The Naughty One: A Doctor’s Christmas Romance (Season of Desire Book 2) by Michelle Love (2)

She stroked his face, tracing a small scar on his cheek. “How did you get that?”

Blue smiled. “I wish I could tell you something cool, but I fell off my bike when I was a kid.”

“That’s not uncool.”

“The bike still had training wheels. And I still fell off of it.” Blue looked aggrieved as Romy started to laugh.

“Klutz. Sexy klutz, but still.”

Blue shrugged, grinning. “I wasn’t as suave as I am now.”

Romy snorted. “Suave. You didn’t realize at dinner two nights ago that you had marinara sauce all over your pretty face, Allende.”

“I did. I was just hoping to entice you to lick it off.”

“Ah,” Romy nodded wisely. “You know me well, doctor.”

“I know you well enough to know that food, any food, can charm you like a snake.”

Romy kissed him as he looked smug. “Speaking of snake, put that incredible cock of yours back in me, boss.”

Blue laughed. “Hmm, boss, I like that.” He hitched her legs around his waist again, his cock already hard again. He slid into her and Romy sighed happily, winding her arms around his neck.

“You know, boss, if you like that … I’d be willing to be dominated … in bed. For you? God, yeah, that would be such a turn on.”

He pinched her nipple hard and she yelped in surprise but it made her cunt flood with arousal. “Oh, you’re wet, baby girl,” Blue said, and slammed his cock deeper into her. They made love, clawing, biting, hungry for the other until they both came again, then, making sure their pagers were on, they wrapped their arms around one other and fell asleep.

Just after midnight, the door to the on-call room opened and Mac peered in, spotting them in the small puddle of light from the hallway. Romy heard the door open and she and Mac smiled at each other. Mac touched his hand over his heart and blew her a kiss, backing out of the room, and Romy felt safe and loved. No one is going to take this away from me, she thought, and closed her eyes, locked in the embrace of the man she loved.

Dacre had seen Romy go into the on-call room with Blue Allende and his gut had twisted with rage. He knew the police were looking for him but they had old photos of him, photos before he’d shaved his head and grown a thick beard, adding piercings, a neck tattoo, and thick spectacles. He’d bulked up too; it made the killings easier if they couldn’t match his physical strength.

Gaius Eames had arranged the new identity so he could apply for the orderly job at Rainier Hope. Dacre still didn’t trust the man; he wondered why he hated his half-brother so much when Gaius seemed to have unlimited resources. Maybe Gaius wanted Romy too, and if so, Dacre wouldn’t stand for that. Romy was his. She hadn’t even recognized him the time she’d asked him direct questions; she was friendly and polite, joking around with the patients and with him. He’d changed his voice too, whiskey and cigarettes lowering his register. No one, not even his damn parents, would recognize Dacre Mortimer, preppy Harvard grad, now.

Gaius Eames had asked of him one favor. “Don’t kill your ex-wife yet,” he’d said. “I want Blue to really fall for her so when she dies, he’ll be destroyed.”

Dacre gritted his teeth. “The thought of his hands on her …”

Gaius had smiled. “Think of the ways you could punish her, Mortimer. Those girls you killed had it easy compared to what you’re going to do to the lovely Romy.”

Dacre had liked the sound of that, so he’d agreed. Working at the hospital was another one of Gaius’s ideas as was the small studio apartment close to the hospital.

Now, as he heard the door of the on-call room click closed, he knew that Allende had his hands all over his Romy and it made him rage. Dacre checked his watch—his shift was over in five minutes. He paused, entertaining the fantasy of storming into the on-call room and butchering his ex-wife and her lover. Instead, he finished up his shift and left the hospital. His body tingled with rage and the need to kill. Gaius had told him his little game of killing women with Romy’s initials had been found out—good, it meant she was scared.

Dacre went home, ate a sparse meal of microwave hot dogs, and sucked down a couple of beers. He watched TV mindlessly for a few hours, then, just after midnight, headed out into the city. He was careful always to wear black so that the blood of his victims would not show up on his clothes and when he returned home, he would seal those clothes into a sack and burn them in the furnace at work.

Tonight, he looked for anyone who resembled Romy. He found her working at a bar downtown, followed her when she closed up for the night, took her at the end of an alleyway, and dragged her into the darkness. She was beautiful, with long, dark, wavy hair, doe-eyed, petite. He overpowered her easily and as the knife sank deep into her flesh, Dacre felt the usual release. Staring at the girl unseeing, all he thought of was how it would feel to kill Romy like this, his blade slicing through her tender flesh, severing arteries, destroying her vital organs. This girl died too quickly, his knife cutting through her abdominal aorta clumsily, though he usually liked to draw it out.

He lowered her to the ground as she struggled for life, ripping her shirt open, and finishing her with a few brutal stabs. The girl, her eyes wide with terror and agony, made a gurgling sound as blood filled her throat, then went still. Dacre stood, breathing heavily, staring down at her, only seeing Romy’s face on this girl’s brutalized body.

Dacre sucked in lungfuls of air, smelling the rust-and-salt smell of his victim’s blood, then, leaving her for others to find, walked slowly back home and feel into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

Stuart Eames looked up as his soon-to-be-ex-wife approached the table. He stood, dutifully kissing her on the cheek, and pulled out her chair for her. Hilary Eames smiled and sat down.

“Always the gentleman.”

Stuart tried not to roll his eyes. Hilary was obviously in one of her seductive moods. “You look well, Hilary.”

She smiled. “You too. Magda Sasse is obviously looking after you … and I hear her daughter is looking after the Italian, too.”

Stuart sighed. “His name is Blue as you well know, Hilary, and yes, he and Romy are seeing each other.”

“Keeping it in the family.”

He grimaced in disgust. “I didn’t come here to talk about Blue’s love life, Hilary. We agreed to meet to finalize the divorce, so shall we stick to that topic?”

Hilary smirked. Stuart studied her. Hilary had once been considered a beautiful woman, but now she was stick-thin, gaunt, brittle. Her dark hair, once her crowning glory, was now coiffed to hide the hairpieces she used to create the illusion of lustrousness, her blue eyes ringed with kohl, hard lines. Her full lips—enhanced by fillers—made her look slightly ridiculous. Her cheekbones were jutting out and even the amount of make-up she wore couldn’t conceal the greyness of her skin, the pinched look from denying herself food.

Being rich and thin was the overriding reason Hilary lived—that and to cause misery to those she felt envious of. Stuart wondered how he could ever have loved this woman; she was Magda’s antithesis.

“So, you dropping your claim to the financial settlement has me wondering—what are you up to, Hilary?”

Hilary hid a smile behind her water glass. “I thought you’d be happy.”

“Who is he? I know there must be a ‘he’ because otherwise there isn’t a chance in hell you’d relinquish my money unless you had someone else lined up.”

“You think so little of me?”

Stuart stayed silent rather than lie. Hilary shrugged. “Not that it’s any of your business, Stuart, but Giles is …”

“Giles?” Suddenly Stuart started to laugh. “You mean Giles St. Clement? Lord Giles St. Clement? Oh, Hilly, you really are so transparent.”

Hilary’s face contorted in anger. “If you must know, Giles and I are in love, and as soon as the divorce comes through, we are to be married.”

“And you’re moving to London? I can see it now. High tea with the prime minister as you peddle your faux-manitarian causes. Blow jobs abound and suddenly, Lady St. Clement, you’re receiving titles of your own. Honorary damehoods, perhaps?”

Stuart hadn’t meant to be so cutting—it wasn’t his style, and this meeting was, after all, to make sure Hilary did sign the divorce papers—and now he realized he had gone too far. Hilary’s eyes glittered with spite.

“What’s it to you who I marry, or who I ‘blow,’ as you so crudely put it? This is what I want, Stuart, just like your pathetic little hippie is who you want. Aren’t you glad I’ll be out of your life for good?”

Stuart shrugged. “Sure … I just hope Giles knows what he’s let himself in for.”

“Fuck you, Stuart. I never loved you; I was stupid to think I did.”

Stuart’s smile faded. “You think I don’t know that? And you made Bianca’s life a misery too.”

“She spawned your precious lovechild, the saint-like Blue. If you only knew, Stuart, about your bastard son.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Stuart was irked now but Hilary just smiled.

“You have two sons, Stuart. Isn’t it about time you concentrated on your firstborn? Gaius tells me he feels shut out of your new family.”

“That’s not even close to true, Hilary. Gaius just tells you what you want to hear, because it suits him to feel like the redheaded stepchild. Magda has made great efforts to include him. Far more efforts than you made with Blue.”

“You’re just surrounded by saint-like people, aren’t you?”

Stuart gritted his teeth. This was more like the Hilary he knew—spiteful, resentful, vindictive. “I really think we should stick to signing these papers. Do you want lunch, Hilary?”

She shook her head, dismissive. “I don’t have time.” She took the papers from him and scrawled her signature where he indicated. Stuart put the signed papers back in his jacket pocket.

“Thank you. I wish you well, Hilary.”

Hilary smiled at him and for a brief second, Stuart could see the beautiful woman she had once been. Then the malice crept back in her face. “Tell your girlfriend’s daughter to watch out for Blue … he isn’t what he says he is.”

Hilary’s last words were still bugging Stuart as he drove back to Magda’s home. They had decided that he would move in with her after the wedding, selling his massive condo. “I don’t need it,” he’d told her, “this is home to me now.”

Magda saw the preoccupation on his face and Stuart told her what Hilary had said. Magda shrugged it off. “She’s just trying to upset you. Blue is a good man; we all know that.”

Stuart sighed. “I know. I just don’t trust Hilary not to go screw things up for him. She loathed Bianca, and barely even spoke to Blue —until, get this, until he was a young teenager and started to blossom into his looks. Then she would show him off like a trophy. Blue isn’t like Gaius. He hated being paraded around like a prize. As soon as he was eighteen, he left home, just to get away from her. I confess, I helped him move out.” He sat and rubbed his face, but then smiled at Magda. “But all that aside, she signed the papers.”

Magda grinned and sat down on his knees. “You’re a free man?”

“I’m a free man … so, officially, Magdalena Helen Sasse … would you do me the great honor of marrying me?”

Magda laughed, and nodded. “I will, Stuart Gregory Eames. I really will … and if you’ll have me, on Christmas Day.”

Stuart grinned, knowing the arrangements were almost in place for their wedding. He kissed her tenderly, gazing up into her navy-blue eyes. “I can’t wait, my darling. I can’t wait.”

Romy was concentrating so hard on the practice dummy she was performing a surgery on that she didn’t see Mac sidle into the room until he poked her side and made her jump. “Dude! You just killed my patient.”

Mac laughed. “Nah, she was a goner anyway. So …”

Romy hid a grin. “Yes?”

“You and Doc Allende?”

Romy flushed, but smiled. “Pretty much.”

“How long?”

“A couple of months.”

“Rom?” She looked up to see his smile. “Is it love?”

She nodded, flushing again. “It is. I’m crazy about him.”

“Good. You get your man, girl. It’s not like it’s a huge surprise to anyone.”

Romy looked at him sharply. “What?”

Mac held his hands up. “Slow your roll. I didn’t tell anyone. But the chemistry between the two of you speaks for itself.”

He watched her for a few minutes as she worked. “Rom? Did you hear? More murders.”

Romy’s hand slipped and she cussed, ripping off her gloves to see the small gash in the top of her finger. Mac helped her to clean it up. “Girl, why were you wearing gloves to operate on a dummy?”

“Habit,” she said, “ouch.”

“Sorry. Look, it just needs cleaning and a stitch is all. No biggie. Want me to do it?”

“Please.”

Mac studied her face as he helped her. “I know you think these killings are your fault. They’re not, babe. They are the work of a very sick, very bad man. Do you know how many times I thank God that he didn’t kill you that day? And I didn’t even know you back then. You’re a survivor, Romy.”

“But what does that mean when innocent women are being killed because of me?”

