Possessed by Passion (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 9)

“Thanks, Alex.”

“I’m already at the hospital now because an inspector showed up and they called me. But he’s gone now. Park in front and I’ll meet you.”

She turned her car onto Main Street, passing the Hotel Cactus, where she’d be staying tonight. She was tired but knew sleep might not be possible with all that was swirling in her head.

Crossing Coyote Street, Paris noticed the town was aglow in the late afternoon sun’s orange rays. Several people walking waved at her. It had a charm that was different in some respects to Destiny but also had the same warm welcoming feeling. Being one of the few towns in the country like Destiny that accepted polyamorous relationships, Wilde was definitely a place she could feel at home in.

She turned onto Dry Creek Road. The hospital came into view on her left. It was much larger than she’d imagined it would be for a city of this size. The architecture impressed her. Instead of a harsh building of glass and metal, it had a warm, comforting design. Gorgeous landscaping with lovely seating areas surrounded it.

As instructed, she parked in one of the spots at the front.

A man in a white coat walked to her car. He waved, and she knew he had to be Dr. Champion. He looked younger than she’d expected, with black hair and green eyes that reminded her of Mick’s. His right arm was in a cast.

She stepped out of her car.

“Hello, Paris.” He extended his left hand.

She shook it. “Nice to finally meet you, Dr. Champion. I mean Alex.”

“The pleasure is mine. Niki, the on-duty nurse, has a fresh pot of coffee brewing just for you.”

“That would be wonderful.”

Working for Alex would definitely be enjoyable, but could she really close the door on Dustin and Mick for good? She wasn’t sure. Her cell rang.

“Do you need to take that?”

“Not yet. I know who it is.” She looked at her screen, confirming the call was from Dustin and Mick. “I’ll call them back after the tour.”

* * * *

From a distant part of the parking lot, Barkley sat in his car watching Paris Cottrell walk into the hospital with the quack in the cast he’d met with earlier. He smiled, glancing down at his Glock. He wrapped his fingers around its handle, slamming the magazine into it.

“Payback time, Dr. Ryder.” He got out of his car. “Time to kill your bitch.”

Chapter Fifteen

Pressing on the accelerator, Dustin passed Wilde, Nevada’s city limit sign. Whatever it took to convince Paris to come home with him and Mick, even if that meant throwing her over his shoulder and dragging her back to Destiny, he would do it.

“Still no answer.” Mick glared at his phone, as if trying to will it to do what he wanted. They both were dying to find Paris.

He slowed the truck down to a crawl, checking the vehicles parked around the hotel on their right. “I don’t see Paris’s car.”

“Me either. Maybe she’s staying somewhere else.”

“Mick, I doubt there’s another hotel in town. I bet she went straight to the hospital.” They’d tried to get the address from the GPS but it hadn’t come up, likely because the place was just recently built.

“See those three.” His brother pointed to a trio, two men and a woman, on the sidewalk. “Pull over and I’ll ask them for directions to the hospital.”

“Good idea.”

The two men wore cowboy hats and were mirror images of one another, twins no doubt. The woman they had their arms around had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and was obviously pregnant.

Mick rolled down his window. “Excuse me, but could you tell us how to get to the hospital from here?”

“One of you hurt?” The guy to the right of the blonde asked.

“No. We’re fine.”