

in bad shape, Joe. I need her to take care

of me. That fucking cop shot me in the

stomach and I've been in the ICU under a

guard for the last week. I got her to help

me put the guard out who was sitting

outside my room and I got out of there. I

told her I'd let her go when we left the

hospital, but I still need her to take care

of my wound."

"Sounds like you've had a lot of

excitement, Brody. No wonder I didn't

see you in the news. I kept looking to see

if they found your body but it never

turned up. It's funny though, my face has

been plastered all over the goddamned

place. Sasha and I can't even leave this

shithole. Maybe you can help us figure

out how to get the hell out of here."

"Sasha's here?"

"Yeah, she's inside. It should be nice

and cozy in there now. Let's get inside."

I looked over at Brody and he

nodded for me to open the car door. I got

out slowly and saw the outline of a large

man, then I shut the door and started to

walk around the back of the car.

"Where the hell are you going?" the

man with the gun asked. I turned and

looked back at him as he came after me.

He grabbed my arm and pushed me up

against the car.

"I was just going to help Brody get

out of the car. He can't stand up on his

own," I said, my voice shaking.

"Alright, let's go over there together.

Next time you make a move like that

you're gonna wind up in worse shape

than your boyfriend," he said with a

laugh.

I walked around the car with the

man's hand gripping my arm tightly and

when we got to Brody he let me go.

"Take it easy on her, Joe."

"Sure thing," Joe said as he reached

out his hand to Brody. "Need some help

up?"

"Yeah, thanks," Brody said as he

grabbed Joe's hand and pulled himself

up out of the car.

"Can you grab the bag in the back,

Jess," Brody asked as he steadied

himself on the car.

"What's in the bag," Joe asked as he

opened the rear car door, then unzipped

the bag.

"Just some clothes and meds from

the hospital."

Joe rummaged around in the bag then

stood up and looked at Brody.

"Satisfied?" Brody asked.

"Hey, I'm just looking out for myself.

I don't know what's been going on or

what you've told the cops. For all I know

they're on their way over here right

now."

"Lighten up, Joe. I didn't tell them

anything. They told me that you were

seen leaving the scene of the crime in

your girlfriend's convertible."

"So that's why she's all up in the

news too. I guess I should have figured

that scumbag DiFazio would have his

own daughter hunted down."

"What the cops told me is that he's

claiming that you kidnapped her. That's

all I know."

"Ok, well, let's get inside," he said

as he grabbed the duffel bag out of the

backseat.

We made our way up to the porch

with Brody leaning on me and taking

small steps. I could hear his heavy

breathing as we climbed up each of the

stairs to the porch. I could tell he didn't

want that Joe guy to know how bad of

shape he was in though. I didn't know

what Brody's plan was, but it didn't

sound like they were very good friends.

And it didn't sound like it was that far

from the truth that he needed me around

to help him.

But the truth for me was that I needed

him too. No matter what lies he told me

up until that point, no matter how scary

the situation was, I didn't want to leave

him. I didn't want to go back to my life.

"Hey, Sasha, it was Brody. You can

turn the lights back on," Joe said as he

opened the door to the house and walked

in ahead of us. Just then I saw a young

woman with long blonde hair as she

turned on a table light. She walked up to

Joe and wrapped her arms around him

but was looking right at Brody.

"Hey there, Brody. It's good to see

you alive," the blonde girl said as she

smiled at Brody. "Who's this?"

"Sasha, this is Jess. She's here to

take care of me while I recover from a

gunshot wound. You know, the one I got

in the stomach while we were pulling

the job at the Shady Palms," he said,

sounding like he was making a point.

"Sorry about that Brody. I wanted to

wait for you but ..." She sounded like she

stopped short then changed the subject.

"So what, did you kidnap her or is she

with you?" she asked, looking a little too

interested in our relationship.

"I kidnapped her, Sasha. She's here

to help me get better and that's it," he

said as I helped him sit down on the

couch.

"Yeah, and then what?" Joe asked,

still pointing his gun in my direction.

"Will you put that goddamned thing

away?" Brody said as he looked up at

Joe.

"Well, what the hell are we going to

do to make sure she doesn't run, Brody?

I'm not going to risk going to jail or

being found out by the family just so you

can ..."

"Alright, alright! Just let me lay

down here for a while and I'll figure it

out," Brody said as he laid down on the

couch. He looked pale and like he was

in a lot of pain.

"I think he needs some painkillers

out of the bag," I said as I looked up at

Joe. "Is it ok if I get them out?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Joe said as he sat

down in a chair. "But you better figure

out something quick if you know what's

good for you, Brody."

"Just let me worry about it, will you

Joe? Jess is just about the least of your

worries right now if you ask me."

BRODY

don't know man, I thought you were

dead and now I've got two more

people to worry about."

"Gee thanks," I said as I glared at the

little weasel. I was going to enjoy killing

that bastard. I just had to get some

strength back first.

"I told you I'll take care of her. If

you're so worried that she's gonna run go

take the distributor cap out of the

goddamned engine for Christ sake." I

said as I tried to get comfortable with

the gun underneath me on the scratchy

old couch that I was laying on in the

middle of the room.

"Go sit over there then," Joe said as

he pushed Jess over to the end of the

couch where my feet were. She had the

pill bottles in the pockets of her scrubs

and she sat down on the couch while she

took them out and handed them to me.

"I'm gonna need some water."

"Sasha, go get him a glass of water,"

Joe said as he finally put his gun away. I

watched him settle back into the chair he

was sitting in and cross one of his legs

over the other. He looked so goddamned

smug I wanted to just blow him away

right then. I was moving too slow to do

anything at the moment though, and I

didn't want to risk getting Jess killed.

Plus, I wasn't really sure what Sasha

was capable of. I watched her as she

came back into the room with the glass

of water and looked into her eyes as she

handed it to me. She smiled and then

walked across the room, sitting down on

a chair as I washed down the pills with

the water.

"So what happened?" I asked after a

few minutes of silence. "I have no idea

what went down after I got shot by that

cop. The next thing I remember is

waking up in the hospital with the cops

interrogating me."

"What did you tell them?" Joe asked

as he lurched forward in the chair. "Did

they mention my name? What the fuck

did you tell them about me?"

"I told you, man. I didn't have to tell

them anything about you. They already

knew who you were and came to the

conclusion all on their own that you

were involved. I told you, someone saw

you leaving the resort at the same time as

the incident and they put it all together

pretty freaking quick.

They asked me repeatedly what my

involvement was with you and with the

DiFazio family, and I just kept telling

them the same story over and over. That

we met in a bar ... I'd been drinking ...

you told me I could make a couple

hundred thousand real quick with not

much work and no risk. I told them you

said your name was Frank Reynolds and

that I didn't have any idea who you were

or who you were connected with. That's

all I told them, I swear," I said.

I glanced over at Jess and she was

still sitting on the arm of the couch. She

was looking at me with a sad, terrified

look in her eyes like she was finally

realizing what an enormous mistake she

had made. There was a part of me that

felt bad but I had to save my own ass. I

had to get out of that hospital. I didn't

want to involve her but I knew I didn't

have any choice at the time. Besides, I

didn't think things were going to get so

complicated. I really wished she had just

turned around and left me here, but she

was here now and I was going to do

whatever it took to make sure she got out

alive.

"Well are you sure you didn't say

anything to them because my name has

been on every news site since that

night?"

"Me too," Sasha said, as she glared

over at Joe. He didn't seem to notice at

all because as usual he was just

concerned with himself. "The news isn't

saying I'm kidnapped though. Wouldn't

they be saying that if that's what they

thought?" Sasha asked.

"That's just what the cops told me

that your dad told them. I have no idea

what they know or what they told the

freaking media. If you want a different

answer than what I've been giving you,

you're going to have to ask someone

else," I said as I directed my attention

back to Joe. He sat back in his chair

again looking like he might be satisfied

with my answer.

"Look, man, I didn't even know who

the hell you were when I hired you. I

gave you a chance cause Sasha said you

knew the layout of the resort and could

help us out. But now I'm starting to get a

bad feeling about all this. Like maybe I

was set up or something. Like maybe

someone hired you to pull this job off

with me."

"Are you freaking kidding me? I'm

the one that got shot! I'm the one that

wound up in the hospital and had to

escape or I would have wound up in

prison. I know I didn't shoot that cop at

Shady Palms. My guess is it was you

since you were the only other person

there, but I didn't tell them that. I kept my

goddamned mouth shut. And if I hadn't

gotten myself outta there, I would have

been the one to go to prison for killing a

cop, not you. So don't give me that shit

about thinking you're being set up."

"Alright, let's just drop it for now.

We gotta figure out how the hell to keep

her from getting out of here though. That

room in the middle there has just one

window. I'll go see if I can find some

wood to board it up. Then I'm tying her

up tonight. You can sleep out here on the

couch and Sasha and I are in that room

there."

"Dude, you don't have to tie her up

..."

"Yes I fucking do," Joe said as he

stood up and walked over to the couch

so I could get a real good look at his

ugly face. "And you can stop telling me

what to do right now because you're the

liability now. Maybe you need her here

with you and maybe you don't, but

honestly I don't really give a shit.

All I'm waiting for is for you to tell

me how the hell you're going to get us

out of this. You were the one that said

you had a boat we could use to get the

hell out of here. I've been waiting here

for a week now and I sure as hell don't

need some damn nurse running off in the

middle of the night bringing the cops

back here. She's getting tied up."

