Page 74 of Hesi-Dating
"I got this. I assume those are your brothers. Can you get them out of here?"
I nodded, visually finding the two of them.
Seth pulled me in for a hug. It wasn't as brief as I'd expect for someone offering comfort. He whispered into my hair, "I missed you." He let go. But I caught the reluctance on his face. "I gotta work."
I wasn’t over him like I should be. This was big trouble for me.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
SETH
I found Amber in the back of the clinic near a table with a tub for washing pets. She brought a shaky hand to her forehead while two of her assistants tossed questions at her.
"Can I borrow you for a moment, Dr. Hardin?" I interrupted.
Both assistants stopped talking.
Relief filled Amber's gaze as she nodded.
"Is there somewhere we can talk that won't be on candid camera?"
She waved me to follow out a back door. The moment we stepped outside into the fenced courtyard with fake grass, the smells of baked dog shit and pee assaulted my nose. The oversized, covered trashcan with a dog scoop next to it denoted this as the dog walking zone.
"Sorry for the smell. This is the only place the cameras can't pick up what we talk about if we sit on the bench since it faces away from the building."
I sat down next to her, making sure to leave space between us. "You okay after all that?"
"Sure. I'll be fine. As much as I appreciate you trying to give me a break, I've got about four minutes before someone needs me. Pisses me off that all that drama was engineered by the producers to ramp up the TV excitement, but I'm sure it's not over yet."
"I'll be brief. Is it Nosh threatening Joley?"
Amber paled and pressed her lips together. "Shit."
Finally!Now I was getting closer to answers about her demons. "What does he want from her?"
Wrinkles formed on Amber's forehead as her brows drew in. "I highly doubt Joley mentioned him to you. You must've read about the incident in her past.'"
"Can he be paid off or bribed? I want to get her free."
Amber released a sarcastic laugh. "No."
"He's the reason she runs from me, right? I think she and I could have something real, something meaningful, if he'd leave her alone."
Amber threw back her head and stared up at the sky. "Maybe you two could. She can't be with you, though. She's getting her life together. She's got a decent nanny job for a baseball player. She's finishing school…"
She still hadn't told her sister about failing out.
Amber bent over and buried her face in her hands. "All right. Yes, it's Nosh. Months ago, the asshole ordered she stay away fromyou. Not anyone else. Just you. He was quite specific. Bet she didn't tell you he killed a guy to make his point. It was that guy from the 7-Eleven who pretended to be Red Crips. Next time he catches her with you, Nosh will kill me or Marino or Bruno to prove how serious he is."
My jaw hurt from clenching it so tight. "Will you go on record that you witnessed him murdering someone? We could pin him for that."
"Fuck no. We'd be dead before it ever made it to trial." Amber's shoulders slumped. "I like the thought of you in her life. That's why we're having this talk." She faced me. "She was hurt in the past. Big time. Joley was mentally messed up in her teens. She's never dealt with it. I'm not sure how bad it was or how much physical abuse she went through since she won't talk about it. Nosh puts her into a tailspin every time she hears his voice because of whatever happened long ago."
"Did he hurt her…rape her?"
"No. I don't think they were ever involved like that in the past. They were both in a bad foster situation. Things were done to her and maybe him too. I don't know. He reminds her not to talk about it every so often. So, she doesn't."
"Something changed, though, didn't it? Or has he always been this controlling over her life?"
