Page 5 of Devilish Prince

“He’s up and down, apologizes a lot. You sure you can’t call in a cousin or aunt to help? I think he would see that people care and want to be around him, that he’s not a burden.” She picks up hersweater and puts it on, then walks toward me, reaching for her coat.

I shake my head and step out of her way as she dresses. “No. I really can’t afford to put anyone up and this city is too expensive to ask them to come and not provide for them while they’re here. But thanks for the offer.” My heart drops. I know Calvin has been feeling this way for a while and all I want to do is help him feel better. I know the trial will get his spirits up but until I am guaranteed a spot for him, I can’t even tell him about it. Can’t get his hopes up only to let him down.

“It’s just a suggestion.” Tina puts her coat on and buttons up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I hang my coat and gloves as she lets herself out; then I lock up. I’m in for a challenging night if he’s still feeling down, but I have to be strong for him. I’m all he has and the more I show how emotional I get in caring for him the more he blames himself. It isn’t fair to him that I am sad or stressed by other things and let it show. I’m certain he would love to be stressed out by work or strange mafia men demanding he work for them. Calvin can’t even use the toilet without help. Feeling sorry for myself only shows him that I am struggling and he blames himself for that struggle.

So I smack a smile onto my face and kick my shoes off by the door before I shuffle into his room and say hello. He’s watching an old rerun of some seventies sitcom and he looks up at me when I walk in. I fall into my typical doctor routine, forcing my emotions away to take care of a patient, though my heart is still heavy.

“Hey… how was your day?” I walk to his bed side and straighten his blanket. Tina has him in bed already but I was supposed to help him bathe tonight.

“Hmm…” he grunts, and turns back to his show. “Just another day.”

The TV tray across his lap is cleared. Sometimes his dinner plate is there when I come in but such long shifts lately means he is finished hours before I’m off work. I’m hoping I don’t have to visit Lorenzo for much longer. It’s lengthened my day substantially.

“Tina said you were down again. Anything I can do to help?” I pick up his tray and set it aside, then perch on the side of the mattress and he grimaces.

“I don’t need help. Just let me sleep.” Calvin was always my protector, despite being older than him by two years. In high school he knew which boys were trouble and chased them off before they could ask me out. He often followed me on dates secretly, ensuring the guys I dated kept their hands to themselves and showed up every time I needed him. Watching him receive the diagnosis of being paralyzed was devastating for me, but I never got to mourn that. Since the day of his accident I’ve cared for him. And we both mourned the loss of our parents together.

“Alright,” I say reluctantly, standing. “Want a bath?”

“No…” He’s curt and cold. I’m certain he’s doing that thing where he thinks I’m upset with him, so I give him space. There’s no sense in coddling him or attempting to talk him out of his mindset. I just have to give him time and keep applying love andcompassion and he will see I won’t give up. His counselor will be around in the next day or so anyway, so maybe that will help.

I head back out to the living room where I fish my phone out of my purse and pour a glass of chardonnay before sinking onto the couch. I’ll wait a while before having a hot bath to make sure Calvin doesn’t call for me. Once he’s sleeping I’m off the clock officially and I can rest a bit. Until then I scroll my social media and read a few news articles. But my mind wanders to Lorenzo.

On one hand it’s flattering to be the one he selected to care for him. He’s a very powerful and wealthy man, and there aren’t many people in this city who don’t know his name. He had his pick of hundreds of very capable surgeons, yet his men—probably well informed—chose me. I feel a bit chuffed about that.

On the other hand, I’m ready to be done. I watch too many TV crime dramas to remain calm about the situation. I don’t work well under pressure and the idea of being roped into some organized crime family and forced to do their bidding scares me. It might be just fiction, but those shows paint a very bleak future for anyone who is so lucky to be noticed by the don or his men. And the son of the don is the exact man I need to avoid, at least based on television.

I’m busy flicking through post after post on Facebook when I hear something at the door. For a moment I think it’s the neighbor coming home, but then I hear talking and a bang at my door knob. My heart leaps into my throat, and I dart off the couch with my phone in hand, dashing down the hallway to Calvin’s room where he is dozing. I fumble with my phone as I call 9-1-1.

The banging at the door grows louder, as do the murmurs, quickly becoming shouts. My hand shakes as I hold the phone to my ear and wait for the dispatcher to pick up.

“Nine-one-one what is your emergency?” It’s a man’s voice on the other end of the line and I feel slightly less terrified now that someone else knows there is an emergency, even if only because the call connected.

“Uh… This is Dr. Sofia Carter, five-sixteen West Thirty-Sixth Street, unit three-twenty-one. Someone is trying to break into my apartment.” There is a loud crash and I jump and scurry to the door and shut it, locking Calvin’s bedroom door. He remains sleeping through it all, television creating just enough noise to mask the ruckus. “Please hurry,” I whimper and the man on the other end says a few things to someone else.

“Ma’am, where are you located within the residence? Is someone with you?”

“I’m in a locked bedroom. My brother is with me but he is paralyzed. I can’t leave him.” This can’t be happening. The Hudson 36 building is supposed to have excellent security and I pay extra to ensure we are safe here. New York is a violent city; I’ve always known that. My aunt lectures me every time we talk that I should get a job outside the city and take Calvin closer to my family, but this is my home and Bellevue is my job. I can’t commute in; the expense and time wouldn’t be worth it.

“Ma’am, we’re sending a squad car now. Do you know any of your neighbors? We can call them for you.”

“Neighbors? Uh… no.” I don’t have time for relationships or the ridiculous small talk that comes with knowing neighbors. We pass by each other like ghosts in the night and nothingmore. There is an elderly woman on my floor—she’d never help. And I’ve seen a man, probably a plumber based on his work uniforms. But he’s three floors up I think. No one here can help me. Not even my brother.

“Sit tight. We have units dispatched and one of them is only a few blocks away.” Just as the man says that, I hear the sirens in the distance. I also hear footsteps inside my apartment moving toward the bedroom.

“Oh god, they’re in the house.”

“Stay where you are, Ma’am. Help is coming.”

The door knob jingles and the sirens glow louder. I walk around behind Calvin’s bed and crouch on the floor, whimpering like a fucking baby, and trembling. Then the footsteps retreat up the hall with hastily shouted warnings about cops. I breathe a sigh of relief as the apartment grows silent for a full minute or more before I hear police announce themselves.

“They’re here,” I mumble into the phone.

“Go let them in. I’m going to hang up now, Ma’am. Have a safe evening.”

Still shaking, I rise and end the call and clutching my phone tightly, I let myself out of Calvin’s bedroom to see a police officer with his gun raised pointed right at me, coming down the hallway.

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