Free Scarlet Angel by C. A. Wilke Page B

is the harder way
to go.
    “ A few weeks ago a man broke into
my house.” She paused for a second, barely believing that the words
were coming out of her mouth. For the first time, she was able to
say aloud what had happened.
    “ He tied up my brother and mother.
He was going to kill me. I... I broke his neck.” Her voice cracked
on her last words. She’d thought about it, but never before had she
truly admitted that she killed that man.
    The doctor’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s
impressive. Not many can do that.” He shifted in his seat and
looked at her. “He was going to kill you? And your family,
right?”
    She nodded.
    “ That can’t be what drove you to
Neil.”
    “ No. It was the man who sent him
to kill me. As long as he thinks I’m dead, he can’t find or hurt my
family.”
    “ Ahhh... And you want to go after
him before he ends up finding you.”
    “ That’s about it.” Her words were
barely a whisper.
    Silence lingered in the air for a long moment. A
short while later they started talking again. Simple chit-chat off
and on occupied the next few hours. Sometimes it was about events
in the city. Sometimes it was about the job.
    A groan from the other room broke an extended
silence. The pair stood and went to check on Neil. They entered the
room and approached Neil’s left side. The patient was covered up to
his chin by the tan comforter. Only his arm and face were
uncovered.
    His eyes were still closed, but his arm moved
restlessly. The doctor stepped up and took Neil’s wrist to check
his pulse.
    Neil’s left hand snatched free of the doctor’s grip.
He seized the man’s coat and yanked him down. Neil’s other hand
flashed out from under the covers.
    In the time it took Scarlett to blink, Neil grabbed
Doctor Smith and had a plasma pistol against his forehead. He
looked up into the doctor’s eyes. “Who are you and what the hell
are you doing in my home?”
    Scarlett raised her arms and stopped. “WHOA! Neil!
What the shit?”
    Neil’s gaze snapped to her. “Scarlett! What’s going
on? Who is this assbag?”
    “ He’s the man who saved your life.
Put the gun down.”
    He looked up at the other man through narrow
eyelids.
    The doctor was calm and held his arms up. “My name
is Doctor Smith.”
    Neil pressed the gun harder against the man’s skull.
He looked back and forth between the doctor and Scarlett.
    She didn’t want to move. In his current state, she
knew Neil might not act rationally. “You came back from your job
and passed out. You were shot.”
    “ And how did he get here? How did
you call him?”
    “ I didn’t. Cash did.”
    Neil looked up at the doctor again. He backed the
weapon off a little. “Cash sent you?”
    Doctor Smith nodded. “Yes. Cash Mallack called me
and told me where to go. I didn’t know who you were until I saw you
in person.”
    “ Then you must be the real Doctor
Smith.”
    “ Indeed I am.”
    “ I suppose if Cash can trust you
then so can I.”
    “ Would you, umm, mind putting the
gun down and letting me go now?”
    “ Huh? Oh.” Neil laughed. “Sure.”
He set the pistol down on the side of the bed and released the
doctor’s coat.
    Scarlett rushed over. “I’m so sorry, Doctor. Neil’s
probably just a little out of it.”
    “ Please.” Doctor Smith laughed.
“This is certainly not the first time a patient has woken up and
put a gun to my head.”
    “ Really?”
    “ Absolutely. Happened even before
I became Doctor Smith. Now.” He turned back to his patient.
He peeled back the covers and looked over the wound. “Neil,
fortunately, you did not tear open your wound. But you really need
to try not to move too much for the next few days.”
    “ I suppose I can handle
that.”
    The doctor nodded. “Good. You lost a lot of blood
and the damage was pretty severe. I’m not really sure how you even
made it back here. Regardless... I’ve used an advanced tissue
regeneration compound. You should be able to be up and moving