Page 55 of Guarding Salvation

The man shook his head and he saw the edge of fear creep into Aoife’s cheeks and squeezed her hand in support.

“I’m afraid you’ll need to see your GP about that. It’s not something we do here in accident and emergency.”

“Oh.”

Bein didn’t want to call in favours and draw attention to himself, but they needed that chip or whatever the hell it was out of her leg this second. God knew how much time they had before Doyle found them now.

“Is Dr Goodwin still working in this department?” Bein knew he was. He also knew he was head of the department now.

“Yes, he is.”

“Is he working today?”

“I believe so.”

It was like pulling teeth, having a conversation with this man. “Can I please speak to him?”

“I’ll see if he’s free.”

“Thank you.” Bein didn’t like acting like a dick to get his way, but in this case, it was warranted.

When they were alone Aoife leaned into him, her eyes searching his. “Bram?”

“It’s going to be okay, Irish.” He held her hand tight, his senses alert as he typed out a quick text to give Snow and Titan the heads up.

“This is why, isn’t it? This is how he always finds me.”

“Let’s talk when we get home.” He glanced up at the ceiling and the cameras, warning her that everything was being recorded and although he knew Watchdog had everything in place to remove footage of him, it might take time to remove Aoife. The case with Duchess was moving quicker than they’d anticipated, and Watchdog was juggling that as well as this situation.

The curtain was once again pulled back and he was being pulled into Dr Goodwin’s arms and slapped hard on the back.

Marcus Goodwin pulled back to look at him with a grin, his smiling face a blast from the past. “Well, I never. The prodigal son returns.”

“Marcus, it’s so good to see you.”

“You too, Bram. What is it, ten years?”

“Almost,” Bram agreed.

Marcus had been one of the men who’d seen him beat Ray Walsh and his silence and loyalty had helped save him.

“Life good?”

Bein knew Marcus was asking him if he was okay. Each one of his friends had tried to reach out but due to the agreement with Jack, it had been hard for a while. Only after a few years had Jack agreed it was safe to make minimal contact. “Yes, life is very good. You?”

“Fantastic. I drive a Porsche and have a job I love. What more could a man need?”

“I’m glad, man. Listen, I hate to be that person, but I have a favour to ask. My girl has an implant in her leg, and we need it taken out, like now.”

Marcus turned to Aoife and smiled his lady killer grin. “Nice to meet you, Debbie. Bram always did have fantastic taste.”

Bein could feel himself cringe inside when he thought about his youth and the way he treated women. “Yeah, that’s in the past.”

“Understood. Now let’s have a look.”

Marcus held the X-ray to the light and frowned before he lowered it. “Should be simple enough as it’s not deep. I can give you a local anaesthetic and remove it now.”

“Thanks, Marcus. I appreciate that.”