Page 44 of Aching for His Discretion

Upon entering, I walked over to Dr. Gordon, who was presently talking to a general surgery resident. He acknowledged me with his eyes for a moment, and I let him finish speaking as I read the case report for the cadaver we were standing in front of.

Once he finished his conversation, he turned to me and smiled.

“Teegan, glad to have you back down here. How have you been?” he asked, and I returned the smile.

“Great, actually. Helped deliver about five babies today,” I said happily, and he chuckled.

“Sounds like fun… but I prefer hanging out with the deceased a bit more. They tend to cry and complain less.”

“Fair enough,” I laughed.

He introduced me to a few other residents and medical personnel who were assessing the corpses as well. I noticed, however, there was a man with a long brown coat that was standing next to another man in a white button-up and black pants as they stood by the man who’d lost his arm.

My heart dropped to my stomach as the man in the white button-up seemed, unfortunately, very familiar.

Private Investigator Theodore Hale.

Dr. Gordon noticed my gaze and traveled over to them with me trailing behind him, hesitating.

“Gentlemen, this is one of our students, Teegan Monroe. She is one of the brightest in her class. Teegan, this is Detective Felix and his partner Theo. The investigation has started to find the culprit responsible for the death of this man, and the police have handed the case over to them,” he introduced, and I nodded as I greeted the two men.

“Pleasure to meet you both,” I said respectfully.

Detective Felix smiled as I did my best to ignore Theodore’s gaze.

“The pleasure is all mine. Interested in the case? Care to share a few details you know?” he asked, and Dr. Gordon looked at me expectantly as I went to speak.

“Well, he was administered lidocaine for his amputation, and we know it was used in excessive amounts. He was most likely a part of some sort of gang-related activity, and one could assume that this wasn’t an accident as other narcotics and substances were found in his blood after the autopsy. This could have also interfered with the effects of the lidocaine on his nerve and skin cells... Although he died from blood loss, the excessive use of lidocaine most likely led to damage in his nerves, leading him to have seizures and other symptoms that complicated his condition,” I said.

The room was silent for a moment as Detective Felix smiled even harder.

“I like her… you should be concerned about potentially losing your job, Theo. Can’t be in this field and let a med student size you up,” Felix joked, and laughs erupted around the room; however, Theo only let out a small smile as he remained silent. And if I wasn’t a chronic overthinker, I would have ignored the way his eyes attempted to analyze my body language and demeanor, almost as if he was trying to figure something out.

My eyes peeled open from my rest as I heard Grayson pace around the room doing whatever he pleased. I yawned softly as I sat up and looked over at the clock. I had the day off today, and Levi was eager to spend it with me. Sadly, he would be arrivinga bit later. Nonetheless, I showered and got dressed in a white sweater, tan leggings, and white knit socks.

I grabbed my flashcards and notes that I would be going over today and placed them on the coffee table as I lit a stress relief candle. Grayson walked beside me as I went into the kitchen, and I decided to bake a few cookies as well. After placing the dough on the sheet, I noticed Grayson’s ears perking up as he walked over to the door.

I smiled as I placed the tray in the oven as I eagerly walked out of the kitchen, excited to see Levi. My excitement continued to build as I got closer until Grayson ran away from the door as quickly as he could and jumped into my arms.

Catching me by surprise, I did my best to calm him softly as I could feel his little heart beating, his eyes seeming afraid. I flinched as I held him closer to me while we heard the rough pounding of the person knocking on the door. We stayed silent for a moment before the rough knocking was heard again. The voice on the other side of the door sent shivers down my spine.

“Teegan... we know you’re inside.”

Looking down at Grayson, I placed a kiss on his head as I whispered to him, tears coming to my eyes: “Go hide.” He didn’t seem to want to leave me, but I shooed him as I placed him on the ground.

Approaching the door slowly, I bit my lip as I opened it to see the last two people I wanted to see on my day off—the two people who made it their goal to make my life miserable.

“Hello, little sister,” Declan said with a sinister smile as Dakota stood beside him silently.

In response, I simply gulped softly as I clenched the doorknob with my hand.

The two people who made it their goal to make my life miserable were unfortunatelymy brothers.

Chapter nineteen

Teegan

My heart quickened as I gazed up at my older brothers. Dakota was always the more classy brother, dressed in a black fitted shirt as well as slacks and dress shoes, while Declan had a halfway buttoned dress shirt, and his hair was as messy as his temper and attitude. My hands went clammy as they entered my apartment.

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