The Starkest Truth (A Breaking Insanity Novel Book 2) (25 page)

“Not necessarily. It took them a while before they had a name for it.” This wasn’t the hospital closest to him. Granted, it was the best in the city, but he had a personal doctor to transform his bedroom into a hospital if he needed it. Waiting for the punch line, I folded my arms and slanted my head back. “Why are you really here, Vic?”

“You should check the newspaper you think is out of style and find out why.”

Grabbing the paper he extended it to me. I unfolded it and scanned the front page. The headline: “Young Dr. Death Murdered While Under Protective Custody” caught my attention. I read through the article and came across one key point; the investigation was ongoing. Translation: The cops didn’t have shit.
 

The silly smirk on Vic’s face let on that he had something to do with it. The cops would never find anything, because Vic was very talented and it was an inside job.

“Protective custody,” Vic spat. “You see that boy? He had a change of heart and was going to squeal like a pig.” He clapped his hands once and suddenly his self-satisfied expression disappeared. “Unfortunately, our problems became bigger.”

I massaged my temples, closing my eyes for a few seconds. “Go on.”

“Roy caught on to what was in store for him. He didn’t spill until he knew he was going to be…” He looked over my shoulder and ran the palm of his hand against his neck.
 

It wasn’t like Vic to make mistakes. He blamed it on my cousin, and had me believe it for what fucking reason? I started to get the feeling Vic was playing me while protecting his godson from me. Not something I wanted to believe, but my deduction skills were working overtime.

He nodded to his clothes that were neatly folded in the chair. “Check the video on my phone, son.”

Rolling my eyes at the spread eagle naked woman as his screensaver, I slid my finger across the screen to access his phone. I scanned through his videos. Some were from his break room—videos I really didn’t want to see. I found the latest video and hit play. It was a clip of Preston and a federal agent meeting at his club. The cheap suit gave it all away, and most of the Feds had an air about them; a cockiness they shouldn’t have—didn’t deserve to have.
 

The penultimate video: A soundless video of Preston meeting with Nikki on the deck behind the house, having a conversation that went on for a little too long.
 

I stopped the video and looked up at him. “Where are you going with this?”

He leaned forward, pressing his palms on the bed, ready to eject at a moment’s notice. “How well do you know your wife, boy? I knew her father. He died in a strange way, don’t you think?” He searched my face. Unhappy with my stoicism, he pushed the line. “Or has she told you anything about how he died?”

I kept up my composure. Cocking my head to the side, I squinted at him, pushing him to get to his point.

“Well? Has she told you what happened to him?” His eyes widened with interest, waiting impatiently for my answer.

I’d never lied to Vic before. Today would be a day for the record books. “She mentioned he was drunk off his ass, hit his head, and fuck all.”

Vic sank back, shaking his head. “She lied to you, boy. I have it on good authority she did him in.” He nodded with a look in his eyes that made me grind my back teeth. “She knows things, boy. Things she shouldn’t know. Don’t trust her.”

Mother-fucker.
He was saying one thing, but I knew another. Sometimes, Vic sold my intelligence short. “How long have you been having her followed?” I tossed the phone back on his bed.

He shrugged.

My calm mode was breaking away. Fast. I white-knuckled the tablet in my other hand. “How fucking long, Vic?” I asked throatily.

“Just know it’s been for a while. Long enough to know you shouldn’t trust her because she shows you her pussy when you want it.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, staring at me like he was waiting for me to break. “Be smart. I’ve got many pigs in my pocket, and I’ve got enemies. Charlie and I…had a falling out. He wants to take me down by circling the weak little lambs. With Preston tickling the Feds balls, your wife might come to Charlie for protection. He and her mother were good friends. As in…” He placed his index finger inside his closed fist and made a wet sound with his mouth.