I wanted to strangle that son of a

bitch so bad I could taste it. Before I

was done with him he was gonna wish

he had never been born. I looked at Jess

as he grabbed her arm and pulled her

toward the bedroom, and I could see that

she was terrified. I wanted to tell her

that everything was going to be ok, that I

was going kill those ass holes as soon as

I could, but I couldn't blow it all just to

make her feel better. He still hadn't told

me what had happened at the resort. But

I was pretty sure that if he had grabbed

some of the money from the safe he sure

as hell wasn't going to tell me about it.

But watching him throw Jess around

like that made my blood boil and I was

going to make sure he got what was

coming to him.

MUST

HAVE

FALLEN

asleep at some point

because when I woke up I was

disoriented. I didn't know where I was

for a few moments and I was especially

confused because I felt the pressure of

two thighs straddling me. I open my eyes

hoping to see Jess's beautiful eyes

staring down at me but instead it was

that goddamned blonde bitch.

"I was so afraid you were dead,

Brody," she said as she pushed her tits

together and hovered over my face. I

squirmed around underneath her so that

she wasn't sitting so close to my stomach

and she took that as an invitation to grind

herself onto my cock.

"I waited for you, I didn't wanna

leave without you but he made me. And I

knew he would kill me if I told him

anything. I've been so horny for you,

Brody," she said as she kept gyrating on

top of me. I had no interest in this chick

anymore but my cock didn't seem to want

to listen to anything my brain had to say.

"Hey yeah, I've been horny for you

too, babe. I was hoping you would be

here and that maybe Joe would've gotten

killed. Now it looks like I'm gonna have

another job to do. You're still with me

right?" I asked as I wrapped my hands

around her neck.

"Of course, baby. I'm with you. You

just gotta take care of him in the morning

and we'll be good to go. Joe made off

with at least two million from the safe.

It's in a duffel bag under the bed back

there. And as soon as you take care of

him and that nurse in there it'll just be

you and me. I can take care of you just as

good as she can," she said as she nuzzled

her face in my hair.

"So, no one knows you came here,

right? You haven't made any calls or

seen any other cars, right?" I asked

trying to get as much information out of

her as I could. I didn't trust her as far as I

could throw her but if I was gonna make

it out of this alive, I need to keep

everything looking good as far as she

was concerned.

"No, nobody's called. I mean my dad

has of course. He's left like a hundred

messages but I'm sure he doesn't know

anything. I think he's embarrassed that

one of his own family members turned

against him and tried to rob his resort

and he doesn't want it in the news. But it

serves him right. I don't feel sorry for

that controlling asshole one bit. I can't

wait to get away from him."

"I wouldn't underestimate your dad if

I were you, Sasha. He's not a stupid man.

So, you didn't get rid of your cell phone?

It's still here?"

"Yeah, do you wanna use it?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure it's being

tracked. Why didn't you get rid of it

before you got here?" I was suddenly

worried that this wasn't going to go as

smoothly as I hoped it would.

"No, my dad doesn't have any of my

passwords. There's no way he could

track my phone."

"Okay, babe, well the sooner we get

out of here the better. Get Joe's gun when

you get back in there. I don't want to

have to worry about him sneaking up

behind me. I need to use any advantage I

can to make sure he gets what's coming

to him."

"Sure, Brody, anything you you say,

but I want you to fuck me," she said as

she pulled her top off and pushed her tits

into my face. I let out a groan and put my

hand over my stomach and she backed

off a little.

"Oh honey, did I hurt you? You're

still in so much pain, aren't you?"

"Yeah, my stomach is killing me," I

said, hoping to get her off of me. I was

still hard as hell but it wasn't her name

that was written all over my cock.

"Oh, ok. Just kiss me, then. I've been

dying to taste you, Brody. And I want to

run my fingers through that thick, dark

hair of yours," she said as she leaned

down, being careful not to put any

weight on my stomach, and shoved her

tongue into my mouth.

She was definitely a chick I would

have fucked in two seconds flat a couple

of weeks ago. In fact, I had fucked her

two weeks ago, but now all I could think

about was Jess. I wanted those big

luscious hips sitting on top of me right

now and I want to feel her soft lips

touching mine. I would have been able to

take any amount of pain if I had her

sitting on top of me right now instead of

this spoiled bitch.

"Hey, hey. I don't want Joe to come

out and see you on top of me like this

with your shirt off. Get back in the room

with him so he doesn't suspect anything

and get his gun away from him. I'll see

you in the morning."

"Ok, baby. I can't wait," she said as

she got up and tiptoed through the room

then slipped silently into the bedroom

where Joe slept.

JESS

heard the door to the room open and

close and I knew it had to be Brody. I

had been tied to the bed in the dark room

and I couldn't turn to see the door but

whoever it was, was standing there

quietly and I didn't think that Joe guy had

the ability to be quiet for very long. Plus,

if it had been him he probably would've

already been jerking me around again,

almost dislocating my shoulder.

But the fact that it was Brody didn't

put me any more at ease, and it certainly

didn't make me happy. I didn't want to

look him in the eyes ever again. I was

too angry and too ashamed of myself for

falling for his lies. I just wanted to die

right there in that bed.

"Are you okay, Jess?" he whispered.

I didn't answer him but I could tell that

he knew I wasn't asleep. He stood there

for a little while longer then I heard soft

footsteps cross the floor over to the end

of the bed.

"I just wanted to see how you're

doing. I'm sorry I got you mixed up in all

this. I can't stand the way that asshole

has been throwing you around ..."

"Was it all just a bunch of lies,

Brody? Was a single thing you said to

me true?" I asked, immediately feeling

ashamed of myself for still wanting to

believe anything he had said to me in the

hospital. Of course, it was all lies. He

never really intended to run away with

me. He was just using me to get out of

the hospital.

Of course everything he said to you

was a lie, Jess.

His complete silence gave me all the

answers I needed.

"Never mind, I know you were just

doing what you had to in order get out of

there. So what's going to happen now? I

guess that's another stupid question. I

know you have to kill me. You already

told me that if I came into this house

there was no way I would be getting out

of here alive."

"Jess, I'm not going to kill you. I

don't need to kill you. When I disappear

I'm disappearing for good. I know how

to do it so that not a single person on this

planet will be able to find me unless I

want them to. So, I'm not worried about

what you tell the police or what you say

about me afterwards.

I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry

that I got you involved in this. You have

to understand ... I had to get out of that

hospital. It was a one-way ticket to life

in prison and ..."

"... and you did what you had to do, I

get it. You told me what you needed to

tell me, and you used everything at your

disposal to get what you wanted, right?

You should be proud of yourself. You

really had me fooled." I said with my

back still to him.

"Jess, you can't possibly understand

what I was going through unless you've

been in the position I was in. You can't

tell me you wouldn't have done the same

thing."

"Well, yes, actually I think I can,

Brody. Because I wouldn't have been in

that situation to begin with," I said as I

twisted my body towards him, the rope

around

wrists

straining

and

tightening. I realized that my voice was

getting louder and I didn't want that Joe

guy to hear us and come in so I turned

back towards the wall and lowered my

voice.

"I wouldn't be in that position,

Brody, because I can't even imagine

being in a situation where I would have

to use another person to get what I

wanted. I don't know what kind of job

you have or what your involvement is

with

this

family

business,

but

manipulating someone's emotions and

lying to innocent people in order to get

what you want sounds pretty sleazy to

me. And that's not something I would

ever do. I would never trick someone

into falling in love with me no matter

what kind of trouble I was in. I have

more respect for the people I choose to

be around than that."

"You're right, Jess, what I did was

sleazy and selfish. You're much better off

without me. I know you'll be fine. You'll

make your way back to the police station

and tell them what happened and they'll

believe that you were kidnapped. You

can bring them back to this house and

show them where I kept you and they'll

believe you. I promise, you'll be fine."

"But what about the way I feel?" I

said with tears starting to burn my eyes. I

didn't want to cry in front of him. I didn't

want him to know how much he had

effected me, but for some reason no

matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop

the feelings that were welling up inside

me. No matter how many times I told

myself that he was a sleazy, lowlife

criminal that had used me I still couldn't

stop seeing his eyes when he told me he

loved me. I couldn't stop wanting to

believe that there was a lot more to him

than what he was showing me right now.

A side to him that I had only been able to

get a glimpse of through his eyes.

I tried to wipe my eyes but my hands

were tied over my head to the

headboard. Brody came over to the side

of the bed that I was laying on and sat

down next to me and untied my wrists.

He sat there silently for a moment with

the moonlight that was shining in through

the wooden boards that were nailed over

the window shining on him.

"I'm sorry he did this to you," he said

as he unwound the rope from around my

wrists. "I'm going to get rid of both of

them tomorrow, and as soon as I do you

have to leave."

"But what if I want to stay with

you?" I asked still feeling incredibly

ashamed but I couldn't keep the words

from coming out. Tears were rolling

down my cheeks now and I wiped them

off as I looked at Brody in the dim light.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm going to

kill them. Why the hell would you want

to stay with a killer? You need to leave

this place Jess. If I thought I could get

you out of here tonight I would, but I

have to make sure he doesn't have that

gun. There's more going on here than you

realize and I don't know if I can protect

you. There might be other men coming

here soon, they might even be waiting

outside right now."

"Why won't you let me make the

decision of whether or not I want to stay

with you? I don't understand what you're

telling me. Are you saying that you don't

want me to stay with you or that you

don't think I should stay with you?" That

distinction was starting to become very

important to me. Was Brody trying to get

me to leave because he thought that was

best for me? If he really didn't want me

with him I had to know, but so far he

wasn't saying those exact words. He

seemed to be saying anything but that.

