Aching for His Discretion (The Discretion Dynasty #1)

54. Teegan

Chapter fifty-four

Teegan

W alking into my old hospital in New York, I felt a sense of nostalgia. I sensed a large feeling of familiarity as I roamed with my visitor badge instead of my hospital one. Instead of looking up to my residents, I was now one of them, a part of their circle, getting closer to my dream of becoming an attending physician.

With the time I had left for my break, I decided to take the trip back with the guys to New York to visit them for a while. While they were out, I was spending the day visiting some of my old mentors and attendings who looked out for me many times all those years ago.

Though I would much rather wallow in self-pity for a bit, I didn’t want my fight with Declan to dictate my vacation or how I went about my daily life.

Entering the labor and delivery floor, I walked toward the new office of my old mentor, Dr. Damian Woods. Knocking softly at the door, I pushed it open, only to be met with him sitting at his desk reading a chart. He looked up to the door, a little annoyed, but his expression dropped as he made eye contact with me.

“Teegan?” he uttered in shock, and I smiled as I tilted my head.

“You know, I go by Dr. Monroe nowadays, but… Teegan is all right, too.”

He stood up slowly, still feigning a look of confusion, and I giggled as I placed the few gift bags I had in hand on the ground and walked over to him to give him a hug.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, still in shock as he hugged me, and I shrugged.

“I’m here to see you. It’s only right I pay a visit to the man who threatened to leave a bullet wound in my older brother, hmm?” I joked, and he rolled his eyes as we pulled away.

He crossed his arms, staring down at me. “I almost can’t believe it’s you.”

“Well, believe it… As a token of my appreciation for you totally not favoring me throughout my rotation,” I said sarcastically, and he gave me a look as I leaned down and grabbed one of the bags, “I have a gift for you.” I handed him his gift bag with a smile.

He grabbed it from my hand, but instead of opening it, he pulled out his phone and dialed someone quickly.

“Get out of the basement of the hospital for once and come to my office,” was all he said to the person, and I smiled as the office door opened, revealing Dr. Gordon, who was on the phone.

“I was already coming to a stop by—Teegan?” he said in shock as well, and I gave him a hug as well as he stood practically frozen with the phone still to his ear. Having the same reaction as Dr. Woods, I did my best to ground both the men who were looking as if I had just entered from another planet.

We spent nearly an hour talking about my new position at Johns Hopkins, residency, and my life in general. It felt nice reconnecting with them, and I found myself wanting to shed a tear or two as Dr. Woods showed me pictures of his newborn daughter and Dr. Gordon shared a picture of his grandson.

Soon, I was making my way to the ER, and I felt slightly nervous as I approached the final doctor I was here to visit. Knocking softly at the open door, he looked over to me and immediately lowered the chart he was reading.

“Dr. Monroe,” Dr. Wyatt said, and I immediately let out the unshed tears as I walked over and threw myself into his embrace.

Like a father, he held me as I silently thanked him for giving me the courage to leave and grow for my own good. At that moment in the past, it was a hard decision to make, but I am happy overall that I made it.

Pulling away, I smiled as he leaned against his desk and looked at me for a while longer.

“Maryland has treated you well, I see,” he remarked, and I nodded.

“Very well. The hospital I’m working in has just the best staff, and I have made new friends. They’ve become my second family almost.”

“Well, that’s great to hear.”

His eyes lowered to my neck for a moment, and I subconsciously played with the diamond pendant on my necklace as he continued, “Unfortunately, I have to assume you’re back in town for a different reason—one that has to do with the man who threatened to kill me.”

“You’re not disappointed, are you?” I asked, referring to me making amends with Levi, and he shrugged.

“Not disappointed. I respect the decisions you make, Dr. Monroe. I may not agree with them wholly, but I respect them. Now show me what’s in the gift bag,” he said as he eyed my hands, and I rolled my eyes playfully as I handed it to him.

And for the remainder of the hour, I stayed in his office until he shooed me away as he went to meet a patient.

