Chapter 3

I couldn't formulate a comeback, so I just glared at Julian and snatched the breakfast bag from his hands.

What else could I do? The guy absolutely had me figured out when it came to food. He only ever bought my favorites.

I took a bite of the breakfast sandwich and suddenly remembered my patient from the other night.

He would never get to eat breakfast again.

I paused, then took a massive, aggressive bite.

The living have to keep eating.

On the third morning, I finally broke. "Julian, you said you observed me for three years. How exactly? Were you camping outside my apartment building?"

He went quiet and fiddled with his coffee cup. "Outside the hospital."

"What?"

"One winter, you walked out after a graveyard shift and waited at the crosswalk. The light turned green, but you didn't move. You just stared blankly across the street.

"I thought you were looking at me, and my heart skipped a beat. Then I realized you were just spacing out."

Julian looked a bit wistful. "That light went from green to red, over and over, and you just stood there like a statue. I stood across from you for three whole traffic cycles.

"I watched you leave work from across the street," his voice was soft. "When you worked nights, I stood outside the inpatient building.

"There was this one time you slipped and fell walking out in the snow. I wanted to help you up, but I couldn't get inside."

I was stunned.

That winter, I took a nasty spill outside the ER, scraped my knee, and had to limp to the pharmacy by myself.

He was right across the street the whole time.

"Why couldn't you come in?" I asked.

He looked up at me, his expression complicated. "I was an intern Reaper back then. No permanent status. I couldn't enter a Level One Trauma Center."

"Excuse me?"

"I tried three times," he added. "The day we broke up, I came looking for you, but security blocked me at the doors. The second time was that winter you had a terrible flu.

"I stood outside the ER for half an hour, but still couldn't cross the threshold. The third time was during one of your night shifts.

"I wanted to bring you late night takeout, but security said my outfit was a hazard and kicked me off the property."

I thought back to his wardrobe choices back then. The black cloak, probably wielding the scythe too.

Honestly, the fact that security didn't call the cops was a miracle.

"So you are full time now?" I asked.

"Yeah." He pulled a sleek black ID card from his suit pocket. It had the emblem of the Afterlife Administration stamped in a minimalist font. "I am official now. I have clearance for any major hospital."

I stared at the badge for a good three seconds. "The Underworld has a corporate ladder?"

"The Underworld has a very strict bureaucratic system," he nodded seriously. "Contract Reapers can't even touch the doorknobs of an emergency room."

I suddenly didn't know what to say.

He had been there all along. Three times. And he couldn't get to me once.

After a long pause, I asked, "Then that first night you were finally able to come in..."

I stopped myself mid sentence.

The first night he finally crossed the threshold was at 2:17 AM.

While I was doing chest compressions on a stranger for thirty minutes straight.

And he was just standing there, watching me.

Julian didn't say anything. He just pushed the coffee closer to me. "Drink up. It tastes awful when it gets cold."

After breakfast, I grabbed my coat and hurried downstairs for work.

A sleek sedan rolled to a smooth stop right in front of me. The window rolled down to reveal Julian's face. "I will drop you off."

I was about to open the door out of habit when I remembered who he was. My hand froze in the air.

"Maybe we shouldn't?" I suggested gently.

Julian chuckled softly. "Relax. I am just giving you a ride today. I am off the clock."

I let out a breath of relief and hopped into the passenger seat. It wasn't until I reached for the seatbelt that it hit me.

Dammit! Why did I get into his car so naturally?

As he saw my dramatic frustration, Julian's smile grew even brighter.

We pulled up to the hospital, and I practically jumped out, ignoring the highly suspicious looks from my coworkers.

The moment I stepped into the breakroom, the interrogation began.

"Hey Chloe, who was that dropping you off this morning?" one of them asked.

I kept a straight face. "My neighbor."

"Oh really? He is pretty cute. How old is he? What does he do?"

"How old? No idea."

"What does he do?"

I choked.

Honestly, guys, you really did not want to know.

I racked my brain before finally blurting out, "Uh, he works in the public sector. Government job."

A job with the Underworld Administration totally counts as the public sector, right?

Yep. I mentally patted myself on the back for that save.