The Distance Between Us (MAC Security 3)

He whips his head to the side, looking at Ty. “Huh?”

Boss raises a brow at him and asks again. “Anything on your end?”

“Ahh, erm… we have a few leads we’re following. I’ll let you know if we get anything.”

Ty huffs out a breath and then turns to me. “Checkup today, right?”

“Yeah.” I smile. “Evan’s taking me.”

“Good, let me know what they say.” And with that, he pushes up out of his chair and makes his way to his office, Kay and Luke following him, leaving just me, Charlie, and Evan sat at the table.

“I’ll go get the car,” Evan says. “Meet you outside in five?”

“Got it,” I say, giving Evan a thumbs up.

Charlie walks around to me, crouching down in front of me and gripping the armrests of the chair, his face shadowed in concern. “How you feeling today?”

“Better,” I answer, knowing that it’s a lie, not twenty minutes ago I thought I was going to pass out right here from the pain.

“You know if you’re not better, that’s okay, right?”

“I know,” I say, gritting my teeth to stop myself from saying anything else. I don’t want to worry him with me not feeling better, he already has enough on his plate. “I’m getting better and I’m sure the docs will see that. The sooner I can get back out there, the better.”

His eyes scan my face, moving down to my arm and then back up again. “Are you sure you want to get back on the job so soon? Why don’t you take some time, rest up.”

“The fuck?” I push my chair back with my legs, standing up, my temper flaring to life. “Just because you stayed at my place last night, doesn’t mean we’re anything more than we’ve always been, Charlie. I’m just here for you to get your rocks off, remember?”

I walk away, leaving him still crouched there with a stunned look on his face. I know it was a bitchy thing to say, but he doesn’t get to tell me when I should or shouldn’t go back to work. This job is my life and I’ll be damned if he thinks he’s going to tell me what to do.

Waiting rooms suck. They’re full of sick people and I swear I can see the germs floating toward me, trying to get inside my body and wreak havoc. It takes everything in me not to bring my top over my mouth and nose to stop them from getting to me. Whoever thought it’d be a good idea to stick all the sick people in one room was a douche.

My leg bobs up and down, twenty minutes I’ve been waiting now and still I haven’t been seen. What’s the point in giving you a time for your appointment when you’re not seen at that time? But if I was to turn up a couple of minutes late you can bet your ass they’d say I can’t be seen and tell me to rearrange it.

“Katherine?” I take a deep breath and look to the doctor calling my name. Thank God for that.

I follow him down the hallway, huffing as I go and dragging my feet as he walks faster to his room. He waits at the door for me to enter and I walk past him then past the cot that sits against the wall and to his desk.

“Take a seat,” he says, extending his arm to one of the pleather seats.

“Thanks,” I say, my voice curt as I sit down and place my hand in my lap.

“So, how’s it healing?” he asks, looking down at the tablet in front of him and then raising his eyes to me.

“I thought that was your job to tell me,” I answer smartly, making him chuckle.

“Well let’s take a look at it and then go from there.” He taps away on his tablet and then stands up, waving his arm to the cot and following me as I jump up on it.

He closes the curtain, staying on the other side and says, “If you take your top off then let me know when you’re ready.”

I take a deep breath and pull my t-shirt over my arm, leaving it over my chest so that I’m still covered then calling out to tell him I’m ready. I wonder if he’ll mind the fact that my armpits are like a gorilla’s? Who knew that shaving was so difficult when you have one less arm to help.

I snort at myself just as he comes behind the curtain, a brow raised at me. I smile and shrug, not about to let him in on my random thoughts and wince as he pokes and prods at the wound.

“It’s healing nicely, how’s the pain?”

“Painful.” I shrug. “I lost my bottle of pills so I haven’t taken any for a couple of days.” The lie rolls off my tongue with so much ease that it should scare me, but it doesn’t.

He tuts and crosses his arms over his chest. “You don’t have to suffer in pain, you should’ve called. I’ll prescribe you some more.”