Page 148 of Piece You Saved

My gaze returns to Dariel because his situation isn’t as clear-cut as the one involving Saige. If he notices my attention as he stares at the opposite wall, he gives no sign of it.

CHAPTER 39

HARLEY

Iscrawl my name at the bottom of the clipboard and pass it across the nurses’ station. “Here you are, Olivia.”

She flashes me a grin as she takes it.

Nodding, I turn away, my mind already focused on getting out of the hospital and back to my apartment as soon as possible.

“Hey!”

I stop and turn back. “Did I forget something?”

“A smile. The big, bright one you flash me every day.” Her eyes narrow. “Except the last couple of days. What’s wrong?”

I hunt for my smile, the one that died when I watched Saige walk away from me. The one I haven’t been able to find since then. “Just tired. Enjoy the rest of your shift.”

I manage a handful of steps before a chair wheel squeaks, footsteps hurry toward me, and Olivia hooks her arm around mine as she steers me away from the elevator bay.

“Not yet,” she says.

One of the cardiac nurses, Lucy, steps out of a patient’s room, focuses on me, and parts her lips as she raises one hand.

“Can’t have him, Luce,” Olivia calls out as she grips a door handle and shoves it open. “This is life or death.”

I lift my brow. “Life or death?”

“Well, it is.” She half-shrugs as she maneuvers me into an empty room before she closes the door and leans her back on it. “Now spill. Did a girl break your heart? Do I need to beat her up?”

“You once ran from a spider under your chair,” I remind her, taking in the sunset just outside the window before I turn fully to face her.

Maybe I could stop at a bar and grab a drink before I go back to my empty apartment, empty refrigerator, and more thoughts of what Saige might be doing.

She tilts her chin up, her blue eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t mean I don’t know how to throw a punch.”

I raise my eyebrow even higher. “Do I need to remind you how small that spider was?”

“I totally can. And it had long legs to make up for its tiny body. Anyway, you were smiling until you took time off, and now you come back looking like someone ran over your dog, reversed, and took down your cat too.Spill.”

She’s smiling, but I feel no need to return it.

“You know I could just move you,” I say.

She presses her back harder on the door. “You could, but you won’t.” Her smile fades. “You’re my friend, Harley, and you’ve been getting more and more distant since Simon died. I don’t want you to suffer alone.Talkto me.”

I kiss her on the brow. “Thank you for caring. I appreciate it, but I’m okay.” And then I move her gently aside and walk out.

* * *

I’m halfway to my car and fishing the keys from my scrubs pocket when a scent makes me halt.

I inhale a little deeper, recognizing the shifter as someone I wasn’t expecting, and continue.

Seconds later, I take in the man with steel-gray eyes and a shaved head. He’s dressed in black jeans, a ripped t-shirt, and boots as he leans against my car with his arms folded. “We need to talk.”

He’s alone, so there’s only one reason he would be here. Trouble. Alarm races through my veins. “Is she okay? Did something happen?”

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