Chapter 3 #2
A quick knock sounded at the door. That door was almost immediately flung open after the knock, and Atlas turned his head to see a slightly harried doctor standing on the threshold.
The man’s disheveled blond hair poked out from his head, his white lab coat looked a bit too big for his thin shoulders, and a stethoscope dangled around his neck.
“You…you have guards in the hallway.” The man’s eyes were huge.
Atlas kept his hold on Lily. The woman would not slip from his grasp. “A necessary precaution, considering the night I’ve had so far.”
Desmond poked his head inside the exam room. “You good, boss?”
Good didn’t apply. Was he alive? Yes. So that meant he was certainly better than the detective. A man Lily mourned. Clearly, she did not know about Atlas’s own complicated relationship with the fellow. There was a reason why Atlas hadn’t hesitated to shove his knife against the guy’s throat.
Or why Detective Benedict Swain had not hesitated to push the muzzle of his gun over Atlas’s heart. If Lily hadn’t been there, Atlas did wonder…
Would Benedict have pulled the trigger?
Or…
Would I have slit his throat?
Atlas would not mourn for the cop. It was hard to mourn for someone who wanted you either, A, behind bars, or B, dead in the ground.
“Atlas?” Desmond prompted.
“I’ll be heading home soon,” Atlas told him. Then, because he knew Desmond was looking for reassurance, “I’m fine.”
“Uh, you are not.” The doctor bustled forward. His lab coat flapped behind him. “You have a concussion. I was told by Dr. Gallo that you lost consciousness after the initial attack.”
“So did Dr. Gallo.” Atlas had learned that she’d only woken up shortly before being tossed down the stairs.
During the police interviews, one very unfortunate fact had come to light.
Lily had never seen the face of their attacker. Atlas had not, either. They had no description of the sonofabitch.
“You both need to stay for observation,” the doctor insisted. “You are lucky that you didn’t have any broken ribs, Mr. Bennett, but the bruising along your torso is quite severe.”
He didn’t give a flying shit about his bruising. “I think bruises are expected when you tumble down a flight of stairs.”
“They are consistent with a fall, yes.” A quick nod from the doctor—Dr. Phillip Owen. The man had introduced himself earlier. He was the doctor in charge of the ER. “All the more reason for you to stay here and—”
“We’ll be leaving in the next ten minutes,” Atlas cut through the doc’s words to say. “Thank you for your time and care.”
The doc’s mouth hung open. Then his attention jumped to Lily. “Surely, you understand the need to stay overnight, Dr. Gallo.”
She hadn’t introduced herself as a doctor. She’d just said that her name was Lily Gallo. Atlas knew because he’d been with her at the time.
He intended to be with her for the foreseeable future. Lily getting out of his sight again was not an option. He’d told the woman to stay away before. She had not heeded that particular warning so…
You’re mine now.
“How the fuck do you know that she’s a doctor?” Atlas asked.
Just like that, Phillip Owen was back to gaping at him. “She’s…” Phillip cleared his throat. “I recognized the name. And the face. She…she looks a lot like her mother.”
And everyone knew Lily’s mother.
The woman who had killed a dozen men.
The woman who was currently sitting on death row in an Alabama prison.
Plenty of movies had been made about Magnolia Calhoun. The beautiful and vivacious southern belle who’d been a true monster. A cold, calculating killer. Poison had been her weapon of choice. A sweet poison that she poured from her grandmother’s prized teapot.
She’d smiled at her prey even as she killed them.
She’d killed Lily’s father. And, if the stories were true, she’d even attempted to kill Lily, once upon a time.
“I recently read your research piece about hybristophilia,” Phillip gushed. Seriously, gushed, as he slanted a glance back at Lily. “I did consider becoming a psychiatrist at one point, so I’ve always had an interest in aberrant behavior, but emergency medicine called to me more and I—”
“Yeah, excuse me,” Atlas cut in to say. “But what in the hell is hybristophilia?” His head turned back toward Lily.
Those full lips of hers pressed together. The tear tracks on her cheeks had partially dried, but sorrow lingered in her eyes. Grief. He really wanted to get her out of there. Dr. Phillip Owen should not be seeing her grief. He should not be edging closer and closer to her.
A low, warning growl came from Atlas.
The doctor stopped his advance.
Lily’s gaze crashed with Atlas’s. “It’s a sexual attraction to criminals.”
He blinked at her.
