Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
DAMON
Holy hell, Blake’s ass looks to die for in her scrubs.
A slow breath leaves my lips as soon as I see her settle back behind the nurses station, handing off the cup of coffee to her colleague.
Leon’s texts pop up, blocking my view of Blake on the security feed. My first instinct is to swipe them away, but with this development, watching my angel and tracking her special Christmas gift’s arrival will have to wait.
Leon: Blake just confirmed the resident’s name—Jessica Long. Sending a photo.
A second later, a professional headshot of an attractive young woman, probably taken from the hospital’s database, shows up on my screen.
Me: I’ll keep an eye out. I’m locked into the live security feed.
Leon: Perfect. I’ll run facial recognition from this morning to find the target.
Me: And Blake’s working on Jessica… by the end of her shift, it’ll be Blake accepting that offer.
Leon’s quiet for the time being, so I swipe back to Blake. She’s about to enter a patient’s room… where I’ll unfortunately lose her for a few minutes.
Time to multitask anyway.
While I wait for Leon to get back to me, I pull up the tracking info on the private courier I hired.
Her custom black leather medical bag is already wrapped.
I printed our pit-level My Chemical Romance tickets yesterday.
The scrapbook I made of photos I’ve taken of her over the past year is all wrapped and ready.
But the last gift is running late. The vintage teaching skeleton from the 60s, beautifully macabre and so fucking Blake.
She’s going to love it. And one day, when we get our dream Victorian home—stained glass windows, creaky floors, iron fixtures, and clawfoot tubs—this skeleton will be the first thing in her office.
I knew I should have arranged to pick it up instead of relying on that delivery service. It better get here in time.
Leon: Got Jessica at 9:02 heading in from the parking garage. Give me a couple minutes and I should have him.
How the hell does he do it? And so fast too.
I switch back to the cameras, seeing that Blake still hasn’t left the patient’s room. Goddamn, I’m antsy. Waiting has never been easy for me. Instead of getting up to pace, I write another email to the delivery service, checking on the gift.
Before I hit send, my phone buzzes.
Falin: Give me something to do. Anything. I can’t watch another damn Christmas movie.
Me: …
Falin: Come on, Stalker. Don’t let Leon have all the fun.
Leon’s text comes through before I have time to answer.
Leon: Got him. Harold Patton, attorney at Hill & Associates. Office is corporate law, real estate, business acquisitions, all that.
An image comes through of a round-faced, middle-aged white guy with thinning brown hair and a smile that makes me uneasy.
Me: Shady as fuck.
Leon: Yeah… what’s he want with a med student?
Me: Exactly.
My jaw clenches and the urge to sprint up four flights of stairs to be by Blake’s side takes over.
Leon: Digging into his client list now. Will send anything interesting that comes up.
Me: Let Falin in on it too. She’s driving me nuts.
He must already be at it since he doesn’t answer right away.
I switch to the camera feed just as Blake emerges from the patient’s room.
It helps to calm me… barely. Zooming in, I see that she looks focused, professional…
so fucking pretty. She types something at the nurse’s station then glances down the hallway.
She’s probably looking for Jessica.
Time for me to go make sure she gets the answers she needs.
I pocket my phone, grab my jacket, and head for the stairwell. From Blake’s recap earlier, Jessica’s not the only one involved here. There’s her potential boyfriend, Adam.
After a quick camera check and a scan of the med school database to double check his photo, I spot him heading toward the break room on the third floor. It’s almost too easy.
I take the stairs two at a time and move through the hallway like I belong here, head down, keeping my stride confident.
I’m almost surprised the few people I encounter don’t question me.
A guy in jeans and a leather jacket this time of night, I could be anyone.
If I do get stopped, I’ll use the visiting hours excuse, but I doubt it’ll be necessary.
Being invisible when I need to be is a talent I’ve honed over the years.
The break room door is unmarked, tucked away at the end of the corridor. I push through, letting it swing shut behind me. I have an idea of the layout from Blake—a small kitchen area on one side, with a set of doors on the other that lead to locker rooms and sleeping pods.
Lucky me, we’ve got the whole room to ourselves.
I spot a tray of sugar cookies on the table and grab one, biting off Santa’s head before pushing through the doors to the locker area.
Adam’s there with his back to me, pulling his sweater on. He’s got a lean build, probably a runner. Dark hair, still damp like he just showered. He doesn’t hear me approach. Doesn’t notice me until I’m right behind him.