“It’s not because of you!” Mac said angrily. “God, I could kill Dacre Mortimer with my bare hands. Have the police told you anything about their search?”

Romy shook her head. “He could be anywhere, Mac.”

“Except here. We have his picture up at every entrance, all the security team has been advised to look out, all the reception staff.”

“I know, and I’m grateful. Thanks, Mac.”

He finished treating her finger. “You deserve happy, Romy. We can all see that you and Blue make each other happy. Live that, not the past.”

Romy hugged her friend. “Thanks, Mac.”

Romy went to find Blue afterward, eager to see him and kiss him but as she approached his office door, she could hear him arguing. “No … no way. I do not want to see you or talk to you. Why can’t you get that into your head?”

Romy stopped, listening but she couldn’t hear anyone replying. It must be a phone call. Feeling guilty, she hovered just outside the door. She heard him sigh. “Look, I don’t know why you’re bringing this up now. Perhaps you heard I’m in love with someone else? I thought so. Keep your less-than-subtle threats and go fuck yourself.” She heard him slam the phone down and mutter to himself. Romy waited a beat then knocked at his door.

Blue looked up and for a second, his face was stormy, dark, beautiful—and terrifying. When he realized who it was, the storm cleared and he grinned at her. “Why are you knocking, baby? Come here.”

Romy went into his arms and he kissed her tenderly, his eyes never leaving hers. “God, I love you, woman.”

Romy chuckled. “Right back at you. I just came to see the schedule of surgeries—and to kiss your face off, of course.

“Of course.” He pulled her onto his lap and reached for the schedule. “Light, today, unless we get any emergencies.” He stroked her hair back from her face. “After the lap, you could duck out and go Christmas shopping if you want. I’ll cover.”

“Nah. That’s what Amazon.com is for.” Romy leaned her cheek against his and closed her eyes. She was so curious as to who he had been talking to, but couldn’t bring herself to ask. “I did some serious shopping at lunch. Speaking of which … I have no idea what to get you.”

“All I need is you, baby.” Blue kissed her. “If I have you, I have everything.”

Romy grinned. “Mushy. Okay, so I’ll ask your dad.”

“Like he’ll know. Honestly, Romy, I don’t need anything.” He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. “How about this? Instead of exchanging gifts, we go away together after Christmas.”

Romy smiled. “Is this you trying to get me out of Seattle again?”

“A little,” Blue admitted with a wry smile. “But also, I keep dreaming of us in a rustic Italian villa, making love in the olive groves. My fantasy is you in a summer dress, no underwear, and me fucking you against a cypress tree, my cock buried deep in your silky cunt, my fingers stroking your clit, my tongue in your mouth …”

Romy, turned on, groaned. “God, Blue …”

Grinning wickedly, he snaked his hand into her top, pulling it down over one breast, sliding the lacy cup of her bra down and taking her nipple into his mouth. His other hand slid slowly up her thigh, under her skirt, caressing her through her increasingly damp panties, then slipping underneath to stroke her clit. “I’ll fuck you so hard that the whole of Tuscany will hear you come, beautiful girl.”

Romy buried her head in his neck. “Blue … God, I’m so wet for you.”

In a flash he had swept her onto the couch, locked the door, and flicked the light off. The whole back wall of his office was glass and Romy glanced quickly to see if anyone could see in. Blue grinned down at her as he unzipped his pants and tugged her underwear off. “Maybe we’ll get caught, baby.”

His smile, his words, sent a thrill through her and he plunged his ramrod-hard cock into her and they fucked deliriously, not caring if they were caught. Romy sighed as she came, feeling him pumping his seed deep inside her. “God, we’re such a pair of sex fiends.”

Blue chuckled. “Yes, we are.”

Laughing and talking, they tidied themselves up and went back to work. The routine laparotomy went easily and afterwards, Blue took Romy out to dinner.

Romy didn’t know when she started to feel uneasy, but in the car on the way home, she kept looking behind them, as if she had seen something. Blue frowned at her. “You okay, baby?”

Romy nodded, but her chest was tight. “I don’t know why but I feel like … someone was watching us.”

“In my office?”

She shook her head. “No, at the restaurant. I went to the bathroom, and I could have sworn … no, never mind. I’m just being paranoid.” She glanced behind them again.

Blue looked in the rearview mirror. “Sweetheart, if your instincts are telling you something, we should listen to them. Do you think we’re being followed?”

Romy didn’t want to sound insane but Blue’s expression was serious. “It’s crazy, but yes. There’s a dark sedan that’s been following us all the way from the restaurant.”

“Gotcha.” With deftness and skill, Blue pulled the car off the freeway and onto a side street. He made a circuit of the almost deserted business district, and then circled back towards his apartment. “How about now?”

Romy was watching carefully. “I can’t see it anymore. I’m sorry, honey, maybe I was imagining it.”

“Better safe than not.”

She smiled gratefully at him. “I promise I’m not a hysterical female.”

Blue laughed. “Would never have crossed my mind that you were.”

As they parked the car in the garage beneath his building, Romy couldn’t resist checking out the other cars there. Blue grinned at her. “Still being super spy?”

“You got me.”

He took her hand. “Come on, Black Widow, let’s go home and cuddle some.”

In the elevator, alone, he kissed her tenderly. “You know, if you want, we could look for somewhere together. We don’t have to stay here.”

“I love your apartment,” she said, leaning into him, feeling his arms tightening around her. She reached down and squeeze his cock through his jeans and he grinned.

“Insatiable.”

“You know it.”

He was still laughing when he unlocked the door to his apartment and held it for her. “After you, ma’am.”

Romy’s laughter echoed through the hallway but when she got into the living room, her smile faded. She heard Blue cuss behind her.

“What the fuck?”

The naked dark-haired woman slowly spread her legs with a wide smile on her face. “Hello, darling Blue. Is this your new toy? Would she like to play with us?”

Romy’s whole body was icy cold. She slowly turned to Blue. “I take it back. I hate your apartment.”

She pushed past him, wrenching her arm free when he grabbed it. “No, baby, wait, this isn’t what it—”

But Romy ran, slamming the door behind her, her sobs wracking and desiccating.

Hilary Eames stood up and sashayed over to her stepson. “Flighty, isn’t she?”

Blue, his anger threatening to overwhelm him, glowered at her. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Hilary?”

She touched his cheek and he flinched away. She smiled. “Just reclaiming what is mine, Blue.”

“Get out.” Blue clenched his fists to stop himself from physically hauling her out of his apartment. “Now, Hilary, and don’t ever come back.”

Hilary pretended to pout. “Come on. Don’t you remember the fun we used to have? God, you were like a Roman god back then.” She studied him. “Now … you look tired, Blue. She’s exhausting you, making you pretend that you’re good enough for her when you and I know differently, don’t we?”

“Get out now, Hilary, or I won’t be responsible for what I’ll do.”

Hilary smirked. “Fine. I’ll go. You know where to call me.”

“Don’t hold your breath. You know what you did to me. Don’t pretend it was anything more than …” Blue squeezed his eyes shut, trying to erase the memories, the feelings from back when he was just a kid.

“Call it what you will, Blue.” Hilary reached down and squeezed his groin. “You may tell one story, but your magnificent cock told another.”

Blue did lose his temper then, and taking her by the upper arm, hauled Hilary to the door and threw her out. A bright flash blinded him, and he realized that a paparazzo had been waiting outside his door to take a photo of him throwing a naked and grinning Hilary from his home.

But Romy was all he could think about, out there, unprotected. Blue called the security firm. “Find her. Protect her. She won’t want to see me at the moment and that’s fine. But, please, keep her safe.”

“Will do, boss.”

Chapter 13

Running out into the midnight streets, Romy kept going until she could not breathe any longer. Stopping, dragging much needed oxygen into her lungs, she allowed herself to feel the pain of what had just happened in and it bent her double. “God … God.”

Slowly, as her breathing returned to normal, she began to walk, dazed. She knew it wasn’t safe to do this but at this moment, the pain of Blue’s betrayal seemed to overwhelm any fear that Dacre might catch up with her.

Come for me now, Dacre, and end this pain for me. I don’t care anymore.

She sat down on a low wall and put her head in her hands, willing the tears to stop.

God, how stupid was I? To think a man like Blue wouldn’t have a fleet of women in his past. How long ago had he slept with this one? Who the fuck was she? She was beautiful, if skinny as hell, but way too old for him. Jesus, that’s what you’re focusing on, Sasse?

Fuck. Romy wiped her eyes. She’d call a cab and get them to pick her up at the end of the street. She was dialing when a silver Audi pulled up beside her. She began to walk quicker, nervous now.

“Romy?”

She stopped, turning towards the speaker. Gaius smiled at her. “What on earth are you doing out here so late?”

“I …” Romy didn’t know what to say. “Blue was called in for an emergency and I decided to try and find a cab.” Lame as hell.

“Girl, get in. With your rabid ex on the loose, you really do not need to be out on the streets alone.”

“I’m fine.” Her voice shook, betraying her. Gaius got out and came to her.

“Come on, sweetheart. I’ll take you home.”

Romy let him put her in his passenger seat and drive away from Blue’s neighborhood. Gaius looked over at her, concerned.

“Are you okay?”

Romy nodded. “Would you mind taking me to my sister’s place? To Artemis’s place?” She gave him the address and then smiled tentatively at him. “Thanks, Gaius.”

“It’s no problem … but are you sure you’re okay? You look upset.”

“I’m fine.”

“You said that already.”

Romy gave a half-hearted laugh. “Just tired.”

She stared out of the car window. The shock was dissipating now, and Romy was beginning to regret running away. She should have stood her ground and gone toe to toe with the whore in Blue’s flat. Romy gritted her teeth. Then again, why the hell hadn’t Blue come after her?

Was it the guilt of being caught? God. Romy closed her eyes. The pain in her chest was killing her. Had she gotten him so wrong?

No. She was sure of Blue’s love for her, utterly sure. There had to be some kind of rational explanation for it.

Gaius left her alone on the journey, only turning to her as they turned into Artemis’s street. “Are you sure I can’t do anything else for you, Romy?”

“No, thank you again, Gaius.” A thought occurred to her. “What were you doing in Blue’s neighborhood tonight?”

“Just hoping to see my brother for a few minutes. Nothing important.”

That didn’t ring true, but Romy didn’t have the energy to press the point. She got out, then bent down to thank him again.

Gaius smiled at her. “It’s no problem. If you need anything, I’m always here for you, Romy. Always.”

She watched him drive away, then dug in her purse for the key. All of the sisters had keys to each other’s houses and Romy was glad she wouldn’t have to wake Arti up. She snuck into the house, but halfway up the stairs her phone beeped. She knew it had to be Blue.

Baby, where are you? I swear it wasn’t how it looked—but of course I would say that. Please believe me, her being here was nothing to do with us. Please just let me know you’re safe. I love you.

Romy sighed, all her anger dissipated.

We’ll talk tomorrow, Blue. That’s all I can promise right now. I’m at Arti’s for the night. I’m safe.

Of course. Just know I love you.

I love you too. Tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

Romy climbed up the stairs wearily, and slipped into Arti’s guest bedroom. She stripped down to her underwear and into bed—only to encounter bare flesh. She shrieked, as did the other person in the bed, and Romy skittered across the room to switch the light on.

A young woman with dark hair and huge brown eyes was staring at her, her hand clamped over her mouth.

“Who are you?” Romy asked, breathless, but the girl didn’t have time to answer before Artemis burst into the room, followed by a giant of a man who looked familiar. Romy gaped at him. “Dan? Dan Helmond?”

The man grinned widely, a strange counterpoint to the three women all in shock. “Romy Sasse, as I live and breathe. I take it you’ve met my daughter and your mini-me, Octavia. Tavia, meet Romy Sasse, Artemis’s sister.”

Romy and her younger double stared at each other for a long moment before Romy, not knowing what else to do, burst out laughing.

Chapter 14

Romy shrugged, recounting the story to her sister. “So I just walked out. Wouldn’t you?”

