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"Now it’s your turn," he said quietly

There was no way in hell she was ad herself It would"Okay I don’t think I ever told you, but the reason I joined the Marines is because when I was nine, I had a sort of crush on one of my mom’s boyfriends" Iris snorted at the memories "He was the only decent s with him because, and I quote ‘he’s too nice’" Iris hadn’t understood her mother then and now that the woman was deceased, she still didn’t It was like her one for the assholes As if she liked being treated like dirt Iris finally realized that she’d had no self-esteeuy was a little older than my mom by about a decade He’d been in the service for twenty years and he bought me a kitten"

Wyatt frowned at her last state a pet"

"It’s because et rid of him She actually made Hank take Mr Buttons when they broke up" That hen Iris realized that getting attached to people or things was a waste of time Well, Wyatt had been an exception When they’d become friends at ten years old, she had to make the exception He’d just pushed his way into her life, trying to look out for her even though he was just a kid hiht have been a terrible role model, but her home had at least been a safe haven for Wyatt

Wyatt didn’t say anything, just watched her thoughtfully so she continued She stabbed a bite of pancake and stared at it as she spoke "At the time he was the only decentdeal, so important And I was determined to become one myself My mom always said that was stupid, that I should ain, but the action was jerky, not casual as she’d intended Hera man take care of her had only made Iris even more determined to become a Marine, to be able to take care of herself and defend herself fro she’d learned in the service, no one could ever take that away from her Her skills were now a part of her and she treasured the She could feel the heat of his gaze on her, but she couldn’t meet it Finally he spoke "If you don’t eat that pancake I’ dibs"

His words dispelled the ht of her , she brought the fork to his lips He looked surprised, but took the bite

Her eyes strayed to histhe way he chewed, the way his throat worked as he sed Heat blooue working her "I like watching you eat too," she whispered

Wyatt pushed out a rough breath "You’re going to rinned and snagged another bite for herself "Not anytothe hospital corridor Not that ithis stolen doctor’s scrubs Still, he resisted the urge to look at his watch He had threefrantically on the phone behind her desk didn’t glance his way as he slipped into Sato’s roo hours, but the ICU had a few holes in their security--and he’d created one very big one in the ward next door by creating a distraction

Hospitals didn’t take bohtly, especially not in the NICU It had been risky, but all available personnel had been called away including the guards to Sato Tora in the neighboring ICU Or he really hoped they had been He’d waited to make sure her room cleared out then doubled back, but it was still possible that someone reically and the entire ward had panicked Most people wouldn’t have had the balls to do what he was doing, but he wasn’tWyatt Christiansen would soon find out He’d been putting up with the other h He never should have hired someone to take care of what he could do himself It had just seemed cleaner at the time

Now he had to kill Sato She hadn’t talked to the cops or he’d be in jail right now, but he couldn’t take the chance that she eventually would

The steady beep of the heart hts were off and the curtain was drawn around Sato’s bed, giving hih privacy If he was really lucky, Sato wouldn’t even wake up

Things would be very tidy that way