Combust: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance
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Authors: L Wilder
COMBUST
A Devil Chasers’ MC Romance
Copyright 2015 L Wilder
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication or any part of this series may be reproduced without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This book is a work of fiction. Some of the places named in the book are actual places found in Paris, TN. The names, characters, brands, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and owners of various products and locations referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication or use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Warning: This book is intended for readers 18 years or older due to bad language, violence and explicit sex scenes.
Editor: Brooke Asher
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Cover by: Carrie at
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Cover Photographer: Randy Sewell
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DEDICATION
To My Readers
Your support through messages and posts has touched me more than you will ever know. Thank you all for making the Devil Chasers’ series such a great success.
Contents
Prologue
One Month Earlier
“After reviewing the accusations against you, Ms. Sanders, I have decided to suspend you from the residency until further notice,” Mr. Edwards said coldly. He glared at me through his reading glasses, disgust apparent in his eyes. His hands were hidden in the pockets of his freshly ironed lab coat. He towered over me with his broad shoulders, intimidating me for the first time since I’d met him. He’d always been so nice to me, encouraging me to push myself harder. Seeing him look at me with such disapproval hurt more than I’d expected.
“I don’t understand,” I told him. “What accusations? I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“There are several things actually. The allegations against you just keep growing, Ms. Sanders. It looks like you have been a very busy young lady.” He crossed his arms, and I felt myself cower under his daunting glare.
“What things?” I asked.
“There is evidence that you have cheated on multiple exams. A disturbing report that you mishandled distribution of medication which caused one of our patients to have multiple seizures, almost killing her. If that isn’t enough, it seems that you’re having relations with one of our married surgeons. I am extremely disappointed in you. You’ve made some very poor decisions, Ms. Sanders.” He said my name with such anger, such repulsion. None of what he said was true, but I knew he wasn’t going to listen to my defense. Everything I’d worked for was slipping right through my fingertips over a bunch of lies. My mind was racing, and a tightness was building in my chest. I couldn’t look at him, so I glanced around his office, trying to ground myself. I needed to say something, to try to fix things, but I didn’t know where to start. I couldn’t understand how it’d all happened. I’d always tried to do the right thing. I’d been totally dedicated to becoming a doctor, letting everything else in my life fall second.
I’d given everything I had to succeeding, and I would’ve never done anything to jeopardize my career. Something just wasn’t right. I knew deep down in my gut that Jason Thomas was behind it, but I had no way to prove it. I didn’t know how he’d done it, but I had to find a way to clear my name. I just had to. Being a doctor had been my dream for as long as I could remember, and I wasn’t going to let some rich prick take it away from me.
I turned my head back to Mr. Edwards, looking him straight in the eye, and said, “Sir, none of this is true. Not one word. I know you don’t believe me, but I will find a way to prove it to you.” I grabbed my bag and pulled the strap over my shoulder, preparing to leave the room. Before I left, I looked back to him and said, “I am the strongest student in this residency, and we both know it. I will find out who is behind all of this, and I will make it right.”
Without waiting for his response, I walked out of his office. The hallway was just a blur as the tears filled my eyes. I kept my eyes locked on the floor as I made my way into the restroom. After locking the door, I rested my back against the wall and slid down to the cool marble tiles. The tears were flowing freely, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop them. I felt so lost. My life was spinning out of control, and I didn’t know what to do to stop it.
I sat there feeling sorry for myself for several minutes before the anger began to rise in the pit of my stomach. I wiped the tears from my eyes and lifted myself off of the floor. I brushed off my pants and walked over to the sink. I splashed cold water on my face, trying to erase the trail of tears that crossed my cheeks. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I couldn’t believe what I saw. I was stronger than the person staring back at me. I wasn’t the kind of person that let something like that tear me apart. I needed to get home and get my shit together. No one stopped me as I rushed out of the hospital.
I called Steven as soon as I got into my car, and thankfully, he was sitting on my front step waiting for me when I pulled into my driveway. Just knowing he was there gave me a sense of relief. He’d been my best friend for almost six years. He’d moved into the house next door to me when I was seventeen. He was an English author who moved to here to focus on his next book. We really were an odd pair. I was always so reserved, watching every word that came out of my mouth, while he was the smartass, always giving everybody hell. I honestly didn’t know how we got along so well, but we worked. I felt lucky to have him. I’d never have been able to survive my mother’s death if he hadn’t been there for me. I’d spent two years watching her fight a losing battle against ovarian cancer, and it was heartbreaking. It was painful to watch her try to hide her suffering, but I refused to leave her side. When she finally passed away, I was devastated. Steven was my rock. He was always there for me, pulling me out of my deep depression.
