Fighting Lust: A Deadly Sins Novel by Jennifer Miller Page B

gazillion times before. He doesn’t indicate any discomfort. Upon completion, he continues to chat away as though our prior conversation was never disrupted. “Still can’t believe this happened, really. In all the time I’ve been fighting, this is the first time I’ve ever been cut deep enough to get stitches.”
    “Sounds like your type of fighting is pretty dangerous.”
    He shrugs, “It’s a sport. Every sport is dangerous.”
    “True,” I reluctantly agree. “Next time you should get out of the way, yeah?”
    He laughs, “Good advice.” I feel Ryder join us back in the room before I hear him. The hair on my arms stands on end. “Not all of us can be as good as Ryder here.”
    “Is that right?” I ask feigning disinterest.
    “Yep. You should come to the gym and watch us spar sometime. Or better yet, come to a fight. See him -hell, all of us - in action for yourself.”
    Laughing at his excitement, I can’t ignore him. “Maybe,” I say with a shrug not really committing one way or another.
    Seeming suddenly aware that the procedure is over, he thanks me profusely. I give him his discharge instructions, including how to care for area, signs of infection and that the sutures will dissolve in 10 days or so. I then wish him well. Looking over at Ryder as I walk out, he’s watching me again and I look away quickly. Hurrying down the hall, I duck inside an empty room and hide out there for a bit, trying to calm my nerves. Something is bugging me. I’m not sure if I’m bothered that he gave up so easily, or happy that he did.
    When my shift finally ends, I eagerly make my way home. I’ve been feeling uneasy all day. I haven’t been out to a club lately, haven’t made a connection and felt that moment of much needed euphoria in a while. I feel like I need someone’s hands on me, I need to feel like someone cares about me, cherishes me.
    When I enter my apartment, I place my keys on the table inside the door and notice a note placed there from Gina. Not that I could miss it – the print must be the equivalent of point font and she uses colored ink. “Don’t wait up hot stuff. I made my specialty chicken enchiladas. Left overs are in the fridge. XO.” She scribbled several hearts and kissy lips. She makes me smile.
    Smiling, I walk to the fridge and place a plate in the microwave. Waiting for it to finish, I go to my purse and dig out my phone. Turning it on, I wait for it to fire up, wondering if I’ve missed any texts or messages during my shift. I rarely check it during work, too caught up in patient care, staff crises, and since it is a policy, I’ve become ever more mindful, what with my current promotion. And lately, I admit, those rare free moments have been consumed with thoughts of Ryder.
    Putting my plate together, I sit down and have the first bite in my mouth when my phone chimes. My screen tells me I have a voicemail, so I swipe the screen to listen. “Tessa, it’s Jane Monroe,” I immediately have a sinking feeling in my stomach. Jane is a friend of mine. She’s also a State of Arizona prosecuting attorney – a rare individual to whom I’ve confided my deepest darkest secrets. I haven’t spoken to her in a while, but given the way my stomach dropped at the tone of her voice, I know this isn’t a social call. “You may already be aware of this, but just in case you aren’t, I wanted to tell you he’s coming up for release soon. I have a monitor on my computer and I just got the notification. I don’t know if you’re at all familiar with these things, but while he’ll be subject to some oversight and rules, he will basically be free. There’s only one way to mitigate that occurrence and we’ve discussed that before. We could get things underway now, so it will likely change the course in the weeks ahead. It’s up to you. But, Tessa… maybe it’s time to take some action.” She sighs deeply and pauses. “Okay. Give me a call when you have a chance. We’ll catch a drink