"Jess, you don't want to come with

me. I'm on the run now, and not just from

the cops. You don't know who I am,

Jess." he said as he moved closer to me.

"You have no idea what kind of person I

am."

"Then tell me. What kind of person

are you? I want you to be honest with

me. If you really don't want me to be

with you then tell me. If that's the case,

then I'll leave and you'll never see me

again." I asked looking to into his eyes

and trying to understand what it was he

was trying to tell me.

"It's not that, Jess. It's not that at all,"

he said as he looked down at the floor. I

wanted to reach out and touch him but he

was right. Why would I want to be with

a killer? Up until I met Brody I would

have never even considered breaking the

law or standing by while I knew

someone was about to be killed. Why

was I suddenly ok with what this man

had planned? And not only that, why did

I still want to stay with him after he told

me that he was planning on killing two

people in the morning?

"I'm not just going to be running from

the cops, Jess. I'm going to be running

from the mob, too. I'm going to have

people, people that no one would ever

want to have looking for them, looking

for me for the rest of my life."

"What do you mean? Are you with

the Mafia, Brody? Is that what you're

telling me? Is what the cops said about

you true?"

"No. Is not that simple. I wish it was.

I'm what's called an associate, or more

accurately in my case, a ghost. I take

care of things for people. People that

need a job done without any kind of trail

left after it's finished ... they find me.

Nobody knows who I am or where I live

or where I go after the job is done. They

just know that they are going to get what

they want. That's my reputation. I give

them exactly what they want.

I've spent the last ten years of my life

perfecting my career. It's a service I

started myself after seeing a big need for

it in a lot of operations that I'd been a

part of. Years ago, I'd been hired to do

little jobs here and there for different

organizations. But as the jobs got bigger,

I started to see a need that wasn't being

filled. A need for someone to do these

jobs who was basically invisible, even

from the people who hired them.

So, for the last ten years I've been

the guy that just about everybody

contacts from any organization ...

whatever you want to call it ... family

business, the mob, organized crime,

whatever ... they come to me. At least

they know how to get ahold of me. I've

arranged it so that I can receive

messages ... arrangements ... payments ...

and any information I need to do a job,

but nothing can be traced to me directly.

get

message,

reply,

arrangements are made and I do the job.

I don't have an identity to any of these

people and they don't care as long as I

get the job done. Like I said, that's my

reputation. There's only one other person

in the world I'm aware of that does

anything like what I do, so there always

seems to be plenty of work. Plenty of

people that need to have a dirty job

taken care of. And sometimes those

arrangements include someone within an

organization hiring me to kill someone in

that same organization."

"Are you're saying that you were

hired by someone to kill Joe? Someone

he works for? Is that why you're here?"

"Yes. That's what I'm saying. I was

hired to set up the job with him and I

was hired to kill him in the process, to

make it look like it had taken place

during the robbery. However, I made one

stupid mistake while we were pulling

off the job. I didn't realize that DiFazio

had hired additional protection for the

night of the poker game. It was

something I normally would have made

sure of, something so freaking simple it

was almost an amateur move. I don't

know, maybe I let myself slip up. I had

been getting tired for a while of all the

killing and the pressure so maybe in

some sick way I was really doing myself

a favor.

But that cop showed up and shot me

and Joe got away with two million out of

DiFazio's safe. There's no way they're

just gonna let me walk away from that. I

can't go back to my life because not only

did I wind up in the hospital with the

cops all over me taking my fingerprints

and snapping a photo for their records,

but the guy that came into my room ..."

"That was Vinnie DiFazio?"

"Yeah, the head of the DiFazio

family. The head of the entire organized

crime syndicate in this state came into

my room and saw me. He didn't tell the

cops he knew who I was but he knew,

alright. And he also knew that I fucking

blew the job. And there's no way they're

going to risk having me running around

now. If they catch up with me I'm as

good as dead. And I'm pretty sure they're

tracking his daughter's cell phone.

I think they were just waiting for me

to get here and it's only a matter of time

before they show up. And when they do

they're not going to leave anyone alive. I

need to get the hell out of here, Jess, and

I need to disappear for the rest of my

life. But you can't come with me. You

don't deserve that kind of life."

"But what if that's what I want,

Brody? Don't I get a choice in any of

this?"

"Jess, these men are very dangerous.

It's not just running from the cops I'm

talking about. If that was the case, I

wouldn't be worried at all. You could

come with me for as long as you wanted

and then if you got sick of looking at me

you, could drift off to some South

American country and be safe down

there. But this is way more complicated.

If these men knew you were with me,

your life would be in constant danger.

Everywhere you went for the rest of your

life ... and I don't want that for you.

You'll be better off just going back to

your life and your job at the hospital."

"What life? I don't have a life,

Brody. I've been dead for a year now

and talking to you has been the only thing

that has made me feel anything for a long

time. I don't want to go back to living

alone in my apartment. I don't want to go

back to working a job that I don't even

feel connected to anymore. I feel like

I've been treading water waiting for

something to happen but nothing was

happening. Nothing made me feel

anything until I met you. I really need

you to tell me the truth, Brody. Was

everything you told me a lie?"

Brody didn't say anything for a

minute and I felt my heart sink into my

stomach. In that moment I wished I was

anywhere but there and not because I

was afraid of dying or worried about

what was going to happen to me. I didn't

want to be sitting in front of someone

who was embarrassed to tell me what a

fool I had been.

"No."

"No? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Jess, I can't take you with me. I just

can't," he said as he looked into my eyes

one final time with a sadness that broke

my heart into pieces. He got up off the

bed and left the room and I cried into the

BRODY

heard one of the doors click open and

I knew before I saw him that Joe was

slowly crossing the room. It sounded

like he wasn't sure if I was awake or not

and was trying to plan some sort of

move so I figured I'd give him a heads

up that that wasn't going to happen.

"What's up, Joe? Hear any news this

morning?"

"Nope. No news," he said as he

walked to the foot of the couch where I

could see his smirking face. I hated that I

was still so immobile with this jackass

walking around. I knew he had

something up his sleeve and that neither

Jess nor I were safe while he was still

alive. I was feeling a little better than the

day before and I figured if the shit really

came down I could go to town on him,

no problem, but the fact remained that I

was still weak. I was still having a hard

time getting up and down, although I had

finally gotten to the point where I could

do it without help.

"I haven't heard much of anything

today except some voices in the walls.

You didn't hear anything like that, did

you? Nah, you've been asleep all night,

right? What with your injury and all.

How is that gunshot wound today,

Brody? Still in a lot of pain?"

Something was definitely different

this morning and I wasn't too interested

in giving this guy the opportunity to get

the upper hand so I sat up on the couch

and reached for the bottle of painkillers.

I wanted to be ready if he tried anything.

"Yeah, it seems to be doing better.

I'm just gonna keep taking the pills and it

should get ..."

"If you've got the pills what do you

need her for?" he asked, still standing at

the foot of the couch. He was starting to

make me nervous. I'd seen him in action

before and I knew he had no problem

whatsoever killing anyone who got in his

way.

"She's been changing the bandage

and making sure it doesn't get infected.

Plus, she been helping me get around.

What do you care? I told you I'd take

care of her. Where's Sasha?"

"It's funny that you ask. Sasha took

off."

"What do you mean took off?" I

asked, almost choking on the pills I was

swallowing.

"She took off. She's gone. My guess

is she went home to her daddy," he said

with an ugly smile on his face.

"What? You gotta be kidding me.

You told me her face was plastered all

over the news! What, is she that stupid?"

I asked, looking at him in disbelief. I

knew she hadn't left. I knew she was still

around here somewhere, but I also knew

if I called her name she wouldn't answer

me.

"Hey, man, you can't stop a strong

willed whore like that. I mean, she was

a hot little piece of ass, but she never

listened to a goddamned word I said. I

told her it would be a bad idea to leave,

but she just wouldn't listen," he said with

a chuckle but his eyes weren't smiling.

They were looking right at me like he

was challenging me. Like he knew

something,

thought

knew

something, that I didn't want him to

know.

I had no way of making a fast move

so I had to work with what I did have

going for me. After I talked to Jess and

came back to lay down on the couch I

had moved the gun underneath one of the

couch cushions to give my back a rest,

but now this asshole was staring right at

me and I had to figure out how to get it

without him seeing.

"What the hell is that?" I asked

gesturing my chin at the window.

"What?" he said as he looked where

I gestured but he looked right back at me

so I didn't have time to grab the gun.

"I don't know, I thought I saw

something out there? Maybe she came

back? Or maybe she hasn't left yet."

"Dude, I told you, she's gone," he

said as he finally turned to look out the

window. I pulled the gun out and

crammed it down the back of my jeans

then stood up like I was going to see for

myself if she was out there.

"I don't see anything," Joe said as he

turned back towards me.

"Really? I could have sworn I saw

something. I'm going to go out there and

see if I can find her and talk some sense

into her," I said as I moved toward the

door.

"Hey! I told you she's gone. Just drop

it. And I thought you were too wounded

to be up and around. Why don't you just

sit back down on that couch?"

"What?

I'm

fine.

What's

the

problem?"

"No, problem here, Brody. But what

about you? Do you need that fucking

nurse in there or not? I'm having a hard

time understanding why she's still alive

if you're fine."

"Hey, I don't want any trouble, Joe. I

just came here to get away from the

cops. I'm not trying to pull anything over

on you. And I'm worried that Sasha is

going to be spotted driving around in that

convertible of her's. If she ... hey, what's

her car still doing here if she left?" I

asked as I looked out the front window. I

took a few steps toward the door then

turned the knob and pulled it about

halfway open before Joe ran up behind

me and kicked it shut.

