Bad Patient_ A Bad Boy Romance - Tanner, Natasha

BAD PATIENT

NATASHA TANNER JB DUVANE

CONTENTS Copyright Blurb 1. Jess 2. Brody 3. Jess 4. Brody 5. Jess 6. Brody 7. Jess 8. Brody 9. Jess 10. Brody

11. Brody 12. Jess 13. Jess 14. Brody 15. Jess 16. Brody 17. Jess 18. Brody 19. Jess 20. Epilogue - Brody About the Authors Other Bad Boy Romances You Might Like

Copyright © 2016 by Natasha Tanner & JB Duvane Cover by Kasmit Covers All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion 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

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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.

1

JESS

"So, 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.

2

BRODY

I 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 in 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 on 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.

3

JESS

"I really hope that's not what you're planning on 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 tshirt. "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."

WE 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. We 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.

AFTER A 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.

4

BRODY

" W 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 twentyfour 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 at 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

furious with myself for getting into this situation, but I knew that wasn't going to get me out of there. I had to get the hell out of that hospital.

5

JESS

"So 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.

AS I 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 to a 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.

6

BRODY

"So, 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. In my 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.

7

JESS

A 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.

IN 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

the laundry bag. I stood there against the wall shaking and holding my chest, trying to figure out why that man had such a strong effect on me.

8

BRODY

"Gentlemen, 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

literally my only hope, but I believed that she really wanted to help me. "Help me get out here, Jess."

9

JESS

I 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.

"SO WHAT'S 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.

10

BRODY

"Good 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."

11

BRODY

" W 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.

12

JESS

I 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.

13

JESS

"Hey, 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."

I WAS SO 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.

14

BRODY

"Throw 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 as we 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

smiling.

15

JESS

"So, 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 of 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."

16

BRODY

"I 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.

I 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.

17

JESS

I 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 my 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. I get a message, I 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

pillow until the sun started to come up trying to figure out how I could have been so wrong.

18

BRODY

I 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, or thought he 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.

19

JESS

B 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 no point in 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."

"SMELLS 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 of 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.

BRODY 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.

20

EPILOGUE - BRODY

"Good morning," I said as I watched Jess's eyelids open in 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 by 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

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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OTHER BAD BOY ROMANCES YOU MIGHT LIKE Mobster: A Bad Boy Romance by Lacey St. Claire

Following orders could secure his future … and destroy his happiness.

A notorious man ... Francisco is next in line to take over as Mafia kingpin. His father wants him to settle down, but Francisco has never met a woman who made him want more than a one-night stand. Until the night of the masquerade party at Club Ecstasy -- when a masked woman entrances him with her warmth, kindness, and innate sensuality. A dedicated woman ... Sarah is a hard-working nurse by day and a caregiver for her aunt at night. When she goes out for a rare evening of fun, she gets a lot more than she bargained for. The irresistibly sexy man she meets at Club Ecstasy almost seduces her right there in the

nightclub. She never learns his name or sees his face … but she can’t stop thinking about him. A fateful encounter … The next time they meet, it’s because Sarah has become the unwitting target of a mob operation. For Francisco, family comes first. Can he find a way to satisfy his desire as well as his honor ... or will his loyalty cost him the only woman he’s ever wanted?

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Hunter: A Bad Boy Romance (Motorcycle Club) by Trace Dex

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 let him know. But I didn’t. And now I'm alone, lying in a pool of my own blood, in one last desperate attempt to grasp 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 mistake. 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 cause we lived in the same house together. Clyde was only a year younger than Hunter and he was one of those kids that always acted 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 I realized the backyard garden was filled with a 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 much I loved roses, but I guess he'd been listening to all the conversations where I’d mentioned my affinity for them. I’ll never forget the joy I felt running around sniffing as many roses as possible, losing myself in its

lovely scent. I rushed back to Hunter to give him the tightest hug a 16 year old girl could give. And after I let go, he had the rosiest cheeks and the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his cute face. He didn't smile often, so it was always a sight whenever he did.

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 long after he placed it in my hand, the owner of the house — a short old lady with grey hair, a yellow blouse, a metal cane, and brown teeth — opened one of the windows and yelled at us to go away. Clyde flicked her off and she rushed down the stairs with her cane in one hand and a broomstick in the other. I'd never seen an old lady move so fast. Before I was able to process

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 waited around for his cousin to take him home. The two of us sat at the edge of the sidewalk in front of my house, while Clyde marched 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 of us. I didn’t want him to leave but his cousin 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 than one. On that day, he stole a rose from a 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 more look at all the headlights before the world went hazy again. I’m sorry, Hunter, but I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.

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Entitled: A Bad Boy Romance by Roxy 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 service of his family's business empire, 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 when a rival orchestrates his downfall, Devlin must rehabilitate his image or lose control of 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 helping people more than she craves a big paycheck. But when faced with losing her office space—and her beloved assistant's huge medical bills—Ayron knows she needs money, and a lot of it. Fast. When the founder of the famed Masters In Style hair care corporation wants to hire Ayron to counsel his impulsive, bad-boy son, she's intrigued. When she finds out how much he's paying, she thinks it's a godsend. But the devil's in the details: she can't let Devlin Masters know she's a therapist. In order to gain his trust, she must pose as his friend. His confidant. But what happens if he wants more? What happens if she does?

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 novel with NO cliffhanger, NO cheating. Has a HAPPY ENDING. Intended for audiences 18+

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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