Mara’s POV The charge nurse’s stare burned into my back like a brand as I hurried through the parking garage. My heart hammered against my ribs. She knows. God, she has to know. I gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles went white, nearly missing the turn onto Theo’s street. Every red light felt like a warning. My mind replayed the way her eyes had narrowed near the elevators… sharp, calculating. By the time I pulled up behind his car, my stomach was in knots. Fear. Guilt. And underneath it all, that desperate, aching need I couldn’t shake. Theo waited by the front door, silhouetted in the warm light. He didn’t say anything at first. Just stepped aside, locked the door behind me with a soft click that made us both exhale. “Rough shift?” he asked, voice low. “You have no idea.” I rubbed my arms, still feeling the ghost of that stare. “She looked right at us, Theo. Like she’d already connected the dots.” He pulled me into a hug, his chin resting on my head. “Come here. Bre
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