Page 100 of Cherry Auction

Instead of Brooke’s figure appearing atthe top of the stairs, however, it’s Professor Roberts. She waves a hand to shush me as she hurries down the steps.

“Would you stop shouting?” she hisses. “The nightmares keep Anna awake and we’ve been trying to let her sleep in. She’s at a very precarious stage right now!”

“Anna? Who the fuck is Anna?”

Professor Roberts just glares at me when she gets close and continues whispering. “Brooke is Anna. Anna is Brooke. It’s the name she’s picked for herself.”

I throw my hands in the air. “What, you found another personality? What the fuck have you been up to while I’ve been away?”

If possible, Professor Roberts’s glare becomes arctic. Glacial. “We don’t know for sure that Anna has dissociative identity disorder. It takes months to make a diagnosis like that. And it’s rarely so cut and dry even if she does. Anna is just the name the girl is now choosing to go by.”

“The girl? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“There have been developments while you’ve been away.”

I’m done with talking. I didn’t travel non-stop for the last twenty-two hours to be stopped by a half-doctor at the stairs of my own goddamned house. “Where is she? I need to see her.”

Professor Roberts crosses her arms over her chest. “No, youwantto see her. There’s a difference.”

“Well, Prof.,” I say, moving around her to get to thestairs, “nice knowing ya. Thanks for your services. You’ve been a real gem. Just lemme know where I can send your bill, and I’ll make sure you’re paid handsomely for your services.”

But she just scoots up the stairs to block my path.

“You’re such an asshole,” she says, eyes flashing. “I don’t care if you’re paying me. My loyalty is to my patient first.”

“You aren’t even a doctor,” I remind her contemptuously.

“ButIam,” comes a deep voice from the top of the stairs. “And you’d do well to kindly stop attempting to intimidate my best student with your superior size.”

My head swings to see who else is in my fucking house. He’s a tall, lanky fucker with a square jaw and thick, black-frame glasses. The kind of bookish-look I guess some women may find attractive, but I’d snap him in half in about two seconds in any pub brawl.

He jogs down and holds out a hand with an easy smile. “Dr. Nathan Ezra.”

I ignore his hand and glare.

He continues on as if I’m not being a grumpy bastard. “It’s been a joy to work with Anna this week while you’ve been attending to business matters.”

Is this fucker trying to intimidate me? What exactly does he know? We didn’t tell Professor Roberts where I was while I was away, but god knows what Anna’s been saying about what she saw anddidwhile at the airfield. Professor Roberts, at least, we felt confident we could control. But thisnew guy…

I scowl at him. “Where is she?”

“Resting. I think it best not to disturb her. She hasn’t been sleeping well at night?—”

“Because I haven’t been here to hold her.” Does this dickwad really think he knows my girl better than me? “I need to see her. She needs to know I’m here.”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dickwad says. “We’ve been making progress the last few days, and any disruptions might?—”

I shove Dr. Dickwad out of the way and stomp upstairs. We vanquished the monster, and I got rid of any other potential problems in our way. We can finally be together. I’m not letting anything hold us back anymore.

I’m running again by the time I get to the guest wing. It’s like I can feel the nearness of her thrumming through my veins. I have to shove several doors open before I finally find her.

She shoots up in bed, screaming as soon as I do.

I sprint across the room and grab her up into my arms. “It’s okay, love. I’m here. I’m back, and I swear I’ll never fucking leave you again.Ever.”

But unlike usual, she’s not squeezing me back. Her arms are limp around me.

“Brooke?” I ask, cupping her whole head in my hand as I cling to her. Then, when she still doesn’t respond, I pull back and look into her dull, lifeless eyes. “Anna?”

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