The Siege of Kadenburg by T. E. Ridener Read Free Book Online Page A

in inside of this thing? What kind of hospital was this place?
    “Oh, screw it.” She muttered softly as she crept back to the bed and peered beneath it. Ah, at least her shoes were there. She carefully eased onto the bed with her shoes in tow, putting each one on as quietly as possible. Now she just had to figure out how to sneak out without anyone noticing.
    The wind picked up again, making it sound like a freight train was chugging through as she tied up her laces and glanced upwards again. The snow would arrive soon and she didn’t want to get caught in it. Damn. Damn. Damn.
    But wait. She had an idea!
    Opening the door to her room, Sammy made her way out into the dim hallway with nothing more than a hospital gown and her shoes on. She approached the nurse’s station casually, staring down at the blonde haired woman seated there with a book in her hands.
    “Excuse me.” Sammy said in a firm tone.
    “Oh!” The woman clutched her chest, nearly jumping out of her chair as she looked up. “You scared me! What are you doing out of bed?” She frowned.
    “I need a smoke.” Sammy lied. She’d only ever had one cigarette in her entire life and it nearly choked her to death. She supposed that’s what happened to a person when they tried to act ‘cool’ among their peers.
    The nurse frowned, giving her a once over before tilting her head to the side, “I don’t recall your charts saying you were a smoker. It isn’t very healthy, you know.”
    “I’m aware,” Sammy muttered as she placed a hand on her hip. “But this is America and I have rights. I want to go down for a cigarette. Do I need to sign something?”
    The nurse seemed flustered by the way Sammy spoke to her, but Sammy had never been the type of person to take lip from anybody. She would do what she damn well pleased and they could like it or lump it.
    “You’ll have to sign this sheet here,” the nurse said, placing a clipboard on the counter. “And I can only give you ten minutes.”
    “Ten minutes?” Sammy rolled her eyes. “Trust me, lady. I only need five.”
    “Very well,” the nurse huffed. “But I don’t believe there were any cigarettes with your belongings.”
    “Speaking of which,” Sammy said pointedly, “Where are my belongings?”
    The nurse put her book down, obviously irritated with Sammy interrupting her precious reading time as she disappeared into the small office behind the nurse’s station. She returned a few moments later with the familiar tan coat between her fingers.
    “Here is your coat,” she nodded. “I reckon you may want it when you venture out there. It’s going to start snowing at any moment. The last thing we need is for you to catch a cold. Doctor Xiong won’t be very happy about that.”
    “Doctor Xiong?” Sammy echoed.
    “Oh, yes,” The nurse nodded. “That’s your doctor, Miss Calder. He’s not here right now, but he’ll be back in the morning.”
    “Right.”
    “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
    Sammy shrugged her shoulders as she took her coat from the woman’s hands, quickly putting it on over her hospital gown.
    “No,” she shook her head quickly. “I need a smoke, so I’m gonna go do that,” she scribbled her signature on the dotted line before glancing at the nurse again. “I’ll be back.”
    As she hurried down the hallway towards the elevator, she was pretty certain she heard the nurse saying something about odd patients and their bad habits. Not that it mattered now. Sammy would be gone in about five minutes and this nightmare would be behind her.
    At least that’s what she thought as she pushed the elevator button.

Six
    “D inner was good, wasn’t it?” Presley asked as she put away the last of the freshly cleaned dishes.
    Lorcan glanced up at her from the sink, giving her a small grin before nodding, “Yeah, Darlin’. It was great. I think my mom was seriously impressed with your skills.”
    He felt the light smack to his shoulder and he couldn’t