Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
GABI
I traced lazy circles on Daniel's chest, watching the candlelight flicker across his skin.
The storm raged outside with a ferocity that made the reinforced windows of the clinic tremble, but in here everything was still, suspended in time like we existed in our own private universe.
My body hummed with satisfaction, muscles loose and relaxed in a way they hadn't been in months.
"You okay?" Daniel's voice rumbled under my fingertips, the deep vibration traveling through his chest and into my palm.
I nodded against his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of his skin mixed with the faint antiseptic smell that seemed to permeate every corner of the clinic.
The physical connection had always been easy between us—passionate, electric, like touching a live wire.
That wasn't what broke us apart. Sex had never been our problem; it was everything else that came crashing down around us.
"This doesn't fix everything," I whispered against the warm curve of his shoulder, the words muffled but necessary.
"I know." His hand stroked down my back, fingers trailing along my spine in a way that sent shivers racing through me despite the humid air trapped inside the clinic.
Thoughts churning like the storm outside, I pressed closer to Daniel's warmth, breathing in the scent of salt air and that hint of cedar that always clung to him, as if the Louisiana bayous had permanently marked him as their own.
I wanted to melt into him, to pretend the past months of hurt and anger and sleepless nights had never happened, that we could somehow rewind to those early days when everything seemed possible.
But they had happened. The sex was incredible—always had been, from that very first night when we'd practically set his apartment on fire with the intensity of our connection.
Yet, in the quiet aftermath, with only the sound of our breathing and the distant roar of Hurricane Hannah, doubt crept back in like floodwater seeping through the cracks.
Could I trust him not to bulldoze over my dreams again?
Did coming here, to this island that meant everything to me, mean he finally understood why this place, this life, mattered so much to me?
"I missed you." His murmur was warm against my temple.
"I missed you, too." The words slipped out before I could stop them, honest and raw.
True, but dangerous in their simplicity.
Missing someone wasn't enough of a foundation to rebuild on, not when the cracks in our relationship ran so deep.
Neither was stupendous sex, no matter how my body still sang from his touch.
We'd both need more than that to turn this into something real, something lasting.
The wind howled outside with renewed fury, rattling the clinic's reinforced windows and making the emergency lights flicker ominously.
I shivered, despite the still, humid air trapped inside the clinic's sealed corridors.
Daniel grabbed one of the thin cotton blankets I'd gathered from patient rooms and draped it over us, the institutional fabric rough against my sensitized skin.
His arms felt like home as they encircled me, and that terrified me almost as much as the storm bearing down on us with all its destructive power.
A loud bang jolted me from my spiraling thoughts, the sound cutting through the storm's constant roar like a gunshot. Daniel's body went rigid beside me, every muscle suddenly taut with alertness.
My heart hammered against my ribs as adrenaline flooded my system. “What was that?”
Daniel relaxed a fraction, though tension still coiled in his shoulders. "Probably just debris from the storm."
That was the most logical explanation. Hurricane winds of this magnitude would be tossing around anything that wasn't properly secured outside—tree branches, patio furniture, signs torn from their mountings. The island was probably littered with projectiles by now.
But what if it wasn't debris? What if it was something more sinister?
"What if someone's trying to break in again?" The words tumbled out, giving voice to the fear that had been gnawing at me since yesterday. The memory of the jimmied lock flashed through my mind with crystal clarity.
Daniel was already moving, yanking on his cargo pants.
I scrambled for my clothes, fingers fumbling with buttons and zippers as adrenaline coursed through my system like liquid lightning.
I managed to yank on my jeans and shirt just as another bang echoed through the clinic, closer this time and definitely more deliberate than random debris.
My hand found Daniel's arm, gripping tight enough to leave marks. The muscle beneath my fingers was coiled like a spring, ready for action.
"Stay here," he hissed, his voice taking on an authoritative edge.
"Like hell." The words came out sharper than I intended, but I wasn't about to cower in the break room while someone potentially ransacked my workplace.
Eyes narrowed in frustration, he indicated with a sharp gesture that I should stay close behind him as we crept out of the break room and into the main hallway.
Emergency lights cast eerie shadows along the corridor, transforming the space I knew like the back of my hand into something alien and threatening.
Our bare feet made no sound on the cold tile floor as we eased down the hall, every sense straining to catch the slightest hint of an intruder's presence.
Another crash sounded, definitely closer this time and accompanied by what might have been a muffled curse.
Daniel pressed me back against the wall, his body forming a protective barrier between me and whatever lay ahead.
We waited for endless seconds that dragged like hours, the only sounds our carefully controlled breathing and the storm's relentless assault on the building's exterior.
At last, he backed off slightly, and we eased down the hall with painstaking care, peering around the corner toward the back entrance that led to the clinic's service area.
The metal door swung wildly on its hinges, slamming against the wall with each powerful gust of wind that tore through the opening. Rain sprayed inside in sheets, forming expanding puddles on the floor.
That door had been locked—I'd checked it myself when we'd done our final security sweep before settling in for the night.
It was conceivable that something might have struck it with enough force to knock it open, but peering into the darkness just outside the open door, I didn't see evidence of a tree branch or other large debris that would account for the damage.
Daniel gestured toward something on the floor, his movements careful and controlled. I squinted, angling my head until my mind made sense of the dark splotches scattered across the tile in front of me.
Wet footprints. Someone else was here, someone who had no business being in the clinic during a hurricane.
Daniel's hand wrapped around mine, tugging me back. His lips brushed my ear, his breath warm against my skin as he whispered, "Where are the drugs kept?"
"Central hall, a room across from Exam Three. Steel door, no windows, keypad entry." My voice came out barely above a breath, the words almost lost in the storm's fury.