Artemis, sitting opposite her sister at the breakfast bar, chewed on her toast thoughtfully. “Maybe. No, probably not. You know me, I would have demanded a full and detailed explanation.”

“With color-coding.”

Artemis grinned as Dan and Octavia laughed. “And, you, sis, are the firebrand, so I guess I can’t blame you for walking away.”

Romy sighed. “I told Blue I’d meet him this morning in the city. Don’t suppose you could give me a ride?”

“I can.” Octavia said, spooning the last of her cereal into her mouth, “I have to go to the library, it’s no problem.”

Romy grinned at her. “Thanks, dude. I still can’t get over how alike we look. Daniel, are you sure you didn’t fool around with my mom when we were back in high school?”

The women laughed as Dan held up his hands. “All I’m saying is Magda is a beautiful woman.”

“Dad! God, you’re so embarrassing.” Octavia hid her face in her hands as her father smirked.

Romy snorted with laughter and poked Octavia. “Come on then, twinsie, let’s get going.”

On the drive into the city, Romy and Octavia chatted easily, then Octavia smiled at her.

“Artemis told me you are actually a twin. I’m sorry about your brother.”

Romy felt a lump in her throat. “Thanks … I miss him still, even though it’s been over twenty years.”

“What happened? If you don’t mind telling me.”

Romy cleared her throat. “Not at all.” Her voice quivered a little but she ignored it. “It was so quick, such a normal moment in a normal day. He fell over in the school yard. He was playing with some friends and tripped and hit his head. For a few hours he was okay, and then the next morning, Mom found him dead in bed from a hemorrhage.”

Even now, Romy remembered the agony of seeing her twin, the person closest to her, blue- lipped and lifeless.

Octavia had tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Romy.”

“You know what it’s like to lose someone, Tavia. It never gets easier; you just get used to the pain.”

Octavia nodded. “I know. Mom fought cancer twice, once before she had me. That time she won, and was determined that it wouldn’t stop her and Dad from having kids. They went through seven rounds of IVF before one took. Sometimes I wonder if having me, putting her body through all of that, made her weaker and allowed the cancer back in.”

Romy squeezed her hand. “No, honey, it doesn’t work like that. And, believe me, she would have taken the cancer over and over again if it meant having you in her life.”

Octavia looked tearful. “Thank you, Romy.” She laughed a little through her tears. “I wish you were my sister.”

“How about we pretend we are? After all, it looks like Arti and your dad are pretty much solid—so that makes you family. Of course, I would technically be your step-aunt—but sister sounds better, right?”

Octavia grinned at Romy. “Deal.”

Octavia dropped Romy off at the breakfast place and waved goodbye. Romy drew in a deep lungful of oxygen and went inside, seeing Blue was already waiting for her. His green eyes were troubled, wary, but Romy allowed him to pull her into a hug. “Thank you for coming, baby.”

Romy leaned into him, breathing in his woodsy, clean scent. “Let’s talk.”

They ordered eggs and toast with strong black coffee and Romy waited. Blue looked at her. “I have no idea how she got into my apartment, but I swear to you, Romy, I’m not sleeping with her.”

“Who is she?”

Blue hesitated. “An ex-patient who got a little too close.”

“Did you sleep with her before you knew me?” Romy was watching his expression carefully. Don’t lie, please don’t lie.

Again, Blue paused. “It’s more complicated than that.”

His answer irked Romy. “Either you had sex with her or not, Blue.”

His expression was unreadable then in a low voice. “Technically, I did have intercourse with her.”

“What does that mean?”

“Romy … I have a past, and some things are too painful, too scarring to discuss. You should know that.”

Ouch. “Don’t try and weasel out of this by bringing up Dacre, Blue.”

“I’m not trying to weasel out of anything. It is what it is.”

Romy sighed. She wanted to believe Blue, but there was something in her gut instinct making it difficult. “But you’re no longer involved with her?”

“No, nor any other woman. Believe me, Romy, you are my love, my life.” He leaned forward and brushed her lips with his. She didn’t pull away. “Nothing will ever change that. As far as I’m concerned, you and me? We’re endgame.”

Romy felt a rush of warmth inside her at his words. “We are?”

“Yes.” This time his words were defiant, determined. Blue held her gaze steadily. “I love you.”

Romy half smiled. “I love you too, Doc.”

“Can we move past this?”

She considered for a long moment then nodded. “I guess we can. But no more beautiful naked women in the apartment.”

Blue grinned. “Unless it’s you.”

Romy laughed then, her tension falling away. “Unless it’s me. And get your locks changed, would you? If she could get in that easily, anyone could.”

“Already done,” he said grimly, “And the building’s security team got a tongue-lashing as well.”

“Maybe we should look for somewhere together.”

Blue nodded. “I’d like that. I want to be somewhere of both our choosing.”

Romy was dreaming now. “Maybe out on one of the islands? I …” Her attention was suddenly caught by the flat screen TV in the corner of the diner. Blue’s face flashed up, followed by a photograph of the naked woman being thrown out of his apartment, and Blue’s shocked, angry face behind her. With a sledgehammer-like shock to her heart, Romy read the headline.

Prominent Seattle surgeon in late-night tryst with naked stepmother, socialite Hilary Eames. Photographer captures moment lover’s tiff escalates into public humiliation.

Romy felt her throat fill with vomit. “Oh my God …” She breathed and turned on a shocked Blue. “An ex-patient, huh? You sick, perverted fuck … Jesus, Blue, your own stepmother?”

“It wasn’t like that, I swear.” Blue’s voice was gravelly, broken, his shoulders slumped, but Romy had no sympathy.

“How could you?” She didn’t wait for an answer but darted to the bathrooms and threw up and up until she was sobbing and dry-heaving. She sat on the bathroom floor and cried, her heart shattering. What the fuck is wrong with the world?

A young waitress came to find her. “Are you okay?”

Romy shook her head. “No.”

“Your friend asked me to come see if you were okay.” The waitress crouched down beside her, her kind face concerned. Romy tried to smile.

“He’s no friend of mind.” She wiped her face. “Is there a back way out of this place?”

The waitress led Romy through the kitchens and Romy thanked her, pressing a large tip into her hands. “Give me a few moments before you tell him I’m gone, would you?”

“Of course. I hope you’re okay.”

“Thanks, honey.”

Romy went out into the cold December streets and walked to work. How the hell were they going to resolve this? Everything was so fucked up. You should never have slept with him to begin with. Would she have to transfer to a different hospital? God.

She was in the locker room when Mac came and hugged her. “You okay? I saw the crap on the news.”

“No, I’m not okay, but I have to work, so … here I am.” She lowered her voice. “Is he here? Have you seen him?”

Mac nodded, glancing around at the other residents. “He looks broken, Romy. Utterly devastated. I saw him talking to Quinto.”

“You defending him?”

“No way. Team Romy all the way. I’m just saying, he’s not out there preening.”

Romy felt a little better and a little worse at that. She almost wanted Blue to be unrepentant so she could keep being mad at him. He was sleeping with his stepmother, she told herself, you have plenty to be mad about. A few minutes later, just as they were leaving for rounds, the Chief of Surgery, Beau Quinto, came to find them.

“Okay, people, so a bit of news. Doctor Allende has requested and been granted some personal time. Therefore, I’ll be your lead for the time being. Sasse and Jones, if you could still keep to the general surgical schedule you had planned, I’ll be stepping in to replace Doctor Allende.”

Quinto’s eyes flicked to Romy’s face briefly and she couldn’t read the expression. Was he mad at her? She bristled then told herself to calm down. The man was a professional—and she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Quinto gave out his orders to the rest of the residents and they all scattered throughout the hospital. Romy was relieved that she had some breathing space. Mac nudged her as they walked down the OR’s. “Wonder how long Allende will be away.”

She shrugged. “Until he gets his life sorted out.”

“Does that include you?”

Romy didn’t know how to answer him.

Chapter 15

Christmas Eve, and Romy finished late in the evening, wanting to catch up with her files before she took some time away for her mother’s wedding. If she was honest, she was delaying going home. Going home meant facing Blue for the first time since the Hilary incident, but there was no way out of it. In the morning, her mother would marry Stuart, and there was no way either she or Blue would let their parents down.

Maybe we should just shake hands and live as step-siblings, she thought now. The thought depressed her, though, and she suddenly felt tearful. Distraction is what I need.

She walked through the floor, checking on all her post-surgical patients, chatting to the few who were still awake, wishing them a Merry Christmas even if it was spent away from their families. The hospital always made sure that, if at all possible, they could have an enjoyable time. There was one patient who wouldn’t even know it was Christmas. Kelly Yang, a young woman who had been in a car accident a few weeks previously, lay in a coma. No family, no visitors, and so Romy had taken to sitting with her, holding her hand, and talking to her, trying to reach into the young woman’s locked-in mind.

“Hey, Kels,” Romy said now, pulling a chair up to the side of her bed. “How you doing, kiddo?” She checked Kelly’s vital signs, flicked her light in the girl’s eyes, then sat down. “Merry Christmas, sweetheart. Wish you were awake to share it, but I promise, when you do wake up, I’ll make sure you have your Christmas.”

She sat with Kelly nearly an hour, almost falling asleep, when she heard someone at the doorway. “How is she?”

Romy turned to see one of the orderlies, a huge, hulking man, nodding at Kelly. He was bald-headed with a thick dark beard, multiple piercings and thick spectacles, but his smile was friendly. Romy wracked her brain for his name. Wally? Warren?

“The same,” she replied, looking back at Kelly, “although I live in hope she’ll wake up.”

“Fingers crossed. Sorry to bother you, doc, but we just needed to check in, see if you needed us anymore tonight.”

Romy smiled at him. “No, thanks … Warren. Have a good Christmas.”

“You too, Doc. Thanks.”

Left alone again, Romy squeezed Kelly’s hand. “Do me a favor, kiddo. Give me the best Christmas gift by waking up, huh? Sweet dreams, sweetheart.”

The hospital was so quiet, so still, that as Romy walked through the reception area out to the parking lot, her heels echoed on the polished floor. Outside, the temperature was dropping fast and thick, fluffy snow falling from the sky. A picture-perfect Christmas for us, Romy thought, pulling out of the lot and turning the car towards her mother’s house. The roads were almost empty as the snow began to thicken, and Romy drove with extra care, her heart thumping painfully all the way home.

When she got home, she only saw one light on—Artemis’ old room. Breathing a sigh of relief that everyone else seemed to be in bed, she snuck through the house to her old room. Juno, back from New Orleans, was curled up in one side of the bed, fast asleep.

Romy pulled her wet boots and jeans off, changing into her fluffy brushed cotton jammies and pulling her robe around her. Despite the time, she wasn’t tired, and so, instead of waking Juno up with her restlessness, Romy tugged a comforter from the closet and went back downstairs. The living room had been transformed into a winter wonderland by her mother, thousands of tiny white lights, white ribbons, and tasteful Christmas decorations everywhere.

It really is going to be a fairytale wedding, Romy thought, with a pang of both sadness and joy. Her mother deserved every happiness and now Romy nodded to herself. She would not let this thing with Blue ruin her mom’s day. She would tell him they could talk—after the wedding. In the meantime, they would plaster smiles on their faces and be a family.

She felt, rather than heard, the person behind her. Romy turned to see Blue, shirtless, barefoot, and in jeans, staring at her. In the blue light of the early hours, he looked like an apparition. His eyes were wide and sad. Romy gazed back at him for a long moment, then slowly pulled her top over her head, releasing the drawstring on her pants and stepping out of them.

Wordlessly, he came to her, hesitant at first, then as his cold hands touched her skin, she shivered with desire and he crushed his lips against hers. Romy could not help but sink into the embrace, her longing for him almost debilitating. Her hands went to the fly of his jeans and soon he too was naked, his cock standing proud against his belly, quivering as she stroked it. There was a question in Blue’s eyes and Romy answered it with just a nod. She lay down on the couch and opened her arms to him.