I grabbed my stuff and got out of the car, heading towards him while I tried to put on a brave face. I didn’t know why I even bothered. He knew me better than anyone. I glanced over to him and tried to smile.
“Bloody hell, woman! You look awful,” he told me as he grimaced. “What’s going on with you?”
I let out a deep sigh and walked past him, unlocking my front door. “My life just went to shit. That’s what’s going on,” I told him as I dropped my things on the floor and headed into the kitchen.
“How’s that?” he asked with concern, as he sat down on one of the stools by my kitchen counter.
“Mr. Edwards called me into his office before rounds. He told me that he was suspending me from the residency program because apparently I cheated on my finals, almost killed a patient, and I am screwing one of the surgeons.”
“That’s bullshit!” he snapped. “Didn’t you tell him it wasn’t true?”
“I told him, but I could tell he wasn’t listening. He’d already completely made up his mind about me. Until I can prove it, he’s going to keep thinking I’m lying.”
“Somebody is doing their best to make sure you don’t complete the residency program,” he said flatly.
“Tell me about it.”
“You think Jason has something to do with this?” Steven asked.
“I have no doubt in my mind that he’s behind all of it. He’s gone to a lot of trouble. I just can’t figure out why he’s so determined to ruin me like this.”
“He doesn’t like the fact that you’re a better doctor than him, Ana. He’d always been on top until you came around, and he doesn’t like to be second. I’m sure that he isn’t very fond of you right now.”
“None of this makes any sense. I don’t even know why he bothered to ask me out. I thought he genuinely liked me,” I told him.
I’d been surprised the day he approached me in the lunchroom. He was so sweet, almost bashful, as he’d asked me to dinner, but I’d quickly turned him down. It wasn’t that I didn’t find him attractive; he was handsome in his own way. At that time, I’d had no interest in starting anything up with any man. I hadn’t been on a real date since my mother had died, and I didn’t see that changing anytime soon. I was completely focused on becoming a doctor, and I didn’t want or need any distractions. I was determined, and I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything stand in my way. Regardless, he wasn’t happy about me turning him down. After that, things shifted between us.
At first, I didn’t even recognize the difference in him. But shortly after our quarterly exams, everything changed. Jason began glaring at me during class, making me feel on edge. Then, he started interrupting me whenever I tried to make my diagnosis during rounds. He would look over to me and smirk whenever he was given credit for acknowledging a medical problem first. It had all really begun to irritate me, but I didn’t know how to stop him. I’d noticed a few mistakes he’d made with his patient’s medication, but no one listened when I’d tried to point out the errors. They’d always seemed to take his side whenever I’d brought it up. I’d even tried talking to him about everything, but that had just seemed to make things worse.
Strange phone calls from the hospital had started coming at random times throughout the night. Each time I’d seen the number on my phone, I’d assumed it was someone calling me into work, or that there was an issue with a patient. Occasionally, it was one of the other residents calling to check in, but those calls were few and far between. Usually when I answered, no one even spoke. Whoever was calling would sit there without saying a word and just breathe into the phone.
The phone calls had just been the beginning, though. Threatening letters were randomly put in my mailbox or my car. Then, someone hacked into all of my email accounts, sending awful emails to everyone I knew. Yes, the problem had been escalating, but I’d never expected to lose my job. It had been a bombshell, and I had no doubt that it was all related.
“I don’t know what his true intentions were, but now we know it couldn’t have been good,” Steven told me as he walked over to me. “Do you think this has anything to do with Jason’s patients you were asking around about?”
“I have no idea, but I don’t think there’s any way I can find out now.”
He wrapped his arms around me and said, “I’m sorry, doll. I wish I could make this all go away.”
“What am I going to do? I’ve worked so hard for this, and now….” I couldn’t continue. I rested my head on his shoulder and cried for the second time. I really hated crying. It made me feel weak and needy, but I couldn’t stop myself. Steven held me until I was able to get myself together. I pulled myself away from his embrace and said, “I’m sorry about that. I’m okay. I’ll figure something out.”