Curing Doctor Vincent (The Good Doctor Trilogy Book 1) (11 page)

“Do you think it’s
working?”

He scanned the crowd.
“Yes and no. I’m delighted, but it’s agony knowing this time must expire. It’s
only fair. I’m broken, Elaine. You deserve a whole man.” He stared into my eyes
and I realized we’d stopped dancing. “Speaking of unfair things… I so want to
kiss you, but you’d have to answer questions when you get home. A dance you can
explain away, but if I kiss you…”

Before I could tell
him to damn the consequences, a man in a business suit tapped him on the
shoulder and whispered in his ear.

He released our
hands, but left his arm around my waist. “Come on, Love. I have to get ready
for the speech. You can wait backstage for me if you’d like.”

It wasn’t really a
choice since he took my hand and led me through the crowd.

We followed several
men in suits down a long hallway and through a set of large double doors. Cords
and ropes hung from the rafters and black paint covered the walls.

A tall man, in his
early thirties, approached the doctor, and straightened the doctor’s bow tie. “Dr.
Vincent. They are eagerly awaiting your announcements. And the protestors are
all secured outside. We don’t want a repeat of last time.” He clipped a
microphone to the doctor’s lapel.

Xavier straightened
his sleeves and adjusted his cufflinks. The man handed him a small cylindrical
object with a button on top.

 
“Just press the button when you are ready
to speak. Harry over there…” He pointed to a heavyset man sitting in a glass
enclosure. “He’ll monitor the sound and make sure your video displays correctly.”

“Thank you, Nathan. Thorough
as always.”

The chill from the
air conditioner, the alcohol and my body coming back to earth caused me to
shiver. I crossed my arms and stepped out of the way. In the background the
audience chatter buzzed through the air.

Xavier turned and
took a step toward me. “One last thing.” He bent and placed his lips on mine,
gripping my arms.

The shock caused me
to stumble and he steadied me and deepened the kiss.

Our lips parted and
in that small instant I was no longer cold. His smile only added to the heat
that engulfed me. “Wish me luck?”

I smiled back. “Good
luck, Doctor.”

“You’ve got to stop
calling me that.”

“Why?”

“It puts distance
between us.”

“No more than the
distance between Paris and New York.”

“Touché.”

Nathan wedged himself
between us. “Doctor, you’re on in three.”

“Coming.”

He turned and walked
on to the stage. The crowd applauded. Not with the enthusiasm of a rock
concert, but rather the appreciation one might experience at a matinee of
La Boehme.

He began. “My
esteemed colleagues, thank you for coming out tonight…”

A tap on my shoulder
pulled my attention from the charismatic man who was bound to be my demise. “Ms.
Watkins?”

I turned to see
Nathan. “Yes.”

“I am so sorry to
bother you, but there is a woman in the hallway requesting to see you.”

“A woman?”

“Yes… She’s ahhh…in a
wheel chair.”

That didn’t make
sense. The only person I knew in Paris in a wheel chair was Miriam, and she was
supposedly ill.

I walked down the
corridor in the direction Nathan pointed. When I turned the corner Miriam sat
in her chair dressed in the most beautiful beaded gown. Her hair was draped in
wispy braids. She was truly beautiful. I couldn’t help but smile.

 
“Miriam, you look stunning.” I lifted my
gaze to the man pushing her wheelchair—the undeniably handsome Sebastian.
I blushed thinking of things we did earlier.

Her shaky hands
reached out for mine. “Sebastian told me everything. Thank you. No need for you
to be timid.”

With my hands caught
between Miriam’s cold ones I said, “I didn’t know you were going to be here. I’m
sorry; I would have looked for you. Sebastian said you were feeling ill. I hope
you are feeling better.”

“I am. It’s quite all
right. Sebastian spoke with Marco and when he said you were going to attend the
fundraiser with Xavier, I asked Sebastian to bring me. I think Sebastian needs
to see that I’m really okay with this arrangement.” She caressed his hand and gazed
behind her and up at her husband. “I’m not just OK with this, I’m encouraging
you. I love you and only want you to be happy.”

He patted her
shoulder. “I know. It’s just…” He smiled, but it didn’t hide the pain and awkwardness
of the moment.

Miriam returned her
sights to me. “Dear Elaine, do try to get him to consider joining you again
with the other men. I can already see a difference in him. It’s not good for a
man to go so long without intimacy.” She smiled and added, “Plus, surprisingly,
I enjoyed hearing what transpired.”

I took a deep breath.
Could things get any more bizarre? I struggled to find an appropriate response.
I settled for, “I’m sure it will all work out as it’s meant to be.”

“No truer words, my
dear. I saw you and Xavier on the dance floor. Speaking of changes…That man
loves you.”

I coughed. “No, you’re
mistaken. I go back home in a few days. And then, as far as we’re all
concerned, none of this happened.”

She laughed. “I’m
surprised you could say that with a straight face. Nothing will ever be the
same. Not you. Not him. Not us.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s
Xavier’s wish…”

“I need you to make
me a promise.” She released my hand and reached between her leg and the
wheelchair arm.

Making promises to
strangers never seemed wise, but what choice did I have?

“Yes. I’ll do my
best.”

“Take Sebastian home
with you tonight. Make sure that he’s exhausted so that he sleeps late.” She
winked and smiled a mischievous smile.

I glanced at
Sebastian who stared at the floor. The casualness with which she spoke of Sebastian
and I having sex made the strange conversation even more awkward. It was easy
to see that he didn’t share her enthusiasm for discussing the topic. Sex with
Sebastian would have been easier if Miriam and I had never met.

“And second, Xavier
can’t know anything about this.” She handed me a small envelope. “Elaine, have
you ever loved someone so much that no matter how wrong they were, your loyalty
made you blind?”

