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“Where is Zoe?” Roque asked from the doorway where she and Roque were standing in the hall.
“She got called into work… oh, shit.” Morgan grabbed his phone out of his pocket. “Her boss called her in to work for an emergency. But when I dropped her off, there was only one car in the clinic parking lot.”
All four of his friends swore, though Roque’s was a creative combination of words and syllables that did not make much sense, but still earned her a dark look from Viking. Santee’s sounded like it was Vulcan or some other made-up language that would barely keep her out of the doghouse with Bjorn.
“All right, get out of my office. Go have brunch or something so I can work in peace,” Morgan said as he turned back to his computer. “Once I figure out who the bastard was who took the picture, I’ll go see Zoe and explain everything to her.”
“Can I choose the punishment for the… not nice person who did this, Daddy?” Roque asked as the foursome headed down the hall, leaving Morgan to his computer and security videos.
“You can make suggestions, but I have a feeling Morgan’s punishment will be a lot harsher and more effective,” Viking answered, still sounding like he wanted to tear someone apart.
Taking a deep breath, Morgan tried to shut out all thoughts of Zoe as he pulled up the files containing Friday night’s videos and began to sort through them for the ones that would cover the corner of the dungeon they had been playing in.
Problem was, all he could think about was Zoe and what she was facing at the clinic. And he was kicking himself for not telling her how he felt about her before now. That he loved her and would do anything to keep her safe and happy.
Chapter Sixteen
When she woke, Zoe laid in bed, unwilling to crawl out and rejoin the rest of the world. She listened to her phone as it pinged and rang in the living room. She could not find the energy to get out of bed, find it, and either turn it off or turn down the ringer. She lost track of time as a number of calls and innumerable texts came in, none of which she had any interest in checking. All she wanted was to be left alone until she didn’t feel like the entire world had crashed down upon her head.
When someone knocked on the door, she just burrowed deeper under the covers, hoping that if she did not answer the door, they would go away. It took several minutes and a lot of knocking, but finally silence filled the apartment once more.
She was on the knife’s edge of falling back to sleep when she heard the doorknob rattle and the door move a fraction of an inch against the locks. It sounded as if someone was pushing it against the internal locks she had installed. The locks the property manager did not know she had installed. A moment later, she heard several thumps, a crash and someone stomping as they cursed.
She froze, not believing that someone had actually powered her door open to get into her apartment. She hoped that if she remained still and silent they would look around, see she had nothing worth stealing, and go away. Then she would force herself out of bed to see how bad the damage was.
She heard footsteps crossing the living room and pause for a moment before entering the bedroom. Closing her eyes tighter, she held her breath and hoped they left quickly.
Instead, a weight settled on the mattress beside her hip. A moment later, the covers were pulled back to uncover her head and shoulders.
“There you are,” Morgan said as he brushed hair out of her face.
She knew she had to look like hell with blotchy skin and the skin around her eyes red and swollen. She just couldn’t make herself care.
About anything.
Especially being polite to the man who had just broken in her door. “Go away, Morgan. You don’t want my day shitting all over yours.”
“What happened at the clinic?”
Zoe sighed and rolled over so she couldn’t see the pity or scorn or whatever other emotions Morgan would be directing toward her. Taking a deep breath, she released it in a whoosh as tears she thought were done filled her eyes once more.
“They let me go. That picture labeled me in such a way the doctors don’t want me associated with their practice in any way, shape, or form. They won’t even give me a letter of recommendation saying that I’ve worked my ass off for them for the last five years without taking a day off unless I was deathly ill. They will, at least, pay me the wages owed, but they’re still debating whether to pay out my sick time, vacation time, or the stock shares I’ve accrued over the years. That will be decided after a discussion with their attorney later this week.”
“Oh, bunny, I’m so sorry,” Morgan stroked a hand down her arm, but it did nothing but aggravate her.
“Why would someone do this to me? I didn’t think cameras were allowed in the dungeon. Who did this?” she whispered. “What made them think it was a good idea to ruinmylife? How could anyone do anything so horribly mean?”
She heard Morgan swallow hard. “I don’t have the answers to those questions… yet, bunny. But I will get them in the next few days, and I can assure you that this will never happen again. Bjorn, Viking, and I have already met and decided to pursue legal action against the photographer, as well as kicking them out of Club N2, and contacting every club in the state with a warning about their transgression.”
Zoe snorted and buried her head deeper into the pillow. “Fat lot of good that will do me. I’m unemployed and by the end of the month I’ll be homeless because the property manager doesn’t look kindly on people breaking down his doors or bringing critical light down on the complex. It’s only a matter of time before the press shows up wanting a follow up on the fallout of the picture or an interview with the depraved nurse practitioner who took care of hundreds of the city’s children.”
“You won’t be here to question,” Morgan said, sounding like he had at the club, his voice deep, strong, and heavily threaded with steel.
His tone had her rolling over to look up at him. She was stunned when he grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and gently wiped her tears away.
“What do you mean, I won’t be here? I can’t afford to move. I don’t have anywhere to move to. I certainly can’t afford to leave the city and move to some small town in the back of beyond that doesn’t have much interest in the internet, if there is such a place anymore.”
“You won’t be here because you’re moving in with me. It might seem too soon, but I want to wake up and make love to you every morning and cook dinner with you each night. I want you to move in with me. Today.”
