Page 47 of Guarding the Doctor
“I don’t have a home anymore, remember?” Kathryn reminded me. “That bitch blew it up. And she wasn’t even sure if I’d seen anything or not.”
She glared at Xi’s body like she wished she could resuscitate her for the express purpose of killing her again. My mate was fierce. I loved that.
“You can come to my apartment.”
“You don’t even have a bathmat,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“I have a bed,” I said meaningfully.
Her cheeks turned pink. “Fine.”
“We’ll go to Target tomorrow and get whatever we need for the apartment,” I promised.
“We have to work in the morning,” she reminded me.
“Oh yeah.” I kept my voice neutral, unsure if I’d be going to work at the hospital tomorrow, but the thought of not going made me sad. And not just because I’d be apart from my mate.
As we headed for the parking lot, I realized that I was going to have to make a decision about what to do next. Lois had arranged for me to work at the hospital through a temp agency that we often used for undercover gigs, but they were only able to send me there because I had the qualifications for the job.Sapphic Security and the temp agency would never have risked patient safety if I wasn’t.
But even though it was an undercover gig, I’d loved my time working as a medical assistant. More importantly, I was good at my MA job. Good enough that the Director of Emergency Medicine had pulled me aside a few days ago and offered to bring me on full-time if I was interested. He’d even offered me a generous signing bonus, enough to put down a downpayment on a house. I’d told him that I needed some time to think about it, but I had to admit that I’d felt more excited about that offer than I’d felt when Lois offered me the security job.
Then again, I couldn’t just quit. Lois and the Sapphic Security team had invested a lot in me the last few months, training me and preparing me to be a bodyguard. I flashed back on the conversation that Kathryn and I had about me following my sister instead of pursuing my own dreams. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that medicine was my dream. Would I be a total asshole if I left the agency to work at the hospital instead?
“Are you okay?” Kathryn asked when we got into the car.
I realized I was just sitting there, staring at the windshield.
“Oh yeah, adrenaline dump.”
Kathryn turned in her seat to face me. “Darla, if this is going to work between us, we need to be able to be honest with eachother. What’s the problem? Are you upset that I took down the bad guy, well girl, instead of letting you save me?”
My gaze swung around to her. “Oh no, not at all. I love that you were able to handle yourself. You saved Yuri from being hurt and protected me as well. It’s just that… I know this was my first solo gig and all, but I don’t know if I want to be a bodyguard anymore.”
Kathryn
“Then don’t be a bodyguard,” I said.
“It’s not that simple.”
“I think it is,” I replied. “You’re good at medicine. Why not do that if you like it better?”
We were interrupted by a large gurgle coming from my stomach, making me remember I hadn’t had lunch. Given that it was nearly eight p.m. I was starving.
“You need to eat,” Darla said.
“Let’s stop for food and talk over dinner.” When she looked a little hesitant I added, “We can go to Chipotle. They’re open until ten.”
Twenty minutes later we were sitting at a table in Chipotle, chowing down on burrito bowls. I’d never seen anyone as excited about a fast food place. As worldly as she was, Darla was also charmingly sheltered after growing up in a tiny town and then spending so many years overseas.
“Thisbarbacoais so good,” she said happily. “I might have to order some more.”
“Talk first,” I said firmly. “You’re having doubts about being a bodyguard?”
She nodded. “Yeah I was thinking about that conversation we had about me following my sister’s plan. You asked me what my dream was.”
“And?” I prodded.
“I want to stay at the hospital. I haven’t mentioned this to anyone, but Dr. Evans offered me a job, and a nice signing bonus. I love working with this team and I really want to take it,” Darla said. “But I don’t want to disappoint my sister. Or Lois. The agency invested a lot of money in training me.”
