Page 65 of Fallen Court

“Not exactly.” I tried to sort through my thoughts. “I don’t miss the hours and the stress and the shitty pay. But I miss the adrenaline rush.”

She rolled her eyes. “I guess it’s a good thing our family is so boring.”

That was a fair point. I didn’t know how to feel because I didn’t have time to miss it. But the life-and-death stakes of the hospital felt slightly different than being in love with a man marked for death. I could walk away from my job—in a way, I had.

I couldn’t walk away from Lach.

My pulse sped up instinctively as we reached the private half of the trauma center—the conditioned response to rarely being allowed back here before. It ratcheted to eleven when the chief of medicine strode straight for us.

“Ciara!” Dr. Garcia greeted her so warmly that my mouth fell open.

I had no idea he could smile. It was like stumbling upon an unknown wonder of the world.

When had they gotten so chummy? Garcia turned and stared at me for a few seconds, all traces of friendliness vanishing.

“Hello,” I said when he didn’t speak.

“Cate.” He nodded once. That was more like what I expected. “We don’t see you around here very often.”

Ciara wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “Lachlan can’t bear to be without her for very long.” She batted her lashes at him. “You know how it is with soulmates.”

I sputtered in surprise, nearly choking on my own spit. Ciara frowned and whacked my back. Garcia looked equally perplexed. His bushy brows drew together before a new smile appeared. This one didn’t quite reach his eyes. “We’ve been taking good care of your brother. The vampire blood helped, of course.”

Hearing those words out of Garcia’s mouth was nearly as shocking as seeing him smile. “Vampire?”

“They didn’t tell you? The damage was quite extensive, and frankly, I’m not sure he would have made it without it,” he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially to add, “not that I particularly like having a vampire hanging around my hospital.”

If he winked at me, I might have an actual heart attack. Garcia knew. Which meant he knew about Lach. Which meant… Where was that crash cart?

Ciara eyed me nervously like she expected I might faint. Judging from how my head was swimming, she might not be wrong. She gripped my elbow, her fae strength keeping me upright. “We better get in there and see him while he’s awake.”

“I’m off to check the inventory.” Garcia tipped his head to me. “Let me know if you need anything.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I nodded.

“You didn’t realize that he knew,” Ciara guessed as she steered us toward Channing’s room.

“I think my whole life is a lie,” I said numbly.

Ciara laughed, not realizing that I was serious.

Everything was a lie.

My ring. My job. My world.

“Garcia doesn’t seem very happy about the vampire Baptiste sent,” she continued. “I bet he’s off to count the blood bags.”

We found a man blocking the door to Channing’s room when we reached it. Tall and wiry like my brother, he filled the entire frame. Something about him held me back, but Ciara popped onto her tiptoes to tap his shoulder. He glanced down, smiling when he saw her. “Oops. Sorry.”

“Cate’s here to see her brother. Dante, this is Cate,” Ciara said, motioning to me. “Dante healed your brother.”

He turned, and I found myself staring at his high, elegant cheekbones, the sensual curve of his mouth. His eyes were so black that I couldn’t make out even a sliver of iris. “It’s nice to meet you.”

He was perfectly polite and gorgeous, but my wariness remained, deepening as he reached into his jeans and pulled out a pair of leather gloves. I resisted the urge to back away. For once, my survival instinct had kicked in when it was supposed to, but I held out a hand to the vampire.

He tugged the gloves on, fastening them neatly at each wrist, before he shook it. “I just came by to shoot the shit with Shaw and Channing.”

“You’re welcome to stay,” I told him.