The loud slam thundered through the

house and immediately after that a dull

thud came from further down the same

wall in the living room. Joe and I both

looked over to where the second sound

had come from, and there was Sasha's

body, covered in soot and curled up in a

ball in the fireplace. It looked like Joe

had broken her in half to get her body

crammed up that chimney.

I pulled my gun from behind me and

just then I felt the force of a ton of bricks

come crashing down on top of me. A

searing pain flared through my gut as Joe

had knocked me to the ground. My gun

flew out of my hand and skidded across

the floor but luckily he didn't see it. He

was too focused on putting all his weight

on my throat.

I tried to push him off of me but with

every move I made it felt like a handful

of knives were being driven further and

further inside of me. I just couldn't get

any leverage or strength from the

position I was in. Suddenly, his massive

body collapsed on top of mine, but I still

couldn't get him off of me. I tried to roll

over but the pain from his weight on my

stomach and from trying to use my

shredded stomach muscles kept me from

being able to move. Finally I felt his

body roll off of mine and there was Jess

staring down at me.

"What happened?" I asked her,

gasping for breath.

"I hit him over the head with that

lamp," she said as she pointed to a heavy

stone ceramic lamp base that was now

laying on the floor next to me. I stared at

her for a few seconds then started

laughing. I couldn't believe that she had

done it again.

"What's so funny?" she asked with a

slight frown on her face. God, she even

looked

beautiful

when

she

was

frowning.

"That's the second time you've saved

my life," I said as I looked up at her in

awe. "You're a really amazing woman,

Jess."

Just then Joe started to move and I

slid myself across the hardwood floor

over to my gun, then just as he started to

push himself up I shot him right in the

chest. Jess let out a little scream and

covered her face but then she ran over to

me and knelt down next to me and

touched my chest.

"Are you okay? Your stomach... How

does it feel?"

"Like I just got shot again. I don't

think we have time to worry about it

now, though. We've got to get the hell out

of here. Every minute that goes by I'm

afraid someone's gonna roll up outside

and we'll be dead before we even know

what happened."

"Just let me take a look at it, Brody.

And let me get you some pills. Have you

already taken them today?" she said as

she jumped up and grabbed the bottles of

pills and some water from the fridge.

"Yeah, I took some. I think maybe the

pain killers are just starting to kick in."

"Ok, then you'll need to take them all

again in a few hours."

"While you're up go grab the bag

with your clothes. We need to get

everything together and leave as soon as

possible."

Jess came back into the room with

the duffel bag and stuffed the pills and

bottles of water into it and walked over

to where I was on the floor.

"Does that mean I'm coming with

you?" she asked as she slowly sank to

her knees next to me.

"I think after everything you've done

for me I'd be crazy to go anywhere

without you," I said as I pulled myself up

so I was sitting against the wall.

"Besides, you were right. A lot of what I

said in the hospital was true. I just

wasn't ready to admit it, I guess."

Jess's eyes filled with tears and she

reached out and touched my face, then

leaned in and pressed her soft, full lips

into mine. A wave of relief swept over

me as I realized that she would be with

me, that we were in this together now. I

had spent so many years alone, making

sure that there was no one around me, no

one that could be affected by any of my

actions, that I hadn't realized until just

now how much I needed this. How much

I needed Jess.

It had taken so long to get it through

my thick skull that my life would be so

much better off with her in it, that now I

just wanted to get the hell out of that

house and get on with our lives together.

I was terrified that she was going to be

taken away from me now that I had

finally let her in.

"Help me get over to the couch," I

said as I felt her soft lips on my

forehead. It was so tempting to just stay

there and let her lips have their way with

me, but the bad feeling in my stomach

helped push me up the wall so that I was

standing. The painkillers were now

doing their job and I was able to move

around with significantly more ease. I

got over to the couch and sat down and

let Jess look at my wound, but I kept

looking out the window to see if I could

spot any movement.

"What happened to Sasha?"

"I have no idea. I can only imagine

that Joe heard us talking last night and

killed her while I was in the room with

you. He must have shoved her body up

the chimney before I came back out here

this morning. I'm sure he was hoping her

body would stay hidden up there for a

long time."

"What were you and Sasha talking

about? I thought she was with Joe."

"She was ... at least that's what he

thought, anyway. Part of my cover was to

make her think that I was gonna take her

with me. I met her before I got into

contact with Joe. That was part of the

plan. I started talking to her at a bar

down in Key West. We got really

friendly and I brought her home with me

and told her that all I needed was a

couple hundred thousand dollars to get

started, and that I would take her away

with me. I told her that I had a yacht we

could sail around the world on and she

told me she could get us a hell of a lot

more than that. She helped me plan the

job at the resort with Joe but she only

knew a small part of what was going on.

We told him that I had been a

security guard at the Shady Palms and I

knew my way around the entire resort,

plus I knew the schedule of all of the

guards on duty. We planned the heist

together, but what she didn't know is that

I was going to kill Joe in the middle of

it, so that it looked obvious that he was

going against DiFazio and had been

caught red handed."

"But why didn't they just kill him?

Why did they have to hire someone else

to do it?"

"That's the way they do things now.

The DiFazio family isn't heavy into

killing anymore. Not the actual killing

part, anyway. They're mostly just

involved in gambling and prostitution

and that sort of thing, so when a job like

this comes up, they like to contract it out.

Vinnie DiFazio has kept a pretty low

profile for quite a while now and having

a guy like Joe in the family was bringing

attention he just didn't want anymore."

"And Sasha was in on it?"

"No, I just used her to get at Joe. She

was just a spoiled brat that wanted the

next exciting thing. I wasn't going to kill

her, but Joe didn't seem to care about her

one way or the other."

"Thank you, Brody."

"For what?" I asked, looking into

those deep, dark eyes of hers.

"For telling me the truth ... and for

not leaving me behind. I felt like I had

lost my mind for believing what you had

told me. But I knew there was something

there. I could feel it."

"You were right all along, Jess.

From the minute I laid eyes on you I was

a goner, I just couldn't admit it to myself

and I didn't want the responsibility of

your life in my hands. But now I know

that you probably won't be safer

anywhere else in the world than with

me."

So, I guess we should probably get

out of here then."

"Yeah, like now," I said as I looked

out the window and saw something

moving in the trees down at the far end

of the driveway.

JESS

rody motioned for me to go into the

bedroom that Joe and Sasha had been

using then walked around the room and

looked out of every window to see if

there was anyone out there. Following

me through the door, he grabbed the bag

I had packed and opened the window

that led out to the mangrove forest

behind the house. He threw the duffel

bag out the window then looked under

the bed and pulled another bag out. He

looked inside then zipped it back up and

threw it out the window too.

"Jump out and grab your bag then run

straight for that path through those two

trees on the right," he said as he pointed

to the corner of the property. "Just run.

Don't look back and don't slow down.

I'll be right behind you."

I stuck one leg through the window

and straddled the sill, then pulled my

other leg through and jumped down

about five feet to the ground. Then I

grabbed the duffel bag with my clothes

and Brody's meds and ran as fast as I

could until I was hidden behind some of

the leafy bushes and ferns. I slowed

down a little and almost turned around

but suddenly I heard footsteps running up

behind me and when I felt Brody's hand

grab mine I picked up speed again. He

was carrying the other duffel bag that he

had pulled out from under the bed, and

by the way it sounded when it hit the

ground after he threw it out the window

it wasn't very light.

We ran along a path that was more

like a maze in an obstacle course, and

finally after about ten minutes Brody

slowed down to a walk.

"What did you see back there?"

"I saw someone in the trees down

past Sasha's car. I don't think they saw us

though," he said trying to catch his

breath, "but we've got to keep moving." I

knew he was still way too weak to be

running like this and carrying that heavy

bag, but I trusted that he knew what he

was doing by taking this path.

"What's in the bag," I said in

between my own gasps for air.

"The money," he said as he looked

down at me. "We're gonna need

something to live off of until I get us set

up. Two million dollars," he said with a

smile.

"How much further do we have to

go?" I asked, still worried about his

injury and how pale he looked.

"A couple more miles," he said as he

slowed down a little. "I've got a boat up

ahead."

We were getting deeper into the

mangrove forest and the path was

becoming a lot less obvious. We

climbed over giant roots that jutted out

of the ground and waded through patches

of murky, sandy soil for what felt like an

hour before we came out into an opening

in the trees that had hidden a sandy

beach and a wooden dock. There was a

small wooden boat tied up to the dock

and Brody didn't slow down until he got

up to the boat and threw his duffel bag

in. He jumped into the boat and turned

around and helped me down, then untied

it and pushed it away from the dock.

I looked around at the water that

surrounded the rickety boat and it was so

blue and so clear I could see schools of

fish swimming around just below us.

"So this is the boat we're sailing off

into the sunset in?" I asked.

"Just keep your pants on there, little

lady," Brody said as he pulled on the

oars of the rowboat. "We're just halfway

to where we need to get to tonight."

As we left the small lagoon we

floated under a mass of mangrove trees

that hung out over the water and I could

hear all kinds of exotic birds that made

their homes in the dense forest. I couldn't

believe that I had lived in the Lower

Keys all my life and this was the first

time I had been out in the mangrove

forests. The trees were so beautiful, the

way they popped up out of the water and

created little islands and walls of roots

that hugged the shoreline.

Brody navigated the boat past small

outcroppings of land and roots that jutted

up out of the water as we made our way

around a peninsula then into a much

larger lagoon.

"Why don't you let me row for a

while? You look tired," I said as I

watched Brody's rhythmic movements.

