Undying Destiny Read Online Free Page A

blaming the cold mist.
    Her thumb found the full curve of his bottom lip. Curious for the feel of the skin there, she brushed his lip with her finger. She gasped. Cool, and so very soft. Her teeth caught her own lower lip.
    A blaring siren yanked Emily from her fascination. Her gaze fell back to where her fingers lingered on his lips and chin.
    “What the hell am I doing?” she mumbled, snatching her hand away. God, had it been so long since she’d been with a man that she now resorted to touching one who was unconscious? Maybe her ex was right. She was the one in need of therapy.
    The siren quieted and the emergency vehicle pulled to a stop behind her car. Two paramedics rushed from the vehicle, leaving the red and white lights to flash the dark street in dizzying strobe. Emily backed off, making way for the rescue workers to do their job.
    They worked fast, assessing him while throwing questions she couldn’t answer at her since she knew nothing at all about him.
    With IV fluids now pouring into him and a defibrillator on hand, he had a chance. Relief swept through her on a wave of post-adrenaline rush trembles. She rubbed her arms in hopes of easing the shakes.
    She breathed a long sigh of relief as they loaded him into the back of the ambulance.
    “I’ll follow you to the ER. I’m on duty tonight in trauma,” she said.
    One of the paramedics climbed into the cab behind the wheel. A silly grin lit his face as he glanced her way. “Well, looks like you got a jump start on your shift.”
    …
    Someone was trying to pickax their way out of his skull.
    The metallic smell of dried blood weighed heavy in the air. A wave of hunger coursed through him, tightening Kenric’s stomach into an agonizing spasm. His veins burned, demanding to be fed. A thick fog clouded his mind. Where the hell was he, and what the hell had happened?
    Muffled voices chattered in the distance.
    The lethargy throughout his body had sealed his eyelids. Pushing through the haze muddling his brain, he assessed his surroundings. Along with blood, there was an acrid scent of antiseptic. Above his head, the repetitive sound of a mechanical heartbeat pinged.
    Shit!
    How the hell did he end up in a hospital?
    Through the insistent pounding within his skull, the memory of his battle with the DEADs returned. He’d been about to call Guerin when he’d blacked out. Where the hell was his phone? He had to get out of here. The itch beneath his skin, like a fucking sundial, warned him that time was running out.
    The heart monitor over his head lurched into a rapid succession of beats.
    Get a grip, Kenric .
    He couldn’t risk drawing any unwanted attention. With a fierce hold on the gurney’s rail for strength, he focused on his heart rate, slowing it to a steady pace.
    Now, to find his damn phone. He searched along his left side, feeling for the lining of his coat. A cool draft floated in under the thin sheet. Where the hell is my coat…and the rest of my damn clothes?
    Approaching footsteps and a trio of voices grabbed his attention. Taking a deep breath, he stilled his movements.
    “You guys go ahead and get out of here. Can you give me a rain check on breakfast? I want to check in on our John Doe one more time before I leave.”
    “Come on, Emily. You’ve been at Memorial a year already, and you keep turning me down every time I try to get you to meet someone. Jake is really interested. I know you two would hit it off if you’d give it a chance.”
    “I promise I will. Soon. Just not this morning. Not yet.”
    “Fine,” a female said with a sigh.
    The sharp sound of metal rings sliding over a rod near his head indicated one of them had entered his area.
    …
    Emily closed the privacy curtain of the trauma treatment room. The unidentified patient she’d found earlier at The Docks lay unconscious on the hospital gurney. Bloodstained bandages covered his flank and neck.
    Once the paramedics had gotten him here, the ER had been able to stabilize him