“Great,” Becca said. “Thank you.” She signed and handed back the form, and then it was time for her lunch break.
Back in the staff lounge, she found a couple of people hanging out around the half-demolished cake. She was glad for the company and conversation as she settled down to the turkey sandwich, chips, and yogurt she’d brought from home, and she was equally glad to find that no one treated her weirdly despite the fact that everyone knew what had happened to her that day. Even if you could keep gossip that juicy under wraps around there, which you couldn’t, the hospital had undertaken a security reevaluation and had implemented some new procedures and security mechanisms as a result. So her attack was no secret whatsoever.
Still, as the day progressed and patients were admitted in a nonstop stream, she found it easier and easier to relax. Finally, seven o’clock rolled around, and a bundle of anticipation took root in her belly. She couldn’t wait to see Nick, and she really couldn’t wait for him to do her first tattoo.
In the staff lounge, she collected her purse from her locker and gathered the flowers to take home. There wasn’t much cake left, and she figured the night shift would easily finish it. The balloons made the otherwise plain blue-and-white lounge more cheery, so she decided to leave them there. They wouldn’t fit in Nick’s sports car anyway.
Not wanting to keep Nick waiting, Becca rushed across the room with her arms full. The door yanked open right in front of her, and a tall, bald man with dark brown skin stepped into the opening, looming over her.
Becca nearly choked on a gasp. Tyrell Woodson. For a moment, she was sucked back into the past so thoroughly that everything around her disappeared.
“Oh, sorry about that,” the man said, his voice deep and friendly.
She blinked and swallowed hard. Not Woodson. Holy shit, not Woodson. What’s wrong with me? Becca forced a smile. “Oh, no. Not your fault,” she managed. “I wasn’t paying attention.” He wore blue scrubs, not a maintenance uniform. And the identification tag clipped to his pocket read Benton Tucker, Certified Nursing Assistant. She stepped back to let him in.
He pointed at the flowers. “Are you Becca?”
“Uh, yeah,” she said, her heart still racing in her chest. “How’d you know?”
“The cake. I had a piece earlier. When it still said your name,” he said with a deep chuckle.
She smiled. “Right. Glad you got some, because it’s almost gone. Free food never lasts long.”
Another chuckle. “I guess that’s right. I’m Ben,” he said, extending his hand. “I’ve only been here for about a month.”
“Nice to meet you, Ben,” she said, returning the shake and feeling bad for the way she’d reacted to him, which had been not only ridiculous but also embarrassing. Not to mention a little concerning. For a moment, her brain had been entirely convinced that Woodson had been standing in front of her, despite the fact that Ben bore only a superficial resemblance to him. While both men were tall and dark skinned, Ben’s head wasn’t bald, like Woodson’s, but was covered with closely trimmed hair. Ben didn’t have any tattoos or scars, whereas Woodson had been covered in them. Ben’s face was lean, and he wore a neatly trimmed goatee, where Woodson’s face had been round, his cheeks full. And Ben radiated an easygoing good humor, not the menace she’d gotten from Woodson. “Well, hopefully our shifts will overlap soon. Hope you have a good night.”
“You, too, Becca.” He gave a wave and turned for the cake table.
Becca pushed out into the hall. After she’d successfully battled back her nerves all day, freaking out just because a man had stepped in front of her made her feel defeated and weak and stupid. And that pissed her off. She was stronger than this. And she refused to let a little anxiety get the better of her. Woodson was gone. The Church Gang had been largely destroyed. And Nick and his team had exposed the corruption that had led to her father’s death and the team’s being railroaded out of the Army. They’d also gotten the justice they deserved.
Everything was good now. The crises were all behind them.
Outside, July heat wrapped around her despite the evening hour, but the only thing Becca cared about was the man sitting in the black car idling at the curb. She rushed across the plaza, the smile on her face growing when Nick noticed her coming.
She couldn’t get in the car fast enough. “Hi,” she said.
“Sunshine,” Nick said, the word filled with so much emotion it made tears prickle against the backs of her eyes. “Missed you.” His hand found the back of her neck and pulled her in for a long kiss.
“Missed you, too,” she said. His presence chased away the last of her nerves and allowed her to take a deep, cleansing breath. She was fine. No big deal.
He threw the car into gear and eased into traffic. “So, how was your day? Everything go okay?”
“Yeah,” Becca said. “Everything went great.”
CHAPTER 3
You made Sloppy Joes,” Becca said with a big grin when they got home. The rich, spicy smell of Nick’s one and only specialty filled the whole loft apartment—and the gesture filled her heart with so much affection. He’d made her Sloppy Joes the very first night she’d spent there at Hard Ink, back when everything had seemed so uncertain, back when it had seemed like she might lose everyone she had left.
Nick grinned as he moved to the Crock-Pot on the counter and lifted the lid. “I did. Thought you might enjoy something homemade after a long shift.”
Becca came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his firm stomach. “You’re the sweetest.”
He chuckled as he stirred the thick, meaty sauce. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“Too late,” Jeremy said as he walked into the room, Charlie right behind him. The two of them were pretty much attached at the hip these days, which Becca found completely awesome. Her brother had been a loner for so much of his life. He deserved someone as special and fun and loving as Jeremy Rixey.
Eileen loped out after them. Becca had rescued the three-legged German shepherd puppy off the street near the hospital the first week she’d met Nick, back before she’d realized she’d never be returning to her own place again. At first, that was because it hadn’t been safe—multiple break-ins had proven that. Now, even though all their mysteries had been solved and threats had been neutralized, it was because her home was here.