"I'm fine, Jess," he said with a faint

smile. "I don't think I'll be able to sit still

until I get us safely docked for the night."

"So, there is a bigger boat?"

"Yeah, there's a bigger boat," he said

as a smile spread across his face. "It's

been docked in a marina near here for a

couple of months now. I got it all set up

a month before everything went down,

and sometimes I think maybe I had it all

planned out. That I was going to sail

away after this job and never come back.

This hasn't been a very easy life. The

money has been the only thing that made

it all worth it. But once you have more

than you can spend it starts to make less

and less of a difference. I've just gotten

so tired of being the one to take care of

all of the dirty work."

"I can't even imagine," I said, not

really wanting to know all the things that

Brody had done while he was doing jobs

for the mob. If he wanted to tell me

about it, I would listen but I was never

going to ask him about it. As far as I was

concerned the past was just that, and

there

was

point

looking

backwards.

As we passed a large mass of trees

we crossed into a large lagoon that

opened out on one side to the ocean. The

sun was starting to set and the reds and

oranges that filled the sky reflected off

of the water and made me feel like we

were moving through a painting. The

shore up ahead was bordered by

thousands of twinkling lights and as we

got closer I realized that we were

headed toward a large marina.

By the time Brody pulled the

rowboat up to of one of the wooden

docks the sky had gone completely dark.

He threw the bags up on the walkway

and helped me out and up a small

wooden ladder, then climbed up himself.

He looked pale and tired and all I

wanted was for him to rest. I knew the

last two days had taken a lot out of him

and he really didn't have much energy to

spare.

Just then I realized that we hadn't

eaten a thing for more than twenty-four

hours. I had been so worked up about

everything I hadn't even thought to make

us some food this morning and by the

time everything had calmed down in the

house we had to run.

"Are we almost there?" I asked.

"We're so close I can almost taste it,"

he said as he swung the duffel bag over

his shoulder and put his arm around the

small of my back, pushing me ahead of

him on the wooden walkway.

"Well, when we get there you'll be

tasting something, all right. We haven't

eaten since yesterday and you really

need to get something in you to keep

your strength up."

"Well, there's plenty of food on

board. I'll get the engine going and I'll let

you whip something up in the galley," he

said as he leaned over and kissed my

head. I felt like this was a dream. I still

couldn't believe that we were really

leaving together.

When we got to the end of the

walkway Brody walked ahead of me and

I followed him right down a smaller

walkway that sat in between two huge

fifty-foot yachts. I started laughing when

Brody untied one of them and threw his

duffel bag on board. He jumped from the

walkway onto the yacht then lowered a

short plank for me to cross, then held out

his hand and I walked straight into his

arms.

"So, this is my boat," he said with a

grin as he wrapped his arms around me

and pulled me close to him. "Do you

think you could be happy on here for a

while?"

"I could be happy on here with you

for a long time," I said as I put my arms

around his broad shoulders and kissed

him.

"I'm going to head up to the bridge

and get this thing started up," he said as

he pulled the plank back onto the boat.

"You go ahead and make yourself

comfortable. I'm going to head out about

a half hour to find a place to set anchor,

then I'll come below and we can finally

eat something," he said as he grabbed me

around the waist and pulled me against

his body. "And then we can take a

shower."

"I looked up at him and felt my face

flush from the thought of finally being

naked with Brody. I'd seen his whole

body during that sponge bath, but having

it there for me to touch and kiss and lick

was beyond exciting. I was worried that

I wouldn't be enough for him though, that

I wasn't as sophisticated as all of the

women he had been with.

"It's been so long since I've been

with a man I'm afraid I've forgotten how

to be sexy," I said as his lips brushed my

neck and he buried his face in my hair.

"That's not even possible, Jess.

You're the sexiest woman I've ever seen

in my life," he said as he pulled away

from me and stared straight into my eyes.

"And I can't believe I almost pushed you

away, for good. That would have been

the biggest mistake of my life, and you

saved me from that too. You're my good

luck charm from now on. Now, let me

get this thing started up and we'll have

hot water for that shower in no time at

all."

MELLS

GOOD

DOWN

HERE

," Brody said as

he walked into the room.

"I heated up some soup. I thought that

would be easy for you to digest," I said

as I felt his warm hands wrap around my

waist.

"When we get down to Havana we

can stop off for the day and pick up some

fresh produce and whatever else you

want."

"Ooh! I'd love to stock the kitchen

full of fresh vegetables and fruit. That

sounds wonderful."

"Galley," he said, his lips curling up

into a smile as he looked down at me.

"The kitchen on a yacht is called a

galley."

"Ok, captain. I'll try and remember

that. "This place is gorgeous, Brody. I've

never seen anything like it," I said as I

looked around at the stainless steel

appliances and ebony floors and

counters.

"Just wait till you see the shower,"

he said as his hands wandered down my

ass and he pulled me into him.

After we ate we made our way to the

bedroom, our clothes coming off in a

trail the whole way there. The bedroom

and bathroom on the yacht were bigger

and more elegantly decorated than just

about any room I'd ever been in and the

shower was enormous. I carefully took

Brody's bandage off and he turned on the

water in the shower and we both

climbed in under the hot, steaming

stream. He was still very sore, but it

seemed that nothing was going to get in

the way of Brody touching every inch of

my body. We stood under the water,

kissing and touching and holding each

other and then he soaped up my entire

body, squeezing my breasts and my ass

as my soapy skin slipped through his

fingers.

The warmth of the water and the

incredible feeling of Brody's hands

caressing me gave me the sensation of

floating on air. And when Brody was

finally inside me, I came almost

instantly. He pushed me forward up

against the glass door of the shower and

pulled my ass towards him so that my

back was arched and my breasts were

pressed up against the glass and he

slowly pushed his incredible length

inside of me.

It was almost too much to take at

first but as he eased himself in and out,

deeper and deeper, I was able to take all

of him and I felt a fullness that I had

never experienced before in my entire

life. He grabbed ahold of my hips and

squeezed my ass and plunged himself

into me over and over until my orgasms

melted

together

into

one

long

excruciatingly

beautiful

feeling

ecstasy.

When I felt the final deep thrust and

the quivering of his cock as he came

inside me his arms engulfed me and he

held me with the hot water pouring down

over us.

RODY

LAY

on the king sized bed and

watched me bandage his wound back up

like he was trying to evaluate my

performance. He had his arms pulled

back in that same position he was in

when I gave him his sponge bath, only

this time both of his hands were free and

were resting behind his head. And he

had that same smug little smile plastered

all over his face. He looked so satisfied

and confident as he gazed down at me

and, to be honest, I could have stared at

him like that all night.

"Am I meeting your approval?"

"Yeah, I'd say you're doing a

satisfactory job. It's pretty nice having a

private nurse to take care of me. I'm

starting to wonder if I should have

waited on the shower and had you give

me another sponge bath instead," he said

as his eyes twinkled with laughter.

"I just bet you would love that," I

said as I smiled up at him after laying the

last piece of tape in place. I sat there for

a moment admiring his naked body as it

was displayed out in front of me. That

was something I had never done before.

Probably because of my upbringing, I

had always been too ashamed of my own

nudity when I was with Marcus to really

sit back and admire him like that. But

somehow with Brody everything felt

more free. I felt like my whole life was

ahead of me and it was going to be filled

with things I had never allowed myself

before.

"And when you're done down there I

think I'm going to need a little bit of

attention up here, too.

As I crawled up the bed I kissed my

way up his gorgeous, rippled stomach

and perfectly sculpted chest. I let my

breasts dangle over him and my hard

nipples brushed along his skin as I

kissed my way up his neck.

"Mmmm, that feels so nice, Jess."

I looked up at Brody and I saw that

look in his eyes. That look that I had

seen in the hospital that made me feel

sure about him. That look that I trusted

and was so confused about when he told

me he didn't want me to come with him.

But now there it was again and I knew

my gut feeling had been right all along. I

knew that no matter what had happened

in either one of our past lives, Brody and

I were meant to be together.

EPILOGUE - BRODY

ood morning," I said as I watched

Jess's

eyelids

open

that

beautifully lazy way that I was now used

to seeing every morning. She smiled up

at me and looked at me with starry eyes

like I was the most amazing thing she'd

ever seen. It was the same look she gave

me every morning when she opened her

eyes and looked up at me, and it always

took my breath away. I had never

experienced that look before her.

I thought I'd been having awesome

sex my whole life. That the women that I

had slept with throughout my life were

the hottest, most beautiful women in

everyone's eyes and because of that I

was a lucky man. But when I would

wake up in the morning I would usually

get a lip bite and a porn face, like the

girl I was with didn't have an original

thought in her head.

That look would always lead to

another orgasm for both of us, but I

always wound up feeling hollow and

empty inside. I had done things that way

for so long that I thought that that's all

there was. But with Jess everything was

so different. Every day with her was

amazing. I felt like we were giving so

much to each other just by being with

each other. Just like those looks she gave

me every morning. It wasn't much, but it

made me feel like I'd found my place and

that I mattered to someone. My life was

so different now that I was with Jess and

I couldn't imagine it any other way.

"So what's on the agenda for today?"

she asked.

"Well, this is probably our last day

traveling through the Panama Canal, and

after that I thought we would keep

heading east for a while."

"What's east? Did you have a

particular place in mind or are we just

going to drift around?" she asked as she

snuggled up against me, moving her hand

up and down my stomach. Everything

had healed up really well during the last

two months we had been on the yacht. I

still occasionally had an odd sensation

where the bullet had entered me, but for

the most part I was completely back to

normal.

