5. - – Clara
CHAPTER FIVE
-
CLARA
I loathed the end of visiting hours. Being an employee should have come with perks, but apparently "special accommodations" don't apply when you’re pining for a man who could be put in handcuffs at any minute.
In this hospital, visibly falling for a suspected killer turned out to be the quickest way to ensure nobody does you any favors.
Why was he still suspected of murder? Surely by now, they had discovered the truth. What was I missing?
Everything would be so much simpler if I were a detective.
Being a nurse was basically the same thing though...
right? Okay, even I knew that was a reach.
It was ridiculous to compare a doctor’s diagnostic process to a murder investigation, but in my head, the logic held.
They were both just looking for what was killing people after all.
With my dinner finished, I wrenched my laptop from my bag, fuming at the slow startup screen. As soon as the desktop appeared, I was a blur of motion, my fingers flying over the keys to hunt for updates.
Nothing.
A frown deepened on my face, bringing with it the ghost of my father’s voice. He used to tell me those lines would scare away any suitor. My worth lived and died with the perfection of my skin. I shivered and forced the thought away.
Checking the headlines had proven fruitless, yet I made a mental note to stay vigilant.
I couldn't shake the feeling the detectives were keeping the real story under wraps. Every time I’d doubted my intuition in the past, I had regretted it.
Whatever they were hiding, I knew it wouldn't stay buried for long.
As I slammed my laptop shut, the crack of plastic echoed my rising frustration.
If I didn’t get a grip, I’d lose my job and leave Elias in far less capable hands.
As the evening's events replayed in my mind, the potential I saw in him sent a spark of excitement through me.
Now, I just had to prove he was innocent of whatever they were trying to pin on him.
I checked the clock and winced. I had only a few hours left to sleep before I was due back at work.
Exhaustion settled deep in my bones as I retreated to the bedroom.
I stripped out of my stale clothes and headed for the shower, hoping the hot water could wash away at least some of the built up tension I had contracted throughout the day.
The rhythmic pulse of the water became his touch.
I let myself go, imagining Elias recovered and reclaimed, standing here with me under the burning heat.
My breath hitched as I pictured his lips finding those secret, sensitive spots which always left me breathless.
He was a vision and it set my skin on fire, dragging me closer and closer to the breaking point.
The line between the steam and my daydream blurred.
My breath caught again as I reached up, my fingers slick as I unlatched the showerhead from its holster.
I adjusted the dial, seeking a deeper, more insistent rhythm.
Finally, I landed on a steady pulse of pressure I imagined would mimic his touch and made my skin ache for the real thing.
I let the fantasy take over and became lost in the vision of his hands and mouth.
I didn't realize how close I was until I went over the edge. The release was electric, a deep, pulsing heat drowning out the sound of the spray. As the tremors subsided, a smirk tugged at my lips. If the real Elias was even half the man I’d just conjured, I was in serious trouble.
I slid the showerhead back into place, the cool click of the metal grounding me back in the room.
When I stepped out of the shower, the steam swirled around me like a suffocating shroud. I reached out, my fingers trembling as I smeared my hand through the fog on the mirror. I stared at my reflection, the water dripping onto the tiles, and suddenly, my chest felt too tight to breathe.
What if he is a murderer? The thought hit me like a physical blow.
My breath hitched, coming in shallow, jagged gasps.
No. Stop. I forced ?air into my lungs, fighting the spiral.
If he were guilty, there would be evidence and it would be plastered across every headline in the city.
I bolted from the bathroom, water slicking my skin as I ignored my towel and lunged for my phone.
My damp fingers slipped over the screen, frantically refreshing the search results.
Nothing. I let out a shaky breath, slumping onto the edge of my bed as the silence of the room finally began to settle.
Moments like this reminded me that I was playing with fire.
If I let him in, I wasn't just risking my heart…
I was jeopardizing my freedom, too. I could already see the headlines: Local Nurse Aids Wanted Killer; Thwarts Police Investigation.
Or worse, Like Father, Like Daughter: Trafficking Ring Heiress Returns to Crime.
I climbed under the covers and tried to reset. I clutched the pillow between my thighs, attempting to summon the heat of Elias’s phantom touch, but the spark was dead. My body rejected the lie. I had chased a dream right into the mouth of a nightmare, and now, there was no escaping the truth.
The dream possessed me, a sickening rewind to the night I had turned fifteen. It was a night I tried hard to forget.
I was pressed against the cold wall of the hallway, a sliver of light from the study fell across my bare feet.
In the study I could see my father’s silhouette.
It was a monstrous shadow against the far wall, one hand raised, holding what looked like a wrench.
I could barely make out another figure crumpled at his feet, unmoving.
Father’s voice, usually so smooth and commanding, was different.
Today, it was a low, dangerous growl. "You failed me, Leo.
" His words slurred, thick with anger. My chest tightened and I wanted to vomit. Leo had spent years watching over me. He had been hired as my security detail. "If you don’t clean up this mess you’ve made, you'll regret it... "
My eyes shot open at the sound of my first alarm. I only saw Leo a handful of times after the incident. What had he failed to do? I would never know. I could only assume the threat of violence eventually consumed him.