27

"Bloom, are you paying attention?" Dr. Simms's waspish tone snapped me back to reality. I blinked, refocusing on the man sitting across from me. We'd been talking about my childhood when I'd slipped away in my mind, finding refuge in the memories Logan and I had created. They were much better than the darkness the doctor wanted to let loose. He kept insisting that until I dealt with the past, I would never have a future, but I wasn't convinced.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." I crossed my arms and pursed my lips.

"How about we make you more amenable to remembering?"

Which meant he wanted to hypnotize me again. I shook my head. "I already told you this morning that I didn't want to go under anymore. It makes me feel funny, unsure of what's true and what's not."

"Hypnosis puts you in a relaxed state so you can interact with your past and recall buried memories, Bloom. It doesn't distort the truth. Has Dr. Collier told you that?"

"Logan says I don't have to consent if I don't want to."

"Is Dr. Collier your psychologist, or am I?" He got to his feet and threw his notebook onto the couch. "Everything was going fine until he poked his nose into my business."

Taken aback at his outburst, I clenched and unclenched my fists. I'd promised Logan I'd be good. "Well, it's my business too, so of course it's also his business. Why are you getting upset? It's my life. If I don't want to remember, why are you forcing me to?"

"If you don't want to remember, why are you here?"

"To help me find ways to cope when my anger gets out of hand. To learn to walk away instead of fighting all the time. To understand social cues and how to deal with life. To sleep better at night and to not have to go to bed worried that I'll wake up in a puddle of my piss."

"But, Bloom, don't you see that all the answers you seek rest in acknowledging the trauma you faced."

Did he even know what he was talking about? I was trying to get past the trauma of years of neglect and abuse forging my core memories. Why would he want to drag me back through all that filth?

"I…I'm not ready." My words hung heavily in the air. Logan only knew the most basic information. Crowe had found me and only knew what he'd seen. They hadn't lived like a dog for years. Hadn't licked water off the concrete where it dripped from a hole in the shed, hadn't been left to starve for days. Did he know what it was like to have a dog sink its teeth into your back and feel the skin separate from your body but still fight because if I didn't get that scrap of food, they would beat me for losing and not give me anything but the bones from their plates to gnaw on?

He had no idea what he wanted me to relive.

"What do you want to talk about, then?" The doctor's cool facade was back in place. "I suppose we should discuss your new relationship. How are things progressing?"

"Great."

"Tell me about it. Have you spoken to Dr. Collier about your past?"

"No. He doesn't pressure me to talk about it."

"Or he's not interested enough to know. Anyone who truly cares about someone will want to know about their past."

"Logan cares about me." I sat up straight. "You have no idea how kind he's been to me. He took me out for dinner and to the movies. I've never gone to the movies."

"And I presume you repaid him with sex? That's a common tactic men use to gain control, but you don't know that, so you romanticize everything. None of it is real."

"It is real. I'm the one who always pushes for us to have sex, not him. You don't know shit. If you continue talking bad about Logan, I won't come back!"

"Bloom, as your therapist, I have to worry if I think someone is taking advantage of you, but it's your choice." He held up his hands and sat back on the sofa. "But given you have a physical relationship with him, we should talk about intimacy and any problems you're having. Previously, you mentioned your abhorrence to anyone touching you or having sex with you."

"Yeah, well, I was wrong."

"It's neither wrong nor right. It was simply how you felt at the time. Did you experience any challenges?"

"Nah. Logan's gentle, and he knows what he's doing. He made me enjoy it so much now I wouldn't mind doing it every day."

"How wonderful." The pencil in his hand snapped in half. "I'm pleased we've worked so well together to prepare you for this moment."

Huh? If it was left up to him, I would still think sex was gross.

"You were a virgin, weren't you?" he asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It shows how far you've come. Bloom, do you need a minute? I'm beginning to detect a tone. If you'd rather not work with me—"

"I'm fine with you." Not really, but I didn't want to see another therapist and go through the awkward phase all over again. "But I don't like when you put me under hypnosis and the way you talk about Logan."

