As the youngest transplant surgeon in the city, Elizabeth Guest is living the dream, but when one of her patients is missing without a trace, her credibility is not the only thing that is in danger. Learning that a doctor with fake credentials dismissed the young man in her care, she begins an extensive search to locate him, but the few clues she discovers lead her on a perilous journey.
Elizabeth spent the day berating the hospital administrator for allowing a fake physician to get anywhere near one of her patients. “He was critically ill,” she screamed. The administrator said nothing. He nodded his head until she was finished and then quietly told her to leave. “What? Aren’t you going to look into the situation?” “I’m in charge here, Dr. Guest.” He stood up and showed Elizabeth to the door, closed it behind her, and made a quick phone call.
As Elizabeth walked down the hallway and slowly made her way back to where the real work was done, she felt betrayed and helpless. The administrator had treated her like a nonentity. He was new to the hospital, but a number of administrators had come and gone in the last several years. Elizabeth did what was expected of her and left for the day. It was out of character for her not to work overtime, but today she didn’t care.
She walked home and unlocked the door to unfamiliar surroundings. “Jeff?” She looked around at the expensive furniture that had replaced her comfortable chairs and sofa, and the light fixtures of crystal that hung from the ceilings. “Jeff?” She took the stairs as fast as she could, trying to locate him. In her bedroom stood a huge bed. The spread was new, too, a multicolored display that she knew she couldn’t afford. She turned to see a man in a white robe, his hair wet from the shower, and a smile formed from wetted lips. “What did you do?”
“You deserve only the best, Dr. Guest.” With one slow movement, he slid the ties of his robe apart and let the garment fall to the floor. He approached her, his breath warm on her neck. He was strong and sensual, the kind of man Elizabeth had fantasized about. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, the bed he was determined to share with the doctor.
Waking up in the arms of a man was new to Elizabeth, and she lay in bed while Jeff put his culinary skills to work.
“You’re too good to me, young man.”
“Young man, huh? Does that make you my old lady?”
Elizabeth didn’t respond as she stuffed her mouth with pancakes. “I’m off today, want to take in some of the sights?”
“I have a few things I need to take care of, doc. Let’s do the tour of the city another time.”
“Sure.”
“See you later, sweet one,” he said. He grabbed the keys to Elizabeth’s Lexus, leaving her alone. She thought little of it as she went about her day, but as she pulled the spread from the bottom of the bed, Jeff’s cell phone rolled across the floor. She picked it up and noticed a text message lighting up the screen. ‘Dr. G. in yesterday. Meet me soon.’ Elizabeth stared at the screen. It was the hospital administrator, but what was he doing texting Jeff? She was tempted to text back, but if Jeff was on his way to meet with the administrator, he would know that she was the one doing the texting. She looked for old texts, but Jeff was smarter than that. He had deleted them. Elizabeth placed the cell phone on the bedside table and waited for him to return.
Two hours later she heard the front door open and the familiar sound of Jeff’s hurried steps. “Elizabeth, I’m home,” he sang.
“Up here.” She lay on the bed next to the table, hoping for some explanation. “You left your phone.”
“I noticed that.” He picked it up and slipped it into his back pocket.
“Any messages?”
He pulled it out and glanced down at the message. “It’s nothing.” He climbed onto the bed and wrapped himself around her, hoping she would forget about the message that he was certain she had read.
