Page 51 of Thor

Cara quickly turns off the television. She drops the remote like it’s on fire as we all sit there in shocked silence.

I have no words. I mean, what is there to say?

“Holy shit, that was hot,” Cara mutters.

Well, I guess there’s that. We nod collectively because that was indeed hot. Will and Tech together will break a lot of female hearts.

“Wait a damn second. Is that what you meant that day?” Bianca asks Cara. She looks at Sara and Sofia who are squirming in their seats.

“What do you mean?” Cara asks innocently.

“Oh, you know.It’s not our secret to tell,” Bianca says with air quotes.

Cara rolls her eyes with a small smile. “We suspected but we weren’t sure. Even if I did know for certain, I wouldn’t say anything. Clearly, Tech isn’t ready to come out.”

“Yeah, I understand that. But, how in the hell are we going to look them in the eyes after what we just saw?” Bianca asks.

We all burst into giggles at the thought. Yeah, I think I’m going to avoid those two for a while. Things are certainly getting interesting around here.

“Maddy,you have a patient in room three,” Kim says as she takes a seat at the nursing station beside me.

“Okay.” I’m not even ten minutes into my shift, but this is how it goes in the emergency room. I grab the chart out of her hands and head down to room three. When I enter the room, my mouth goes dry. Sitting at the end of the gurney is one of Thomas’s goons. I’ve dodged him many times over the years. Before I can run back out of the room, another one comes up behind me and places his hand over my mouth and cages me in.

The man on the bed doesn’t say a word. He stands, clicks a few buttons on his phone, and turns it to me. My heart beats rapidly in my chest. I look up and watch a sinister smile stretch across his lips. He nods at the man behind me, and he releases me.

“Please, what do you want? I’ll do anything. Just don’t hurt her. Please.”

“Thomas is done playing games with you. I want you to go to the nurses’ station, leave your phone and personal belongings. If you tell anyone what is going on, we will kill her. You have exactly three minutes to meet us in the stairwell.”

I nod and they walk out of the room. I rush to the nurses’ station and try to think of a plan. It has to be quick. I now have two and a half minutes. I spot a blank piece of paper and envelope on the desk and grab it. Doc is in surgery right now. By the time he gets this, I’ll be long gone, but it’s my only hope. I write the only thing I can think of that will explain why I’m leaving so suddenly.

He has my mom.

I fold the paper and put it in the envelope. Kimberly walks up as I’m putting my phone in the drawer. “Can you give this to Doc when he gets out of surgery? It’s urgent. I have to leave because of a family emergency.”

Kim frowns and places a hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright?”

I will myself to stay calm. I don’t need her to alert anybody. Not until I get to my mother. Oh, God. Does Dad know he has her?

Shit. I have to go.

“I’m fine. Just make sure he gets this.”

I rush off before she can say anything else. When I enter the stairwell, the goons smirk and start walking down the steps. They don’t turn around to make sure I’m following. They know they’ve got me. I’ll do anything they say in this moment.

We make it out the door and there’s an SUV waiting. My heart races as I think of what’s headed my way. I barely got myself together the last time he raped me. I don’t know if I’ll recover this time. He has my mom. I won’t let that monster hurt her, so I get in.

As we drive, there’s only one thing on my mind.

Jonah, please hurry.

Chapter Twenty-Six

THOR

Today is dragging. I had to deal with three different irate customers who were mad they lost their belongings to us. They didn’t pay the money back in time and now we own their items. It’s the suckiest part of managing this place. They read the fine print and are fully aware of the deadline. Somehow, it never fails. They don’t pay in time and get pissed like it’s our fault. I understand some people need money. I’m more than willing to work with those who come to me respectfully, but yelling and screaming will get you nowhere.

I check the clock on the wall again for the fifth time in the last hour. I still have thirty minutes until I’m out of here. I’m ready to go get my woman and head home. Tonight, Tech and the girls are supposed to brief us on what they’ve found on those flash drives.

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