Blue went into them, hitching her legs around his waist and thrusting into her in one long, quick movement. Romy gasped as he filled her, her cunt contracting around his cock, moving with him as they made love. Romy did not think of anything else at that moment but of her own needs, her desire for the man in her arms.

Blue held her gaze as he braced himself and moved quicker, harder, deeper, Romy tilting her hips up to take him in as deep as she could. Blue’s thrusts were almost violent now, making Romy’s hips burn as he slammed his cock into her. He was angry, Romy could tell, but right now, she wanted that anger, needed it to fuel her own. Blue came inside her, burying his face in her neck as he groaned, his cum pumping out of him, filling her belly. Romy dug her fingernails into his buttocks as she too reached her climax, gasping and moaning softly.

Afterward they gazed at each other. “I hate how much I love you,” she said, and he nodded.

“I promise, Romy, I will make this right between us. We need to talk.”

“I know,” Romy closed her eyes as he kissed her throat. “But after the wedding.”

“Agreed. I love you, Romy,” he said, his voice trembling with emotion. “I’ve never loved anyone or anything as much as I love you, beautiful girl. Please don’t ever leave me.”

Romy was moved beyond words and hot tears dripped from her eyes, splashing on her naked body. Blue stroked her face, wiped away her tears. “I promise, I’ll tell you everything. Everything. There will be no more secrets between us.”

Blue lifted her into his arms and carried her upstairs to the guestroom. They entangled their limbs, in a bid to get as close as possible, lips on lips, belly to belly, her soft breasts pressed up against his hard chest, and fell asleep together.

Romy’s last thought before she gave into sleep was that maybe, just maybe, everything would be all right.

Gaius had watched his step-brother and Romy make love, his hand down his own shorts, jerking off, as he gazed at Romy’s spectacular naked body. She was so beautiful that Gaius thought it would almost be a shame when Dacre Mortimer killed her. What a waste … then again, the thought of seeing her confused and in agony as Mortimer murdered her was also a turn-on. If Dacre could see them now, Gaius thought with a smile. Romy riding Blue, her large, pillowy breasts moving in rhythm, her flat belly soft and sensual. Gaius imagined putting a bullet into it as she rode Blue, watching the horror in his hated stepbrother’s face as she bled out on top of him.

He muffled his grunt of release, wiping his hand on a bunch of tissues. God … he would love to fuck Romy before she died, but what would the insanely jealous Mortimer do if he did? End him? Probably. No, he would have to settle for voyeurism when it came to the middle Sasse sister. The more important thing was that Blue was destroyed … Gaius gritted is teeth. When he had seen that photograph of Blue throwing Gaius’ naked mother out of his apartment, the rage had been like nothing he’d ever known.

Gaius had been so mad that he had ignored his mother’s phone calls, staying silent as she’d begged outside his door.

How could you, Mom? With the man I have hated all my life … fucking whore.

Gaius watched now as Blue swept Romy into his arms and gritted his teeth. You took the woman I loved, brother, and now I’m going to do the same to you. Romy is a dead woman, Blue, and you know what?

It’s entirely your fault.

Chapter 16

Romy woke feeling more at peace that she’d expected to. Blue’s arms were around her and she stayed locked in them as she gazed up at him. Yes, she loved this man. Whatever he had done in the past was the past. He’d said he would tell her everything, and she believed him.

Romy was amazed at herself. After Dacre, she had struggled with trust, and yet here she was risking her heart once again for this man.

As they dressed for the wedding later, Romy smiled at him. “Damn, man, you wear a suit well.”

He was wearing a dark gray, exquisitely tailored suit which brought out the green of his eyes. He was grinning at her. “Woman, you should see what I’m seeing.”

The dark gold shift dress clung to her curves, simple in its design but perfectly matched to her olive skin tone. The lightest makeup and her dark hair falling in waves down her back completed her bridesmaid look. Blue couldn’t keep his hands off of her, kissing her tenderly.

She stroked his face. “Blue, today is all about Mom and Stuart. That’s all I care about today, so let’s put everything else aside for after they’ve left for their honeymoon.”

“I agree … but can I just say one thing?”

“Go for it.”

“I love you, Romy Sasse, and there are things in my past I’m ashamed of, but nothing, nothing means more to me than earning and deserving your love and your trust.”

Downstairs, Artemis was arranging everything and everyone and Romy saw that some of the guests had started to arrive. She welcomed them in and made sure they had drinks before heading up to see how Magda was doing.

Her mother was uncharacteristically calm. “Hello, darling. Could you help me with this hair comb?”

Magda was dressed in a simple pale cream dress too, with only some ornate beading around the neck and sleeves. The hair comb was encrusted with rubies—a present from Romy’s grandmother when Magda had graduated from college.

“You look breathtaking, Mom.” Romy hugged her gingerly and Magda beamed. She studied her daughter.

“You look happier, darling. Did you and Blue talk?”

Romy half-smiled. “A little. But today isn’t about us, it’s about you and Stuart. As the reckless middle daughter, I think it’s probably up to me to ask the awkward question. Are you sure, Mom?”

Her mother met her gaze steadily. “I am, Romy. I truly am.”

Romy smiled. “Then I wish you nothing but utter happiness and joy forever. I love Stuart; he really is a good man. Oh, here. Dad sent a message too.”

“He did?” Magda read the card James Sasse had sent. “That’s sweet. Your daddy is a good man, Romy. In spite of everything”

“I know, Mom. And now I have a stepdad too.”

Magda laughed. “Not quite yet.” She glanced at her clock. “Wow, that came around quickly. Forty-five minutes and then the nerve-wracking stuff will be over with and we can party.”

A half-hour later, Romy walked her mother down the wooden staircase and to the front of the aisle, Artemis serving as matron of honor, and a grinning Juno, resplendent in a man’s tuxedo, welcoming the guests to the wedding.

Blue and Gaius stood at Stuart’s side as he married Magda, Blue’s eyes twinkling with happiness as he winked at Romy.

God, I love you, she thought as she smiled back, and felt the weight of the last few weeks fall away from her. This was all that mattered, love, family, celebration. As Magda and Stuart said their vows, she wondered idly if she and Blue would ever get here. She didn’t even know if he regarded marriage as a goal. Romy never had—until she’d met Blue.

Her mother looked so overwhelmingly happy that as Juno declared them husband and wife, Romy burst into tears, making everyone laugh.

The reception was a laidback affair of chatting, casual speeches which made everyone laugh, soft music, and a buffet of such delicious food that it was soon gone and the caterers were thanked and sent on their way.

Blue sat with Romy on his lap in one of the armchairs. Juno sprawled on the sofa, one of their guests’ toddler asleep in her arms. Artemis, Dan, and Octavia sat on the carpet, teasing each other.

Romy watched her mother circulate the room, taking time to chat with every guest, introducing them to her new husband. Blue grinned at Romy. “Some of Dad’s friends are maybe a little too …”

“Snooty?”

Blue laughed. “I was going to say reserved, but snooty works. They can’t figure out what they’re supposed to do in such a relaxed gathering.”

Romy shrugged and snuggled into his arms. Blue pressed his lips to her forehead. “Romy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Will you come to Italy with me for New Year’s?”

Romy looked up at him. “Blue, we need to resolve things between us first.”

“I know, I’m just saying … we’ll talk today, tomorrow, maybe the next day. It’s going to be hard for me to talk about some of this stuff. So, I just thought, if, and I mean, if, no pressure, if we can reach a resolution—let’s have a few days of us, away from all of this.”

Romy kissed his neck. “How soon do I have to confirm?”

“A couple of days.”

She nodded. “Then, once Stuart and Mom leave for honeymoon, let’s go back to your apartment and lock ourselves in and get through this. I want to go with you, baby, I really do, but not until everything is out in the open.”

“That’s fair.” He pressed his lips to hers. “I love you.”

Magda hugged her daughters, tears flooding down her face. “I love you, Arti, Romulus, and JunoBoo. So much. Thank you for making my day so perfect, so beautiful.”

Stuart, himself moved deeply, also embraced them. “I will never replace your dad but just know—to me, you are already my daughters, and I think myself the luckiest man on Earth.”

Even the stoic Artemis was crying as they waved them off.

“God, Barbados for a month …” groaned a jealous Juno. Octavia giggled with her; the two of them already fast friends. “Come on, people, let’s ignore the tidying up and go drink the contents of Mom’s liquor cabinet.”

Romy and Blue excused themselves and drove through the cold night back to the city, making it to Blue’s apartment just after midnight. Blue opened the door for her, and Romy couldn’t help but brace herself for another unwanted intrusion. This time though, they were totally alone.

They sat down at his kitchen table, Blue finding a bottle of scotch and some glasses and pouring a finger of the dark tan liquid into each.

“So,” he began and Romy took his hand.

“So.”

Blue breathed in a deep lungful of oxygen. “Hilary Eames. Hilary Eames is a vindictive, manipulative piece of human excrement. We all know that. That’s not all she is. She …” His voice broke and he looked away from Romy’s gaze. “She likes young men, Romy. Very young men.”

It took Romy a second to catch on, and her heart sank. “Oh, God.”

“Yep. After Mom died, after I came to live with Stuart, at first, she wouldn’t even look at me. Then, one night, when I was fifteen, she came to my room late at night, just in her robe.”

Romy didn’t say anything, swallowing over the lump in her throat. Blue gave her a humorless smile. “That night, she didn’t do anything but stroke my face, tell me what a handsome boy I was. How I looked like a carved statue in one of Italy’s great palaces. The next day, she went back to ignoring me. Then a couple of weeks later, she came to my room when I was asleep and got in beside me. I woke to find her … sucking my penis. I was fifteen.”

“Oh, no …” Romy was horrified.

Blue looked desolate. “Of course, she told me if I told anyone, she would deny it and I would be cast out with nothing and nobody. The next night, she put my hand on her genitals and told me to stroke her. I did, because I was so terrified of her.”

Romy’s tears were flooding down her face. “Oh my God, Blue, I’m so sorry …”

“She raped me for the first time three weeks shy of my sixteenth birthday. By then, she had threatened me so many times that I was a shadow of my former self. I was completely under her control. I still can’t smell her perfume without being taken back there. The last time was when I was eighteen, just before I went to Harvard. She knew she was losing control over me, and so was even more threatening. She would have me killed if I told anybody. I didn’t doubt she had both the means and the viciousness to do so.”

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “So, I kept the secret, both out of fear of what she would do, shame over feeling that fear, shame over what had happened. I always felt like I would never have been able to say anything, because how would I prove it?”

“So she showed up at your apartment because she was trying to exert influence? Still?”

Blue nodded. “She’s wildly jealous of you, of Magda. We still haven’t gotten to the reason why she suddenly dropped her bid for more of Dad’s fortune.”

Romy stood up and paced, her sorrow now turning to anger. “That fucking bitch.” She stopped and turned to Blue. “And I’ll bet all the money in the world Gaius knew she was going to do it.”

Blue looked surprised. “How?”

“He picked me up that night, outside your apartment. He said he was coming to talk with you. I was so intent in getting away that I didn’t question it, but …”

“Fucker. Conniving motherfucker.” Blue was angry now too but Romy put her arms around him.

“Tonight is not the time for retribution. Tonight we’re talking, remember. Just you and me.”

Blue stared down at her. “I’ve never told anyone about what Hilary did to me. Not one person. I was stupid to think I could keep it from you, especially after you trusted me enough to tell me about Mortimer.”

“There are bad, bad people in the world,” Romy said quietly. “And they all have their reasons, however fucked up, to want to hurt us. It’s up to us to make sure they can’t.”

Blue stroked the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “You’re right.”

Romy leaned into his touch. “Blue … we’re going to get through this, I swear we will.” She took his hand and led him to their bedroom. “Let’s go to bed, baby. In the morning, we’ll talk more, and we’ll make a plan where to go from here.”

Blue kissed her tenderly. “You got it, beautiful.”

It seemed only a few moments after they closed their eyes that the call came, and they knew it was about to be one of the worst days of their lives.

