All the signs were there, but cosmetic surgery wasn’t my specialty. I knew I needed to get the opinion of someone who really knew what they were looking at. But not just anyone. It had to be someone I trusted who would keep their mouth shut.
Hadley blinked up at me, uncertainty and curiosity flashing through those captivating green eyes. “Is it worse than you thought?”
I quickly steadied my expression, not letting a hint of suspicion or unease break through. She didn’t need questions until I had real answers.
“No, baby.” My voice didn’t betray any of the fierce protectiveness surging through me. “I’m pretty sure it’s nothing major, but I want to take a closer look and get you fixed up properly.”
She nodded, her gaze still locked onto mine, and my blood heated as I wondered if it was how she would look at me when she was in the throes of ecstasy. I couldn’t fucking wait to find out, but I silently lectured myself to get a fucking grip so that I didn’t scare the hell out of her by coming on too strong.
A throat clearing broke the connection, and I shifted back, looking over to where Gidget was shuffling papers as she stood from her chair.
“All done,” she chirped. “They’re ready for me to take her to imaging, so I’m going to grab a wheelchair.”
Hadley’s brow puckered as she frowned. “I can walk.”
“Hospital policy, baby. You don’t want Gidget to get fired, do you?”
Hadley gasped. “Of course not!”
I traced her jaw with the tip of one finger and met her eyes. “Then let me take care of you.”
Once again, Hadley wasn’t given the opportunity to respond to my loaded comment because the nurse walked back into the room, pushing an empty wheelchair.
A corner of my lips lifted when Hadley gave Gidget a giant smile and thanked her for doing her job.
I wondered if my edges were too jagged for someone as soft and sweet as Hadley. But when she glanced over her shoulder as she was being wheeled out of the room and our eyes met, I knew I’d do whatever it took, be whatever she needed, because I was never going to let her go.
The muted soundsof the imaging suite seeped through the closed door, machines humming in a steady rhythm punctuated by the low murmur of voices. The solid weight of the hospital pressed down on me, the familiar scents of antiseptic and industrial cleaner filling my lungs as I waited.
I leaned back against the wall just outside the CT room, my arms crossed over my chest and boots planted wide, staring straight ahead. My mind kept drifting back to Hadley, despite my every effort to anchor it. Didn’t matter how hard I tried to keep my head in the right place—clinical, controlled, and focused—it kept going to the way her skin felt under my hands. Soft, warm, and so fucking perfect.
My jaw tightened as I dragged a slow breath through my lungs, the sterile scent of antiseptic doing jack shit to cool the heat crawling through my bloodstream. She’d gotten under my skin before I even realized what was happening, and she didn’teven realize what she was doing. My body had reacted the second I got my hands on her and hadn’t stopped since.
I shifted slightly, adjusting the tension in my jeans, trying to ease the steady, insistent pressure that hadn’t gone away since the track. My pulse still thrummed an insistent rhythm in my veins. Fucking ridiculous. She’d been bleeding a half hour ago, and I was standing here half hard like a damn teenager who didn’t know how to control himself. I barely recognized this version of myself—the kind that was losing his carefully maintained control over a woman who’d quite literally crashed into my life.
“Fucking hell,” I muttered under my breath, scrubbing a hand over my jaw.
With intense effort, my focus snapped back into doctor mode. The machine inside whirred, and I forced myself to think about her as my patient. Which led my thoughts back to that fucking scar.
I pushed off the wall and pulled my phone from my pocket. Then I quickly thumbed through my contacts to Jax’s number.
It rang only twice before he answered, dry amusement evident in his voice. “Tell me you don’t need bail money.”
A faint smirk tugged at my mouth. Leave it to Jax to open with sarcasm rather than a simple hello. “Relax, asshole. I don’t.”
“Shame.” He chuckled softly. “Then why are you interrupting my very important work of making sure the club’s digital footprint stays ghosted?”
I exhaled slowly, rubbing a thumb over my jaw. “Need you to look into someone.”
His tone sharpened instantly, humor fading to focused curiosity. “Who?”
“Hadley Rivers.” Saying her name ignited something possessive deep inside me. I gave him the basics—age, physicaldescription, and the simple backstory she’d provided during intake. Nothing that hinted at my suspicions. Jax was the best, but until I knew exactly what I was dealing with, I wasn’t laying all my cards out yet. I didn’t want to send him on what might turn out to be a wild goose chase.
“Hadley Rivers,” Jax repeated, clearly filing the name away for later. “What am I looking for?”
“Just run a basic dossier,” I replied. “Family, work history, background check. And anything that raises flags.”
“Got it,” Jax agreed easily. “I’ll get it to you soon.”