Chapter 78
[ 488 words ]
Chapter 78:
Julian let out a deep, rumbling chuckle. The sound vibrated in the quiet space between them.
He reached across the counter, his long fingers gently brushing a stray lock of hair away from Caroline’s forehead and tucking it behind her ear. The pad of his thumb deliberately grazed the sensitive shell of her ear.
A jolt of electricity shot through Caroline’s skin. She stiffened, her breath catching in her throat, and instinctively pulled her head back, putting an inch of space between them.
Down the hall, Melanie’s fingernails dug into her own palms until they bled. The blatant, public display of favoritism made her want to scream.
Julian noticed Caroline’s flinch. He didn’t push. He smoothly pulled his hand back, slipping it into the pocket of his lab coat.
He stood up straight and leaned in just a fraction closer, keeping his voice strictly between the two of them.
“That was a close call earlier, Caroline,” Julian murmured, his tone perfectly professional but laced with quiet support. “You handled it perfectly. Keep your head up, and don’t let them rattle you.”
The clever encouragement washed over her, grounding her frayed nerves. The few nurses who had been glaring at Caroline couldn’t hear the exchange, but Julian’s lingering, respectful presence was enough to make them look away.
Caroline wrapped both hands around the hot paper cup. The warmth seeped into her freezing fingers. “Thank you, Dr. Croft.”
Julian gave her one last, lingering look, then turned and walked toward the elevators.
𝖴𝗉𝖽𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗌 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗄 𝗈𝗇 𝗀𝖺𝗅𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗌.𝖼𝗈𝗆
Melanie let out a frustrated scream, kicked the wall with her rubber shoe, and limped away with Tammy trailing behind her.
Caroline brought the coffee to her lips. Before she could take a sip, a heavy, violent vibration buzzed against her hip.
She set the cup down, reached into her pocket, and pulled out the slim, black encrypted satellite phone.
The screen was glowing with a string of scrambled numbers.
Caroline’s thumb swiped across the screen. The decryption software instantly translated the scrambled numbers into a single, stark line of text.
[Keep your guard up. Plans changed. Wait for my signal.]
The sender ID was a blank string of zeros. Jarrod’s secure channel.
Caroline’s stomach dropped. The hot coffee in her stomach suddenly felt like lead. The brief, clinical message screamed of a tactical emergency. Jarrod was dealing with a high-level military threat, and he was completely cutting off communication.
She quickly deleted the message and wiped the cache, then shoved the heavy phone back into her pocket.
Julian, who had paused by the elevator bank, noticed the sudden shift in her posture. He walked back over, a knowing, slightly bitter smile on his lips.
“Boyfriend checking in?” Julian asked, his eyes scanning her face for a reaction.
Caroline’s jaw tightened. The stress of the near-miss with the poison, combined with the sudden radio silence from Jarrod, made her temper flare.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Caroline said sharply. She grabbed a stack of patient files and hugged them to her chest. “I have rounds.”
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