"How about we avoid those two topics and focus on you?"

"That's for the—"

What was that? It sounded like gunshots. Dr. Simms's phone vibrated, and he picked it up as another barrage of shots rang out. His face turned pale.

"Oh my god." He scrambled to his feet. "Quick, we need to hide."

"Hide? From what?"

"That was a red alert sent to the staff by the hospital. A group of thugs has infiltrated the building. They're executing guards and preventing staff from leaving."

Logan. I climbed to my feet. "Are you sure this isn't a drill or something?"

"No, it's not a drill. It's happening."

I bolted for the door.

"What are you doing?" Dr. Simms cried. "Staying here is for the best. When they get what they want, they will leave us alone. "

"Logan's out there."

"Forget him. Let's find the nearest exit."

Fool. All these weeks of therapy and he still didn't understand me. How could I leave Logan alone while the hospital was under threat?

I peeked out the door. The corridor seemed empty, so I slipped out but jumped as the PA system blasted.

"Attention all staff, patients, and visitors. This is an emergency announcement. For your safety, please listen carefully. We have a security situation in the hospital. We are initiating a full lockdown effective immediately. Please follow the following instructions. Remain where you are if you are in a secure area. Lock all doors and stay away from windows. If you are in a corridor or an unsecured area, proceed immediately to the nearest room that can be locked. Please silence all mobile devices and remain quiet to avoid drawing attention. Do not attempt to leave the building until an all-clear announcement is made. Staff are reminded to check for emergency updates on the secure channel. Your cooperation and calm are essential. Security personnel are addressing the situation. For your safety, do not attempt to intervene. We will provide more information as it becomes available. Remember, stay in place, secure your area, and wait for further instructions. Do not attempt to leave or engage. Stay calm. Your safety is our priority."

As soon as the announcement ended, it started again as though stuck on a reel.

I didn't give a damn about the instructions. Logan's well-being was at stake. I strode to his office, my steps quick and determined. I stepped over the dead body of a security guard. Two more people laid facedown in a pool of blood a few feet away. They might have still been alive, but Logan's safety was the only thing that mattered, and I couldn't waste a second on people I didn't know.

I darted across corridors, checking if the coast was clear before I turned the corner. The panicked cries of people trapped in their rooms filtered into the hallway, and the scent of blood mingled with disinfectant. But I couldn't let myself be distracted. Couldn't allow anything to stop me from reaching Logan.

Gunshots echoed, pumping my adrenaline as I rounded another corner. Shit. A man groped the breasts of a nurse lying on the ground with her wrists tied behind her and her top cut off. I spun around, but her desperate cries brought me to a halt. Logan would have wanted me to intervene. For him.

I pulled one of my knives free from my boot and placed a finger over my mouth when the nurse saw me.

"Help me!"

Stupid. Fuck.

Her assailant turned. No way could I close the gap between us in time. I flung the knife. It whistled through the air and embedded itself into the man's throat. He dropped with a hoarse scream, clutching at the hilt. The second he yanked it free, blood spurted from the wound, and he collapsed, his life fading in gurgles and grunts.

The nurse stared at me with wide, horrified eyes, but she didn't protest as I scooped up the man's handgun, retrieved my knife, and grabbed an envelope from the desk. I dropped the knife inside and used another blade to cut her restraints.

"Thank you, thank you," she sobbed.

"Where's Dr. Collier?"

"I-he-in the OR. But they've taken over that area. I don't know if he's still alive."

"He's still alive!" I barked. "Where's the OR?"

She gave me directions, her whole body trembling. "Be careful. There are so many of them. I don't know where they came from. "

She rushed the opposite way. She would be lucky if she didn't run into another one of them. I took the gun with me. If I was caught with it, they would shoot me, no questions asked. I would have no option but to fight my way out. I didn't mind fighting, but not until I knew Logan was safe.

If I were unarmed they might not see me as a threat.

The door of a storage closet was ajar, which gave me an idea. I hid the gun as well as the envelope with the knife under a pile of clean linens. If we got out, I could return for them. But first, I had to find the OR.

