Page 18 of Patrick’s Seduction

“Patrick…” She attempted a smile, but he could see that she was in pain.

There was a band-aid on her temple, and she had cuts and bruises on her arms, but she was propped up on the gurney, sitting almost upright, wearing a clean T-shirt and baggy jogging pants. He approached, wanting to take her into his arms to assure himself that she was alright, but of course, he couldn’t do that. He wasn’t her boyfriend or her lover, and he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.

“What happened?” he asked instead, his gaze ping-ponging between her and the nurse.

The nurse, a feisty-looking woman in her fifties, put a reassuring hand on Fallon’s hand. “Her colleagues found her in the lab this morning. One of the shelving units fell on her. Luckily, her injuries are only superficial.” She nodded at Fallon. “The doctor wants you to stay here today for observation, just in case you have a concussion.”

“But I already told him I’m fine,” Fallon protested.

Patrick looked at the nurse, glancing at the embroidered name on her scrubs. “Nurse Millie, why don’t I speak to Fallon? Maybe I can get her to change her mind.”

Nurse Millie sighed. “Well, good luck, young man. She’s a stubborn one.” She turned to the curtain, pulling it aside so she could slip out.

“I heard that,” Fallon grumbled under her breath.

Patrick rested his hip against the hospital bed and took Fallon’s hand. Her skin felt warm and the contact sent a pleasant shiver through his body, but he tried not to show what the touch did to him.

“Tell me what happened.”

“I was attacked,” Fallon said, then sniffled.

Patrick’s heart raced. “Where? How? When?”

“I was called into the lab at around 2 a.m. And when I—”

“Who called you into the lab in the middle of the night?” Patrick shook his head, incredulous that Fallon would leave the safety of her home during the night after everything she’d told him about Cameron. “Why would you—”

“Nobody called me, I mean, an alarm went off.” A whiff of impatience and annoyance colored her words.

“An alarm?”

“Yes, one of the refrigerators with the tissue samples for my research had a large temperature fluctuation. So, I got the alert on my cell phone. It happens when the power goes out.”

Her words made him feel a little bit calmer. “And was that it? The power was out?”

She shook her head. “No, though the lights in the lab weren’t working, but the fridges and freezers were humming. But when I saw the fridge, I noticed that the door was open. That’s why the temperature was rising.”

“Why would a fridge door suddenly open in the middle of the night?”

That was more than just a little suspicious; it sounded like a setup. A trap for her to show up at the lab in the middle of the night—where nobody could protect her.

“I don’t know. I thought maybe there was a little earthquake, and something moved inside the fridge and pushed against the door. But everything looked fine. So, I closed the door.”

She swallowed hard.

“Go on,” he murmured, keeping his voice calm while brushing his thumb over the back of her hand in reassurance. “What happened then?”

“I think somebody was there, in the lab.”

His pulse kicked up a notch. “Who?”

Fallon shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t remember anything after closing the fridge door. I just have that feeling that somebody was there and hurt me.” She rubbed her left shoulder, her hand visibly trembling. “My colleagues found me when they showed up for work at seven-thirty. One of the shelving units was lying across my body as if it had fallen on me. But I don’t remember it falling.”

Her breathing accelerated as if somebody was chasing her, and there was no doubt in his mind that Fallon was scared.

“Fallon,” he said calmly, even though he wasn’t calm inside, “take a breath.”

He watched her forcing herself to inhale and exhale slowly.