No Longer Lost: Secrets Of Stone: Book Nine Read online

  I gave him props—not many, but a few—for straightening his stance and jogging out his round jaw. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say unless it’s professional hospital business. Need I remind you, we are at work.”

  Yeah. So he had a bit in the way of balls. Not intelligence, but definitely some balls.

  “You don’t need to remind me of anything, dipshit.”

  “You cannot legally say that to me!”

  “Yeah? And you can’t legally misuse a patient’s private information to stalk her. A woman who has no interest in you, I might add—as she’s apparently told you on numerous occasions. So let’s just be clear, right here and now. She. Isn’t. Interested. To the tune of zero, man. So as of this fucking second, Taylor Mathews is officially on your no-fly list. You don’t speak to her. You don’t call her or text her. And you sure as fuck don’t show up at her apartment. Ever again.”

  Ten seconds passed.

  Ten seconds more.

  The dipshit just stared.

  Fine by me.

  “We clear so far, John-Boy?” I didn’t wait for him to respond. “Good. Let me give you a stern warning while I have your attention. If anything happens to that woman—as in, the woman I love to the point of crazy—you’ll regret the day you ever met either one of us. She is mine. She will always be mine. And my report card has always said doesn’t share well with others.” I stepped all the way up to him now, my forward leg almost between his, securing us chest-to-chest. “So you need to move your stupid ass on to your next stalking victim. Don’t fuck with me on this. If you do, you’ll wake up dead somewhere. And my guess? No one will give two shits about it.”

  I backed up but didn’t waver my view on him except to jab the button for the floor I needed. The elevator started moving again. I kept my eyes on the asshole. The elevator car was only big enough for one dumbshit, and he’d already checked that box with resounding glory.

  “Oh, and John?” I said, just as the elevator slowed to a stop at my floor. “Have a great day.”

  The doors opened. I stepped out, leaving John fuming in his pathetic corner. He flipped me the bird before the people waiting entered the small space, and the sight of him was quickly blocked as the elevator filled up.

  I took a deep, calming breath and strolled across the lobby and toward the surgery department so I could get ready for my first case.

  Time to save some lives.

  It was the mantra that drove me. The cause that made the grind worth it. Now more than ever.

  Because now, I knew how precious life could really be.

  Between my first and second surgeries of the day, I went up to my office to grab some lunch and call Taylor. As fulfilling as the day had already been, it was all eclipsed by the chance to speak with the pale goddess who’d gotten way the hell under my skin. Honestly, I was all but crawling in that skin by now—and being here in this room, which was now redecorated in wall-to-wall memories of the woman, I was obsessed by thoughts of her. I was so tempted to type up a resignation letter and just leave—strictly for the chance to get out of here and love her. Fuck her. Explore every detail of all the things that would make her happy. There was so much I already knew but so much I still had no idea about.

  Not enough time.

  Never enough time…

  I pulled out my phone to call her, only to be confronted by an email from Scripps Human Resources. The subject line glared at me, stilling my movements as I read.

  Disciplinary Action

  My heart rate picked up while I waited for the entire message to load. My nervous system didn’t cooperate any further as I continued reading the message.

  Dr. Stone,

  The purpose of this letter is to advise you of the decision to suspend you without pay for ten (10) working days from your position as a surgeon with the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery. The reason for this suspension is your unacceptable conduct, particularly pertaining to unprofessional and offensive behavior as outlined in a recently filed complaint by another hospital employee. In addition, this letter shall serve as notice that any further neglect of duty or any other infractions will be viewed as unwillingness, rather than inability, to comply with reasonable expectations, and shall result in further disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.

  Your suspension will begin on the third day of business after acknowledgment of this action is received and end at the close of business ten working days following. You are expected to return to duty at the time of your regularly scheduled shift. This personnel action is in accordance with subsection 12.3 of the Administrative Rule of the California Division of Personnel, Code R. §143-1-1 et seq., and provides for a three (3) working day written notice.

  During the period of suspension, you are restricted from all areas of the Scripps Green campus except the Human Resources Department. Further, you are not to remotely access employee technology resources (email, database, etc.) or otherwise perform work for the Scripps Healthcare Network. If it is necessary for you to come to the campus, an appointment must be arranged in advance, and security will meet you in the lobby. You may arrange such a meeting by contacting Human Resources.

  Please sign and date this notice and return it to the email listed below.

  Mother. Fucker.

  I already knew who was behind this. A certain lab minion. I wish I could say I was shocked that he would get the hospital involved and this became a personnel situation, but I wasn’t. I was sure he wasn’t forthcoming with the stalker bullshit that caused me to threaten him in the first place, either. I doubt the human resources team would be thrilled with that sort of behavior.

  I’d been on this job for about seven months, and word around the department had been that I was being considered for department head. That would all be thrown out the window with a black mark in my employee jacket like this. That bastard was going to pay for this. Naturally never again on the hospital’s grounds, but I could easily find out where he lived and pay him a visit there. Why the fuck not, since he clearly had no trouble with that kind of shit, right? John-Boy had picked the wrong guy’s career—and woman—to fuck around with.

