Page 26 of Decker

Chapter Eleven

Savannah stretched out like a cat,curling her toes as the aches in her body reminded her that last night hadn’t been a dream. Hugging the quilt cover to her nose she inhaled the scent of Mark’s cologne on her sheets and a stupid grin spread from ear to ear. She’d known the sex would be good between them, chemistry like they had couldn’t be faked, but it had been so much better. Mark Decker fucked like a god; he should have statues made of him. Jeez, the Queen should give him a Knighthood for services to women. She giggled to herself at the crazy thoughts. The only sting in the tail had been him dressing straight afterwards and leaving.

She would’ve given almost anything to fall asleep with him, but that wasn’t part of the deal and she’d agreed to it. Now she wondered if she had what it took to be a fuck buddy. Oh, she’d been full of bravado after telling him how she wished she’d done it sooner, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure she could keep her head and heart separate with this. He was just so intense. He made her feel like nobody else existed and that was dangerous for her heart. It wouldn’t be so bad if he was an asshole everywhere else, but apart from the needling and the incident at the wedding, he’d been sweet and kind, protective even.

Knowing she couldn’t lie in bed all day playing out every scenario, she threw her legs out of bed, wandered into the bathroom, and turned the shower on to hot. The air seemed cooler today, the hint of an early autumn in the air. She loved this time of year the scent of apples filling the air and the hint of winter around the corner.

Dressing in a pair of olive-green paper bag trousers and a cream t-shirt with a leopard print heart in the middle, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and added white Vans to her feet.

Stomach rumbling as she went downstairs, she remembered at the last second the clean-up she still had to do from last night. Not that she’d change the fun night she’d had with the girls, her friendship with these women was priceless and something she hadn’t realised she’d missed until she had it in her life.

Stepping into the kitchen, she was surprised to find it spotlessly clean. All the empty food boxes were gone, and her glasses were clean and put away. Smiling, she realised Mark must have done it before he left last night. A warm feeling swept through her, and she did her best to tamp it down. This meant nothing, it was just Mark doing what he’d said he would and helping her out, nothing more.

Grabbing herself a cup of coffee and a banana, Savannah went to the couch and fired up her laptop. She had time on her hands and if she didn’t want to spend it stressing about her patients and second-guessing every decision the new doctor might make, she had to keep busy.

She spent the rest of the morning working on her clinical paper before she realised she needed some data that the lab at the hospital would have. If she swung by her office, she could just log in quickly and check on everyone from afar.

She parked her car around the back by the mortuary, in the hope of avoiding Percy and the lecture she knew she’d receive. Her mind on the paper and her patients, she wasn’t conscious of the shouting until she rounded the corner. Zeroing in on the three men, she recognised Andy and frowned as she ducked back behind the dumpsters, an inner instinct taking over that she didn’t recognise. A primal warning tickled the back of her neck as her heart began to thud in her chest. Taking out her phone, she silently opened the camera and began to video the three men. She had no idea why she was doing it, just that it seemed like the right thing to do. Plus, the alternative was to move from her hiding spot and then they would see her, which, judging by the appearance of the two men, wouldn’t be a good thing for her. Something about this seemed off and the hair on the back of her neck rose again in warning.

A gasp escaped her, and she put a hand over her mouth to stop the sound as one of the men pulled a gun and held it on Andy. Her ex-husband was an asshole, but she’d never want to see him hurt. Not knowing what to do, she carried on filming, knowing if she moved, she was dead. She wished she could get closer to get a better look at their faces but all she could see was the side of the one man’s face and the back of the other as he waved the hand at Andy.

What was he doing there anyway? He was banned from the premises until the investigation was concluded and his trial finished.

“You were warned, doctor. You either got us the money or you paid with your life.”

Andy held up his hands in submission, looking nothing like the confident man he’d once been. Savannah’s mind whirled with possibilities at the words. Was Andy in trouble financially? He had plenty of money and no overheads. Had he fallen so far down the rabbit hole that he was hanging out with men like this now?

A loud unmistakable pop made her jump, the phone shaking in her hand as Andy fell to the ground, blood exploding from his chest like a river. Another pop followed as he lay on the ground and his body jerked as a bullet slammed into his head.

Fear almost knocked her over and she moved unsteadily, kicking an empty pop bottle at her feet. She saw the eyes of the two men swing in her direction. Shit, shit, they’d heard her and now she was in big trouble. She knew if she stayed where she was, she was dead for sure so she did the only thing she could and ran.

She heard the men behind her, one telling the other to get the car and he’d get her. Not happening, dickhead, no way was she ending up like her ex. She could hear running footsteps behind her as she darted around the side and found the ambulance exit for the mortuary. She punched in her code with shaky fingers and knew she didn’t have the time to fuck it up as the footsteps were coming louder now. Breath quivering in her chest, Savannah sighed as the light turned green and then she pulled the door open and slipped inside, pulling the door closed.

Around her, people were going about their jobs with no knowledge of what had just occurred outside. Whoever these men were, they knew the security camera didn’t cover that area of the hospital or maybe that was Andy’s doing. Passing a lab tech, she smiled and kept her head down as she walked fast towards the lab. Rounding a corner, she flattened her body against the wall as she saw one of the men walk in and look around, and she knew he wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

His hand hung loosely at his side and the other was tucked into his jacket with a gun in it. It was obvious he didn’t want anyone to see him but more so that he wanted her. She ducked into the viewing room that held just three chairs, a row of small cupboards and a single unit for the body of the deceased. Closing the door silently, she made sure the curtains on the glass window were closed and sank to the floor in the corner.

Her hand shaking so bad she could hardly grip her phone, she dialled Mark. He’d know what to do and, in this second, he was the only person she could think of that she wanted to make this right. The phone rang and she tried to calm her breathing as she listened to the sound of her heart in her throat, as almost deafening, paralysing fear crippled her.

“Hey, Savannah.” His warm, deep voice crashed over her and almost took her under the torrent of feelings.

“Mark, I’m in trouble.”

“What’s wrong?”

She could instantly hear the change in him, he was taking control and she needed that. “They killed Andy.”

“Who killed Andy?”

“Two men and now one of them is here looking for me.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m hiding in the mortuary viewing room at the hospital.”

“Lock the door and don’t let anyone in until I get there. Keep this line free and hold tight. I’m on my way.”

“Okay, hurry.”

“Savannah, it’s going to be okay.”

“Okay.”

“I’m hanging up so I can arrange back-up.”

“All right.”

The click of the call ending was loud in the silence, and she felt so alone as she clutched her phone so hard her fingers cramped. Mark was coming he’d be here soon, but as she heard screams a few minutes later and then gunfire, she wondered if he’d be too late.