The doctors’ lounge at Sterling Medical was usually a place of quiet exhaustion, but today it was filled with laughter.
“So I told the border patrol, ‘It’s not a weapon, it’s a surgical drill!’ getting that through customs in Sudan was a nightmare.”
Dr. Kaius Reed leaned against the counter, holding a cup of coffee. He was everything Julian Sterling was not: blonde, sun-kissed, openly smiling, and radiating an easy, golden charm. He was the new Head of Trauma, fresh from Doctors Without Borders.
Maya Khan laughed, a genuine sound that had been absent for weeks. “You’re making that up.”
“Scout’s honor,” Kaius grinned, his blue eyes crinkling. He looked at Maya with undisguised interest. “You’re Dr. Khan, right? The OB-GYN who broke the firewall record? I heard you’re a bit of a rebel. I like rebels.”
Maya blushed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I just… care about my patients.”
From the doorway, Dr. Julian Sterling watched. He gripped a patient file so hard the cardboard bent. He saw the way Kaius leaned in. He saw the way Maya smiled–a light, easy smile she never gave him anymore. With Julian, everything was heavy, dark, and complicated by his secret identity as a Valerius.
Jealousy coiled in his gut, hot and acidic. He wanted to walk over there, shove the “Golden Boy” aside, and claim her. But he couldn’t. He was living a lie. If he got close to her, he dragged her into his darkness.
Julian turned on his heel and walked away, the sound of Maya’s laughter chasing him down the hall like a taunt.