Chapter 17

So much blood. The floors of the emergency room were covered with it, making the rushing staff slip and slide in it as they tried to cope with the influx of seriously injured and dying patients.

A high-speed train had missed a stop signal, plowing into another passenger train at the station. Hundreds were injured, dozens dead, and worst of all, as Mac told Romy as they hurriedly changed into scrubs, there were a lot of families.

“There are kids,” he said, dead-eyed, and Romy felt sick.

It was worse than she’d expected. Blue, some of his fellow attendings, and Beau Quinto, were all down in the ER or in the operating rooms desperately trying to save people with horrific injuries. The first few hours saw so many people brought in dead that Romy lost count.

The ER was overrun, a warzone, and she yelled out to Mac, “Why aren’t the other hospitals taking in emergencies?”

Mac gave a steady look. “They are …”

“Jesus.” Romy could not fathom the scope of the accident. On Christmas night too.

Warren, the orderly she vaguely knew, helped out, arranging places for the treated to go, and she threw him a grateful glance. “You’re the best, Warren.”

He nodded shyly. Romy caught sight of Blue, his face pale and stressed. He nodded to her and mouthed, “You okay?”

She nodded. If she let her feelings take over, she would scream.

Beau came over. “Romy, we’re sending a team into the field. You, Mac, Blue, and myself will go to begin with. Get some supplies together, as many as we can spare, and let’s go.”

As they rode in the ambulance down to the King Street Station, Beau briefed them. “The station building itself is undamaged so there’s a triage area that has been set up inside. Look, there are a lot of dead and a lot of injured, as you know, but we still have people trapped who might need surgery in situ. It’s going to be upsetting and dangerous, but I trust all of you. Stay safe.”

Even Beau’s words could not have prepared them for the horror of what they found in the mangled wreckage. Romy felt her composure slip when she saw the dead bodies of two children, rendered unrecognizable by their injuries, being lifted from the train, and she turned away, taking in deep breaths. People need you. Get a grip.

The doctors went to work with the same efficiency they had employed in their own emergency room. Romy worked closely with the first responders both on the track and in the train’s vast waiting area.

Hours passed, night turned into day turned into night again. Drooping from exhaustion, the medical staff nevertheless kept up their treatment, dispatching as many patients as they could to hospitals in the area. The less injured were ferried down as far as Portland to get beds.

Blue came to find Romy as the second night drew on and they grabbed a couple of private moments together.

“You okay, bub?”

She nodded, but she could tell he wasn’t convinced. “First major incident?”

She half laughed. “Yep, having a lot of ‘firsts’ this year.”

He hugged her tightly. “Beau says another hour and he’ll call it.”

“Okay. I’m just going to do another sweep of the place.”

“Okay, I’ll take the other end of the station. See you in a few.”

Romy clambered back down onto the tracks, careful to avoid the third rail even though they had been assured the power had been switched off. She scooted behind the pile of wreckage and searched around in the dark. Her foot slipped on some blood and she wobbled, falling backwards—but thankfully, was caught by two strong arms.

“Thanks,” she said breathlessly, turning to face her savior but before she could see who it was, he grabbed her head and slammed it hard against the steel of the wreckage. Romy didn’t even have time to cry out as he attacked her, hitting her head repeatedly against the steel until she was almost unconscious. Blood was pouring from her forehead into her eyes and she could feel herself weakening.

“Hello, my darling,” a familiar, horrifying voice growled in her ear as she blacked out. “How ironic that your life should end here, Rome, as you do your Florence Nightingale thing.”

No … no … it couldn’t be, this wasn’t how it ended. Romy found she couldn’t move her arms to fight him off and as he slipped his hands around her throat, all she could think of was Blue.

God, Blue, I’m sorry, I love you …

“Romy!”

The pressure on her throat stopped and she heard Dacre’s muffled. “Fuck!” Suddenly she knew she was alone and that her would-be killer had gone, but now the darkness was beginning to cloud her vision and the last thing she remembered was Blue’s anguished cry.

* * *

Beau’s handsome face was set and grim as he faced the television cameras. “As you know by now, we have confirmed seventy-eight deaths, one hundred and fifty-three seriously injured, and forty-seven minor injuries in the King Street Station Rail crash. I and my team were on hand to help the first responders, and I would like to thank them for their exceptional service. My team, both with me at the station and here at Rainier Hope, has worked tirelessly for over forty-eight hours since the accident, and I applaud every one of them.”

He looked down for a moment, trying to rein in his anger. “Unfortunately, shockingly, during the operation to save the lives of as many victims as possible, one of our doctors, Dr. Romy Sasse, was attacked and seriously injured by an unknown assailant. Dr. Sasse is currently being treated at Rainer Hope for head injuries. We ask anyone who was in the vicinity of the King Street Station on the twenty-sixth of December to come forward with any information they may have.” Quinto looked directly into the camera. “Whoever you are, you should know. No one attacks my staff and gets away with it. Whoever you are, you will be brought to justice.”

Blue clicked off the television, grateful for his boss’s support. In the bed next to him, Romy opened her eyes as she’d been doing intermittently for a while, but this time her eyes focused on him. “Blue?”

He let out a shaky breath. “Thank God … baby, I was so scared. How do you feel?”

“A little woozy.”

“Do you remember what happened?” Blue asked, leaning down to stroke her hair gently.

Romy nodded, then winced.

“Dacre was choking me until he heard you call my name. You saved me, baby.”

“I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off of you,” he said, his eyes sorrowful.

“You can’t watch me twenty-four seven, and we had a job to do. Who knew Dacre was psycho enough to do that? Come to think of it … how the hell did he know I was down there? And why would he risk trying to kill me there with the police all around? He’s insane.”

“Well, we knew that. Anyway, don’t think of that, just get well. That’s all I care about right now.”

Romy leaned back further into the pillows. “I honestly feel okay, which surprises me. He really did a number on my head.”

“They gave you a CT scan before anything. No brain bleeds, thank God, but you’ll be concussed for a few days.”

Romy pushed the covers on the bed back and swung her legs over the side. Blue was up in an instant.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are you going?”

“A concussion, I can deal with at home, Blue,” Romy said, frowning as he caught her and made her sit again. “I’m taking up a bed when I don’t need it.”

Blue sighed. “You’re not going anywhere, Romy. Beau wanted to keep you in for observation and he’s the boss.”

“You need the beds for the train victims.”

He shook his head. “Honey … the less seriously injured were taken to hospitals out of the city in anticipation that we would need more beds.” His voice was gravelly. “We didn’t need as many beds as we hoped we would.”

“Oh God,” Romy groaned. “How many?”

“Seventy-eight dead, over one-fifty serious, and more than a third of those critical. It was a bad smash, baby.”

“Merry fucking Christmas.”

“Indeed.” He stroked her face and she leaned into his hand. “You might not feel it now because you still have morphine in your system, but honey, you’re going to have one hell of a headache when it wears off. So, bed rest. I’m going to be here the whole time.”

Romy sighed and got back into bed, reaching up to feel the pattern of butterfly stitches on her head. “Will I at least have some awesome scars?”

Blue chuckled softly. “No, you bled a lot, but the wounds in themselves weren’t too serious. The bruising is the main thing.”

“Can I see?”

Blue looked at her askance then nodded. He went into the en-suite bathroom to fetch a mirror. “You were one of those kids who bragged when you skinned your knees, right?”

“Hell, yes.” She took the mirror from him. “Whoa.” Her entire forehead was an angry thundercloud of purple, black, and red, crisscrossed by the white of the stitches. “Yup, this is the look.”

“You kind of look like that chick from that film with the road race.”

“Penelope Pitstop?”

Blue laughed. “No, the Charlize Theron character from Mad Max.”

Romy looked impressed. “Furiosa. Yeah, baby.” She pulled Blue over to kiss him. “Now that’s some roleplay I could get into.”

“Ahem.”

They both looked up to see a tired-looking but smiling Beau at the door. “Am I interrupting?”

“Not at all.” Romy smiled at him. He came into the room, winking at Blue before checking Romy’s vitals.

“Good. That’s all good.”

“So, I can go home?” Romy looked hopeful as Blue rolled his eyes.

Beau grinned. “Not on your life. At least overnight, Dr. Sasse, your chief’s orders. Listen,” his smile faded and he pulled up a chair, “the police will want to talk to you. I’ve spoken to the hospital board; we’re going to be intensifying the security around here. There will more scrutiny on visitors, on staff. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about the attack.”

“Thanks, boss.”

Beau left them alone a little while later and Blue kissed Romy’s hand. “When they let you out, we’re going away for a few days. I’ve cleared it with Beau.”

Romy sank back onto the pillows. Her head was beginning to pound painfully now. “Okay.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then let out a distressed gasp. “God, Mom. You didn’t call her, did you?”

“It was on the news; I had to call Stuart. He told me he would break it to her gently.”

“I don’t want them coming back and ruining their honeymoon.”

Blue stroked her sore head. “I think I persuaded them not to.”

“Thank God.” Romy leaned into Blue’s touch. “I think I need to sleep now.”

“You go right ahead. Do you want some painkillers?”

Romy nodded, wincing, and when Blue came back with the tablets, she swallowed them gratefully, draining her water glass. She felt exhausted, drained, and now that the adrenaline had left her system, the shock of the attack was getting to her. She closed her eyes before they could fill with tears and fell into an uneasy sleep.

Gaius was beside himself with rage. “You damn fool! Do you know how many cops were at the accident? You tried and kill her there?”

Dacre waited until Gaius had ranted himself out, then narrowed his eyes at the other man. “I didn’t intend to kill Romy, just scare the crap out of her. I promise you, it worked.”

“But you could have been seen; all the work we’ve done to get you close to her could have been undone.”

“You mean like if someone had tried to split them up before we got to finish what we set out to do? Like your slut mother?” Dacre enjoyed the dark rage in Gaius’ face.

“Believe me, my mother and I are going to have a serious talk. God.” Gaius’ express was pure disgust. “How could she have slept with that Italian son of a bitch?”

Dacre said nothing, just smirked. Gaius stared at him in dislike. “Yeah. You laugh, but it’s Romy’s mouth wrapped around his cock now.”

Dacre growled and Gaius smirked. “Yeah, that sticks in your craw, doesn’t it?”

“Not for much longer.”

“Well, this time, stick to what we planned and we’ll get everything we ever wanted.”

Dacre nodded, but said nothing. Gaius had been useful up to now, but there was no way Dacre would tell him what his real plan was. Something that would make Romy’s last moments on Earth a living hell.

Chapter 19

After three days, Beau discharged Romy, and Blue immediately whisked her onto his private jet and flew them both to Italy. As she stepped out into the mild Italian winter and felt the sun on her skin, Romy sighed happily. “Yeah, this is what I needed.” She smiled at Blue, who was loading their cases into the big hire car. She loved that rich as he was, Blue preferred to do things himself rather than hire a staff.

He drove them through the Tuscan countryside, past olive groves, vineyards and avenues of cypress trees until he pointed out a large villa on top of a hill. “There it is.”

Romy saw a terracotta-colored stone villa nestled into the hill and as they approached she sighed. “God, it’s beautiful.”

“And ours,” Blue grinned at her surprise. “Merry Christmas, baby.”

Romy gaped at him. “You bought this place?”

Blue laughed. “Almost … I wanted you to have a say, so I’m holding off until you give the final say as to whether I sign the papers. But yeah. I wanted to surprise you.”

“You certainly did that.”

At the villa, Blue dumped their cases in the lobby. Then, taking Romy’s hand, he walked her through the villa. Exposed brick, billowing white drapes, bookcases, hand-turned wooden furniture—the whole place was a romantic dream. Romy went from room to room, open-mouthed. “God, Blue, I thought these types of places only existed in the movies.”

“You like?”

“I love.”

Blue laughed, delighted. “Good. I’m glad you think so. Come see the kitchen.”

