Page 4 of Black Heart

“When I come back, we can talk about what the clothes in my closet tell me to do at night,” Tristan drawled as he headed for the door.

Mildred, his secretary of ten years, came running into his office with a cellphone clutched tightly in her hand as soon as Tristan opened the door. When she spotted Tristan, she jumped back, hugging the phone against her chest as she made sure to stay out of his path, making Tristan chuckle.

“Do you need anything, Doctor Bryne?” she asked, shooting nervous glances at Tristan as he walked past her.

“Nothing, Mildred…wait, maybe something cold to drink,” Dr. Bryne mumbled absently as he wiped the sweat off his face with a handkerchief, wondering if it was too early to retire.

CHAPTER2

When Tristan returned a few minutes later, he noted that the doctor appeared to be more composed and ready to continue with the department-ordered bullshit that he would eventually find a way out of. He always did and this time would be no different. He’d have the good doctor signing him off to return to active duty soon enough. For now, he was going to have to settle for screwing with the man’s head for his own entertainment.

Well, it had been entertaining while it lasted, Tristan thought dryly as he dropped back down on the lumpy couch. If the man hadn’t been an old friend of his father’s, he would have already screwed him over and ended this bullshit his way two weeks ago.

“Tristan, that wasn’t funny,” David said, only to follow that up by taking another steadying breath and a sip of water.

“I’m afraid it was, Doc,” Tristan drawled, wondering why he didn’t leave when he had the chance.

“Fine, I see that you’re still being stubborn. So, I’ll pick the topic for our session,” David said with a heavy sigh.

“Pick away, Doc,” Tristan said as he laid back down on the couch, but this time, he didn’t bother picking up his book.

“Do you want to talk about the fire or the shooting?” David began as Tristan gave him a bored look.

“I understand that while I’m out on medical leave that I’m required to meet with you twice a week, so I’ll indulge you in this,” Tristan said, not bothering to mention that Hank promised to keep his ass on medical leave permanently if he refused to talk about the shooting.

“Of course,” Dr. Bryne murmured encouragingly.

“I chased a known child molester into a house where I found two missing boys tied to a radiator. I shot the prick and earned a bullet in my shoulder. I killed the bastard and then his accomplice set the house on fire. We got trapped upstairs where my brother found us and led us to safety,” Tristan explained in a bored tone as he sat back up, trying to get more comfortable, but it was impossible with his shoulder throbbing. “And before you ask, yes, my brother brings it up every chance he gets, and no, he won’t let me live it down.”

“Well, he did save your life,” Dr. Bryne muttered.

“I heard that,” Tristan said, his lips twitching as he gestured impatiently for David to get on with it. “Move on to something else.”

“Do you want to talk about your personal life?”

At that, Tristan cocked an eyebrow in silent warning to move on to a different subject, but the doctor simply ignored him. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“I see plenty of people,” Tristan bit out, not liking where this conversation was heading.

“I meant, are you seeing anyone romantically?”

“No,” Tristan said with a heavy sigh.

“Do you want to talk about that?”

“No.”

“And you don’t see a problem with that?” David asked, throwing him a questioning look.

Tristan’s eyes narrowed on the doctor as he asked, “Do you?”

“Yes,” Dr. Bryne answered without any hesitation.

“Why?” Tristan asked in a bored tone.

“I find it very odd that a twenty-nine-year-old man with your good looks and job has never had a steady girlfriend, don’t you?”

Narrowing his eyes, Tristan asked, “My mother got to you, didn’t she?”

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