“Adam?”
He turns, his eyes wide. “What the hell? Where’d you come from, man?”
I lock eyes with him, biting into the rest of the sugar cookie, and chewing slowly. Unhinged… I know, but from the look on his face, it’s effective.
“I asked you—”
I don’t give him time to finish. Gripping his shoulder, I push him back against the lockers hard enough to rattle the metal. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to get my point across.
“We need to have a serious conversation, friend.”
He shoves back at me, and I smile, loving the give and take. “Fuck off. I’m calling security.”
“It’s about Jessica.”
That gets his attention.
“What about her? Who are you?” His voice wavers. Good. I need him afraid.
“Just a little Christmas angel who has a vested interest in making sure she doesn’t do something stupid.” I lean in closer, keeping my tone low and measured. “Like taking that job offer tonight.”
“How the hell—that’s none of your business!”
He tries to back away but I have him trapped. My hand finds his shoulder again, and I smile.
“That’s not what I want to hear.” I press harder, feeling him tense.
“Here’s how this is going to work. Jessica’s going to get a call shortly from a man…
A bad man, Adam. And when this man repeats his offer, Jessica is going to decline and tell him she has a replacement.
A gifted surgical resident named Blake.”
“Blake? Blake Hyland?” Confusion flickers across his features. “Why would—”
“All you need to know is Jessica’s Christmas won’t be very merry if she takes this offer. You care for her, right?”
His eyes narrow, trying to figure me out. I don’t let my expression give anything away. He finally nods. “I do.”
“Then trust me on this. You need to do whatever it takes to make sure Blake’s the one taking that job.”
Adam swallows hard. “And if I don’t?”
I lean in closer, letting my voice drop to a whisper. “Then Jessica will go. And when things get fucked, and they will, you’ll have to live with that. Forever. Plus, then I’ll have to get involved, and let me tell you, blood splatter really ruins the Christmas spirit.”
He’s dead silent as he takes my words in. I can see him weighing his very few options, toying between fighting me on this or taking the easy, sensible way out.
“Tick, tock, Adam.”
Finally, he sighs. “Okay. Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll convince her to back out.”
“And give the job to Blake.”
“Yes. To Blake.” He looks at me. Really looks at me. “Who the hell are you, anyway?”
“Like I said, a Christmas angel who’s very good at protecting the people I love.
” I step back, giving him space. “And Adam, once you convince your girlfriend, you need to forget we ever had this conversation. You don’t tell Jessica a word about me.
You don’t try to follow Blake tonight. You just let it go and trust that it’s being handled. ”
He blinks and balls his fists. “What other choice do I have?”
“Exactly.” I reach out, and chuckle as he flinches, but this time I give his shoulder a friendly pat. “Merry Christmas. Go get it done.”
I leave him standing there, probably trying to process what the fuck just happened. I don’t look back. There’s no need to. He’ll do what I told him. The fear in his eyes guarantees it.
Back to the stairwell I go, hurrying up a flight to Blake’s floor. I set the stage with Adam, and now I need a spot to watch my masterpiece unfold. Checking the cameras, I see that Blake’s exactly where I thought she’d be. In the breakroom, talking to Jessica.
I find a spot in the connecting hallway, partially hidden by a decorative column wrapped in twinkling white Christmas lights. From here, I have a perfect view of Blake’s breakroom without being too obvious.
The hallway’s decorated for the holidays—garland strung along the walls, a small Christmas tree in the corner with handmade ornaments that look like they were made by children, a menorah sitting on an alcove surrounded by silver and blue accents.
All of it should evoke warmth. Festivity. Comfort. Even if I’ve never been one to enjoy the holidays before Blake came into my life.
Instead, my mood’s shifted in the matter of an hour. Now looking at these decorations just reminds me that all this holiday shit is just a mask. A thick blanket that hides the darkness of the world, if only for a short period.
Fuck, I’m jaded. Maybe I see darkness everywhere now because I’ve spent so long living in it.
I glance at my camera feed, watching Blake work her magic on Jessica, and feel a small burst of light pass through my limbs.
We’ll do this job tonight and then have the Christmas Blake deserves.
I’ll force my cynical ass to make it happen for her.
I move closer to the breakroom door, needing to see and hear what’s going on in person… The small window is great, so is my security feed, but they can only show so much.