The kitchen was a vast open-plan room with an open fire as well as a state-of-the-art stove and range, and a huge wooden table, marked from years of use. Dried herbs hung from the walls, and there were three comfy couches at one end. “This is the heart of the house,” Romy said, “you can just tell this is where the people congregate, eat, drink, love. God, can you imagine our family here? Everyone bustling around, Mom taking over the cooking, Juno flopped on the one of the couches.”

“Our kids running around.” Blue smiled as she looked up at him.

“Someday, hopefully.”

He kissed her softly, then as she responded, the kiss became fiercer before he broke away, breathless, studying her. “Do you feel okay?”

Romy nodded. In truth, the injury was still giving her headaches, but she wanted Blue so badly, she pushed aside any doubts. She pressed her body against him. “Take me to bed, Allende.”

Blue swept her into his arms and strode through the villa, grinning down at her. “I’m going to kiss every inch of you, pretty girl.”

Blue made love to her tenderly, a little hesitantly, conscious that she wasn’t fully recovered. The bruises on her lovely face were a daily reminder of how close he had been to losing her and it gnawed away at his gut. Who attacked a doctor at the scene of an accident? Why the hell would Dacre Mortimer risk so much?

Fucker.

When Romy fell asleep, Blue lay awake, his mind whirling with anger and love and confusion. He’d hired the security team—even, here, in Italy, they weren’t far away. He hadn’t wanted Romy to feel trapped so he’d kept that information to himself, but it reassured him that no one could get to them here. He could relax and Romy could heal.

He eventually fell asleep and was awoken by soft kisses from Romy. He smiled without opening his eyes. “You taste so sweet, baby.”

He heard her throaty chuckle, then felt her move down the bed and take his cock into her mouth, running her tongue along the hard shaft and up to the sensitive tip. He gave a soft groan as his cock stiffened and quivered under her touch. He stroked her soft hair as she worked on him, then as he came, she gripped his hips tightly, and he came onto her tongue.

“God, Romy …”

She climbed up his body and straddled him. Blue opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Morning, handsome. Touch me, Allende.”

He grinned at her order and cupped her full breasts in his hands, feeling the pillowy softness of her skin, the small nipples hardening under his touch. “Have I told you how much I love your breasts?”

Romy grinned, her dark hair falling over her shoulders, her makeup-free face ethereal in the early morning light. She guided his cock inside her and Blue sucked in a sharp breath. “And your cunt … your glorious, silky, tight little cunt … Jesus, Romy …”

She moved on top of him, taking him in deeper and deeper, clenching her muscles around his cock until he was bucking and shuddering beneath her. As she cried out with her climax, he flipped her onto his back and began to thrust harder and harder, pinning her hands to the bad, holding her gaze as he fucked her.

Romy came again and again and Blue, not able to get enough of her, shivered and shot thick, creamy cum deep into her belly. They collapsed against each other, not caring about morning breath, and kissed passionately. “God, I love you,” Blue said, his voice gravelly with emotion.

“I love you, Blue. Let’s just keep doing this for the rest of our lives.” She was breathless, and Blue admired the way her breasts and bely moved with her breathing. He stroked his hand over the soft curve of her belly.

“You’ve got a deal,” he grinned and kissed her again. She pressed her breasts against his hard chest.

“I’ve never felt like this, ever,” she said in a whisper, touching his face tenderly.

“Probably just the concussion,” Blue chuckled, and she laughed.

“No way. This is it for me, Blue. This is real. This is what life is meant to be about.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Romy Sasse.” He wrapped himself around her, looking deep into her eyes. “Marry me. Marry me today, or tomorrow, or however soon we can arrange it.”

Romy stared back at him and for a long moment, he thought she might say no. If she is sensible, he thought, she will say no. But God, please, please, Romy, say …

“Yes.”

For a moment, Blue didn’t comprehend her answer then as it sank it, he whooped loudly, overwhelmed, as Romy giggled. He rolled her around on the bed, cheering and laughing until they were both breathless.

After they’d calmed down, he stroked the hair away from her face. “Really?”

“Really.”

“God, thank you, thank you, thank you. Mio Dio, mio Dio.”

“One condition.”

“Yes?”

“We have the ceremony in Italian. It’s only fitting.”

Blue grinned at her. “I’ll coach you on the language.”

Romy giggled. “I’ll have people check that you haven’t made me agree to some kind of sexual deviancy.”

“Damn, you caught me.” Blue propped himself up on his elbow, grinning down at her. “And I thought you’d like that.”

“Oh, I would,” Romy laughed. “But you don’t have to make me agree to it, it’s implicit.” She reached down and stroked his cock, which twitched into life again. “Let’s do this, Allende. Make me your wife.”

And two days later, that was exactly what he did.

Chapter 20

Octavia Helmond grinned at the message on her phone, and her friend, Mandy, nudged her. “What is it?”

“My sister just got married on a whim in Italy.”

“That’s romantic. Wait, what sister?” Mandy, who had known Octavia since the beginning of high school, looked confused. “I thought you were an only child.”

Octavia grinned and explained her relationship to Romy and the Sasses. “Huh,” Mandy said, when Octavia saw a photo of Romy. “She does look like you. Sure she didn’t donate eggs seventeen years ago?”

“I think not; she would have been twelve.” Octavia rolled her eyes at her friend.

“Her mom could have, though. I’m just saying.” They were sitting in the cafeteria of the library, waiting for two of their friends to join them. The new year had brought even more snow and the girls were heading out to do some sledding before retreating to Octavia’s house for hot chocolate and pizza.

Rebecca, a fiery redhead, yelled over to them as she entered the café, always one to show off, but good natured, and then quiet but sweet Yelena followed her in. The dark-haired girl had been an emigre from Russian five years ago and before meeting the others, had felt left out and lonely. Octavia had brought her into their fold of tomboys and book nerds and now Yelena was thriving.

They set out in Octavia’s four-by-four to go to her father’s cabin up in the mountains. Dan hadn’t been wild about the idea of four teenage girls alone out there, but Octavia had gently reminded him, they were all adults now.

“Almost,” he said, with narrowed eyes but Octavia had stared him down. “Dad.”

Dan sighed. “Fine … but you call me when you get there and text every morning and night.”

“Deal.”

They reached the cabin after dark and hurriedly brought their luggage inside. Octavia lit the fire and Yelena made some hot chocolate. They sat around chatting and laughing until late, then Octavia stretched her long limbs. “Gonna turn in, I think. Want to be ready for a full-on day tomorrow.”

“Hell, yes!” Rebecca raised her mug, cursing as she slopped it all over her. Mandy rolled her eyes and helped her clean it up.

Octavia was the last to fall asleep. She was sharing the room with Mandy, her friend curled up beside her, fast asleep. Octavia snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes.

It was almost dawn when she heard it. A soft cry from the other bedroom woke her. She sat up, listening intently. She heard a strange noise, like a thumping into something soft. What the hell? She swung her legs over the side of the bed and crept out into the hall, moving silently along. As she approached the other room, she began to tremble—something didn’t feel right. The door was slightly ajar and to her horror, she saw the hooded figure of a tall man bending over her friends’ bed. He was moving his arm up and down and in the moonlight, Octavia saw the glint of steel. Oh god, no …

For a second she was frozen, not believing what she was seeing then, with nothing else to do, she gave a banshee scream and run to tackle the assailant. She hit him full force but he threw her off easily, sending her crashing back to the wall, banging her head viciously. As she recovered, she heard Mandy running to help.

“No, Mandy, run, get help.”

But it was too late. Mandy came crashing through the door, flicking the light on, and then Octavia saw the horror of what had happened. Rebecca and Yelena, both gasping for oxygen, covered in blood, were clutching at the vicious stab wounds in their bellies.

“Oct, Mandy, run,” Rebecca croaked before the killer shoved the blade into her throat, and she fell back, choking and dying. Octavia scrambled to her feet pushing Mandy back out into the hall, but then there was another masked man, easily picking Mandy up and driving a knife deep into her abdomen so many times, so quickly that Mandy had no chance. The killer dumped her body on the ground and then both of them came after Octavia.

She almost reached the cabin door but then one of them tackled her to the ground, the other grabbing her legs and straddling her. He ripped the top of her pajamas open, then to Octavia’s disbelief, he pulled his mask off.

Gaius. He grinned down at her. “Well, now, I guess I’m quite the surprise.”

“Please don’t kill me, Gaius, please.”

He laughed, looking at the other assailant. “Well, it’s always worth asking, isn’t it?” He slowly pushed the knife into her navel and Octavia gasped at the horrific pain. Gaius buried the knife into her to the hilt.

“I did some research, little Octavia, some digging around in the files of the surrogacy place. Seems like we’re related. Magda Sasse is your biological mother, which makes you Romy’s sister—which means we’re going to kill you the same way we’re going to kill her. Slowly. Painfully. Without mercy.” He wrenched the knife from her and Octavia could feel her blood pumping from the wound. Gaius smiled.

“Ah, damn … I think I’ve gone and severed your abdominal artery. You’ll bleed out in a few minutes, so we’d better make the most of this …”

Octavia screamed as the other killer drew his own knife out of his pocket and both men stabbed her again and again until there was nothing left but darkness.

Chapter 21

Romy Sasse-Allende rolled over in bed and smiled at her husband. “Hey, hubby.”

Blue opened his eyes and grinned. “Hey, wifey.” He leaned over to kiss her and she wriggled into his arms, hooking a leg over his body. She could feel his cock stiffening as she pressed her body against him.

“Fuck me, husband.”

With a chuckle, Blue rolled her onto her back, and hitched her legs around his waist. “Damn, you’re so wet.”

Romy grinned up at him sleepily. “I’ve been dreaming about you.” She moved her body so her breasts and belly undulated and with a growl, Blue plunged his cock deep inside her ready and swollen cunt, pining her hands to the bed, and thrusting with measured but brutal strokes into her. Romy moaned and encouraged him as he fucked her, loving it when he got rough, coming over and over as he shot his load inside of her. He flipped her onto her stomach and eased into her ass, pulling her hair as she screamed his name.

They tore and clawed at each other, the bed moving with the violence of their lovemaking. Blue fucked her against the wall of the shower, lifting her easily in his strong arms, Romy bracing herself against the cool tile as his cock reamed her cunt until she thought she might not be able to take it anymore.

As they made breakfast, he bent her over the counter and took her from behind, telling her over and over how much he loved her, then later, as they walked in the olive groves, he had her again, staking his claim of her body as well as her heart, fucking intensely until they were both breathless and sated.

Evening was falling as they made their way back towards the villa. Blue was picking grass and twigs from her long dark curls, and his eyes were so soft with love, that Romy couldn’t help but stop to kiss him. He ran his hands down her body.

“How did I ever exist before you, Romy Sasse?”

Romy grinned up at him. “Romy Sasse Allende. And I don’t know, Blue, because there was nothing before you.”

He grinned. “I think we just exceeded our cheese quote for the year.”

Romy laughed. “I don’t care. This is our honeymoon, gorgeous man; cheesy is a requirement. You know what’s also a requirement?”

“What?”

“Food. I’m starving.”

Blue drove them into Florence to a favorite restaurant of his, and they dined on lobster and pasta and garlic bread, moaning over the delicious food. Blue ordered some wine and they lingered over desserts of Zabaglione with fresh berries.

The coffee was strong and dark, and they sat talking long into the evening. Romy leaned her head on Blue’s shoulder. “I’m so chilled right now. This place is heavenly.”

“I’m glad you think so. So, what’s the verdict? Should I close on the villa?”

Romy nodded, smiling. “Blue, we haven’t discussed kids, but I think the villa would be the perfect place to bring them up.”

He smiled warmly. “I do too, baby.”

Across the street was a row of stores, each different, none of them brand names, all family owned, some of them still open this late in the evening. There was something so pure and natural about this place, Romy thought. Her eye was caught by the flickering of a television in the bar across the street. For a moment, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Tavia?” No, it couldn’t be. Her young friend’s face flashed up again, and Romy saw now that the news channel was focusing on a snowbound crime scene, police tape fluttering around a small log cabin. Romy stood up to move closer to the television and Blue, hurriedly throwing a wad of Euros down to pay for their meal, followed her.

