Chapter 1 - “GET OUT”
“Get out.”
Nora Hayes froze with one hand still resting on the bedroom door.
The voice came from somewhere inside the darkness.
Low.
Rough.
Dangerously calm.
She could barely see the man in the enormous four-poster bed. His body was mostly hidden beneath black sheets, but the bandage around his right shoulder was impossible to miss.
Blood had soaked through it.
Fresh blood.
Nora closed the door behind her.
“I was hired to keep you alive.”
“I didn't hire you.”
“You didn't hire the other six nurses either.”
Silence.
Then something shattered against the wall beside her head.
Nora didn't flinch.
A crystal tumbler fell onto the carpet and rolled beneath a chair.
The man in the bed slowly lifted his head.
For the first time, Nora saw his face clearly.
Dominic Rossi.
She had heard the name before.
Everyone had.
He was the kind of man newspapers mentioned without photographs. The kind of businessman who owned restaurants, construction companies, shipping interests, and nightclubs while prosecutors quietly wondered why none of their cases ever survived.
He looked younger than she expected.
Early thirties, perhaps.
Dark hair.
Hard jaw.
A scar cutting through one eyebrow.
His left arm was heavily tattooed, disappearing beneath the sheet.
But it was his eyes that made Nora understand why six nurses had run from this house.
They were not angry.
They were empty.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Nora Hayes.”
“I know your name.”
“Then why ask?”
Dominic stared at her.
Most people would have apologized.
Nora didn't.
She had spent the last month counting coins to buy groceries.
Fear was expensive.
She couldn't afford it anymore.
Dominic slowly pushed himself higher against the pillows.
The movement caused blood to spread across the bandage.
Nora noticed.
“You're bleeding.”
“I noticed.”
“You need a new dressing.”
“No.”
“Then you'll bleed through that one too.”
His jaw tightened.
“I said no.”
Nora put her medical bag on the table.
“Fine.”
She turned toward the door.
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“You were told to stay.”
“You told me to get out.”
“You're difficult.”
“You're bleeding.”
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Then Dominic gave a humorless laugh.
“You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.”
“I've been called both.”
Nora walked back toward him.
“Sit up.”
“No.”
“Mr. Rossi—”
“Dominic.”
She stopped.
“What?”
“Call me Dominic.”
“Fine. Dominic. Sit up.”
He actually obeyed.
That surprised both of them.
Nora opened her bag.
As she carefully removed the blood-soaked dressing, Dominic watched her hands.
They were small.
Steady.
There was a faint burn scar near her wrist.
“You're not afraid of me.”
“I am.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“You don't act afraid.”
“That's because I'm working.”
She removed the dressing.
Dominic inhaled sharply.
The wound was ugly.
A bullet had entered through the shoulder and torn through muscle before stopping dangerously close to the collarbone.
But that wasn't what concerned her.
The skin around the wound was red.
Swollen.
Hot.
“You have an infection.”
“I've been told.”
“You have a fever.”
“I don't have a fever.”
Nora placed the back of her hand against his forehead.
Dominic immediately caught her wrist.
The room became silent.
His fingers closed around her skin.
Not painfully.
But firmly.
Nora looked at his hand.
Then his eyes.
“Let go.”
Nobody spoke to Dominic Rossi like that.
Apparently Nora Hayes hadn't received the memo.
His grip loosened.
She pulled her hand away.
“You're burning up.”
He looked away.
“Get the antibiotics.”
“I already brought them.”
“You prepared for this?”
“I read your medical report before coming.”
“You were expecting me to cooperate?”
“No.”
A faint smile appeared.
It vanished almost immediately.
“You're strange.”
“So I've been told.”
Nora injected the antibiotic.
Dominic watched her carefully.
Then his phone rang.
He answered without looking at the screen.
“What?”
A man's voice came through.
Dominic's expression changed.
“Repeat that.”
Nora continued working.
“No,” Dominic said.
His voice became colder.
“Do not touch the warehouse.”
A pause.
“I'm coming.”
He ended the call.
Nora looked at him.
“You're not going anywhere.”
“I didn't ask permission.”
“You have an infection, a bullet wound, and a fever.”
“I have business.”
“You'll have sepsis if you leave.”
Dominic stood.
Nora stepped in front of him.
“Sit down.”
He looked down at her.
She barely reached his shoulder.
“Move.”
“No.”
The bedroom door suddenly opened.
Leo appeared.
“Boss, we have a problem.”
Dominic's gaze remained on Nora.
“She won't let me leave.”
Leo blinked.
Then looked at Nora.
“Excuse me?”
“She says I can't leave.”
Leo stared at Dominic.
Nobody had ever told Dominic Rossi what he couldn't do.
Especially not a nurse.
Dominic slowly sat back down.
“Apparently,” he said, “I have a nurse now.”
Nora returned to the wound.
“Apparently.”
Neither of them noticed the shadow standing behind the bedroom door.
Someone had been listening.
Someone who knew Dominic was wounded.
Someone who now knew exactly how much he trusted the woman standing beside his bed.
And downstairs, a phone vibrated.
May you like
A message appeared on its screen.
THE NEW NURSE IS ALREADY INSIDE.