As I exited the hospital, I received a message from Levi, informing me he was still a bit busy with the guys. Instead of making my way to the penthouse, he suggested I stay at his club instead, as he’d arrive there in less than an hour or so. Catching a taxi to get there, I made it in only fifteen minutes.

Entering Levi’s club, I waved to some of the men I knew, grabbed a water bottle from the bartender, and went towards the back of the club. Going into Levi’s office, I roamed aimlessly as I waited for him to arrive since we’d also made plans to go eat sushi.

Taking a seat at his desk, I noticed a small envelope that held my name and a small heart next to it. My hand itched to open it, but I decided against it as it wouldn’t have been the right thing to do.

He probably forgot he left it out on his desk. Could this be the reason he wanted to see me at the club? If so, what could be inside the envelope?

I gazed at it for a moment before deciding to reluctantly leave it be.

Half an hour had passed, and I grew bored of scrolling through my phone and occasionally gazing at the closed envelope. Thinking I should stretch my legs once more, I went to stand when I noticed something at the edge of his desk. My heart immediately raced as it coincidentally buzzed .

Standing up, I went toward it and picked up the very thing that drove us apart in the beginning: Levi’s second phone. I could only wonder if he left this out on purpose for me to see as well.

Teegan…

I felt torn, as I subconsciously glanced over to the door to see if anyone was nearby before looking back down at the phone.

I wanted to put it down. I really did. I wanted to believe he’d changed. I did believe he changed, but my curiosity got the best of me.

But curiosity killed the cat.

Grayson isn’t dead.

You thought he was a few years ago.

…Valid point.

Turning it on, I unlocked it without issue as it wasn’t password-protected. It felt intrusive, the way I was constantly looking over his shoulder and snooping through his personal life and belongings.

He also killed five people I knew, threatened Nico with a gun, and manipulated me into staying with him throughout the years. I’d say it’s even… tit for tat almost.

But… he’s changing.

And that makes what he did all the more reasonable, right?

My hand itched to put the phone down as my heart raced, my mind battling whether or not I should let this all go.

However, I inevitably found myself going through his messages as I ignored my thoughts. Thankfully, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary. I assumed it was probably an old personal cell, given that he had regular contacts and messages within it.

I went to put it down when I noticed a… familiar name—a name that sent chills down my spine as it was somehow buried deep within his messages.

Teegan.

Opening the message, I stared at the phone in utter confusion. Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe there were other doctors named Dr. Lombardi.

It’s just a coincidence.

I clicked on the single message sent from Dr. Lombardi, and it sent me to a different app. Upon opening it, I stood frozen.

I stood frozen as I looked at the rolling security footage of the hospital where I worked. I stood frozen as I watched previous videos of me walking into the lobby.

I stood frozen as my head suddenly became light, the visual making me feel suddenly dizzy all of a sudden.

I stood frozen as I heard light shuffling and a possible groan behind one of the closed doors within his office.

Placing the phone on the table, I looked over to the door hesitantly. The noise from behind the door intensified, though it was still very muffled.

TEEGAN.

Approaching the door slowly, I opened it to see a set of steps going downstairs. As I numbly went down them, I was met with the same layout of the room I had been in before with Beverly—only this time did I have the unfortunate fate of encountering the person Levi had down here upon entering the basement.

Sitting with his head lowered as he was tied to the chair, the man looked up slowly, and his eyes widened slightly as he made eye contact with me. Covered in dry blood and fresh tears, he spoke through his dry throat.

“Teegan!” he cried, and I watched him numbly as I looked over his bruised face and red, tear-filled eyes. He looked distraught, starved, and sleep-deprived. It was hard to determine how long he’d been down here.

I began feeling numb, my senses both heightened in the moment and also fading, trying to make sense of what was before me.

“Jacob…” I whispered, tears clouding with my vision, and his own eyes began pleading with mine.

The way he looked at me, it was as if he’d seen an angel—his savior from the devil that put him in this place.

“P-Please, Teegan,” he begged . “Please help me.”