Page 79 of Knight
“And that lecture about my bar fight back home?” Joyride said. “What was that?”
“I meant that. We live right. We don’t make trouble. But if it comes for us, we take care of our own.”
CHAPTER 17
AIDEN
Liliana liftedher martini for a sip. “I can’t believe this is your first time at Triage.”
I twirled the straw in my jalapeño-infused margarita and shrugged. “I’ve been pulling too many hours to get out much.”
Liliana had invited—read: dragged—me to the little bar that the hospital staff liked to frequent. It was right across the street, making it the perfect spot for after-work drinks before heading home.
Historical medical memorabilia covered the walls. Above Liliana’s head, two old posters bracketed a WWII-era stethoscope. The poster on the right advertised laudanum for handling a sleepless baby and the one on the left recommended “massage” for treating female hysteria.
Liliana set down her glass and leaned in. “So if you don’t get out much, where’d you find that man of yours? You’ve only been in town a few weeks. You’re a quick worker.”
I shook my head. “It’s not like you think.”
“What do I think?”
“I didn’t go out and meet him. He’s my roommate,” I said. “And my brother’s best friend.”
Liliana laughed in delight and slapped her hand over my forearm. “Ohhh, you bad boy. It’s all making sense now.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Forbiddenlove.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not even close.”
“Meaning?”
“Flynn fell in love with his boss’s little brother.”
Her eyes widened. “No shit?”
“No shit.” I laughed as I bent to slurp margarita through my straw. “So, he can’t say shit about me and his friend shacking up if he finds out. It’s not about that.”
She sat back, eyeing me over the rim of her glass. “Okay, I can see that. Is it serious, then?”
“It can’t be.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I’m only here for the year, you know. I’m aiming for a residency in Baltimore or Cleveland. It’s temporary at best, and besides, I can’t afford to get distracted.”
She chuckled. “Aiden, you’re the most focused person I’ve ever met. No guy is going to sidetrack you.”
I grimaced. “It’s happened before. Why do you think I’m here?”
“Because the fates thought you’d benefit from my sparkling wit?”
I laughed. “I like that explanation better than mine.”
She crossed her arms on the table, brow furrowed. “What’s that?”
“My ex wanted to reconcile. We’d broken up over my brother. Tyler was a dick about Flynn’s situation. Called him a murderer and said of course he deserved to be in prison. That they’d let him out too soon.”
She gaped. “But surely he knew Flynn was protecting you? It was essentially self-defense!”
“Well, he’s a hard-liner when it comes to crime andpunishment. No excuses. So, that’s why we split. He came back late last year, wanting to ‘fix’ things.” I used air quotes because Tyler hadn’t really wanted to fix anything—except maybe me. “Gave me a nice story about how he’d been thoughtless and hadn’t seen things from my perspective.”
