Chapter 70

By the time Alex finished viewing at Anna’s interview tape and organizing the victims’ movements, tracing them back two months prior to the start of the killings, the sun was already setting. As he had previously suspected, the three identified victims showed no unusual transaction history or lifestyle anomalies.

He had grabbed a quick lunch from a nearby takeaway, and as he picked at a sandwich and a carton of milk, the thought of the fever reducers he’d brought with him brought his work to a grinding halt. It was 6:00 PM.

Is Nathan off shift yet?

The thoughts of Nathan he had been consciously suppressing came crashing down the moment he remembered the medication. A flood of memories rushed in, and Alex took a steadying breath to calm his racing heart. The places Nathan had touched, his wrist, his arm, his jaw, felt as though they were still burning with the man’s heat, even though the physical trace had long since been washed away in the shower.

Alex reached up and traced the line of his jaw. He could still see Nathan’s eyes as he insisted Alex wasn’t “disgusting.” There had been a whirlwind of emotions behind that sunken green gaze, none of which Alex could decipher. Then again, acting like a bumbling idiot in front of Nathan was a decade-long habit; failing to read him now was nothing new.

The real problem was that once the thought of Nathan took root, the longing to see him became almost physical.

Though he had verbally accepted Nathan’s proposal, Alex hadn’t actually decided when, or if, he would reach out. But the image of Nathan’s face refused to fade, lingering before his eyes like an unquenchable thirst.

Carefully, Alex retrieved Nathan’s business card from his wallet. He traced the hospital’s phone number with his thumb, checking the date. It was Friday. While he planned to visit the victims’ families over the weekend, his schedule was otherwise empty. He spent thirty minutes alternating between glaring at his phone and staring at his paperwork before he finally gathered the courage to dial.

The line rang for a long time, taking two attempts before someone finally answered.

—Royal London Hospital. How can I help you?

“Hello. Could you please put me through to Dr. White?”

Using Nathan’s surname and his professional title felt incredibly alien, the words heavy and strange on his tongue.

—One moment, please.

The “what if” Alex had considered while looking at the hospital card became reality: the line went dead. He stared at the screen in disbelief. When he tried to call back, the call was automatically redirected. While poor hospital responsiveness was a known quirk of the UK healthcare system, this felt excessive.

On second thought, he realized this might be for the best. He had been too impulsive, and reaching out so quickly made him look desperate, which he was, but there was no need to broadcast it. He decided it was better to wait until next week.

But a few minutes later, his phone rang. It was an unrecognized number, but the ‘075’ prefix identified it as a personal mobile. Alex answered with a cautious tone.

“Hello?”

—Did you call?

Alex stared at the phone. The voice was low, familiar, and sent a jolt through his system. “Nathan?”

—Yeah.

The clipped response confirmed it. Alex bit his lip, a fresh wave of confusion washing over him. How did he know it was me? Unlike Alex, who had never changed his number, Nathan had replaced his years ago. There shouldn’t have been any record of Alex in his new life.

“How did you know it was me?”

—There isn’t anyone else who would call the hospital line specifically looking for me.

“I see.” Alex clenched and unclenched his fist, his heart hammering against his ribs. “The number showed up on your end, then. I was worried when it cut off. I’m glad you called back.”

Nathan didn’t reply immediately. The sound of faint, rhythmic breathing came through the line before he finally spoke, his voice even lower and more strained than before, sounding almost as troubled as Alex felt.

—I suppose.

Silence followed. The tension in Alex’s chest flared like a small flame, and he stood up abruptly, gathering his documents and shoving them haphazardly into his bag before fleeing into the hallway.

“About… what you said yesterday.”

—Yeah.

“Are you really okay with it? I truly… you don’t have to do this.”

—Alex.

Nathan spoke his name softly, yet the tone carried a clear reprimand.

“Yes?”

—Didn’t you call because you were available? Don’t tell me you called just to say that.

Alex felt like he was being scolded, and as Nathan’s voice dropped into a dangerous register, he hurried to provide an answer.

“Tomorrow is fine. Or even tonight…”

He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. He wasn’t prepared at all. Having sex with a Beta would require supplies; he needed condoms, and since a Beta wouldn’t have the natural lubrication of an Omega, he’d need lube. Facts from a sex education class he hadn’t thought about in years flooded his mind, and his heart did a violent somersault. He quickly added, “No, tomorrow.”

—Fine.

The sound of paper rustling came through the phone before Nathan spoke again with clinical detachment.

—The Connaught Hotel. One o’clock in the afternoon. Does that work?

“One PM?”

Alex was stunned. Isn’t sex supposed to happen at night? His face erupted in a deep crimson flush, the tips of his ears burning as his mind went momentarily blank.

—Is that a problem?

“No. No, that’s fine.”

One PM is so… bright.

He felt like his heart was going to stop. Logically, he knew turning the lights on in a room made the time of day irrelevant, but the thought of engaging in such an act in broad daylight made his head spin. He paced in a small circle, trying to steady his voice.

“Really, it’s fine.”

—See you tomorrow.

Nathan hung up without another word. Alex watched the call timer vanish from his screen, then gave his cheeks a sharp slap before heading back to the office.

☂