I hurried through the labyrinth of sterile corridors, the familiar odor of antiseptic growing stronger. Scuffling feet and muffled cries echoed through the walls, a grim reminder of what was at stake.

As I rounded a corner, I came face-to-face with a man dressed in black and wearing a ski mask, blond hair peeking out from the bottom. He aimed his gun at me, narrowing his beady eyes. "Who the hell are you? We control this area now."

"I'm sorry. I-I got lost. Please don't hurt me."

I shrank against the wall, showing a vulnerability that wasn't in my nature with strangers. His mouth curved into a grin.

"You're pretty. I'll let it slide if you do me a favor."

I bit my bottom lip. "What kind of favor?"

"Come on over here and suck my cock."

Suck his cock? It took everything out of me not to show my revulsion. Logan had taught me how to please him with my mouth. Not anyone else.

"I-I can't."

"Too bad. You don't have a choice." He lowered his gun, stormed over to me, and grabbed my hair. I pulled the knife from my waistband and shoved it into his belly to the hilt. The gun clattered to the ground. He released me and stumbled back, his eyes wide as he pressed his hand on the wound, blood seeping between his fingers.

"You bitch." He tried to pull the knife out. I grabbed his gun.

"Don't—"

I pulled the trigger twice, and his lifeless body crumpled to the floor. I retrieved my knife and wiped the blood off on his shirt. Shit, I couldn't leave him here.

Gritting my teeth, I dragged the dead man over to the emergency stairwell and kicked him down it. "Pucker up for the devil, you son of a bitch."

I felt no remorse for him. I had none to spare in this callous world of ours. I continued down the corridor, the nurse's words echoing in my mind.

They've taken over that area.

Two cops lay bloodied and crumpled outside one of the operating rooms. I pressed my ear against the cold metal door. A distinct and clear voice rang out.

"This is a whole new level of stupidity when you threaten the lives of the very people who fight to keep you alive after engaging in these asinine decisions in the first place."

I swallowed a groan. Of course Logan would be lecturing his captors even now, but I'd never been happier to hear him. I reached for the door handle.

A gun clicked behind me.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I froze, my heart pounding as the barrel pressed into the small of my back.

"Just going for a walk," I said, trying to inject casualness into my voice.

"Don't take me for a fool," the man behind me growled. "Raise your hands and turn around… slowly."

With slow movements, I did as he instructed. This masked man was bigger than the last one. No way I could take him one on one.

"You don't look like a cop," he said.

"I'm not. I just got lost."

"I bet you did. Get in there. Two Fingers will know what to do with you."

He pushed the door open and shoved me inside. Great. Now another gun was pointed at me.

"No!" Logan cried. Our eyes locked, and the panic in them was oddly reassuring. He loved me, didn't he? I grinned.

"What are you smiling about?" the man I figured was Two Fingers asked. "This is a restricted area. Who the hell are you?"

Wasn't that the million-dollar question?

"I'm the one who's going to send you home in a body bag."

The man guffawed, showing yellowed teeth. "Oh, really now? You and what army?"

"Me and the dozens of dead people living in my head, bitch. You mean you can't see them?"

"Leave him alone," Logan snapped. "If you touch him, you can kiss your boss's life good-bye."

"Are you threatening me?"

"You best believe I'll do it too. Try me."

The man sized me up and did the same to Logan. He hitched his chin toward the far corner of the room. "I see. This the doctor's little slut? You got good taste. Can't fault a man for protecting his property. Stay over there and don't make trouble. Don't think your looks will save you."

"Go on," Logan said. "Do as he says. No one's going to hurt you as long as I am here."

Stunned, I stood rooted to the spot. Didn't he know I was here for him? Yet he was trying to comfort me. I'd never been prouder to have him as my man.

I have to get him out of here, no matter the consequences. As long as he's alive.

The gunman nudged me in the back with his gun. "Move. You listen to the doctor's orders, and I may let you all walk out of here alive."