They had been cut off from cell phone and Internet access for a few days and both had enjoyed it, but now, Romy stared in horror at the television. “Can you turn that up, please?” she asked anyone who would listen.

Blue repeated the question in Italian and the bartender grabbed the remote and increased the volume.

The four young women, all aged seventeen, were found stabbed to death this morning by the owner of this isolated log cabin. It is believed he is also one of the girl’s father, local businessman Daniel Helmond.

“No!” Romy’s legs gave way as Blue dived to catch her. “No, no, no, not Tavia, please, please, not Tavia.” She was screaming, not caring that the entire street was staring at her.

The victims have now been officially identified as Rebecca Moore, Octavia Helmond, Mandy Fitkins, and Yelena Shostakovich. All the women were from Kings County, Seattle; all were brutal stabbed to death. Police say the killer or killers left very little physical evidence of themselves and have asked that anyone with any information come forward. Back to the studio.

Two hours later, when Romy had finally gotten through to a devastated Artemis, she spoke with her sister for a few minutes then came back to the table. She was calm now, too calm, Blue thought as he stood to take her in his arms. The restaurant was officially closed but the owner was a kindly man who told them to take all the time they needed to make calls. He kept them supplied with hot, strong coffee, and pastries although neither Blue or Romy could eat.

Romy leaned against her new husband’s body. “We have to go back. It’s Dacre. He’ll keep killing innocent women. We have to draw him out.”

“Romy …”

“No, Blue. No objections. It’s the only thing left to do.” She looked up into his eyes and he could see the endless sorrow in them. “I won’t go down without a fight. And I’ll play dirty, Blue, believe me.”

“You’re not in this alone.”

“I know.” She sighed, squeezing her eyes shut to stop them from tearing up again. She felt raw from screaming. “For tonight, let’s go home.”

“I’ll book the plane for tomorrow.”

“Thank you, baby.”

Dacre and Gaius watched the news with satisfaction, then Gaius grabbed a couple of beers from his fridge. Dacre clinked his bottle against Gaius’ and then sat back, studying the other man.

“How did it feel? Your first kill?”

Gaius smiled. “Godlike.”

Dacre laughed. “I’ll drink to that.” He took a long swig. “Romy will be on her way back to the states now.”

“So her sister says.”

Dacre sighed. “It’s time, man. When we were killing those girls, all I could think of was doing the same thing to Romy. Sticking that knife into her gut over and over. I got hard just thinking about it.”

Gaius nodded. “I agree, it’s time.”

Dacre was deep in thought. “The best place to do it will be at the hospital. No one suspects me there; hell, she doesn’t even recognize me.”

“Well, you did do a transformation from preppy asshole to redneck psycho.” Gaius smiled as Dacre laughed. “Yeah, she won’t see you coming.”

“God,” Dacre grabbed his cock and squeezed it. “The anticipation of that pop, the moment when my knife cuts into her skin.”

“Dude, don’t jerk off in front of me.” Gaius’ nose was turned up in disgust, but Dacre just laughed.

“Don’t flatter yourself, asshole.” He took another long drink of beer. “So, what about you? You gonna fuck your brother up? Or are you going to leave him alone to mourn Romy?”

“Both.” Gaius’ eyes glittered with malice. “I’m going to beat him to within an inch of his life, then drag him to watch you kill Romy. How does that sound?”

Dacre’s smile spread slowly across his face. “Dude … that sounds just about perfect.”

Chapter 22

The funeral was well-attended and as painful as they all expected. Octavia’s coffin was lowered into the cold January ground; Dan, her father, had such a look of desolation on his face that Romy could barely look at him. The guilt she felt was overwhelming, and since she and Blue had flown back to Seattle, a week ago, she had been working with the police to try and smoke Dacre out.

At the hospital, she and Blue had had a conference with Beau and the head of security and decided the measures would stay for now. “I’m not risking your life or anyone else’s, Romy.” Beau said. “I’ve had experience at the vengeful ex thing—my Dinah nearly died.”

“I know, Beau, and thank you.” Romy looked between the two men. “I’m so sorry for bring this all down on your heads.”

“It’s not your fault,” Blue repeated for what seemed the hundredth time, but Romy couldn’t help but feel it pressing down on her. Octavia’s horrific murder had affected the whole family —Dan, to his credit, hadn’t blamed her, or Artemis but Romy almost wanted him to yell and scream at her.

At night, after she and Blue were in bed, after her adored husband was asleep, his arms tight around her, Romy would lie awake, thinking up ways to bait Dacre into revealing himself, and then coming up with increasing violent ways to kill him herself. Her rage was all-consuming. She would sleep for a couple of hours then get up, grab her laptop, and go through all the information she could find on Dacre, his family, the murders. On more than one morning, Blue had found her asleep on the couch, her laptop still open.

She knew Blue was worried about her and couldn’t blame him for being so. Never, even after the attack of the previous year, had she felt so on edge, like she was on a tightrope and nothing could stop her from falling.

Only at work could she focus on what she was doing. She and Blue were even more in tune in the operating theater, and even their recent marriage hadn’t affected her relationship with her colleagues—much to her relief.

Mac was the only other resident who knew everything. Romy found she was leaning on him more and more, someone outside their family, a friend, a sounding post. She had told him —then told him to forget it.

“Everything I talk about now seems to be about Dacre,” she said, with a sad smile. “Promise me that when we talk, we’ll bust each other’s chops or just talk about work, or our love lives—rather, your love life.”

Mac smiled, his smile splitting his handsome face and lighting it up. “You got it, gorgeous.”

And he kept his word, joking with her, relieving some of that stress. Romy had never been so grateful to someone as she was to Mac.

Magda, back from her honeymoon, was stressed out and hyper when Romy went over to her house to visit. After Magda had hugged her for way too long, Romy escaped her mother’s arms and rolled her eyes. “Mom, I’m fine. It’s Arti and Dan you should be worried about.”

“Oh, I am,” Magda said, grim-faced, “but Dacre’s not trying to kill them, is he?” She sighed and covered her face and, to her distress, Romy saw her mother was crying. She went to her.

“Mom, I have protection coming out of my ears. Look at the two hulking guys I had to bring with me to come visit. Dacre’s not going to get to me unless I let him.”

Magda dropped her hands and glared at her daughter. “What does that mean? Unless you let him?”

Romy silently cursed herself for the slip. “Just a figure of speech, Mom, chill out.”

Magda sighed, her usually youthful face seeming older.

“When you were in the hospital last year,” Magda said, “I sat with you, and in my head, I was making up ways I could kill Dacre Mortimer. Some pretty hardcore things.”

Romy half-smiled. “You and me both, Mom.”

Magda nodded, hesitated, then fixed Romy with a steady look. “Could you? Could you do it? Kill him?”

Romy, grim-faced nodded. “I wouldn’t even hesitate.”

Magda nodded. “Good. God, Romy, I hate that I couldn’t protect you then and can’t protect you now.”

“What are you talking about? You gave me and Arti and Junebug the best childhood ever. Ever, Mom. The love in this house, that was all down to you. That we’ve all followed out dreams, that’s all because of you. You are my superhero, Mom.”

Magda was openly crying now and Romy wrapped her arms around her mother. “Mom, we will get through this.”

Magda nodded. She looked at Romy. “Darling, there’s something I have to tell you.”

Romy, trying to lighten the mood, smiled at her. “Did Stuart knock you up?” She regretted the joke immediately when she saw her mother wince. “God, Mom, what is it?”

“Darling, come sit down. This isn’t going to be easy.”

Later that night, Blue came home to find Romy sitting in the dark. He knew at once that something had happened and he sat down beside her. “What is it?”

Romy looked at him and the sorrow in her eyes was bottomless and searing. “Octavia was my sister. The police told Artemis and Dad that she matched Mom’s DNA. Mom told me that twenty years ago she donated her eggs after she’d had Juno. She knew she was done, so she and Dad had eggs fertilized and donated. That’s why Tavia looked just like me. We were sisters.”

“God, no.” Blue felt the shock reverberating through his body. Romy looked at him, eerily calm.

“This ends now, Blue. No more. If it kills me, Dacre Mortimer is going down.”

Blue looked at his wife unhappily. “This won’t end well, Romy.”

“I know, baby, but we will prevail. We will be ready.”

Romy had no idea how soon she would have to put her theory into practice.

Chapter 23

Beau wasn’t happy, but eventually he agreed to Romy’s request that her protection at the hospital be removed. “At least the visible protection,” Blue amended, with a glance at his wife. “Romy’s determined to draw him out.”

“He knows I’m in Seattle; he knows I work here.” Romy looked at Blue. “Blue’s arranged for a journalist to interview me about the murders. I’m going to goad him in the press so that he has no option but to come after me.”

Beau exchanged a look with Blue and Romy sighed. “Fellas, it’s up to me. I’m the one he wants, and I won’t let anyone dictate my life.”

Later, she was working in the resident’s lounge when Warren, the friendly orderly, knocked on the door. “Hey, Dr. Sasse, can I run something past you?”

Romy smiled at him. “Go for it.”

Warren came in and sat down. “Staff’s been talking. About what’s going on with you and this jerk ex of yours.”

Romy felt a little awkward. “People are talking.”

“Yeah … sorry if that’s inappropriate, but we look after our own around here.”

Romy smiled at him. “That’s sweet, but I think we got it handled.”

“I’m just saying … I’m around. You ever feel threatened, I got your back.”

Romy was moved. “Warren, you’re the best, but I think I got this. I can be pretty badass.”

Warren laughed. “I have no doubt. Well, I said what I wanted to, so …”

“Thanks, Warren. I do appreciate it.”

After the orderly had gone, Romy felt strange, like somehow her friends and colleagues were looking at her as if she were a victim. God, that was the last thing she needed. Her stomach roiled and she pushed away from the table and got up, determined to stop feeling sorry for herself.

The hospital was quiet now as the day ended and Romy checked the surgical schedule, seeing that Blue was still operating on an elderly woman with appendicitis. She checked on all of their post-surgical patients and set out about updating the medical records.

She’d just glanced at the clock and seen it was nearly two a.m., when she heard the first shot. Freezing, for a moment she wondered if it was a car backfiring in the lot, then when she heard the screams starting Romy began to run towards the sound of the shooting, joined quickly by other staff and the hospital’s security team.

More gunfire and security stopped the medical staff. “Shooting’s coming from the OR floor.”

Romy’s heart nearly failed and she darted forward only to be stopped by one of the security guards. “Sorry, Doc, we can’t let you go down there.”

“But Blue is there,” Rom said, her voice rising as the panic set in.

Mac grabbed her upper arm. “Romy, come on. We need to take care of our patients. Let the security team do their job.”

“Hospital is on lockdown,” the security chief was telling them all, “go back to where you were and secure your patients as best you can.”

Mac dragged Romy back to the post-surgical patients. Some of them were awake now, wondering what was going on. Romy tried to reassure them but when the gunfire came closer, there was a palpable sense of panic.

“Let’s get the patients who can’t walk and can’t hide into secure rooms,” Mac said and Romy nodded, her stomach roiling with panic. She grabbed her cell phone and texted Blue.

Are you safe?

There was no answer. When she saw the head of security again, she grabbed him. “What’s going on?”

“Shooter.” He looked at her as if she was stupid and Romy rolled her eyes.

“I know that … where is he or she? Is anyone hurt?”

“I don’t know, Doc. It’s a developing situation.”

He moved away before she had a chance to ask any more questions and she hissed in frustration. She tried to call Blue, but knowing he switched off his cell phone when he was in surgery, prayed that was the reason he wasn’t answering.

Please, please, be okay.

God, how much more horror would they have to put up with? Romy did her job, helped patients, made sure the floor was secure, but she couldn’t help wondering how the hell a man with a gun got into the hospital. Was it because Beau had reduced the security at her request?

