Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
I lifted my head, brushing away the dampness under my eyes. “I had a dream. I had to check on you.”
“I’m fine. What was the dream about?”
“You—you were in trouble, and I could not get to you,” was all I could say. I couldn’t tell her the truth.
Her voice softened more. “It was just a dream. I’m fine,” she assured me.
“I will pick you up in the morning.”
“Egan, I have my car.”
“Breakfast, then. I will cook for you.”
“Waffles?” she asked teasingly.
“Yes. And decent coffee.”
“Dark water, you mean.”
It was our thing. As a doctor, Sofia was used to the tar they drank in the on-call room. I made good coffee that tasted the way it should, rich and full—not like burned rubber. She teased me all the time. I needed her humor right now.
“You love it, woman.”
“Good God, stop with the caveman shit, Egan. My love, woman,” she snorted. “You know it drives me crazy. I have told you a hundred times, we are friends. Just friends.”
She was wrong there, but I didn’t argue with her.
“I will be waiting.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “Try to go back to sleep. Can you do that?” she asked, a note of worry in her voice.
I smiled at the sound of it. Regardless of what she claimed, she cared.
And soon, I would make her admit to it.
“Yes. I will see you shortly.”
I hung up, looking around my bedroom. I had lied—I doubted I would go back to sleep now. The dream had been so real. I had felt the wires under my fingers. Smelled the decay of the building. Felt the almost sexual pull of knowing the rubble my work would produce. It was always a rush.
I had also felt the terror. Hers and mine. Watched helplessly as she died.
I shook my head, reminding myself it was nothing but a dream. One I didn’t understand, but that was all it was.
I ignored the sudden flash of memory of my grandmother back in the old country, who used to dream of things that made no sense. She would pick apart a dream and warn you of things to come. People came from miles around to seek her opinion. She always said I had the same talent. She used to boast to people, because we shared the same birth date, that I had gotten that “gift” from her. She looked forward to watching it develop. She died before we left Romania.
Yet…I had heard her soft voice in my dream.
Hadn’t I?
I stood, dismissing the thoughts. That was all folklore and bullshit, and I had no idea why I’d suddenly remembered it. She had been a sweet old lady who liked to make up stories to entertain herself. I hadn’t thought about it in years. I didn’t believe her then, and I didn’t believe her now.
I lived in the real world. And the mumblings and warnings of my late grandmother had no place here.
I refused to admit it was her voice I had heard in my dream.
I decided to get up and do some paperwork. With all my businesses, there was always paperwork.
It would help pass the time until Sofia showed up.
I wouldn’t rest until I saw her face.
CHAPTER TWO
Sofia
I leaned my head on the hard metal wall of the elevator, grateful to be home. I had worked extra to cover a shift for a fellow doctor, and he was returning the favor by covering for me tomorrow night. So I only had to get through one more night and I could sleep as much as I wanted.
“One more night,” I whispered. “Just one more night.”
I huffed a laugh to myself. My body was so used to the lack of sleep, I doubted I would sleep much anyway. I glanced at my watch, noting it was three o’clock. I had seven hours until I had to be back at the hospital for the shift. I would sleep for a while, eat, then head back in.
Egan would understand my canceling dinner plans. He always understood, his patience seemingly endless. He was understanding when I’d texted him earlier, putting off breakfast since I had to cover the shift. He assured me he would make us dinner instead.
I sighed and rubbed my eyes.
Egan.
I had no idea what to do about him. The man of many sides. Dark and light rolled into one. Deadly when he needed to be. I had seen him in action. He was lethal. Then in the blink of an eye, he would turn into the sweetest man I had ever met. He was a great neighbor. Helpful, kind, protective. Damien, my cousin, thought the world of him. Egan was an amazing friend who would do anything for me.
But he wanted so much more.
More than I could give.
I had made that clear to him more than once, and he always nodded, never reacting badly, quietly continuing on with his quest for us to be together, no matter how I tried to discourage him.