Page 36 of Sinful Seduction
Why? I hardly even know Steve. He’s just a dude who lives in my building.
“I’m sorry for the things I said earlier.” My voice crackles, weak and broken amongst the chaos of doctors and nurses rushing from one patient to the next. Swallowing, I attempt to fortify myself with whatever moisture trickles along my throat, so when I bring my gaze up and meetthe dark green stare of a lost boy, I hold on and hope my strength is enough for us both. “That stuff I said about being lazy.” I set my hands on the chair on either side of my thighs, then I move to my feet, silently thankful for Archer’s guiding hands as he takes my hips. He remains seated. Thoughtful. But his grip is firm and steadying. Taking a step closer, I stop and look up into Cato’s terrified eyes. “You might not believe me, but I was saying to Archer just before we got home how I felt like shit for what I said. How I’ve become comfortable being a jerk to you. I’m sorry for that.”
His eyes glisten with tears he refuses to let fall. With the emotion he was raised not to show. If he presented anything but hard and cruel at any point during his first seventeen years of life, I imagine his father beat it out of him.
“I’ve made a game of being mean to you, because you’re kinda goofy and silly and everything seems to bounce off of you.”
“And I make a game of annoying you,” he murmurs. “Cos when you shout at me, at least you’re paying attention to me.”
“Jesus.” Tim drops his head, shaking it from side to side.
“I was watching Steve, I promise.” He sniffles, quick and violent. Because God forbid he feel anything except what his father wanted him to feel. “He was still standing when I got to him that last time. He was up and talking. So it’s not like I found him like that, I swear.”
“I believe you.” I set my hand on his arm, his muscles flexing and straining under my palm. “And even if you’d discovered him like that, it still wouldn’t be your fault. I was wrong to make you responsible for his life.”
“Are you saying this because you think he’s gonna die?”
I choke out a desperate, delirious laugh. “He better not die. I hurt my leg and tweaked a rib giving that man CPR. If he keels over anyway without even having the decency of telling me goodbye, I’m gonna hurt him. I can pull strings, Cato. As chief medical examiner in charge of my own facility, I can ride my authority all the way to the morgue and assign his body to my caseload. Once I have him alone in my suite, I’ll shove chili peppers up his asshole as payment for being so inconsiderate.”
“Quite the spirited sendoff.” Mayor Lawrence steps into view, with his hands in his pants pockets, his jacket long ago removed, and his long white shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He meanders my way, his movements slow and gentle. His demeanor, non-threatening. His silver-gray eyes hold me captive, even if the salt and pepper stubble surrounding his jaw softens his glare. “Chief Mayet.” He tilts his chin in greeting. “Imust say, I’m positively stunned to hear you would abuse your power with such gusto. Chili peppers?”
“Mayor Lawrence.” I turn and wipe my face—God knows what I look like—and sliding my hands over my dress, I smooth the dirty, destroyed, blackened, torn, and, in some spots, bloody fabric down. “Is everything okay? Why are you?—”
“In the ICU?” Lawrence settles onto the backs of his heels. “Saw you on the news. Tried to call, but your phone was off. Came here looking for you, only to be informed of your discharge already. So I made my way to your apartment, only to be met by residents who informed me of Mr. Morris’ unfortunate situation.”
“So you came back again?” I swallow, wishing I could swap Cato for Archer. So I could lean against a strong body, but pretend I’m not. “You were looking for me, specifically?”
“Just making sure my star employee was okay. Not sure you realize how difficult it would be to find a new chief M.E. in this economy.” Lines fan out from his eyes. “I’m underpaying you, Chief. Losing you would be a financial blow my office would struggle to recover from.”
“Oh… well…” Damn him, because warmth fills my cheeks and spreads into my chest. I canfeelit. “I’m okay. Scratched my knee, that’s all.”
“And Mr. Morris?” He tilts his head to the right. Though, technically, my landlord is on a whole other floor, spending time with a cardiovascular surgeon andbetter notbe dying on the table. “His prognosis?”
“Not sure yet. He’s still in the OR.” I draw a shaky breath and release it on a shakier exhale. “I didn’t have access to an external defibrillator in the field, but paramedics got him back once they arrived.”
“She did CPR while we waited,” Cato rumbles. “She did it non-stop for a full half an hour, ‘cos all the ambulances were busy.”
“A full half hour.” Lawrence brings his focus back to me. “Quite the effort, Chief. And that’safterwhat I’m told was a trying time earlier. You’ve worked hard for your city and fellow humans today. You should be applauded for that.”
“For letting one die, andmaybesaving the other? He’s still in surgery, elderly, and not entirely fit, which brings his chances of recovery significantly lower. That’s a fifty percent failure rateat best. The other fifty is still to be determined.”
“And the child?” His eyes flicker with impatience, his gentle tonegone. “You think I didn’t hear about Cara Milligan and your heroic efforts today? You think her father hasn’t already made a statement to the press, singing your praises and nominating you for an award of bravery?”
“He—” My breath catches violently, painfully in my throat. “What?”
“He doesn’t know what awards are available,” he chuckles. “He doesn’t know what to ask for. But he’s on TV screens across the city, every hour, on the hour, demanding the world clap for you. Personally, I applaud you for trying. For jumping into action on three separate incidences, when so many others would have brushed their hands of a mess that didn’t belong to them. They would have watched, but you worked hard, in the heat, in horrible conditions, on a man you knew was already deceased, all so you could prove to his loved ones you dideverythingpossible. It would have been easier to find a shady tree to sit under and an icy lemonade to sip on, and I assure you, many others would’ve doneexactlythat. But you helped, Chief. Because that’s who you are.”
“Please don’t do that. Don’t listen to him. I don’t want to get dressed up again and accept some hokey trophy in front of?—”
“Hokey?”
That heat in my chest spreads lower, tickling my belly and taunting my factor-infused brain with the threat of a regurgitated egg sandwich. “Mayor…”
He drops his head, chuckling from the depths of his chest. “If I receive a formal request on my desk mentioning you and a hokey award, I’ll do my best to lose it in the trash.”
“Thank you.” I release a heavy breath and sink into my heels. “I appreciate it.”
“And since I’ve done something for you, maybe you could do something for me?”
