PROLOGUE
What makes you happy? What makes your world turn? What gives your life purpose?
Three months ago I would have said the ice, winning, my friends, my boys, my godchildren.
But now? Her.
Out of the darkness comes the light. And that’s what she was - the light when everything else was dark. The light I didn’t realize I’d been searching for.
The absolute best time of the absolute worst time.
The silver lining on my cloud.
The calm in my storm.
The love of my life.
But the course of true love never did run smooth. Because love needs to evolve. Adjust. Become resilient.
And for love to survive, for love to truly stand the test of time, to become that gut wrenching, heart aching, world turning, once-in-a-lifetime love… It needs to fight.
So that’s what I’m going to do.
I’m going to make her realize that my reason to be, myraisin d’être…is her. My day stops and starts with her.
Only her.
I’m going to show her we’re stronger than the adversity. For as long as we have each other, we can take on anything.
And that’ll start as soon as I get her to talk to me again.
Because right now, our love is nothing more than Russian Roulette.
With my finger on the trigger and the bullseye over my heart.
Chapter 24
My feet were killing me, and I desperately needed a massage. And a foot rub. I’d just finished seven hours of reconstructive knee surgery on three different patients, but thankfully my shift was about to finish so I could go home and get into a nice, hot bath.
I pushed open the door to the Attendants’ Lounge to find a couple of my surgical colleagues with their feet up, watching ads on the television. I headed straight to the coffee machine, only to find the pot empty.
“Guys, seriously, how hard is it to refill this when you’re done?” I waved it around at them.
Ignored.
Typical.
“It’s gotta be broken.” Hunter Reyes, one of the more arrogant surgeons in my program, turned to Jameson Bentley, his partner in crime.
The pair of them were rarely seen apart, usually surrounded by a gaggle of nursing students or surgical interns all stroking their egos way more than was ever necessary. They stroked each other’s enough that no one else needed to bother.
“Yeah, fifty bucks the knee’s twisted too.” Jameson shook his hand, agreeing on their bet.
They both sat forward leaning on their thighs as the Rangers’ game came back on the television, but instead of the game playing out, the team wasn’t in position and I could see them all standing against the boards.
I looked over at the pair of them glued to the screen, mesmerized.
“What’s going on?”
