Page 1 of Hit of Betrayal

Chapter One

Georgia

“Get your butt out of here,” Nurse Roxanne said to me. I heard my watch beep letting me know my shift was over. It was time for my two-week vacation.

I didn't want to take the vacation but I hadn’t taken one in the ten years I had worked at Wix County Hospital.

My shift lead, Roxanne, told me I had to take the two weeks to relax, which was something I was not good at.I appreciated the thought, but I was dreading the time off. Work was my distraction. It kept me from thinking about the fact that I was alone since I’d lost my fiancé the year before.

Donovan, my fiancé, had been leaving his office, some sort of investment company, when he was shot and left for dead. The security cameras only caught a black SUV with dark tinted windows and no license plates, as it pulled up, shot him, and took off. A year later there were still no leads.

I had given up hope that justice would ever be served. I spent the first few months in a daze, only leaving my apartment to go to work. Then Roxanne talked me into joining her and our co-workers at happy hour once a week, which helped me heal a bit. Although I missed Donovan every day, I knew I had to move on with my life. He’d want that for me, I was sure.

“If you need extra hands, please call me,” I told her as I walked toward the exit of the hospital.

“We will be fine. Enjoy your time off.” She smiled as she winked at me.

I loved my job. I work with great people and I was able to help others every day. Sometimes it was hectic, but it was also very rewarding.

As I headed out of the automatic double glass doors, I felt the spring air hit my face. I loved Northern California in the Spring. It wasn’t too cold or too hot. I turned toward my apartment building, which was only a few blocks from the hospital.

As I walked past the alley next to my building, I heard a slight moan. Curiosity had me turning my head towards the sound, which was when I saw a pair of men’s dress shoes sticking out from behind a dumpster. Before I could think clearly, I walked toward the sound.

“Dammit,” I heard a voice groan and I rounded the dumpster, spotting a man. He was wearing an expensive-looking black suit with a maroon button-up shirt underneath. His skin was tan and his hair was black and slicked back with a slight pompadour in the front.His crystal green eyes met mine and I froze. He was the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen. He grimaced and moaned, pulling me out of my trance.

“Are you okay?” As soon as I asked the question, I felt stupid. Of course, he wasn’t okay.He was sitting on the dirty ground and was clearly in pain.I looked to where his hand was and realized the shirt was slightly wet under his hold. I instantly knelt down. “What happened?” I switched into nurse mode and pulled his hand away from the wet spot. Then that’s when I saw the blood.

“I’m fine,” he said and then let out a gasp as I touched the wound.

“No, you are not.” I lifted his shirt, surprised at how forward I was being with this stranger in an alley. I saw a cut on his side that looked like it was done by the blade of a knife. It didn’t look deep, but it still needed to be stitched up. “I should call you an ambulance.”

“No!” He tried to push me away. “No ambulance. I’ll be fine.” He was clenching his teeth.

“You have to get this taken care of or it’ll get infected,” I warned. The man just looked at me, shaking his head. He wasn’t going to let me call for help. But I also wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I left him in the alley to get worse. And I knew he would get worse.

It was then that a crazy idea popped into my head and I didn’t give the logical part of my brain enough time to argue. “Then come with me. My apartment is right here.” I pointed to the building behind me. “I can fix you up enough so it doesn’t get infected.”

The man looked at me skeptically. “Why? Who is in your apartment?”

I thought,wow he was paranoid. “Nobody,” I assured him. “But there are medical supplies. I can help you, but only if you let me.”

The man stared for a minute as if he was trying to figure me out."Fine," he finally said after a short while.His tone sounded like I had been asking him to do a chore.

I rolled my eyes as I went to help him up, but he put his hands up to stop me. I realized his ego was an obstacle.

“Fine, do it yourself.” I stepped back.

He managed to get himself off the ground and stood in a hunched position.

For some reason, I had wanted to care for this man, even if he seemed ungrateful. “I’m in this building. First floor, apartment number 4.”

He nodded and followed me.

****

Hank

When I had been given the job to take out Georgia Carlson, I saw on the information sheet that she was a nurse. So, I came up with the plan to injure myself and see if she would come to my aid. I had hoped it would work because having a wound on my side would be annoying. And I was right, she heard my exaggerated moans and came to help.

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