Page 36 of Bad Blood

When our eyes meet, the look I get says more than any words. His chin quivers as he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. The elevator doors glide together. He takes a few hesitant steps backward, his eyes never leaving mine. “Bane and I will be back in a while.” He gives me a cautious smile.

I step forward, our eyes meeting. “Liam, what the hell?”

“I don’t want things to go the way they did when Mom and Dad died.” His lips part as the words tumble from his mouth. “No matter what happens, I will always protect you.”

The doors glide shut.

The sound of his faded groan breaks me.

“Liam, dammit! Liam!”

I dive at the closed doors, ricocheting off them as I pound my fists, needing to get off and get to him. A blind rage scorches through my veins. Choices in my past make him feel like he has to be the one to take care of me, but it’s not what he said that has me concerned. The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.

I slide to the floor.

His tremor of disappointment will always be branded into my brain.

Liam pretends I’m the parent figure, even though he’s always the one taking care of me. Maybe he doesn’t believe I can help him. Or that I can be there for him. I’ve let him down one too many times. I can’t say I’d blame him. Fuck, he’d be right. He can probably sense I’m in no position to help him because of how I’ve acted in the past. No wonder he told Bree before me. He’s always having to guess how I’m going to react and have a way out, just in case.

And that makes it worse.

I’m a pathetic excuse for a brother.

I have a chance here. A chance to redeem myself—in a hell of my making.

I’ve let him down before. And I bet he expects it to happen again.

But this time, he’s wrong.

11

Sound Effects

Brighton

Wednesday, May 10 th

11:42 p.m.

Self-pity is a shallow state of mind. But facts don’t give a fuck about your feelings.

And I’m doing an excellent job of convincing myself this isn’t about me. The thought poisons my brain for a moment before I push it aside.

It’s impressive, really, that Kline thought he could get away with this. I should pretend I don’t care and conserve my energy. Feeling sorry for myself is the last thing I should do, considering what I’ve found. The deception of it feels like a punch to the solar plexus. And I struggle to catch my breath.

Guilt hits as I scoop up the charts and close my laptop, stuffing everything into my bag. I don’t think I can stare at one more chart or try to find more evidence against Kline. It’s too late for a run, and the idea of going home to my empty house only slightly outweighs the notion of staying here alone this late.

I make it to the door and scan my office, ensuring everything is in order. My eyes land on the voice recorder. It doesn’t seem possible that we only met yesterday. A handful of minutes and a hundred lifetimes ago. What am I going to do about Liam and Dax?

A loud, sharp pop followed by a thud catches me off guard, and I whirl around, glancing into the hallway to confirm I’m still by myself. My heart thuds in my ears, and I try to calm my breathing. Get ahold of yourself, B, damn. Must be the stupid malpractice putting me on edge. With all the construction on the floor below us, I don’t know why I think anything of it.

Until the sound comes again.

Icy dread settles into the pit of my stomach. What in the hell was that?

I switch off my light and yank my bag up higher on my shoulder, my ears on high alert. I twist the knob and pull the door closed as quietly as possible, double-checking it’s locked before I sneak down the hall and onto the main floor, flicking the switches off as I go.

A single overhead light cascades onto the nurses’ station, and I blink to get my eyes to adjust. The night shift nurse is nowhere to be seen. I wonder who it is tonight, maybe Monique or Phillip? It’s not normal for the nurse to be gone, is it? No, I’m being paranoid. I bet she’s grabbing a drink to go along with the scent of melty goodness wafting from behind the counter. I take a step closer as a mist of swirling heat rises from a slice of pizza.

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