"Well, I was gonna keep this as a

surprise but since you asked ... we're

heading to an island. It's a very special

island."

"Oh yeah? What's it called?" she

asked as her hand drifted down under the

covers just below my belly button. The

soft touch of her hand was so wonderful

and calming. I felt like I could spend

hours just having her run her fingers over

my skin.

"I think I'm going to call it Jess's

Island," I said with a smile.

"What do you mean?" she said as she

looked up at me and laughed.

"Or, how about Jesslandia?"

"Wait, Is that really the name of the

island?"

"It is now."

"We could call it Jessland for short,"

I said, teasing her with my eyes.

"What are you talking about?" she

said as she sat up and started to tickle

me, her beautiful breasts swaying with

every move she made.

"Hey, hey, calm down there, little

philly. I'm trying to tell you. We have an

island."

"What do you mean we have an

island? Will you give me a straight

answer for once," she said as she stared

at me with big eyes.

"Well, I have this friend ..."

"I thought you said you didn't have

any friends. That you didn't trust

anyone."

"Yeah, that's true. You and this one

person are really the only people on this

planet that I trust. He's just a guy I know.

A guy that's a lot like me, really. And

maybe that's why I trust him, because I

can understand him. He does the same

kind of work that I used to do. We

actually met each other on accident a

few years ago. We were both hired to do

the

same

job

two

different

organizations. When we figured out what

was going on we finished the job

together and went and had a drink and

have been in touch in different ways

since then. Sometimes he helps me out

and sometimes I do things to help him.

After we left The Keys I got in

contact with him and told him what had

gone down, that I couldn't go back to my

life, and that I was abandoning my

career, but that I needed him to take care

of some things for me."

"What kind of things?"

"Well, I had him liquidate all of my

assets. My house, my cars, all of my

accounts and investments. I told him that

he could keep ten percent of everything

if he found me a place to live. He had a

lawyer set up a corporation for me and

had all of the paperwork put through.

None of it can be traced back to him, any

of my old identities or my new one so

there's no way they can use the

corporation to find us."

"Is he the one that got us our

passports and new identities when we

were in Cuba?"

"Yeah, that's him. He's a handy guy to

have around," I said with a laugh. "So

anyway he did what I asked. He found

me an island that already has an estate

on it. It's a private island with no other

residents, just you and me. And there

was actually quite a bit of money left

over. I don't know how much that ten

percent worked out to be but I think he

made out pretty good on the deal. So, it

looks like we're gonna be ok for quite a

while."

"So, where is it? Where's our new

home going to be?" she said looking

excited. I loved how adventurous she

was. She took to living on a boat and

traveling indefinitely better than most

people I knew would.

"It's a really small island that sits in

a massive scattering of thousands of

islands just north of Malaysia. We'll

have a helicopter to get to and from

nearby cities that we can use to bring in

supplies and whatever we need. It's even

got its own cell phone tower."

"You can fly a helicopter?" she

asked, he eyes getting bigger every time

I opened my mouth. I would never admit

it to anyone but it was really nice having

someone so impressed by my abilities.

Up until I met Jess I didn't tell a single

person what I did or what I was capable

of. My life had been so solitary, and so

lonely. But now I had Jess.

"Yes, I can fly a helicopter," I said

with a smile at her reaction.

"Really?

You're

kidding?

That

sounds amazing!"

"Yeah, I guess the previous owner

really set the place up."

"Well, the island doesn't happen to

have its own hospital, does it?" she

asked, her voice softening as she nuzzled

my ear.

"Why, are you planning on getting

back into nursing?" I asked in total

confusion.

"No, but I'm going to be needing to

make a visit to a hospital in, oh I'd say,

about seven months," she said as she

looked up at me.

"Seven months? Wait, are you ..."

"I'm pregnant, Brody!" Jess beamed.

"But ... how do you ... are you sure?"

I asked, my excitement impossible to

hold back. When I had told Jess in the

hospital that a family was the one thing I

regretted not having in my life, the thing

that going to prison would ensure that I

never got to experience, I wasn't lying

exactly, but it wasn't something I had

thought that much about either. But now

... now I was so happy I couldn't even

remember what it felt like to be the

person I was back then. I couldn't even

identify with that guy anymore.

I felt like I had been born into a new

life somehow, that it really was possible

to leave the person I was behind and

start over. And now that I had Jess with

me and we would have a family on our

little island I realized that my life finally

had meaning.

"Well, I've missed my last two

periods, so I'm pretty sure," she said

with a smile. "It could have been any

time we made love that first week on the

yacht, but I like to think it was that very

first time in the shower. The first time

you were inside me and we were really

together," she said as her hand wandered

down further into my pubic hair and onto

the shaft of my hardening cock.

"Are you happy, Brody?" her sexy

voice whispered into my ear.

"More that you will ever know,

Jess," I said as I rolled her onto her back

and pressed my lips into hers. My tongue

found its way into her mouth and my

overwhelming desire for her brought

incredibly sexy moans from deep inside

of her. I got on top of her, forcing her

legs apart with my knees, then I

devoured her beautiful brown skin with

my mouth as I kissed my way down her

neck and to her full breasts.

I gripped one in each hand and

massaged and caressed them, biting and

sucking the nipples, then moved my

tongue around each breast in a circular

pattern until they were both sliding

through my hands. The noises she made

with every touch made my cock harder

and harder but I wanted to make this last.

I wanted to make her body feel

everything that was inside me, all of the

love that I had for her and the baby that

was growing inside her belly.

I moved my mouth down the

beautiful curves of her stomach and hips,

licking the incredibly sensitive skin

where her pelvic bone jutted out and the

crease that led to her thigh. The minute

my face got down to that hidden space

her scent enveloped me, making me feel

light headed like I couldn't think clearly.

That's the effect this woman had on

me. Just one look from her sent me on a

mission to get her anything she wanted,

but one smell of her pussy and I could

barely form an intelligible sentence. I

could live the rest of my life with my

face between her legs, but then we

wouldn't get much of anything else done.

I just had to look forward to this time

when she was opened up to me and

everything she had was mine.

I buried my face in her soft, dark

hair, then used my fingers to part her

puffy outer lips. She was always such a

beautiful sight to see, the way parts of

her pussy opened out like flower petals,

but then other parts were hidden, just

waiting for me to explore.

I licked one long stroke from the

base of her pussy all the way up to the

top of her clit and I felt her entire body

squirm as I gripped her gorgeous ass

with my hands. I could feel her push

herself into me, but I was going to tease

her for a while. I wasn't going to let her

rush anything today. I was going to get

what I wanted. And that was to make her

come harder than she ever had in her

life.

I slowly started circling her clit with

a feather light touch of my tongue, then I

looked up and watched her moan and

squirm while gripping her own heaving

breasts. But soon I buried my mouth in

between her soft lips and worked her

clit with my tongue and lips and chin. I

pushed my tongue inside her, but I knew

that she wanted more, so I slid two

fingers into her vagina and found her

favorite spot.

The second my fingers pressed

against the spongy mound just inside her

opening she let out a deliciously deep

moan and spread her legs a little bit

wider. I continued to lick and suck on

her clit, but I was also thrusting into her

with my fingers, massaging the spot

inside her that would bring her over the

ultimate edge.

I could feel her body tightening up,

her legs going rigid and her breath

coming in gasps, as I took her clit in my

mouth and sucked while feeling the build

up inside her that needed to be released.

Her hips lifted off the bed and her hands

gripped my head, pushing my face into

her while she bucked and gyrated,

moaning my name over and over.

Just then a warm gush of liquid came

flooding out of her and as I continued to

thrust into her with my fingers she

slowly lowered back down to the bed,

relaxing all her muscles and releasing

her grip on my head. I licked up as much

of her incredibly sweet, salty nectar as I

could find, then kissed my way back up

her stomach, past her breasts and finally

kissing those full, sexy lips on her face.

"Fuck me, Brody. I need you inside

me now," she said as she looked into my

eyes. It didn't take long for me to find my

way inside her and when I did she let out

a scream of ecstasy like I had never

heard from her before.

She threw her head back and

wrapped her legs around me and

grabbed my ass and forced me inside her

deeper and deeper. I felt like I was being

swallowed whole and sucked into her,

like my cock had no say in any of it. I

felt her muscles squeeze around me, like

they were massaging me from inside her,

just waiting to milk out everything I had.

My thrusts started out slow, but sped

up faster and faster until she was

screaming and sobbing my name, her

nails digging into my shoulders and her

legs like a vice around my waist. I felt

myself go over the edge and when I did I

grabbed her hips and held her onto my

length while I thrust deep inside of her

and I came while I listened to her sexy

voice telling me that she loved me.

Sweat was pouring down my body

and I was gasping for breath as I rolled

off of her, but I couldn't tear my eyes

away from her beauty. Her eyes were

closed and she was finally catching her

breath but she looked so peaceful and

serene as she recovered from what we

had just experienced together.

It was an amazing feeling that I could

give this to her, that I was capable of

providing her with something, bringing

her to a place that she couldn't even get

to alone. We could both only get here

when we were together.

It made me feel like I was the king of

the world and I had to laugh when I

realized that I kind of was. I was now

the king of Jess Island, and I never

wanted it to be any other way.

The End

You can find Natasha Tanner on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/authornatashatanner/

And if you would like to contact Natasha

directly you can email her at

authornatashatanner@gmail.com

To contact JB Duvane on Facebook and by

Email:

jbduvane

jbduvane@gmail.com

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Hunter: A Bad Boy Romance (Motorcycle

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Samantha

When I was young, he stole my heart. He didn’t

know it then, and he doesn’t know it now.