  But I still had work to do. And for the next three days, I would be a model employee and then have an unexpected ten-day vacation. Maybe I could persuade Taylor to go away with me. Other than Thermal, we hadn’t taken a trip together, and she always talked about traveling with wistful longing. Maybe I would contact Killian—so maybe it was awesome to be cousins with my girlfriend’s boss—and arrange for Taylor to get some time off. Hell, yeah. A surprise holiday. If I had to take time off from work, might as well make the best of it.

  Lemonade out of fucking lemons.

  My second surgical case of the day turned out to be a nightmare. Everything that could have gone wrong did. From the point when I reviewed the procedure with the patient and his family in the pre-op area to the readiness of the OR team to the anesthesiologist strolling in just as the patient was about to leave because his nerves had gotten the better of him.

  By the time we got him calmed down and began the procedure, we were fifty minutes behind schedule. But I refused to be rushed just to turn the room in time for the next patient. I was steady and sure, and I did my job the only way I’d ever known how—carefully and methodically, regardless of any external distractions.

  On my way home from the hospital, I finally got a chance to call Taylor.

  “Hey, beautiful. How was your day?” I was unable to keep the exhaustion from seeping into my voice.

  “Oh, same shit, different day,” she laughed out. “You know how it goes.”

  “Yeah.” I could barely muster much more in the way of a reply.

  “How about you?” Her voice was like my balm. “Save some lives today?” Hell, yeah. My sassy, sexy balm.

  I rewarded her for it with a laugh because she loved teasing me about the whole God complex, and she wasn’t too far off the mark most of the time.

  “Same clown, di
fferent circus,” I responded. “Same old same old.”

  No way on earth was I going to tell her about the real shitstorm of the day. Not while we were both rushing and preoccupied and I was still pretty well soaked from that downpour. Dropping a nuke like the drama with John would be like tucking a goodbye note on her windshield again.

  “Hey. Listen.” I deliberately went low and velvety with my tone. “Can I convince you to drive up to Oceanside? I’d really love to spend the night inside you.”

  “Well, when you put it like that…” Her breathy exhale made my cock ache for attention.

  “I’ll be waiting. I love you, Taylor.”

  “Bye, Mac.”

  It was not going unnoticed that she still hadn’t told me she loved me. I held out hope that this vacation would be her vital turning point. If we spent ten full days with each other, she’d start seeing I wasn’t waning in this commitment to her. To us. I had no intention of letting her go, and this escape would be the ideal chance to prove it.

  The sun was low on the horizon when I went out onto my deck off the third floor. I loved this home more than any other I’d ever lived in. Although the waterfront homes here were close to one another, the view was priceless and the sounds of the ocean were healing for the soul. Especially mine. Especially right now.

  Taylor had a key to the front door, so I left her a note in the kitchen to come up when she got here. I sat on the modern deck chair for about thirty minutes, watching two seagulls play tag on the salty breeze, diving and soaring without a care in the world.

  “Mac?” My perfect girl’s musical voice drifted out to the deck as she walked through the master suite.

  “Out here, babe.” I stood and held my arms out, greeting her with an intense hug.

  “Hey.” Her voice was soft and feminine, matching the flowing skirt she wore with a simple tank top. A studded brown leather belt wrapped around her tiny waist in two loops, the second settling low on her hips.

  Crushing as my embrace already was, I wrapped my arms around her even tighter. “Mmmm, just what the doctor ordered. My very own prescription for happiness.” I buried my nose in her hair and breathed in her light, earthy scent. It had rapidly become my favorite in the whole world.

  “Do you want a beer? How about some dinner?” An unexplainable desire to take care of her consumed me.

  “I’d love a beer, but I don’t want you to have to go all the way down to the kitchen.” She looked up at me, squinting her eyes as the sun peeked over my shoulder.

  “I have a few in the refrigerator in the game room. You get comfortable, and I’ll get you one.” It was difficult to release her so soon when she felt so right in my arms.

  “You’re spoiling me.” She leaned back again so she could look into my eyes—and as she did, hers narrowed by a fraction. “Hey.”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Long day. I’ll tell you all about it.” I kissed her forehead and then nudged her toward the deck chair. “Sit. I’ll be right back. Are you warm enough? Do you want me to bring a throw?”

  “You really do know me well, don’t you?” She smiled sweetly, and my chest swelled. This interaction was so healthy and domestic, and I wanted to beg her to never leave me again, right here on the spot.

  I returned with two beers and the chunky throw she loved from my bedroom. I considered buying her one for her place, but I’d instead lure her here with things she liked. Plus, if I had my way—and I usually did—she’d be here with me full-time. Naturally, what was mine would become hers too.

  “Let me sit with you.” I tugged her to stand and sat down on the lounge chair first, spreading my legs so she could nestle in the space between them. As soon as she was settled in again, I covered her with the blanket. I opened one of the beers and handed it to her, keeping the other for myself.

  We sat there for a long while, just enjoying each other and the fresh ocean breeze. The sun was almost down, turning the horizon into a blend of lavender sea spray and pink sky. Far ahead on the peach-shaded sand, a family walked along with their two dogs, looking like six happy ants. In the odd way that the ocean winds carried sound, we were pinged every few seconds with their bright, carefree laughter.

