Harley Davis, R.N., glanced around the momentarily empty nurses’ station and stretched in her chair, pointing her toes out in front of her and reaching up, up, up toward the ceiling as a long, satisfying groan escaped her lips. Working the night shift wasn’t her first choice, but the money was better. Probably because of the misery index, having to stay up all night, and then never feeling fully awake during the day. It had been a boring night other than the man who had come in with a broken nose.
Every time she saw somebody’s face all fucked up, it brought back memories of her old biker days. She’d been raised in the biker culture and she’d worked her ass off making sure she didn’t end up like all the biker women she’d grown up with, watching as they slowly turned into used up barflies. No way was she going to let any man pimp her out so he could afford to ride around on a custom Harley.
She slurped down the last of her Mountain Dew, closing her eyes and moaning quietly at how good and smooth it felt going down. She had tried the diet stuff and it was okay, but nothing compared to the real thing. Her fingers flew over the computer keyboard as she filled in the man’s information in preparation for his cosmetic surgery procedure, scheduled for first thing in the morning.
She didn’t notice the handsome stranger until she heard the thrumming of fingers on the counter in front of her. “Yes, can I help…you…” She looked up to see a man with shaggy brown hair and the most beautiful eyes. Even under the baseball cap perched on his head, she could see that interspersed in his brown locks were blonde highlights that could only be the result of time spent outside in the elements. It was his striking blue eyes and lopsided boyish smile that caused her to take notice. The crooked boyish smile was enough to make any woman swoon, and hell, nothing else was going on so why not flirt with the man.
“Hey, darlin’,” the man said as he leaned an elbow on the counter, his smile growing until a dimple winked at her from deep in his cheek. His twinkling blue eyes crinkled at the corners, promising all manner of mischief. Harley shifted in her seat and licked her lips. As his eyes followed her tongue’s progress, she thought that maybe the night wasn’t going to be a total loss.
“Um, can I help you?” she repeated as she pushed a lock of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, in a belated attempt to be somewhat professional.
“I was wondering if a friend of mine had checked in, Luis Jimenez?” He was guessing it had Luis behind that bloody clown mask because Valentina had been so sure she’d seen him the other day. He was counting on the guy being too stupid to use an assumed name. He hoped he was right or they would have no idea who the stalker was.
“Are you family?” she asked demurely as she slowly typed, drawing the interaction out as long as she could. No need for him to know she was working on loading that particular patient file.
“No. But I’m really worried about my friend. We were out together partying and he just disappeared. I’m concerned he may have gotten in a wreck or something. I’d hate to think he was stupid enough to get behind the wheel of a car. Please…I’m really worried.”
He watched the natural beauty as she slid the end of a pen into her mouth, twirling it pensively as she looked up at him. He knew the deal; she was trying to decide if she should reveal any private information. “Damn, baby,” he muttered under his breath as he watched her work that pen between her pretty pink lips. His mind started entertaining all kinds of dirty thoughts, like what it would be like to have his cock in her mouth instead of that pen. Fuck.
He shifted his weight onto his other foot and discreetly rearranged his cock as he willed away the hard-on that was stirring between his legs. This girl was definitely his type, a natural beauty with a sexy sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks. He wondered if she had them on her chest too, and thought about how much fun it would be to use his tongue to play connect-the-dots. His cock jumped in agreement and he knew this wouldn’t be the last time he’d be seeing this woman. It had been a long time since he’d seen a woman who interested him enough to pursue. His life was simple, just the way he liked it. Women were complicated. No doubt this one was, too, but something told him she’d be worth it.
“I’m really not supposed to reveal personal medical information to people who aren’t family,” she said softly as she bit down on her lower lip. King just barely managed to stifle a groan.
Giving her his most earnest expression, he did his best to override her years of professional training. “I understand, but if I could just see him and make sure he’s okay, I’d be so grateful.”
“Oh, okay. He’s in room 2506. But if you say I told you, I’ll say you’re a crazy stalker I couldn’t do anything about.”
A flash of something ominous darkened his countenance for an instant before it was replaced by his usual cocky, boyish smile. Surely, she had been imagining the harsh gleam in his eyes.
“Got it,” he said easily, nodding. Then he seemed to second guess himself. “Man, I hope I don’t wake him if he’s sleeping. Bet his tired, isn’t he? Lots of tests today?”
“Um, no, not really. Dr. Clayton didn’t see the need to do an x-ray last night since they have one scheduled for first thing in the morning. I mean, when your nose is broken, it’s pretty obvious, right?”
“Right. Thank you, darlin’.”
Before she could respond, she was struck dumb by the sight of him walking away. Those jeans fit in all the right places, hugging the most perfect ass she had ever seen. Without warning, he turned around and started walking back to her, his shirt straining across his chest as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet.
Clearing her throat, she forced her eyes up from what appeared to be a mighty impressive bulge behind his zipper. Leaning his elbow on the counter again, he gave her a slow, knowing smile and held out a business card. She took it from him and nodded as he backed away from the counter with a grin, letting her enjoy the view one more time. “Call me sometime. There’s nothing I’d love more than to get to know you better.”
She gulped and squeezed her thighs together under the desk as he walked away. Damn, he looked good and she did so love a bad boy. Something about this guy told her he was very, very bad indeed.
King pulled the sunglasses from his pocket, sliding them on and pulling the brim of his hat down low so it shadowed his features. He kept his head down, avoiding any cameras monitoring the hospital hallways and elevators, then quietly slipped into the sleeping man’s room.
There he was, Luis Fuckin’ Jimenez, sleeping soundly, breathing through his mouth in deference to the bandages covering his nose. As King approached the bed, he slid his hand into his pocket and fingered the small plastic box that held his pride and joy: a Sydney funnel-web spider, considered by many to be the most lethal spider in the world. Australia really did have the best shit.
“Alright, Matilda, you know what to do,” he breathed as he pressed the box flat against the man’s chest, being careful to move slowly so as not to wake him. After this step was complete, things would happen quickly and by then King wouldn’t care if the guy woke up, but for now he needed him completely still so Matilda didn’t get out of hand. He was counting on her being agitated and aggressive after bouncing around in his pocket while he chatted up the Naughty Nurse. Fuck. He need to get this over with. Luis Jimenez had taken up too much of his time already.
He slid open a panel in the bottom of the device, large enough to allow the exotic beauty to do her job but small enough to keep her from escaping. He certainly didn’t want his pretty, new nurse friend dying before he had the opportunity to get to know her better.
Luis gasped in pain as his eyes opened wide in shock. Confused, he blinked hard and shook his head. He looked up to see a brown-haired stranger by his bed, looking down at him impassively as he slid a small, square box into his jeans pocket. Luis stared up at him in shock before exhaling harshly and clutching his chest. Luis’ gaping mouth drooled streams of saliva and his eyes glazed over as he slipped into the coma that would send him off into the afterlife to meet his own personal hell.
King pulled on a disposable glove, moving quickly as he thrust the heel of his palm upward against Luis’ bandaged nose. With no x-rays taken the night before, there was every reason to hope the doctors would initially believe the broken nose had caused more complications than first anticipated.
Complications were King’s specialty. Now all he had to do was see to it that the beauty at the nurse’s station didn’t suddenly get a conscience and run her mouth. Something told him that she wouldn’t. But that was all the reason he needed to keep a very close eye on her.