These feelings never left. I’d kept it hidden for

years.

And yeah, I should have told him. I should have

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But I didn’t.

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the reality of the situation.

All the hope I once had was taken from me. My

soul's crushed and my heart's broken.

But then he appeared. And ever since that day,

nothing was the same again.

Hunter

She’s the bravest girl I had ever known, but she

was my best friend’s sister.

And I never thought I’d see her like this.

What happened that night was a mistake. A huge

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And mark my words, it’ll never happen again.

I’ll make sure of it.

They’ll regret what they did. Cause sooner or

later, I’ll find them. And I won't stop until I do.

They messed with the wrong girl. Nobody

messes with my girl. Nobody.

Disclaimer: HUNTER is a standalone bad boy

romance novel with no cliffhangers and a HEA

ending. This novel is part of a vengeance

themed series. The contents include graphic

depictions of adult situations, strong language,

and is intended for mature audiences only.

Excerpt:

Hunter nudged my body, “We're almost there!”

My eyelids were like magnets struggling to

connect. If I closed my eyes, there’s a chance

they wouldn’t open again. I had to stay awake

and conscious.

Hunter wasn’t one to lie to me. If he said we’re

almost there, I believed it. I struggled to stay

awake, so I tried to think more happy thoughts.

The last time Hunter told me “we're almost

there” was around Junior year of High School.

The memory of that day was vivid, as if it had

happened yesterday. On that day, Hunter found a

shortcut to get home and wanted to share the

route with me and Clyde. During that time,

whenever I was around, Hunter didn’t speak

much. I guess he was shy, so it took me by

surprise when he looked into my eyes and

suggested this new path for the three of us to

take.

It was one of the first times he had said
something to me that wasn’t a greeting.

Usually, whenever Hunter wanted to say

something to me, he would do it through Clyde.

He’d ask my brother questions for me to

answer instead of asking me himself. Clyde

always gave him an answer, too, he rarely let

me be the one to respond. That part always

irked me, but looking back, Clyde was probably

just showing off. That’s how he was: an

attention whore. Clyde enjoyed pretending like

he was in command at all times. He spoke as if

he knew the answers to all the questions about

my life. And for the most part, he did, but only

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Clyde was only a year younger than Hunter and

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tough. A troublemaker full of energy, guided by

his desire to impress people, no matter how

unnecessary the case was.

Hunter’s shortcut took us past an alleyway

which lead to an large yard guarded by a chain

link fence. Clyde hopped over the fence but

Hunter guided me through a broken section on

the side. I still remember how he held it open

for me as I crawled through. He was a

gentleman at such a young age. The three of us

came upon a tattered white house with chipped

paint, spiderwebs, and dusty windows. It had a

blood red staircase leading up to a front porch,

and a rocking chair that made a creaking noise

whenever the wind picked up. Hunter had us all

stay quiet while he lead the way. We hugged the

walls, sidestepping towards the corner of the

house as if we were making our escape from a

prison. They never used to bring me along when

they explored the block so this was my first

real adventure with them.

Hunter turned back and placed his index finger

over his lips to hush us. And that’s when he

whispered, “we’re almost there."

As we rounded the corner, my eyes lit up when
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huge bed of red roses. I’m not sure how he

knew, but roses were the one thing I loved the

most. I moved towards the garden, jaw dropped

and eyes wide open. Hunter gave me a nod

when I looked back at him. I never told him how

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mentioned my affinity for them. I’ll never

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I wanted to take all the roses home with me, but

I didn’t want to get in trouble for stealing.

Luckily, Hunter picked one just for me. Not

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opened one of the windows and yelled at us to

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broomstick in the other. I'd never seen an old

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everything that was happening, Hunter grabbed

my hand and the three of us ran off. We

sprinted as far as we could until it was hard to

breathe. Clyde followed close behind, holding

over 20 roses in his arms.

Out of breath, we reached our house and I

blushed when I realized he still had my hands in

his. He loosened his grip and smiled, and for

some dumb reason, I let go and turned away.

Hunter didn’t live far from our place so we

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The two of us sat at the edge of the sidewalk in

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around, still full of energy. I sat inhaling the

rose Hunter had given me like it was my only

source of air, stealing glances at him when I

knew he wasn’t looking. Clyde made gagging

noises as he pranced around with all the roses

held firm against his body, still clearly out of

breath and no sign of stopping.

From a distance we spotted Hunter's cousin

riding our way on his loud motorcycle. Clyde

made a sudden stop in front of us and dropped

all the roses on the ground. We all gasped at the

same time when we noticed the tiny red dots

that had formed above his shirt and around his

arms.

Clyde screamed and ran off, crying like a little

brat. I understood his pain because he'd been a

thorn in my side for all my life.

And then, for a few seconds, it was just the two

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was drawing closer and closer. We stood at the

same time, and before he could hop onto his

cousin's bike, I gave him a tight hug and a hard

kiss right on his cheek. His face flushed redder

than my boldest lipstick. Before he could

respond, I ran away, giddy with the rose in my

hands.

Hunter’s shortcut closed the gap in more ways

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garden, and the heart from my chest.

“Sam?”

Hearing his voice and thinking back on that day

made me smile through the pain. I took one

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Sinclaire

They call me heartless. But that's just

because I always get what I want.

And now I want her.

Devlin Masters has spent his entire life in the

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working his way up from the mailroom to the

boardroom of Masters In Style. As C.E.O. and

heir to the billion-dollar hair-care company,

Devlin's life is consumed by his work. But

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his cherished company.

Then he meets Ayron. He instantly wants her

curvy body. He soon appreciates her mind just

as much. But what if she wants his heart?

His father hired me to help him. He’s not

supposed to know about this deal. I can't fall

in love with him.

I've got to be heartless.

Community therapist Ayron Winters loves

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paycheck. But when faced with losing her

office space—and her beloved assistant's huge
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and a lot of it. Fast.

When the founder of the famed Masters In

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to counsel his impulsive, bad-boy son, she's

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know she's a therapist. In order to gain his trust,

she must pose as his friend. His confidant. But

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Ayron can't lose her heart to Devlin. But more

than anything: she can't let him find out who

she actually is.

This is a STANDALONE bad boy romance

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a HAPPY ENDING. Intended for audiences

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Excerpt

I step into the private restroom, take a deep

breath, and call my friend.

“I can’t do it,” I rush before Monique has the

chance to pop out a greeting. “I can’t

spend the evening with him. I just can’t.”

The tiled bathroom floor receives the brunt of

my agitation, as pacing seems to

calm my nerves a bit, but not enough.

“Calm down,” she orders. “What did he do? I

got bail money under the mattress,

if I have to come beat his ass.”

“He’s been a perfect gentleman,” I nearly yell

in disbelief. “His father had me

pumped up to meet this pompous, anger-filled

miscreant, and Devlin is nothing of the

sort. He bought me clothes, paid for hair and

makeup and a limo just to have me stand

by his side while he showered me with

compliments all night!”

“The dog,” Monique exhales sarcastically. “I’m

going to tell you like Ms. Agnes

would—carry yourself right back in there and

enjoy that man.”

“You don’t understand. I can’t do that. He’s been

too sweet for me to keep

leading him on.”

“So he’s getting to you?” Monique says. “It’s

alright to care about him as a

person. You’re helping him become better.”

I shake my head.

I have crossed so many lines already.

“I have to tell him what I do and why I am here. I

need to confess,” I say.

I look at myself in the mirror.

“And what about Ms. Agnes? What about

getting the office space that you

need?” she says. “You’ve more than outgrown

that broom closet at the community

center. Focus on the goal.”

A knock at the door startles me.

“You all right in there?” Devlin’s smooth voice,

and the image of his tall,

handsome body leaning against the door,

coming to check on me, cause the flutters

return as though they’d never been absent.

“Why does he keep being so nice?” I whisper to

Monique.

Devlin knocks again.

“Ayron,” he calls.

“He’s outside of the door,” I snap into the

phone while searching through the

small space for a window, porthole, trap door

or something. “I can’t face him again, Mo.”

“Do I need to call an ambulance?” he asks.

“I’m all right, Devlin,” I squeak.

“You can do this, Ayron,” Monique reassures.

“The ends will justify the means.”

Ending the call with Monique, I open the door

to Devlin.

“Is everything all right?” He examines me, his

gorgeous brows furrowed. He

places a steady hand on my cheek. “I thought

you may have done a disappearing act

on me, until coat check said they saw you slip

in here.”

“I’m fine,” I stutter, lost in the feeling of his

caress.

“I wish that I could say the same.”

“What’s wrong?” It is my job to worry about

him, to comfort him.

“I need you. This—” His mouth is against mine

before I can speak.

If my mind would have allowed me to protest, I

would have, but not telling myself

the truth is futile. I want him.

His skillful tongue breaches the cavern of my

mouth, mapping the precise route

to elicit moans. Heat courses through me.

Devlin had skyrocketed me to a new place of

pleasure with just the tangle of his tongue

against mine.

In a swift motion, he hoists me against the wall

and releases my breast from the

strapless gown. His hot tongue trails kisses

down my neck onto my chest until capturing

my hardened nipple. Each suckle lulls me

further into a dream world. His world, and I

am ready to sign up for citizenship, allow him

to plant his flag in my fertile soil and claim

Locking my legs around him, I feel the full rise

of his hardness between my

thighs, and I water at the thought of how good

he could make me feel with other parts of

his body if he works his tongue this well.

I give in to the indulgence, a scorching shot of

desire for this model-built man

damaging my self-control.