I had. My father. I’d
defended him long after the investigation pointed to his guilt. Denial, the
therapist said, was common among children of serial killers. “Yes. I know the
feeling quite well.”

“Did you ever come to
terms with it? It’s one thing to accept someone else’s actions, but to realize
you’ve lied to yourself…”

Years after his arrest,
pieces to the puzzle started to come together. The late nights. His fetish for
impeccably clean garden tools. The strange stack of mail I found hidden in his
bedroom. I stayed quiet, never voicing my suspicions out loud. The notion that
the signs were there all along, but hidden until just in time for his trial,
made me sick. Twelve life-sentences. With a new one to be added annually, with
each new victim he revealed. “Yes, I’ve done that too.”

“Here.” She handed me
the paper. “I loved Lydia like a sister. More than a sister. I promised her
that her secrets would go to her grave, but I saw him with you tonight and… He
is a good man. Loyalty can sometimes make idiots of us all.” She sighed. “Well…do
with it what you want. I’m sorry to put such a burden on you, but I can’t risk
that it die with me.”

Sebastian clutched
her shoulder. She reached up and grasped his broad, masculine hand with her
shaky one.

I looked at Sebastian,
pleading with my eyes for clarification.

He shrugged. “I wish
I could help, but she hasn’t even told me what this is all about.”

Miriam placed her
hand back on her wheelchair control. “I hope you love him as much as I think
you do.” Sebastian moved out of her way and she put the chair in reverse.

“Who? Xavier?”

“Darling, it’s called
denial. You’ll be angry for not realizing it yourself, but one day soon, you’ll
be the woman he always needed. Please, don’t make a fool of me.”

“It’s not that
simple.”

She turned her chair
so that she faced away from me. Sebastian shot me a sympathetic smile and
turned to follow her. Her words echoed off the marble. “It never is when it’s
love. Sebastian will catch up with you after he fetches the driver to take me
home. Don’t forget what I said.”

I stood holding the
small envelope, still trying to process what had happened, as the hum of her
wheelchair faded.

Patience was never my
virtue, but it wasn’t the right time to look.

****

Applause echoed
through the doors into the auditorium from the hall behind me. The note could wait.
I couldn’t squash the anticipation I had for seeing the doctor. The turn of
events behind stage had my head buzzing. Where would it go? Could it be more? Did
he have to be only a memory after this week? Dangerous, dangerous thoughts. I
headed for the doors.

Before I reached
them, Xavier emerged, his smile brighter than I had ever seen. He grabbed my
hand and said, “Come with me.”

His demeanor was so
different than the norm. Perhaps the crowd energized him. He all but skipped,
dragging me down the long hallway away from the crowd. He turned the corner and
pressed my back into the wall. He engulfed my body with his. “God… Do you have
any idea what you do to me?”

He didn’t let me
answer. He crushed his mouth to mine. So warm. So alive. His lips played with
mine while his body rubbed against me. His hips gyrated, pushing his swollen
cock against my stomach. His lips trailed across my chin and down, until settling
at the base of my throat—sucking and kissing. “I shouldn’t let this
happen. If you weren’t leaving soon this would be dangerous, but as long as we
are surrounded by people, we’re safe.”

Fire. I was on fire. I
was too distracted by his heat and tenacity to ask what he meant.

“In another life,
Elaine, you’d be mine. I’d never let you go. It’s scary to think of what you
make me feel and it’s only been a few days.” His teeth grazed my neck and his
hand grabbed my breast and squeezed. His actions grew more frantic by the
moment. I wasn’t certain that we weren’t going to end up fucking in the hallway.

“Why another life?”

His breathing labored
and the spice of his cologne intoxicated me. He slid his tongue up my throat
and nipped my ear before saying, “Because I can’t give you what you need. I’m
broken. I should have left you alone, but I can’t.”

“You’re not broken,
Doctor. You’re a puzzle. Let me put you back together.” It was time to push. Untie
another one of his strings. I reached down and cupped him through his pants.

His body stiffened. He
paused then locked gazes with me. “You don’t know what you’re asking. Besides,
I’m afraid some of my pieces are missing.”

“I’m a pretty good
artist. I can draw you new ones.” I squeezed his cock.

“Murderer!” A voice
bellowed from behind me.

I released him. He
turned, shielding my body with his. I leaned to one side to look. A woman, who
looked to be in her late thirties, clutched a knife and approached us from the
direction of the exit.

Xavier backed up,
pinning me against the wall. “Annie, be reasonable. Security will be here soon.
Put down the knife. How did you get through?”

“Shut it.” She poked
the knife in our direction. “You have to pay for what you did.” She shifted
weight from one foot to the other and her mousy brown hair fell into her face.

“I have. Just not in
a conventional way.”

“Bullshit!” She blew
the hair out of her eyes with a puff of air.

“Annie, I paid your
family generously. You spent it on drugs. That isn’t my fault.” He grasped my
hand.

“You killed her. You
should be in jail.”

“Maybe so. But that
wasn’t my choice.”

Tears ran down her
face.

“I wish you could
find peace.”

“Fuck you.” She
coughed gasping for air. The wheezing sounded painful.

“You’re ill, Annie.
Let me have my driver take you to the hospital.”

“I don’t want your
fucking charity.” She sniffled and stared at me. “He’s going to kill you too. Just
like my sister.”

He squeezed my hand.

“Put down the knife,”
called out a security guard. Several burly men rushed in from the direction of
the stage and surrounded her.

Her shoulders slumped
forward and she dropped the knife.

She looked up from
between the long strands of her stringy hair. “You ruined me. I fucking hate
you.”

“Annie, get clean. For
the past twenty-plus-years we’ve been through this. I keep atoning. I can’t
bring her back. But you can save yourself. I can’t do that for you.”