Page 52 of Under His Command
“You don’t have to stay. I’m sure you have more important things to do today,” I tell him.
“There is nothing in this fucking world more important to me than you. I’m here.”
I look up at him, eyebrows furrowed from the nerves still swarming in my gut.
“You haven’t even apologized.”
“That’s because I’m not sorry,” he says, very matter-of-fact.
He plops down in the chair next to mine, knees apart and forearms on his thighs. A nurse rushes down the corridor, in the distance, and we both follow her with our eyes.
“Seriously? Then how do you expect me to forgive you?”
“You don’t have to forgive me. Hate me or love me, it makes no difference to me. You’ll still be mine.”
“You’re infuriating.”
He turns his head to look at me, a faint smile plastered on his lush lips.
Goddamn him. He knows I love him too. I even don’t have to say it; it’s probably written all over my face right now. I open my mouth to say something, but his phone rings in the pocket of his slacks.
He groans, pulling it out. “What?” he asks.
It doesn’t take long before he gets up from his chair, lifting a finger in the air to tell me it’ll take a moment. I nod, following him with my eyes until he reaches the end of the corridor and resumes his conversation. I zone out for a few long minutes, looking at nothing in particular, when a pair of white Crocs enters my field of vision.
“Dove Finnegan?” The man’s voice startles me.
I lift my gaze to him, noticing he’s wearing a white scrubs and a blue shirt underneath. This must be doctor Franco Pierce, the one the receptionist was talking about.
“H-Hello. Yes. How is she?” I ask, getting up and crossing my arms at my chest.
“Stable right now. You can see her for a few moments if you’d like, while we transfer her into her new room.”
“Yes, please. Thank you so much. I just need to go tell my—”
“Ah, sorry, if this isn’t a good time, I’ll come back in a few hours to get you. Like I said, you can only see her for a few moments if you come with me now.”
I weigh my options, looking in the distance at Rowan, who is still on the phone. He’s rubbing his forehead, annoyed at whatever news the person on the other line gives him.
“No, it’s fine, I’ll see her now, thank you,” I say, getting up to follow him.
If I can only be with my mom for a few moments, I’ll probably get back here before Rowan ends his call anyway.
“So… so she’s okay?” I ask, hurrying after him. “I thought the surgery was going to take a few hours.”
We take the corner into another corridor—a long, dark hallway where no one seems to be working right now.
“Doctor Pierce?” I press on when he doesn’t answer.
“Right this way,” he says, completely ignoring me.
We take another corner and I stop walking, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
For some reason, this doesn’t feel right. I shouldn’t be alone out here, even if Rowan closed down the hospital. My apartment was just broken into recently, after all.
“I’m sorry, but I think I’ll get back to my—”
The rest of my sentence trails off as someone presses a hand to my mouth, grabbing me from behind.