Well, well, Mrs. Givens.
I knew her connections were shady, but not that shady. Vic failed in an epic way at trying to make me suspicious of Nikki—if that was his point in the first place. What was between us was not something as stupid as the revenge fantasy of a dead woman. Besides, Charlie never worked that way. He and Vic were polar opposites.

“I’ll be careful with her,” I said as emptily as I meant the promise.

“Do more than that.” His eyes darted to the curtain, and looked as though he expected someone was listening in. “I’ve got to make good on this one.” Uncharacteristic fear flashed in his eyes. It was smart. Everyone feared Charlie—everyone should’ve. There wasn’t one category I could put the man in. He was smart and austere. I never saw him lift a hand to hurt or kill someone, but he had a way of studying people and turning what he knew against them. He could make a person kill themselves, if he wanted them to. I couldn’t say what Charlie did for a living (illegal or legal), because I didn’t know. The man was, for all intents and purposes, a ghost. You only saw him when he wanted you to see him. I met him maybe a handful of times, but it was enough to leave a lasting impression on me. He taught me the gift of verbal manipulation over Vic’s way of using a strong backhand.

“You do a favor for me,” Vic said, “and I’ll hand my godson to you on a silver fucking platter.”

I paused to take in the fact that my cousin was dead because he was on the verge of betraying his family. The fact remained…he wasn’t going to do it until he found out Vic had a hit on him. I tried to feel something about the screwed up situation and failed.

My mind was twisted over something else. Vic wanted a favor, and I had to do it to get what I wanted. Preston was a prickly bastard. If I wanted him dead and my hands clean, I had to go along with Vic. It was the only way for now, because Preston was screwing with Nikki. I couldn’t believe what he told me had happened before; the bigger issue was I couldn’t exactly be sure of what happened between them. Neither Nikki nor Preston were telling me the complete truth.

“I can tell by the look in your eyes, you’re catching on,” Vic said. “Lay on her. Find out what she knows about all this. ‘Cause I know the girl you’re with has something up her sleeve. Her mother was something else.” He sat back, gave me a wink and added, “We’ll be in touch.”

“And your fucking godson? How long do I have to wait?”

“Due time, my boy.” He waved me off. “Due time.”

I wasn’t worried about Nikki; how-fucking-ever, I knew Preston well enough to know he wasn’t done with her. Preemption was key, but Vic kept pissing on my plans.

“I don’t fucking believe you,” I snapped. “How is it you want me to spy on my goddamned wife, but you don’t want to focus on the more pressing fucking matter? Are you serious with this bullshit?”

“Watch your goddamn mouth.”

Couldn’t say shit else to him. If I continued, he would’ve worked his ass out of his hospital bed, and I’d put him in a coma without his minion around to stop it.

“HI, ERIC!” A CHEERY voice that sounded like she took in an air full of helium, disrupted my nap. It could’ve only been one person—Janet.
 

I slanted my head up from the cafeteria table and rubbed my face. So much for the thirty minutes of rest in the middle of my shitty day.
 

Had too many drug addicts lying to get a fix, bitchy mothers, frequent flyers, and oh yeah, being thrown up on twice. On top of that, I lost my temper and had to chew out a resident for damn near killing a patient with lupus because she mixed up the medications with another patient who had hemophilia. Administering coagulation drugs to a person with lupus isn’t something you want to do unless you want to kill them. It was a common sense fuck up that never should’ve happened.

Then, there was the third patient: a three-month-old the same resident misdiagnosed with a cold when she had RSV. I had to intubate the baby in order to save her life…and the goddamned mother hugged me.
 

Affection from strangers was like being submerged in acid to me. Fucking hated it.

Between the situation at the hospital and Vic revealing his hand, today was not the day for Janet and her Pollyanna attitude.
 

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. How’s Nikki? I tried to come by a few times, but no one answers the door. I haven’t seen you two since the wedding back in May. Wow, that was months ago. It’s been too long. How are things? I really miss your cooking, The Sunday dinners we used to have before you and Nikki started dating…I’d love to have them again with the two of you.”

