Me: Settling into my classes. I need space. I’ll reach out soon.
I show Regan, who nods her approval. I hit send, and a small weight lifts from my chest. Just enough to breathe.
“You did the right thing,” Regan says softly.
“I hope so.”
“I have to get going. Have to check on my gran.” Regan walks to the door and then turns to hug me. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I’ll survive.”
“You will.” She pulls back, eyes softening. “You always do.”
After she leaves, the apartment settles into stillness, and the sunset spills pink across the window.
I sit on the edge of the bed, hands resting in my lap. I’m sort of back where I started when Pierce Langston found me as a first-year.
Mentally struggling with medical school and my mother’s failing health. And that’s when he pounced.
Chapter 19
Cormac
Day three.
Day three of pretending I’m not a fraud in front of seventy future doctors.
The lecture hall hums with idle chatter as students file in. To them, I’m just a new professor with weird tattoos creeping up my neck.
I clear my throat into the mic. “Phones away. Eyes up. We’re diving right into the real teeth of this class today. Opioid pharmacodynamics.”
A few eager heads snap up, followed by some groans. Amid the rustling of papers and tapping on keyboards, I focus my gaze on the girl in the third row.
Scarlett Ford.
Christ, not a girl. Woman. And not just a woman. A student. Off. Limits.
Tell my dick that because he’s already loving how she twisted up her hair today, exposing the long line of her neck. My lips traced that column. My teeth sank into that young, soft flesh.
My fingers curl around the edge of the lectern, nails biting into the wood.
I’m in the middle of explaining adrenal crisis management when there’s a sharp knock at the side door where I enter from.
I react, and the class goes quiet, but the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I don’t have a chance to get within five feet to answer the door before a man in a navy windbreaker that says FBI steps inside. He’s followed by a woman in a similar jacket that says DEA.
My whole life passes before my eyes as I immediately think I’m being arrested for murder, or that the CosaNostra in Las Vegas talked the new DA into reinstating my charges.
Charges that were dismissed when my Harvard lawyer brother Eoghan offered to help the old DA, his wife’s brother, take down the Borgias.
“Professor O’Rourke,” the FBI agent says. “May we borrow your class for a few minutes?”
My stomach knots, but I keep my face neutral. “Of course.”
I step aside, leaning against the desk like I have nothing in the world to hide.
“Thanks for your time.” He clears his throat.” There’s an ongoing investigation we’ve been authorized to brief the medical community on. Many of you are doing rotations in hospitals and clinics where this may become relevant.”
I feel Scarlett’s attention sharpen. From the corner of my eye, I see her sit up straighter.