He tastes as good as he looks, and feels even

better. Our tongues collide, and I

am at a loss for words. I can only moan.

Devlin moves his zipper loose and sanity

begins to seep in.

I tear my face from his.

“I can’t,” I pant. “I can’t do this.”

His ragged breaths fall against my neck as he

nuzzles the crevice.

“No worries, babe,” he whispers between

kisses. “I’ll take care of you.”

I wiggle and motion for him to let me down.

“This isn’t right,” I say.

Devlin helps me to my feet and I fall against

him, resting against his heaving

chest and thumping pulse.

He encapsulates me with his arms.

“I’m not out to just hit it and quit it,” he

explains, placing a kiss on my head. “I

have never met a woman as caring and wise and

as beautiful as you.”

I look into his eyes.

“Then there is no rush,” I remind him. “Good

things come to those who wait. You

agreed to my thirty-day trial period.”

He punctuates his compliance by drawing in a

long breath.

I step out of his embrace and fix my clothing.

He tucks and straightens his

clothing as well.

“If that’s what it takes, then I’ll wait,” he

exhales with a shake of his head.

I gather my emotions and willpower before

exiting.

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Bought: A Bad Boy Romance by Molly Thorne

I'm not like this.

At least, that's what I like to tell myself.

At first, everything was clear to me. The

impulse that moved me was strong, sharp

and pristine. I wanted to destroy this man.

But now I feel confused and guilty. Nothing

makes sense anymore. Have I failed? Am I

the target now? Or is it just that he has

become a different kind of target? My

motivations are muddy, my hate has lost its

temper and now I don't know whether to

slap his face or fall into his arms.

He's dangerous, to be sure. A cold,

calculating man; his despicable actions

warrant all the hate I can muster. But he's

also able to say the sweetest words...

Lara Everwood faces a dilemma. Her father is

lying in a hospital bed, victim of a man who's

set out to take the work of his whole life. She

knows the name very well: Theo Lambert,

eccentric billionaire, playboy, traveller, alpha

male, owner of an economic empire, and

general asshole. Lara has a plan: she needs to

get close to him, work with him, to find a way

to make him pay for what he's done.

But as her plan comes to fruition and she gets

to know the bad boy a bit better, things start to

get complicated. Is she getting too close? Why

is she suddenly not to sure about what she must

do? What makes her dream about Theo

punishing her when she knows just how bad he

really is?

Lara is discovering the hidden side of the

monster, and deep inside, she's hoping to find a

heart of gold. But at the same time, Theo is

coming closer and closer to discovering her

own secret, her web of lies. And this is a

dangerous thing.

Will Lara be able to exact her revenge? Is her

father condemned to lose it all? Can Theo show

that there is something of true value below all

the layers of wealthy jerk? Will he end up

discarding her as he does all other women?

What will be the price to pay after being

BOUGHT by him?

This is a romantic novella with no

cliffhangers and a happy ending.

Excerpt from BOUGHT

Five minutes later, he called me into his office.

“Frank Mill comes at eleven, you say?”

“Yes.”

“To be punished?”

“For botching the contract in Washington.”

The punishing thing was a joke that was not a

joke after all. Theo Lambert could be as

ruthless with his own people as with the

competition. Sometimes he’d ask me to set up

a meeting with some manager “to be punished”.

The punishment was no more than a long,

concentrated dose of verbal abuse, ranging

from irony to irate yelling, invariably ending in

a cold dismissal. He never fired anyone,

though. Not for this, at least. I knew his girls

(well, his assistants) were always in rotation,
but they were always the ones who decided to

leave. And that was a completely different

thing.

“So, that’s the first meeting. At eleven,” Theo

said. “What time is it now?”

“Nine thirty,” I replied after glancing at my

watch.

“We have some time, then,” he said, and sat up.

“For wh—?” I started to ask, but I stopped dead.

I knew exactly what he was talking about. I read
it in his eyes, clear blue eyes that were looking

at me as eagerly as a hungry lion looks at his

prey.

Suddenly, I felt as if the room were filled with a

strange energy. I wondered if Roentgen, the

scientist who discovered the X rays, had felt

something like that when he made his

discovery. I was discovering a new ray, a form

of energy emanated by men like Theo Lambert.

It was overwhelming and alluring, and left me

with no energy of my own except for an intense
desire, the desire of being taken by him. If I had

been a scientist, I would have named this

energy alpha rays, but I think the name was

already taken.

“For this,” Theo said, and suddenly he was

kissing me. The first thing that took over my

perception was the aroma of his expensive

perfume, barely covering the smell of man that

was beneath it, a primal smell that put all my

senses in overdrive. The second thing was the

wonderful texture of his lips, pressing on mine

like an animal immobilizing its victim. Then the

warmth and wetness of his tongue, making its

way into my mouth, exploring it, filling all the

cavities, dueling with my own tongue and

always winning, making me lose my breath as

the kiss continued and his hands started running

up and down my back.

“Mmmmh,” is all I could say, as my arms

embraced his magnificent torso through the

expensive fabric of his suit and his fine shirt.

Our bodies were touching each other now

through the layers of clothing, trying to ignore

them, to nullify them. My nipples reacted

immediately to this new intimacy in which our

skins were rubbing on each other even when we

were still fully dressed.

“Mmh,” he mimicked, and started undressing

me. He pulled up from the rim of my tight

dress, moving it up inch after inch, with his own

body getting in the way and complicating the

procedure. He just didn’t seem to be able to

detach from my body, both of us wanted to

keep the intense contact of man on woman,

woman on man, as the kiss went on and on.

“This is... ooooh,” I started and stopped again,

because he had pulled up my dress up to my
waist now, and my ass and crotch were fully

exposed except for the area covered by my

slim panties. His hands had stopped messing

with the dress and were firmly grabbing my

buttocks now; as I had interrupted the kiss to be

able to talk, his lips were now running up and

down my neck, rising goosebumps all over my

face and chest.

“Wrong. This is wrong,” he said, and he

somehow made it better, turning me on even

more. I thought of how wrong it was (even

more wrong than he realized), and felt

incredibly dirty. I was such a bad girl! I was

lying and betraying everyone all the time. And I

wanted to be punished so much. He would be

the one to punish me. Right there. Right then.

With his manhood. He would push inside me

with such force that he would make me scream.

And of course, he did. He didn’t even try to rid

me of my panties. He just set them aside with

one of his big hands, unbuttoned his tailored

trousers with the other, and slid his member

inside me without so much as a warning. I

gasped, but his mouth covered mine and the

gasp died in a new hot, wet kiss. He grabbed my

legs and held me in the air, keeping me impaled

in his cock. I held myself putting one arm

behind his neck and tugging at his tie with the
other. It was a fine tie, voluptuously silky, but

strong as all hell.

“Damn,” he said, and he turned around until my

ass touched the edge of his desk. He passed his

arm over the surface, throwing papers and other

things to the floor. I felt the touch of the cold

glass in my buttocks as the warm mass of his

virile member irradiated heat all inside me. My

arm started sliding down his neck as I drifted

back, then I let go and tugged at the tie with

both hands, like a rider who mounted a horse

from below instead of above. I hung from his

tie as I started moaning and screaming in

pleasure, contemplating Theo’s body against

the sun that bathed the city through the glass,

Theo still dressed, Theo looking more a bad

boy and an alpha leader than ever, Theo pushing,

pounding, time and time and time again, until I

had to let go with a scream that must have been

heard in all the fifty-two floors of the Lambert
Tower. I lay there on the cold glass, feeling the

delightful weight of his privileged body over

mine, and fell asleep as I caressed the hair in

the back of his head, as I felt the tender kiss of

his lips going up and down my neck, marking it

with his saliva as any savage beast would do.

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Dragon: A Bad Boy Romance by Lena

Blackstone

He fights to live... but can he fight for love?

DRAGON

When I'm in the ring, nobody can touch me. I

fight the only way I know how - alone. She's

getting under my skin, but I can't allow it. I can

either love her or protect her, not both.

Being with me could get her killed. If she

knows what's good for her, she'll stay away

from me...

HONEY

My life is a prison, built of fear and money. The

only time I feel alive is when I'm touching him.

He's like a drug to me. A drug I have to kick -

for his sake as well as mine.

Being with me could get him killed. If he

knows what's good for him, he'll stay away

from me...

*****A standalone Bad Boy Romance with a

HEA*****

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Made: A Bad Boy Romance by Allegra Ryan

The Bad Boy Games: there's nothing they

won't do, no line they won't cross.

BROOKE

When it comes to bad boys, I'm smart enough

to look and not touch. When it comes to

Nathan, all I want to do is touch. . .

To get my little sister out of trouble, I have to

play the game, his twisted game. The worst

part? I love it. I didn't intend things to work out

this way. I knew I was in over my head, but

some part of me believed in him, that he really

would help us.

The whole crazy thing began with a pair of red

shoes and a contract. Now he thinks I belong to

him. The scary part? He might be right.

NATHAN

Brooke thinks she's playing to save her sister.

The truth? She's just another pawn running out

of time. . .

So what? Her illusions aren't my issue. She also

thinks I'm using her for my own dirty reasons,

that I'm just another player. She might be right,

but what I want is to move up in the

organization and take my rightful seat at the

table. I'm smart enough to realize that dream's

likely never going to come true.

Still, the job has its perks, and one of them is

that sweet redhead. I'm going to get my fill

while I can--because the one thing the bosses

can't take away from me--I play for keeps.

**MADE is a dark, bad boy romance. No

cliffhanger, no cheating. Happy ending

included**

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