Surrender My Love (18 page)

Chloe’s palms flew to her mouth, trying to stifle her flooding distress and embarrassment. She couldn’t believe she was breaking down in front of Brad’s secretary.

Bea pulled away and stared
at her, her lips pulled tight.

“What did he
do to you? ‘Case I’m ‘bout ready to rip him a new one!”

A laughing sob burst through Chloe’s
frayed emotions and she shook her head.
Why does everyone automatically think that Brad is the cause of my problem?
She couldn’t help but be warmed by Bea’s fervent defense, though.

“No, Bea. He didn’t do anything. I can’t really tell you much, but
I’ve…pretty much just lost my job.”

“
What?”

Chloe swallowed and wiped her eyes, her gaze holding Bea’s.

“I need to see him, Bea. I have to talk to him.”

She watched Bea’s
face shrivel with compassion. “I’m sorry, Chloe. He’s not here. He got on a flight to a conference in Boston about half hour ago. He’s giving an important lecture. His OR case went early and he wanted to travel before it got too late. He’ll be gone for four days.”

Chloe heard something like a whimper ski
p out of her lungs. She wiped her eyes again and took a steadying breath. “Bea, can I get in touch with him? Can you give me his number?”

Bea’s
lips sloped downward and Chloe hated the sympathy that moved over her face. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I can’t do that.”

Sniffling, she
looked down at the cold fingers in her lap. A wry smile tilted her lips. She hated putting Bea in this position.

“Of course. I understand. You must have women ask you that all the time.”

Straightening, Chloe cleared her parched throat, suddenly feeling foolish—like one of those women. She’d always depended on herself and no one else. She shouldn’t be running to Brad expecting him to fix her problems. It wasn’t as though they were in a relationship. Her ears still rang with his words, each one pummeling her in rapid succession.
He didn’t do relationships.
She’d figure her own way out of this.

“Do you want me to try to contact him? You can leave your number.”

“No.” She shook her head, remembering that Bea had said his conference was important. She didn’t want to bother him. “It’s okay. It can wait until he comes back.”

“Are you sure?
You’re pretty upset.”

She nodded and stood
, drying her swollen eyes.

“Okay. I’ll make some time in his schedule for you to see him on Monday then
, first thing.”

“Thanks,
” Chloe said, hugging Bea. She realized that now she had all the time in the world. “I’ll see you on Monday. Thanks for the hugs.” She shot Bea a soggy smile before she left the office.

Chloe couldn’t remember how she’d made her way to her small one bedroom apartment. She was just grateful to close the door behind her
and block out the world. She stripped off her clothes as she made her way to her bedroom, only stopping when she reached her bed. As if her evening hadn’t been horrific enough, Richard had called to see when he could stop by to pick up his first installment of funds.

She’d briefly explained her work situ
ation, with the omission of some details, but instead of the sympathy and understanding she’d hoped for, Richard had been agitated and angry. He’d berated her for losing her job. Growing angry herself, Chloe had retaliated with a biting account of his sketchy work history and his feckless existence. They’d ending up in a screaming match that had left her head throbbing and her throat bleeding raw. Eventually she’d just hung up on him, but she knew she hadn’t heard the last of her exasperating brother.

The old double bed seemed
infinitely inviting and Chloe burrowed deep into its darkness, pulling the comforter over her head. The hospital administrators had made it seem as though she was just taking a temporary leave until the investigation was over and she tried to cling to that hope, but as she thought about Nurse Wall’s words and what Susan had told her, she feared they had no intention of reinstating her position.

Tears
wet her pillow and Chloe chastised herself. She was never one to simmer so pitifully in despair. She’d been through a lot in her life and she’d always dealt with obstacles rationally and efficiently. Responsibility had always rested on her shoulders, and no matter how crushingly heavy, she’d learned to carry the weight. She needed to figure out a way to fix this. She wasn’t crazy. There was something very wrong going on and she was determined to figure it out. She knew in her very soul that the man who’d fled from Mr. Kaplan’s room had something to do with his death, and perhaps the death of all the others.

Nigel
.
What the fuck?
He’d been at the Omega conference and she’d assumed he was an attendee, but now she wondered if he worked for Omega. She’d figure that puzzle out too!

Her
thoughts strayed to Brad. She couldn’t understand her clinging attraction to him.
It was one fucking night!
She squeezed her eyes shut, but tears broke through her lids. She wished they would wash away her feelings and cleanse her heart. She had to get over him.
He didn’t do relationships
. She got that. She wasn’t the type he’d go for anyway. She’d seen the woman with him at the club. Chloe was nothing like her, as her brother constantly pointed out. As Jack had pointed out.

Prudish.
Repulsive.
Old woman.
Not his type.
Chloe knew she was starting to wallow at darkly depressing depts. She knew she needed to be strong. And she would be…tomorrow. Tonight, she just needed to cry.

Chloe startled awake to banging in her head. It took her a moment
to chase away the sleepy fog and she bolted upright in bed. The room was wrapped in darkness and she could barely make out the shape of her sparse furniture. The banging started again and she frowned, consulting the clock on her nightstand. It was almost one in the morning and someone was knocking on her door.

It had to be Richard. He’d probably been out drinking with friends, and fueled by spirits
, had come to pick another fight. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Leaning over, she flicked on her bedside lamp
, then hopped out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe, having half a mind not to let him in. She knew from experience that he’d just keep up the ruckus until she opened the door. Chloe stroked her loose hair behind her ears as she quickly crossed her living room, yelling for him to be quiet.

