Page 1 of Her Broken Biker
Chapter 1
Reina
Myfeetarekillingme.
That is my first thought when I step out of Lovestone Ridge Medical Center after a twelve-hour shift.
My lower back aches, there’s a coffee stain over the left side of my scrub top, and my hair is escaping the clip at the back of my head one sweaty strand at a time.
I look like I lost a fight with the day.
Honestly, the day fought dirty.
The side door whispers shut behind me. Cool spring air brushes my face, carrying the sharp, clean smell of pine and the faint sweetness of spring grass. The staff parking lot is mostly empty now, just a scatter of cars under yellow lamps and long strips of shadow between them.
I shift my tote higher on my shoulder and dig for my keys. My fingers find the little metal ring, but before I can pull it free, my phone buzzes inside the bag.
Mara’s name flashes on the screen.
You alive?
I smile because Mara asks that after every awful shift, like death is mostly a scheduling conflict.
Barely.
Her reply pops up fast.
Diner? Pancakes heal trauma.
I huff a laugh. My stomach would love pancakes. My body wants a shower and eight hours without anyone saying, “Can you take a quick look at this?”
Rain check. I’m going home to become furniture.
Mara answers before I can tuck the phone away.
Boring but valid.
I slide my phone back into my tote and keep walking.
My car waits near the back of the lot, because this morning I had more faith in my legs than they deserved. The lamp above it flickers every few seconds, making the pavement blink gold, gray, gold again.
I’m halfway there when I hear a sound behind me.
A scrape.
Soft. Quick.
I stop, and for a second, I tell myself it’s one of the hospital cats, the fat gray one that sleeps behind the dumpster and judges everyone. Or a doctor sneaking a cigarette. Or my tired brain turning shadows into monsters because twelve hours on a med-surg floor can make anyone dramatic.
Then a man steps out from beside a parked truck.
He wears a black hoodie with the hood pulled low.
“Nurse,” he says.
The word lands cold in the middle of my chest.
A sound comes from behind me. Too close.
