ASH: We’ll be there in thirty minutes. Are you almost ready?

COBY: Yes. Nurse kim is helping wth my close now. 😀

ASH: LOL Awesome. She better not be flirting with you, though. I’ll get jealous. 😜

COBY: haha i only flirt u, ash

ASH: Damn right. 😁 I’ll see you soon, Co. VERY soon. 

Coby smiled and put his phone down, much to the relief of Kim who was getting more and more annoyed that Coby was paying more attention to it than to her and her final instructions. 

She sighed, her hand on her hip. “Are you done now?”

Coby nodded. “He’ll be here soon.”

“Yes, and you’re far from ready, Co-Bieasah. Now, about your wound care…”

**

“Thank you for calling Embers Medical Center in Marina Bay, how may I direct your call?” The receptionist sounded almost bored as she answered the phone, barely registering the individual who approached the tall counter that surrounded her desk and leaned his elbows on it. “Of course, Ma’am, just let me place you on a brief hold while I transfer you.” She set the receiver on the base after pushing a button, and glanced up with a small sigh that ended in a gasp, startled at the new arrival grinning down at her.

“Gyna-ha, miss,” the stranger said, his bright blue eyes twinkling in his ruggedly handsome face. His dark hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail, a few strands of it hanging in his eyes. 

“Oh!” she put her hand to her chest, her heart pounding from the brief scare, her lips lifting in a smile. “Hello, how can I help you?” 

“Yes, I am hoping you can,” he said, his deep voice smooth and silky, making her nerves tingle. “I am looking for someone. A friend of mine. He was hurt recently and I think he may have been brought here for treatment.”

She looked him over. He was tall, muscular, broad-shouldered, with a deadly gorgeous smile. He was definitely not from around here, given his unusual greeting. 

“I’m sorry, unless you’re a family member or on the list of approved guests, I can’t disclose any patient information,” she said, genuinely apologetic. 

His eyes dimmed a little. “Oh, I see,” he said, crestfallen. “Can you not tell me if he was here at all? I’m very worried about him. I heard he was hurt rather badly.”

She shook her head sadly. “No, sir, I’m afraid I can’t.”

“What if I give you his name?”

She hesitated. She dealt with persistent people all the time, both patients and visitors. She’d become adept at making people back off, even those who were belligerent. She also knew that just because someone looked peaceful and calm, didn’t mean they necessarily were. They could flip on a dime if provoked enough. All it takes is one too many “no’s” and the nicest old lady became the meanest old bat on the block. This particular guest seemed nice enough, and wasn’t being overly pushy, he was just worried about his friend. 

Plus, this man was incredibly hot. No one in this two-fish town looked this good. Perhaps she could bend the rules just this once. Maybe even get a little…reward…for her generosity. She hovered her fingers over her keyboard and gave him a kind smile.

“Go ahead.”

“Co-Bieasah.”

“Last name?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “‘Co’ is his family name. He would not have another to give, I’m afraid. He’s from the same tribe as myself, a Sarathian.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, you’re one of the merfolk!!” FUCKING JACKPOT!

He laughed, deep and hearty. “Yes, I am.”

It was all she could do to keep from bouncing in her seat from excitement. “I’ve never met a merman before! This is so cool!” If she succeeded, she was going to have a blast making all of her girlfriends jealous.

He chuckled. “We don’t get out much,” he said. “Does that mean my friend might not be here, after all?”

She shook her head, doing her best to hide her mounting excitement and maintaining her professionalism. “No, not at all,” she reassured him, typing the name into the search engine. “I don’t see the patients, so I don’t know who is here and who isn’t unless I have to see them in person for some reason. Oh, here he is! Coby, yeah I’ve actually heard the nurses talk about him. Apparently he’s one of their favorites. Super cute, really polite and respectful, all that stuff.”

“He definitely is one of the more beautiful in our tribe, I will admit,” the man said. He nodded to the computer. “He’s still here, you say?”

She nodded. “He is. He was brought in a week or so ago with some pretty severe injuries.” She grimaced as she read his chart. “I’m glad he’s doing better, though. Poor thing.”

“He’s recovered, then?”

She glanced back up at him. “Sorry, hon, I can’t give you that information, even if it is pretty basic. All I will say is that he was admitted here, but that’s all.” She folded her arms on her desk, swiveling back and forth in her chair, leaning forward enough to show off a tiny bit of cleavage in her scrub shirt, squeezing her chest with her upper arms just enough so they would pop out a bit more. 

He leaned forward as well, his dazzling smile bringing a flush to her cheeks. “He’s a very good friend,” he said softly. “And his father is terribly worried for him, as is his teacher and the other members of the religious order he’s a part of. Perhaps…” he reached out, gently teasing a long lock of her wavy brown hair, his voice taking on a more seductive tone. “Perhaps, if you would give me something I can take back to assuage their fears? You say he’s feeling better, yes?”

She gulped, her breath catching in her throat. She didn’t even realize she was nodding until she noticed her hair shift over her shoulder. “B-but I can’t say more than that,” she said, her voice breathy. “I am very sorry, sir.” Somehow, the art of seduction had been taken from her fingers and placed into his skillful hands with very little effort.

His fingers slid down the side of her neck to her shoulder, setting her heart to pounding like a drumline routine. “Please,” he said, “call me Sy-Ohna.”

She mouthed the name back, her eyes unblinking on his. 

“You are rather pretty,” he said, his eyes roving over her features, lingering a moment on her breasts. “And I do applaud your dedication to your job. You are a good woman, I can see that, so I apologize for what I must do.”

“What—”

His hand was around her throat before the word was fully free of her lips, gripping it tightly. He tossed her from the chair, her head hitting the corner of her desk before she fell limp to the ground. His entire demeanor changed, becoming hard as he rounded the desk. He loomed over the computer screen, reading the information provided on Co-Bieasah…

Including what room he was in.

**