Chapter 73
[ 499 words ]
Chapter 73:
Caroline’s stomach dropped. The gratitude remained, but it was joined by a sharp spike of realization that she was navigating a minefield. She quickly averted her eyes, staring hard at the floor.
She didn’t say a single word. She spun around, grabbed the handle of the heavy cart, and marched toward the door, reaching out to twist the deadbolt.
Before she pulled the door open, Caroline stopped. She didn’t turn around.
“I owe you,” Caroline whispered to the wood. “I will pay it back.”
а𝘤𝘁𝘪vе 𝗰𝗈𝗺𝘮𝘂𝘯𝗂𝘁𝘆 𝗈𝗻 𝗀a𝗹n𝗈𝘃е𝗹ѕ.с𝘰𝗆
She yanked the door open. The loud, chaotic noise of the hospital rushed back in. Caroline pushed the cart out into the hallway, her strides long and aggressive.
Julian stood in the center of his office, watching her walk away. His eyes darkened with a heavy, possessive interest. He had found a crack in her armor, and he knew it.
Ten minutes later, Caroline stood in ICU Room 3. She pushed the correct medication into the IV line and watched the green line on the heart monitor bounce in a steady, perfect rhythm.
She let out a long, shaky exhale.
She threw the empty vial into the trash. She pushed the cart out into the hall and parked it against the wall, then ripped the sweaty latex gloves off her hands and tossed them in the bin.
Caroline lifted her head.
She looked down the long corridor, staring directly at the blue sign that read WOMEN’S LOCKER ROOM.
The exhaustion in her bones was completely gone. Her gray eyes were completely dead, filled with a terrifying, absolute-zero coldness.
She started walking. Her rubber soles hit the linoleum with heavy, deliberate thuds. It was time to collect the debt.
Caroline pushed the heavy door of the women’s locker room open.
The metal hinges let out a low, groaning squeak. The air inside was thick and stagnant, smelling heavily of cheap vanilla body spray and harsh bleach.
Melanie and Tammy were sitting side by side on the wooden bench in the center of the room. Tammy was holding a tiny bottle of bright red nail polish, carefully painting Melanie’s fingernails. They were giggling softly, waiting for the overhead speakers to blare the Code Blue alarm.
The sound of the door opening made them both snap their heads up.
Caroline stood in the doorway. She was completely unharmed. Her scrubs were clean. Her face was a mask of terrifying, icy calm.
The giggles died instantly. The smiles slid off their faces like melting wax.
Tammy’s hand jerked violently. The tiny brush slipped, dragging a thick, bloody-looking streak of red polish straight across Melanie’s knuckle.
Caroline stepped into the room and reached behind her back for the door handle.
Click.
She threw the deadbolt. The sharp, metallic sound echoed off the metal lockers, sealing them inside.
Caroline began to walk toward them. Her steps were slow, measured, and completely silent. The sheer physical intimidation rolling off her body sucked the oxygen right out of the room.
Melanie’s chest started to heave. She forced a nasty sneer onto her face, trying to mask the sudden, cold terror gripping her stomach.
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