e calculating strategist vanished, replaced by the trauma surgeon she had once been. The tabl

esitate. She

yes were wild, cornered, the look of a wounded animal r

ught of this woman, this parasite, seeing him so helpless, s

oken glass, the sharp edges digging into her skin, but she d

ressed down hard on the radial artery, just abo

away, a reflexive act of defiance, but her hold was like a ste

ing only cold, clinical authority. "If you move, you risk severi

in her tone stunned him into

tie from around his neck. As she moved, a lock of her hair brushed against his cheek. A faint

It bypassed his conscious thought and st

lean, citrus-and-antiseptic smell from the woman who had pressed a torn piece

er him, her face a mask of intense concentration. His heart began to ham

d the tie above the wound, pulling it tight and securing it with

ed to herself, her eyes sca

the master bathroom. He heard a cabinet door bang open. She r

e gauze, and forceps with practiced efficiency. All the while, King's eyes never left he

eady. With the forceps, she meticulously picked out the tiny shards of glass embedded in his flesh.

and dexterity that was mesmerizing. She finished with another flawless kn

ooked down at him, and the competent, detached medic w

magine the headlines. The great King Bennett, CEO of Bennett Corporation,

e'd felt. The confusion in his eyes was replaced by a familiar layer of icy contempt. O

mmunity college?" he sneered, his voice dri

ood from her hands onto a clean corner of her dress. She

fred rushed in, his professional composure gone, his face pale with

sight of the blood, the broken glass, and his employer on t

held the tablet to her chest, a silent observer, content t