“Do you ever shut the fuck up?” I snarled. “I never wanted to be your fucking friend. The only reason I invited you over was to get information about Mrs. Givens and to use you as a pawn. Nikki liked you. Well enough to trust you when you convinced her to date me. You’ve done your job. Go the fuck away.”

With her eyes filling with tears, she bolted up, ready to leave.

Snapping at her didn’t exactly get me off like I hoped it would. Besides, I had another use for her. The asshole I flashed could’ve solidified her willingness to do whatever I wanted if I played her correctly. “Hey.” I jumped to my feet and grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving. Embarrassed, she turned her head from me, because she didn’t want me to see her tears. I didn’t think she’d ever looked more real. I stroked the tear on her cheek and gave her a smile. “It’s my shit,” I said calmly. “You know how things can be in the E.R. Isn’t that why you transferred out?”

She slowly nodded and shouldered her tears from her face.
 

There…I’d successfully gotten to her. I pulled out a chair for her while giving her my panty-disintegrating smile.
 

She sat back down.

“You should see about Nikki.” I turned a chair around and straddled it. I put up a fake wall of concern and sadness to pull her in further. “I think she could use a friend right now. You know how you women are, needing to vent their feelings. Let her vent to you and…steer her.”

“She’s totally in love with you, Eric.” She waved her arm at me like the thought of me losing Nikki was ridiculous. “Why are you worried?”

“Do I look worried?” I bit back.
 

She started to nod, but thought better of it and shook her head.
 

“She also has a problem following doctor’s orders. She’s pregnant—”

She gasped, interrupting me, and clapped her hands as if they were giving out free diamonds the cafeteria. “Oh my god! Congratulations!”

“Don’t do that again,” I warned, keeping up my nice guy act by smiling.

She covered her mouth partially, tempering her excitement. “I’m so sorry,” she muffled through her hand.
 

“Her pregnancy is high risk, she needs to keep her activity to a minimum until her doctor clears her. She’s having a problem following orders.”

“You guys are my friends. I’ll do whatever I can.”

I grinned broadly, making her cross her legs and visibly weaken at the sight. “You’re amazing, Janet.”

Her eyes fluttered as she tried to discreetly fan her neck. “Then, why am I still single?”

“Because I’m married,” I said with a wink.
 

Her skin went a little on the rosy side as she gasped and looked down at her lap. “You’re always such a flirt, and so good to me, Eric. Nikki is very lucky to have you.”

I only flirted with her to excite her. She was a sensation-seeking person, and what I said probably upped her dopamine levels, making her high, transforming her thoughts to a grossly false one about me. She never stood a chance at thinking otherwise. It was all to make sure she worked her little heart out to help Nikki…because I couldn’t. Not right now. Not with all that was surrounding me, and trying to encircle her.

I looked at my trembling hands, and in a split second, I adjusted my strategy. I had to solve the issue by coming at it from both sides. Nikki needed to be brought back to the place I needed her to be in, and only I could do it. She…needed me. Bed rest could be excused for one day. Nikki needed a reminder of what she had, and be shown she had no reason to worry, and every reason to obey me as she once promised to do.

Just when I thought things were looking up, Aimee stopped me in the hall on my way back to the E.R. Department. “I had to send Sanchi home. She was beside herself.”

I shrugged. I couldn’t care less about an inept resident who shat on my day because she was incompetent. “She almost killed two patients today. Correction. She did. They both fully coded before I brought them back.”

“Mistakes happen.”

“Really?” I asked, curving a brow. “Because if I pulled what she did during my residency, I would’ve been taken off the floor.”

“Okay.” Aimee pressed her hands up in the air, waving the white flag. “So, it’s not about her. You, lately. I’ve let it pass, because you’re an excellent doctor, but your bedside manner and team-player abilities are seriously lacking lately.”