  I wanted to be them.

  With more burning desire than I’d ever felt for any goal in my life.

  Nothing had felt this important before. Nothing. The sky could’ve opened up and shone a blinding beam down at me, and I couldn’t be more clear. It was as if every other decision in my life had been meant to supplement this one. Where to go to college. What specialty to focus on. Where to live. How to live.

  All of it had brought me to this. To her.

  But now we had to get through the rest of the process. To us.

  That began right now. This second.

  “I ran into John today.” Okay, so maybe I should’ve led in with something else, but I was always a rip-the-Band-Aid-off kind of guy.

  “Oh no.” Taylor laughed for a second, not surprised at all by the ambush, likely because she was used to them by now. And damn it, even that recognition felt wonderful. “Do I dare ask if he’s still alive?”

  “Of course he is.” I fought to keep the mild irritation from my tone. This mess wasn’t hers. I’d gotten myself here, fair and square, all on my own. She didn’t deserve to have her head bitten off for it. “I’m not an animal, Taylor.”

  “Well.” Her voice was still as light as the soft brushes of her fingertips through the springy hairs along my forearm. “Only when I tell you to be.”

  I yearned to lurch up, drag her into the bedroom, and show her exactly what kind of “animal” her closeness could unleash, but I took a long pull from my beer instead, ordering the alcohol to do its thing to my nervous system. It kept my voice to a calmer rumble as I assured her, “Yeah, he’s fine. Although I’d still love to teach that fuckstick a clearer lesson.”

  “So, what did happen?” she finally asked.

  “Well, I was heading downstairs to see if I could find him in the lab—”

  “Wait.” She dug in a few fingertips. “You were actually on the prowl for him?”

  Her surprise was laced with indictment, but no way was her “animal” biting on that fight. Which wasn’t really a fight. Which I was happy to elucidate again for her. “I told you I’d handle it, Sassy.”

  She relaxed her grapple, leaving behind cute little half-moons in my forearms. “Fine.”

  The grumble was the closest thing to “Yes, sir” that I’d get. I accepted it and moved on. “When I got on the elevator, the lunatic conveniently hopped on with me. He was glued to his phone at first, so he didn’t see me. That changed as soon as I stopped the elevator.”

  She tensed and pressed her fingernails into my arm again, though she didn’t go for the full-on claw thing this time. “So what happened? What did he say? Was he still being so over the top?” She turned a bit in my lap now, making me miss the full contact with her body. Probably for the best. Thoughts of hauling her inside and doing caveman things to her wasn’t the best influence on my self-control.

  “Well, he was scared.” I compelled myself to stay all-business instead of gloating god. “I could see him shaking.”

  “Well, no shit.”

  “But I didn’t hit him, baby. I didn’t even touch him.”

  “Okay.” Her stare was as serious as the sea stretching behind her. “I believe you.”

  I brushed some of the white-gold strands away from her face. “I know. And thank you.”

  “So what did you say to him?”

  “I let him know it would not be okay to ever speak to you again. And to never show up at your apartment. Ever.”

  “That’s hilarious. I bet he pissed himself.” She pressed an elegant hand to my chest. Christ, how I loved the sight of her touch on my body. Anywhere on my body. “Well, thank you for being my awesome white knight. For protecting my honor.”

  I lifted her hand and kissed those pretty polished f
ingertips. “As I always will.”

  Her gaze softened, and I could tell she was thinking about some bedroom caveman fun too, but she clearly ordered the inclination aside, growing thoughtful once more. “He hasn’t called or texted me anymore.”

  A gruff snort. “Maybe he isn’t as dumb as I thought he was.”

  My whole body hummed, since my instincts expected her let’s-go-to-the-cave-and-fuck look to return. Instead, her expression darkened, opting for deeper contemplation. And a much harder examination—of me.

  “But there’s more to this, isn’t there?” she charged. “Your mood is way off for just getting to strut your macho stuff around another guy. Normally, that gives you a serious contact high.”

  I chuffed again. “‘Macho stuff?’” I narrowed my eyes while taking another gulp from my bottle.

  “You know what I mean.” She waved a dismissive hand. “You’d usually be all pumped up and shit after that.”

  As she took a drink from her bottle, I got in a deep breath. I let it out in a sigh. I had to tell her what happened, despite the fears it would spoil our night. There’d be plenty more nights we could make perfect. I just had to write off the loss now and hope she’d help with the “moving on” part of the equation.

  “I left John-Boy trembling in the elevator, and I scrubbed in for my first case. By the time I was finished in the OR, I had an email from human resources.”

  Taylor’s voice audibly snagged. “About what?”

  “Well…” I was stunned, but happily so, by the sardonicism that sneaked into my tone. Yeah, I could appreciate my own levity, especially at a time like this. “Our friendly neighborhood shithead filed a complaint against me for inciting a hostile work environment.”

  “And they reprimanded you without hearing your side of the story?” she spewed, instantly enraged on my behalf. My little spitfire. Fuck, I loved her. “I’m not sure that’s how that’s supposed to be handled.”