He nodded grimly. "Anyone else have the code?"
"Just Dr. Sibley and our head nurse. But the keypad won't work with the power outage—it's not on the backup system."
Meaning the intruder likely wouldn't be able to get to what he came for, assuming the pharmaceutical supplies were indeed his target.
The clinic's drug lockup was built like a fortress specifically to prevent break-ins, with steel-reinforced walls and electronic locks that required both a valid code and active power to the security system.
We crept down the hallway, my heart pounding so hard I worried the intruder might hear it echoing off the walls.
Daniel moved like a predator, each step calculated and silent, his Coast Guard training obvious in every controlled movement.
I tried to match his careful progression, but my bare feet stuck slightly to the cold tile floor with each step.
A clatter from the supply closet down the hall froze us both in place. Daniel immediately pushed me behind him, pressing us both against the wall. He held up three fingers, then two, then one, counting down before we moved.
We burst around the corner in perfect synchronization.
Empty. But the closet door stood ajar, and supplies were scattered across the floor in disarray—bandages, syringes, tongue depressors all strewn about as if someone had been searching for something specific and growing increasingly frustrated when they didn't find it.
"They're working their way toward the exam rooms," Daniel whispered, his voice barely audible above the storm.
My stomach clenched with dread. If they found the drug lockup and somehow managed to breach it, we'd lose thousands of dollars worth of controlled substances—medications that the island's residents desperately needed, especially with the hurricane potentially isolating us for days.
A shadow moved at the end of the hall, barely visible in the emergency lighting's glow. Daniel's arm shot out, shoving me into a shallow alcove where we normally took patient vitals. His body pressed against mine, completely shielding me as footsteps approached with deliberate, measured cadence.
The power flickered ominously, plunging us into complete darkness for two terrifying heartbeats before the emergency lights sputtered back on with a faint electrical hum.
The footsteps stopped abruptly.
I held my breath until my lungs burned. Daniel's muscles coiled tight against me like a compressed spring. Ready to move. Ready to protect. Ready to do whatever it took to keep us both safe.
The metallic thud of something heavy striking the drug lockup door echoed down the hallway like a gunshot. My fingers dug into Daniel's arm as we listened to repeated impacts, each one more frustrated and violent than the last, the sound of someone losing patience.
"Damn it!" A male voice growled, rough and edged with desperation. More strikes against the reinforced door followed, then an ominous silence that was somehow more threatening than the noise.
Daniel's breath was warm against my neck as we stayed frozen in the alcove, barely daring to breathe.
Another crash, followed by a string of creative cursing that would have made a sailor blush. "Why's the fucking backup generator not on?"
My decision to save the generator for a genuine emergency might have just saved our drug supply.
But we were still trapped in here with a criminal who was growing increasingly desperate and unpredictable.
Daniel's body remained tense against mine, ready to move at any moment.
But moving meant revealing our position, and as long as the intruder remained focused on that impenetrable door, we were safer staying hidden in our shallow alcove.
Footsteps paced back and forth in front of the drug room, wet shoes squeaking against the tile floor in an agitated rhythm. "There's gotta be another way in."
Daniel's hand found mine, squeezing once with gentle pressure. A silent question: ready to move if we need to?
I squeezed back without hesitation. Yes.
The sound of doors being thrown open with increasing violence grew closer as our unwelcome visitor began methodically searching each room.
He was working his way systematically toward us, checking every possible hiding spot and alternative entrance.
The alcove wouldn't hide us for much longer.
We were running out of time and options.
A beam of bright light swept past our hiding spot like a searchlight. Daniel's muscles tensed against me, his body coiled like a predator preparing to strike. The intruder's footsteps squeaked against the floor, drawing nearer to our alcove with each step.
A shadow fell across us as the figure approached.
The moment he stepped into view, flashlight beam sweeping toward our hiding spot, Daniel exploded into action.
He drove his shoulder into the man's midsection with devastating force, tackling him backward and sending them both crashing into the opposite wall.
The flashlight spun across the floor, casting wild, disorienting shadows as it rolled. The beam swept crazily across walls and ceiling before coming to rest pointed down the hall, providing just enough illumination to see the struggle unfolding.
I pressed myself flat against the wall, heart hammering so hard I felt my pulse in my throat as the two men grappled with brutal intensity.
Fists flew in the confined space, bodies slammed against walls with sickening thuds.
The intruder was shorter than Daniel but stocky and powerful, matching Daniel's height advantage with raw, desperate strength.
They crashed into a supply cart, sending it clattering across the floor in an explosion of medical supplies. The emergency lights flickered with each impact against the walls, casting everything in surreal, strobing shadows that made it nearly impossible to track their movements clearly.
A grunt of pain echoed through the hallway as the intruder caught Daniel with a vicious elbow to the face. Blood immediately began trickling from his nose.
Daniel stumbled, his grip loosening just enough for the other man to gain advantage.
The intruder seized his chance, shoving Daniel hard toward the scattered supplies from the overturned cart.
Daniel's feet tangled in the debris, and he went down hard, his head striking the floor with a sound that made me want to scream.
The intruder bolted immediately, shoes squealing on the wet floor as he sprinted for the exit. Daniel scrambled up despite the blood now flowing freely from his nose, shaking his head to clear it.
"Stay here!" he shouted over his shoulder.
Before I uttered another word, before I could beg him not to go, they'd both disappeared through the open door and straight into the belly of the storm, still raging outside with undiminished fury.
Lightning flashed brilliantly, illuminating their silhouettes for a split second before darkness swallowed them again, and I was left alone and terrified.