Page 19 of Utah

We only waited a few minutes before a young woman with strawberry-blonde hair opened the door and called my name.

“Paul?”

“Yep,” I answered, heading toward her, but I stopped when Ria touched my arm.

“Do you want me to go back with you?” she asked, hesitation whirling around every word.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

We were led toward an exam room at the end of a long hallway.

“Dr. Sanders will be here in a few minutes.”

This was probably the second time in my life I’d been in a doctor’s office. The first was when I’d fallen down the steps at one of my foster homes, and my foster mother made me wait a full day before taking me to see anyone. And that was only because I wouldn’t stop crying. I was six, and it ended up I’d broken my arm.

The smell of antiseptic made me antsy. I started to pace.

“Are you okay? You seem on edge.”

“I’d rather be anywhere else.”

“I know, but he needs to make sure you’re healing well.”

I didn’t respond, continuing to walk back and forth, so many things weighing heavy on my mind.

Was the trip to Mexico really going to happen soon?

Would we get justice for Crash’s death?

Would we continue to have to look over our shoulders, fearing more retaliation from Javier Carrillo?

What was going to happen between me and Ria?

Did we have a shot at a future together?

Was I going to be a good dad?

The longest five minutes passed, and just when I was aboutto open the door and yell for the doctor, desperate for distraction, he walked in.

I hadn’t been paying attention to him the last time I saw him because I’d still been a little out of it, but looking at him now, I understood why Knox had an issue with him working with Kyla, especially after discovering this guy had the hots for his woman.

Dr. Sanders was a good-looking guy. If I had to guess his age, I’d put him close to ten years older than me. His entire demeanor screamed success, and I could see how that would be enticing to women and infuriating for the men in their lives.

“Hey, Utah. How are you?”

“Just wanna get this over with.”

“I get it. You’ve been through a lot.”

I wasn’t sure what story Kyla or Knox told him about the circumstances surrounding what happened to me. If anything, I’d wager they gave him a skewed version of the truth.

“That’s an understatement,” Ria mumbled, pulling the doc’s attention toward her.

He extended his hand to her, and I wanted to rip his arm off. “Hi. I’m Dr. Sanders.”

She slid her palm into his, and a warmth pricked my skin. A possessive need to sever their connection took hold, and all I wanted to do was tuck her behind me and shield her from his attention. But I kept my composure. For now.

“I’m Ria. Knox’s sister.”

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