Page 141 of The Wrong Husband
Again, my bad. I should have seen this coming and warned her. But I was too wrapped up in my new wife to think clearly. I was distracted and not thinking straight. A shiver of unease crawls up my spine.
Why did she rush out without telling me?
"You alright?" Brody walks over to me. "You don’t look good, Bro."
I shake my head. "Phoenix left; I’m going after her."
One glance at my face, and he sets his jaw. "I’m coming with."
"What? No. You don’t need to?—"
"You look shaken. It’s best you let Brody drive you," James, who walked over to joins us, chimes in, having caught the end of the conversation.
Both look resolute. Rather than waste time arguing with them, I nod. "If you can let Arthur know that we had to leave?—"
"Of course." James looks over at Arthur and sets his jaw. "You two go on. Leave Arthur to me."
"She’s not here?" That frisson of unease turns into a warning tingle.
The nurse in charge of the ER operations shakes her head. I came in through the main entrance and was directed to her when I asked to speak with Phoenix.
"She hasn’t come in today." She checked her computer. "In fact, she isn’t expected back for the rest of the week."
I’m aware of that. I'm the one who used the Davenport name to talk to the senior management of the hospital and have them sign her off the rotation so she could rest up on our honeymoon.
Which is why I was surprised to hear that she’d been called into the hospital. I assumed she called for a ride-share to bring her here.
But she’s not here. Where could she have gone? More to the point, why did she tell her mother she was coming here if she never intended to?
The supervisor must see the confusion on my face. She opens her mouth to ask me a question, when there’s a commotion behind me. A nurse in scrubs comes running over to the reception table. "Three teenagers just brought in—stab wounds. We need a trauma doctor in Resus, stat."
Instantly, the supervisor reaches for the internal phone system. She speaks into her mouthpiece, "Hi, it’s Kenzie on the floor. We have three teens. Multiple stab wounds. Please alert Dr. Vora and have him meet the trauma team in Resus."
I turn to leave, then turn back to find she’s disconnected her call. Her fingers fly over her keyboard. I wait until she’s done, then she looks up with a curious expression.
"I’m Dr. Hamilton’s husband."
She looks at me with mild curiosity. “Didn’t realize she'd gotten married.”
Right, because Phe didn’t have a chance to mention it to anyone yet.
I turn on my most charming expression. "I don’t suppose Dr. Drew is around?"
She blinks again. "Dr. Drew?"
I nod. "He was Dr. Hamilton’s…ex?"
I curse myself. This was a bad idea. The last thing I need is setting off the grapevine here. If I have a question for Phe, I should ask it of her. It’s fucking beneath me, and her, to ask someone else, not to mention, at her workplace.
"Forget I asked."
I turn to leave again.
She calls out after me. “Dr. Drew Carmichael, is that who you mean? He passed away in a cycling accident nearly six months ago.”
49
Phoenix