She yanked the door open, about to unleash her fury
, when the sight of the tall, solid body filling her doorway caused her jaw to drop and her eyes to widen in shock.

Chloe stood speechless,
her heart catapulting to somewhere in her throat. Brad Markson was dressed casually in blue jeans and a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up his muscular forearms. Chloe’s incredulous gaze slammed into his gorgeous face, ricocheting from the collision. They moved from his startling blue eyes to the slight curve of his strong nose to his incredibly sexy lips with the full bottom curve and up to the very dark brows that slashed across his forehead with worry.

“Bea called me,” h
e said softly, and she fell headlong into his outstretched arms.

Chloe laced her arms around
his waist and rooted her face into his hard chest, voraciously drawing his masculine scent into her lungs. The comfort found in his embrace was as shocking as it was absolute, and she didn’t want to contemplate why this was exactly where she needed to be. His long fingers stroked though her hair, a gentle caress on her scalp. Several times she felt his lips graze her forehead and a shaky sigh rippled through her body. She didn’t know how this could be, how he could be here holding her, she was just happy it was so.

“You
gonna let me in, Chloe?”

She heard the mild humor in his voice and
eased away. She was surprised to see that the front of his shirt was wet, and embarrassed, she reached up to brush at the damp material.

He captured her hand in his big grip and brought her knuckles t
o his lips, kissing them. Silently, with their hands still laced, he led her into the apartment and closed the door.

Pulling
her to the couch, he sat and drew her onto his lap while still holding her close. She folded into the comfort of his big body and anchored herself.

“How are you here? I thought you were in Boston at a conference.”

“I was. I had just landed and was still in the airport when I got Bea’s message. I took the first flight back.”

Chloe was confused.
Her brows pleated. “Why?”

The corner of his lips kicked up
and a thumb passed over her cheek, brushing away the dampness. “I really enjoy flying.”

Her
frown deepened and he chuckled, low and deep, sending a buzz vibrating down her spine.

“Chloe…” H
e cradled her against his chest. “I heard how upset you were. I came back.”

“But…but what about your conference?”

“There’ll be others.”

“Really, you shoul
dn’t have…” She ducked her head, her words trailing off. “How did you find me?”

“Through the hospital. I can be very persuasive.”

He eased away and hooked a finger under her chin, raising her face to meet his. Chloe knew the kiss was coming but wasn’t prepared for the jarring effect to her senses. His lips were soft and gentle, connecting with the barest amount of pressure. She groaned and leaned forward, parting her lips in invitation. His tongue glided in, and she relished the delicious taste and feel of him exploring her recesses. She let her tongue sweep into his mouth to dance with his, and groaned in frustration when he eventually pulled away.

He chuckled again,
tracing her bottom lip with his thumb, but then his eyes caught her gaze and held it captive, growing serious. “Tell me what happened, Chloe.”

She inhaled deeply and tried to scoot off his lap, but his strong hands held her firm. His fingers clutched the robe around her thighs, keeping her braced on his lap. She took a steadying breath as the events of the day pushed to the
forefront of her brain, and in a rush she explained the meeting with the administrators and her visit after to Four West. Brad listened attentively, the line of his mouth pulling tighter as she drew to the end of the story. Chloe struggled to contain her tears, but they were again determined to roll down her cheeks, and she used her sleeve to wipe them away.

He shook his head in disbelief,
then dragged his fingers through his wavy dark hair. “Surely there must be some misunderstanding.”

“That’s what I thought too until I spoke to the other nurses,
Susan and Justin.”

“What about someone from the day shift? Would they have seen
Nigel?”

“No. The
night phlebotomists leave early, even before my shift ends. I’ve seen him numerous times carrying around samples of blood. I just don’t understand it.”

Brad nodded
, his fingers absently stroking her thigh.

“I know you think I’m nuts, but I can’t help the feeling that this is somehow connected to
Omega Pharmaceuticals and the drug Memoram.”

Brad was star
ing somewhere over her shoulder and seemed deep in thought. “I don’t think you’re nuts, Chloe. I’m concerned too about the
coincidences
in symptoms. I’ve discretely started making inquiries into Omega.”

Chloe’s eyes
widened and she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, happy to not feel so isolated in her thinking.

“I’m not as convinced as you are, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think there was cause for concern.
What we need to do is go through the rest of the charts and get more data. Then maybe we can present it to the O&S Committee. They can investigate and reach their own conclusions. In the meantime, I’ll find out what I can about Omega.”

Chloe groaned at the mentioned of the O & S Committee. The mem
ory of sitting across from Mr. Accardo released the taste of acid in her mouth.

“I don’t know if they’ll believe me. They seemed pretty convinced that I’m delusional, maybe dangerous
ly negligent.”

Brad held her close, cradling her head
. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to them.”

“Nurse
Wall has them all brainwashed, I think. She told them you’re investigating me, made it seem like you’re suspicious that I did something.”

He pulled back and looked into her eyes
. “Why does she not like you?”

Chl
oe dropped her eyes to a pulse in his neck, watching it pound steadily. She did not want to discuss her family situation with him. She couldn’t deal with his pity, his judgments. She shrugged, her eyes scanning the room in an attempt to escape the brimming tears and his inquisitive gaze.