Hidden Desires by Elle Kennedy

hospital. I don’t now when we’ll actually see each other again.”
    “Or it might take hours. We’ll need to work fast.” Suzanna moved to the phone and punched in a number.
    “What are you doing now?”
    “Calling the supplier. We’ll need this green by tomorrow afternoon.” Chapter Seven
    It was three days before Travis finally called Rachel, and those were the longest three days of his life.
    It had taken all of his willpower not to call her the second he’d gotten home after the night at the bar, but he’d managed to restrain himself from grabbing for the phone. He felt like he’d finally found a chink in her defensive armor and he hadn’t wanted to risk her patching it up, which was a good possibility, considering her tendency to close up when she felt pressured.
    Damn, but the woman was wound so tight he was surprised she hadn’t snapped yet. Seeing just how the past affected her, how it had the ability to shatter her confidence in nanoseconds, made him grateful for his bland upbringing. His parents were caring, generous people, and hell, a little boring. Before his death, Gregory Gage spent his days tinkering on his computer and his evenings with his wife, doing puzzles and playing Trivial Pursuit. The wildest thing they’d ever done was go on a Caribbean cruise, which they’d had to cut short because his mother got seasick. A real Bonnie and Clyde, those two.
    He couldn’t even begin to imagine being raised by a woman like Hattie Foster. She had the maternal instincts of a napkin, and a part of him—though he’d never reveal it to Rachel—almost understood why Carrie felt like she’d had no choice but to take her own life.
    “Jenny told me to drop this off. She just went on her lunch break.” Travis glanced up absently as his partner tossed a thin file folder on the desk. “Thanks,” he said.
    “Mind telling me why you requested a staff list from Chicago General?” Matt asked, slinging his hands in his pockets. “A list that’s more than a decade old, no less.” Travis sighed, knowing it was time to fill Matt in on his side investigation. He’d been neglecting their ongoing cases this past week and a half, and his partner deserved an explanation.
    Quickly, he explained the situation. When he finished, he didn’t like the frown he saw on his partner’s face.
    “I don’t like this,” Matt said in a wary voice.
    “Why? I’m just helping out a friend.”
    “A friend? No, you’re on another one of your crusades, man.” Travis returned his friend’s frown. “It’s not like that.”
    “Really? From what you just told me, it sounds like this woman isn’t in the greatest state of mind.
    She’s scarred, and you want to heal her.” Matt let out a deep breath. “You can’t keep doing this, Travis.”
    “It’s not like that,” Travis repeated, his voice firm.
    “Really? Last month you decided Ginny Roberts needed to be saved,” Matt reminded him, naming a young female deputy who’d only been on the force for a year or so. “You found out about her abusive boyfriend and decided it was your place to remove her from that situation.”
    “The guy would’ve killed her if I hadn’t stepped in.”
    “What about that teenage prostitute you took in last year? You moved her into your goddamn house, man, until you could track down her family.” Cutting him off before he could explain, Matt just sighed.
    “You can try to save a million women, but none of them will bring back Jess.” A muscle flinched in Travis’s jaw. “This isn’t about Jess.” Matt looked unconvinced. “Whatever you say, buddy. Just be careful, okay?” Travis waited until Matt left his office before slamming both fists down on the desktop. This wasn’t about Jess, dammit. He’d come to terms with his wife’s death. He’d even taken that pointless leave of absence the chief had prescribed. For three months, he’d lounged on a beach in Belize, bored stiff and eager to return to Chicago. He was a new