“I’ve written a few papers on the intense attraction, the lust and the consuming need, that certain people can feel for individuals that they know to be violent and dangerous.”
Well, well, well. “Do you have an attraction to those who are violent and dangerous, Lily?” He was fascinated by her. And that very fascination was dangerous. He’d told the woman to stay away, hadn’t he? But she hadn’t listened.
Her lips tightened. “Some women think they can somehow fix deviant men.”
He completely ignored Phillip Owen. “Isn’t that what you’re trying to do?”
“I want to understand deviance. Understanding is the first step.”
“The first step in what?” But Atlas thought he knew. Oh, poor Lily. She thought she could cure monsters, didn’t she? Precious. Admirable. But…
Not happening. “What if they don’t want to be cured?”
“This is about stopping violence. About preventing death.”
Um, was it? He edged ever closer to her. He loved that warm vanilla scent. Just made him want to drink her in. Consume her. “You wanted to talk to me. You wanted me for your research.” No, actually, he thought she’d wanted him…
Because a serial killer is at work in Dallas. And you thought I was him.
Until the bastard had taken Atlas. And that was something they had not discussed. He just hadn’t been able to get Lily alone for long enough, not yet. They’d had to talk with the local cops, had EMTs hovering around them, gone to the hospital just to be met with doctors and nurses and…
No good privacy. At least, not privacy for longer than a few moments.
So they hadn’t been given the opportunity to talk about the serial killer who’d been picking prey from Dallas.
Disemboweling his victims. A very distinct calling card.
Since Lily had mentioned that particular process more than once, he knew she was already thinking about the serial.
They’d get into a full discussion about the killer, once he had her away from the hospital. And alone with him.
For the moment, though…
You want to understand me, huh, sweets? Understand my deviance? Fine. Then I will let you into my darkness. “Consider your all-access pass granted.”
Her brow furrowed. “You…are you saying that you will agree to meet with me? You’ll talk with me? After weeks of avoiding me completely? Of literally having me thrown out of your building?”
“That’s not very nice,” Phillip mumbled.
“I’m not typically mistaken for being a nice man.” The avoidance had been for Lily’s own protection. But she had been persistent, and now, she’d made a fatal mistake. “You saved my life.”
She didn’t even blink. “Technically, I think I saved your life and the lives of those six men who work for you.” A pause. “I did not save Benedict.”
He didn’t want her focusing on the detective. Her tears had stopped, and Atlas did not want them falling again. “I figure that I owe you.” True enough, he did owe her. But, more, when it came to Lily…
I am just not letting you get away.
Footsteps thudded nearby. Atlas turned toward the sound just as Desmond appeared in the doorway again.
“The limo is being brought around to the front of the hospital,” Desmond told him.
Excellent. “We’ll need clothes,” he said. Then Atlas shrugged. “Though I suppose we could just walk out in the hospital gowns. That’s always an option.” Atlas was curious as he focused on Desmond. “Has the press gotten wind of the story?”
“Absolutely. They are waiting outside.”
“Um. Then shots of my naked ass in this hospital gown would be splashed everywhere.” He didn’t care about his ass. But Lily…he didn’t want vulnerable shots of her taken. “So, yeah, guess we’ll be needing those clothes.” A brief pause. “Desmond?”
He’d already ducked out of the doorway.
But Desmond returned almost instantly. “Already got it,” Desmond retorted as he tossed a duffle bag toward him. “Things for you and for the lady.”
And that was why Desmond was his right hand.
The guy was a miracle worker. Atlas caught the bag in his left hand.
“Perfect.” He slanted a glance at Phillip.
The doc was still staring at Lily with wide eyes and far too much admiration on his face.
Mooney eyes. The doctor clearly had a crush or hero worship or some shit that would be stopping.
“Your services are no longer needed, Dr. Owen, but thanks so much for all that you’ve done.
” Well, damn, maybe he could be nice. So what if the words held a hard, brittle edge? They’d still been mostly polite.
Dr. Owen snapped to attention. Face flushing, he whipped toward Atlas.
“You are my patient. She is my patient. She has a concussion. Granted, her injuries were milder than yours, but I am the medical professional, Mr. Bennett. Not you. Therefore, I will say when my services are needed or not needed.”
“Is Lily in danger?” He and Lily had both agreed that they could hear each other’s medical info. One of the requirements for them to be able to stay together during so many of the exams.
“No…she…she should be fine. Her responses are all normal. Neither of your scans showed signs of brain bleeding or fractures.”