The Surgeon's Debt: Bound To The Beast

ut of the chrome f

and dragged them across her knuckles. The friction burned, a necessary penance, but just as the bristles threatened to break the skin, her hands froze. No. She cou

on her ID badge. But deep in the recesses of her mind, buried under layers of survival instinct and fear, was another name. Ye Jiuting. She hadn't spoken those syllables

k on the wall bl

ecks. Up there, in the world of champagne and diamonds, the night was just beginning. Down here, in the b

her office

knock. It wa

way, her chest heaving, her fa

It's the VIP s

n processed the room number. Room 404. Agent Best. The man

ded, grabbing her ste

. No pulse. I c

la

n the empty corridor. The air in the hallway smelled of antiseptic and ozone,

expensive lil

t into R

flat, high-pitched tone that

open in a silent gasp, his skin alrea

sh cart!" Is

the man's heavy torso. She interlocked her fingers,

o. Thre

falling from its bun to curtain her f

ce. She didn't stop. You don't sto

Miller yelled, ho

le

body jerked violently as the e

ed at th

tli

rge to thre

inutes before we found him," Mill

rge

had turned to stone. Sweat dripped from Isela's chin, landing on the patient's unmo

, she s

for the drone of the machin

death,

reached for the sheet to pull it over Agent B

kille

oom. It was soft, devoid of the hysteri

a tu

dressing gown, clutching a string of pearls so tightly her knuckles w

Isela said, trying to keep her voice st

icured finger at the metal tray next to the bed. "

ger. Lying on the tray

antibiotic," Isela said. "Cefa

he room slamm

, it wasn

ho ran the lower decks like a personal fiefdom. He was flanked by th

. He looked at Isela. His gaze craw

n said, his voice a gravelly rumble. He stepp

The sudden volume made Isela flinch. "She gave

ed Isela by the shoulder. His fingers dug into her trapezius m

issed. "I need to secur

uston sneered. He pushed her back against the

ece of paper and threw it at Isela. The sharp corner of the heavy

Mrs. Best

wn. She unfolded it. It was a medical his

Allergies: Cephalosp

blood

e shift. The system flagged 'No Known Allergies'. And the syringe..." She looked at Miller, who was cowering by the cart. "

were negligent. Or maybe... maybe someo

ssing between Mrs. Best and Huston.

s a s

The reaction was too fast, too total

" Isela said, her voice

melled of stale tobacco and mints. "That sounds like a conspiracy

n't just about framing her. It was about breaking her. If she was a mur

nd sharp, clawe

c attempt, but it caught him off gu

r!" Hust

surged forward. They

ine, and morphine exploded on the floor.

ed around the one thi

. The one s

liquid left in the hub of

, near the window. The oce

ue electricity. "Don't make this messy, Isela. We can work something out. You come with

ear. Become his toy, o

igning a faint on the sofa. She looked at

t the needle

happened, it proved the allergy report was a fake, or that the cause of death

nly way to prove she hadn't loaded i

s voice trembled, but her hand w

oking to crush her. His heavy hand closed over hers, sque

e plastic barrel as sweat made her palms

bone, the needle slipped. Isela gasped as the sharp tip drove deep into the soft flesh of her forearm. The

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