Don’t be stupid—this has nothing to do with you.

But her instincts were telling her otherwise. Romy felt her composure slip, and she darted into an empty room and dragged some deep breaths into her lungs. He’s fine, he’s okay.

There was a soft knock on the door. “Yes?”

Warren opened the door and gave her a hesitant smile. “You okay, Doc?”

She shook her head. “No. There’s a shooter down on the OR floor and Blue is there. No, I’m not okay, Warren. They won’t let me go to him.”

He stared at her for a long moment, then said, “I can get you down there.”

Romy’s eyes widened. “You can?”

Warren nodded, his eyes watchful as he gazed at her. “I can. Come with me.”

Romy didn’t even think twice, such was her need to get to Blue. She followed Warren into the far end of the floor, raising her eyebrows as he opened the fire escape.

“No alarm.”

“No, they shut the power down on the doors to contain the shooter, which knocked out the alarms. But this door has always been tricky.”

She followed him down two flights of stairs then as he passed the OR floor, she faltered. “Warren?”

He turned and grabbed her hand, pulling her after him. “We have to go down to go up, Rome.”

It took a second to process what he’d called her and a wave of utter horror swept over her. “What did you call me?”

Warren’s hand tightened on her wrist as he turned back towards her. “Miss me, Rome?”

It couldn’t be … Romy stared at the big man in horror, and began to see it. Dacre had completely changed his body type; his hair was gone; the thick beard; the piercings … but yes, it was her ex-husband.

“How did I not see it?” she said out loud and as Dacre pulled her into his grip, he laughed.

“Because you didn’t want to. You’ve only had eyes for the Italian, haven’t you, whore? His hands all over you?”

He was dragging her down the stairs, her petite body no match for his strength. “They’ll find your body in the basement, Rome, gutted, bled out. Of course, by that time I’ll be long gone. They’ll still be looking for whoever is shooting up the hospital.”

“Motherfucker, that was you? Killing more innocent people?”

“Dumb bitch, there is no shooter. The dumb security team is going through the hospital trying to find someone who isn’t there. I set it up so someone would fire blanks nearby and panic everybody.”

Confused by his certainty, Romy was trying desperately to put her hand in her pocket. She had a hypodermic needle in there—if she could just reach it, she could use it as a weapon … her fingers closed around it and with all her might, she gripped it in her fist and plunged it backwards, aiming for Dacre’s face. She felt resistance then, as Dacre howled and released her, she knew she’d hit her mark. Dacre jerked back, the needle piercing his left eye. “Fucking bitch!”

Romy didn’t wait around. He was blocking the way upwards, so she went down, practically flying down the staircase. In her pocket, her cell phone began to buzz. Blue.

“Baby, where are you? The freakiest thing, there’s some kind of …”

“Blue! It’s Dacre … he’s here, he’s after me… I’m in staircase C and I don’t know where I can get away from him.”

“God, baby, go down as far as you can, to the basement, you can get to the foyer. From there I …”

There was a scuffling noise and she heard Blue cry out in anger and pain and Romy screamed. “Blue!”

“Romy ...” And then the phone went dead. What the hell was going on? Behind her, she heard Dacre crashing down the stairs after her. What the hell had happened to Blue?

She pushed her way into the basement of the hospital, a vast labyrinth of pipes and dank corridors. Romy ran as fast as she could, towards what she thought was the front of the hospital. Dacre was almost on her as she flung the door open and ran out into the foyer of the hospital.

Dacre grabbed her and they both tumbled to the floor, Romy struggling with his vast weight on top of her. Even a glimpse at the blade of the knife he pulled out made her mad rather than scared and she kicked and bit and clawed at him as he tried to subdue her.

“No,” she screamed at him, “You don’t get to win this time, Dacre. Never again.”

He laughed at her, cuffing her viciously around the face. “Give it up, bitch; it was always going to end this way.”

He was winning, his sheer physical size overpowering her. He bounced Romy’s head off the cold hard floor and as she reeled, he pinned her. His mouth ground down on hers, his tongue penetrating her mouth. Romy bit down on it as hard as she could, tasting blood, and Dacre roared in pain and anger.

He drew back his arm, ready to stab her, but then everything stopped. Dacre’s eyes widened suddenly as blood began to pour from his chest. Romy whimpered as he fell forward onto her, then kicked him off of her, her eyes whirling wildly around the room.

Behind them, Gaius Eames lowered the gun he was holding. Romy hadn’t even heard the shot.

“Gaius!”

He came to her immediately, helping her to her feet, his expression incredulous. “Are you all right? Are you hurt? Who the fuck was that?”

Romy leaned against him, relieved to find a friendly face even if it was Gaius. “My ex-husband. And no, I’m not hurt.”

“Good.” He pressed his lips to her temple, wrapping his arm around her, and Romy felt comforted.

“Blue. I have to get to Blue.”

Gaius nodded and tucked his gun in his pants. Romy blinked. “Gaius, why do you have a gun?”

“I have a permit to carry a concealed weapon,” he said, shrugging. He nodded at Dacre’s body. “Thankfully.”

“Amen to that, but you might want to be careful. He set it up so it sounded like someone was shooting up the place, and if security sees you with a weapon …”

Gaius nodded. “Yeah, let’s get out of here. Find Blue and get out.”

They made their way carefully to the OR floor. It was dark, silent, and Romy felt a coldness settle over her. She could smell cordite in the air. OR3. That was where Blue had been operating. She led Gaius towards it, the smell of gunsmoke stronger.

Romy pushed her way into the scrub room and looked through the window. The OR was a mess, blood, instruments, drapes everywhere. She pushed into the room—and saw him.

He was covered in blood and Romy screamed, dropping to her knees by his side. “Blue?”

He opened his eyes, the bright green stark against the blood on his face. He smiled. “You’re here.”

“Are you shot?” Romy was running her hands over his body, trying to find wounds. Blue shook his head.

“No, he only hit me. God, Romy, I never knew. I never knew he hated me that much.”

Ice flooded through her veins. “Dacre didn’t even know you, Blue; he just wanted you out of the way.”

Blue looked confused. “No, not Dacre, Romy …” He trailed off as he looked behind her and his face went pale. “Romy …”

Romy whirled around to find Gaius, smiling at them both, and aiming the gun at Blue. “No, Romy, Dacre didn’t know much about Blue. He wanted to kill you, beautiful, and I offered to help—as long as Blue was made to witness your murder. Then, well, Dacre became a loose end. After we killed your … what was she … sister? Octavia, anyhow, and her friends, I knew I wanted to do you myself, but Dacre wouldn’t hear of it. So he had to go.”

Romy was staring at him aghast, then with a scream, she threw herself at Gaius. He had anticipated it and easily threw her off, but not before Blue had a chance to scramble to his feet and go after his half-brother.

“You bastard! Figlia di puttana!”

Gaius was a big man but nothing to Blue’s strength. The two men crashed to the floor and Romy cast around desperately for something to help Blue. She grabbed a scalpel and leapt at Gaius, slashing at him. She caught his arm and he yelled as Blue landed a punch so hard that Gaius fell backward. As he scrambled away from them, he pulled out his gun.

Blue stopped as Gaius aimed it at him. “Gaius, don’t be stupid. Killing me won’t help you. This place is crawling with cops. They’ll cut you down in an instant.”

Gaius stared at him as Blue and Romy, holding their breaths, stood still. Then Gaius’s mouth hitched up in a smile. “You’re right.” And he swung his arm and shot Romy.

The bullet smashed into her belly and she dropped as Blue, half-crazed with grief, went for Gaius. Gaius was too quick for him, putting the gun to his own temple. “You fucked my mom,” he said, sounding like a child.

Blue shook his head. “She raped me, Gaius.”

“No.”

Blue, seeing the half-crazed expression in Gaius’ eyes, but desperate to get to Romy, crouched next to his half-brother. “Don’t do it, Gaius. Your mom is a bad person, but she loves you.”

Gaius half-smiled. “She’s nothing anymore. I strangled her to death the day after I found out she fucked you. They’ve probably found her body by now.”

Blue was horrified. “Jesus, Gaius.”

Gaius was staring at Romy now, who was clutching at her bleeding stomach, but calmly, deeply breathing, watching the scene play. “She’s lovely, Blue. So lovely. I’m glad I got to kill her before I died.” And he put the gun in his own mouth and pulled the trigger.

Blue didn’t hesitate. He went to Romy and gathered her into his arms. Romy stared up at him, still unnaturally calm. “Blue,” she said in a steady voice, “Blue … save our baby. Please, save our little one. I love you so much.” Her eyes closed and she passed out.

Shell-shocked, Blue swept her out of the room and into an unused OR. Keeping his hand pressed to the bullet wound, he grabbed his phone. “Beau, the shooter is dead. But Romy’s been shot. I need a team in OR2 right now. Please, help me save my girl … and our child. Please …” His voice shook, but he knew that to lose control now was to sentence Romy to death. “Please, Beau … I need you right now …”

Chapter 24

Romy opened her eyes and wondered why she felt no pain. It’s the morphine, doofus. She breathed in a lungful of sweet pure air and smiled. Looking around the room, she saw Blue checking her chart. He glanced up and grinned. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Get over here and kiss me, Allende.”

“Such a nag.” But he pressed his lips to hers and they kissed until they had to break away to breathe. He stroked her cheek. “How do you feel?”

“Good, really good. Blue … how’s …?”

“Our baby? He or she is doing just fine. How come you didn’t tell me?”

“I was going to, but I hadn’t even taken a test yet.” Romy sighed, putting her hand on her belly. “I can’t be more than a couple of weeks; I just had a feeling.”

“Three weeks to be precise,” Blue grinned, covering her hand with his. “I can’t wait to meet him or her.”

“We’re really going to do this, right?” Romy felt nervous and excited and Blue laughed.

“You bet your sweet ass we are. We got married on a rollercoaster ride; we’re gonna start our family the same way. You in this adventure with me?”

Romy gazed up at her husband and grinned. “Just try and stop me.”

Three months later…

Blue smiled at his excited wife. “I honestly thought you’d fight me on this.”

“Are you kidding? This is our honeymoon, Blue. We earned this.”

They were flying in Blue’s private jet down to the Caribbean, and to one of the lesser-known islands, owned by a friend of Blue’s.

Romy had recovered quickly from the shooting and now, their child growing in her belly, she was ready to return to work. Blue, however, had insisted on them taking some time together first, and so for the next two blissful weeks, they would make love, laze in the sun, eat whatever they wanted.

“I cannot wait,” Romy stretched out her body and rubbed Blue’s groin with her foot, “to get naked and rude with you, Blue boy.”

Blue laughed and went to her. “Why wait?” He pulled her gently to the cabin floor and kissed her until they were both breathless. Romy tangled her fingers in his dark curls as he unbuttoned her dress, parting the fabric and pressing his mouth to her soft skin. Blue freed her breasts from her bra, taking each nipple into his mouth in turn and teasing them into hard peaks. Romy sighed happily as he moved down her body, kissing the soft swell of her belly as he gently slid the panties down her legs.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered and grinning, Blue moved to kiss her mouth as he freed his cock from his pants.

“You want me inside, pretty girl?”

Romy giggled, seeing the mischievous lust in his eyes. “Always … Oh!”

Blue thrust his cock deep inside her, pinning her hands above her head and kissing her with animal passion. Romy hitched her legs around his waist, tilting her hips up to take him in deeper. Nothing else in the world existed for them as they made love, their gazes locked, their bodies perfectly in rhythm.

As she came, Romy’s back arched up and Blue buried his face in her neck as he shot his seed into her. They collapsed together, panting for air and laughing. Blue kissed her and Romy stroked his face. “I love you so much, Blue Allende.”

“You and me forever, baby.”

Romy grinned and squeezed his butt playfully as she nodded. “You bet your sweet ass, gorgeous man.”

And they made love again as the plane came in to land in their Caribbean paradise …

The End.