Chapter 3: Emergency Contact

*MARCUS’ POV*

Marcus carried her out of the dorm room and through the ongoing hallways. Normally, he wasn’t one for conversing with people if he could avoid it, but he knew little of this campus and was in crucial need of finding the nearest medi-center.

Thankfully, another pair of roommates who lived down the hall told Marcus exactly which direction the campus hospital was located. Without another word, he rushed them out to his car and gently placed her up in the front passenger seat. He quickly raced around the other side and turned the keys into the ignition.

He flew up the street, half-hazardly dodging pedestrians and other moving vehicles. As frantic as he felt, now was not the time to cause an accident. Marcus locked his focus on getting to the medi-center, not allowing for anything to get in his way.

Halfway there, Wolfgang glanced over at the pale girl who managed to keep herself bundled up in the blanket. Time was of the essence, but Marcus needed a distraction. He side-eyed the girl and parted his lips to speak.

“What’s your name?” he asked her calmly.

“Mmm...”

The girl’s eyes cracked open.

‘Jesus she doesn’t even have the energy to keep her eyes open,’ he thought. Marcus’s heart stalled when he saw her head bowing forward. ‘Oh my God!’

“Hey!” He held her head back from nearly hitting the dashboard. “Hey, hey, hey- stay with me. You’re gonna be alright, just stay with me. Can you tell me your name?”

The girl groaned. “Mmm...B-B-Bonnie...”

“What did you say?” Marcus arched a brow and turned to glance at her with a puzzled expression. “Bunny? Did you just say ‘Bunny’?”

The girl’s breathing was so labored, she had passed out before she could say another word.

“Sh*t! No, no, no. C’mon, we’re almost there,” he cursed.

The second he pulled up to the health center, he raced around the car to get the girl out and inside. With his arms full, Wolfgang lifted his leg up and power kicked the front doors wide open. He captured the attention of every person in the front lobby, including a handful of nurses who were chatting behind the front desk.

“Excuse me young man, but—”

“She needs a doctor now!” Marcus insisted while jutting his chin forward.

Marcus glared fiercely at the one nurse who looked like she was ready to call security. Once they caught sight of the girl in his arms, each of the nurses sprung into action.

“Follow me,” one nurse told him.

He followed the elderly woman down a narrow hallway and into one of the private rooms in the back.

“Lay her down and tell me what you know,” the nurse instructed.

Marcus calmly placed the girl down on the bed and readjusted the blanket she was wrapped in. He reached out to brush a few strands of hair from her face, unknowing of how intimate it may have appeared. That same rush of heat that swelled around his heart from earlier had come racing back.

“I was moving my sister out of her dorm room. She told me her roommate wasn’t feeling well,” Wolfgang told the nurse while keeping a watchful eye on the sleeping girl in front of him. “I heard her breathing, it was like she was gasping for air. Her whole body broke out into a sweat and she became unconscious on the way here.”

The head doctor, followed by two other nurses filed into the room. He held a clipboard in his hands, preparing to ask a long list of questions. But before he got a single word out he stopped dead in his tracks. Marcus noticed the way the doctor was looking at her.

“Doctor Foster—”

The older man swiftly held up his hand. “It’s alright, Ms. Kettles. I know this patient,” he informed.

“Who is she?” one of the younger nurses asked.

“Her name is Bonnie Renolds. She’s a student here on campus. Senior, I believe,” he explained. Dr. Foster pulled his eyes away from Bonnie to look up at Marcus.

“Are you Miss Renolds’ legal guardian?”

He hesitated to answer. “No, I’m just a friend.”

One of the nurses pulled up Bonnie’s records on a tablet. A bewildered look washed over her face.

“This is odd,” she commented.

“What is it?”

“She has no one down for her emergency contact,” the nurse said calmly.

This girl was becoming more and more of a mystery to Marcus by the second. He thought he’d be satisfied from at least getting her legitimate name, however, that simply wasn’t the case. The man wanted more. And he would have it.

Marcus quietly cleared his throat and spoke directly to the doctor. “If that’s the case, put me down as an emergency contact for her,” he stated firmly. He pulled out his wallet, showing them his ID and proceeded to give them all of his contact information.

The nurses gladly took down Marcus’ information before exiting the room in an orderly fashion, while the head doctor held onto his surprised expression. His lips parted to speak, but Wolfgang hadn’t the time nor the interest to hear the other man ramble on any further.

“Please call me later, I want to know everything that you find out about her illness, including her progress if she’s feeling better,” he informed Dr. Foster.

With one last prolonged look at Bonnie, Marcus yanked himself through the doorway. Although reluctant to leave, he had to head back into the city. He pulled out his phone and called one of his closest friends, Trixie, for a bit of extra help on a new case.

“What’s up, boss?” Her naturally raspy voice filled his ear.

“Trix, I’m heading back now.” Marcus slid back into behind the steering wheel and started the ignition. “I have a new case for you to dig up for me.”

Trixie chuckled. “Oh, is that right?” Marcus could easily envision the woman rolling her eyes and pulling a smirk.

“Well, boss. Do tell. Who will I be ‘digging up’ for you?”

Marcus shared in her amusement, but was more consumed by the heat that was gathering in his lower abdomen. To say he was desperate to know everything there was about Bonnie would have certainly taken away from his stoic demeanor. Men like him don’t become desperate for any reason. They remain calm and collected at all times.

But this girl...this ‘Bonnie Renolds’ was causing a fire to itch under the man’s skin. All Wolfgang could think about was how fragile she looked. How perfectly she folded against his chest when he held her in his arms. The soft mewling sounds that pursed from her lips. All of it caused his blood to simmer, and for his pants to grow uncomfortably tight around his crotch.

“I want you to find out everything you can about a girl named Bonnie Renolds.”

Marcus thought the call had disconnected when Trixie hadn’t automatically answered him back as she normally would have. Her monotone voice should have been enough of an indication that what he was asking was a bit out of character for him.

“...Bonnie Renolds?”

“Yes,” he confirmed thickly.

Another long pause went by before Marcus heard her voice again. “Wolf, are you f*cking with me right now?” she asked bluntly.

“The hell are you talking about?” he growled back into the phone. He heard Trix cackle through the speaker, unable to contain her laughter once more.

“You need to get your a** back here, ASAP,” Trix giggled. “I cannot believe that you don’t know who Bonnie Renolds is.”

The corner of his mouth pulled back into a tight sneer. Marcus whipped the steering wheel to pull onto the highway.

He couldn’t determine what he hated more: having his orders questioned or having to deal with the unwanted emotions that came from being interested in someone.

“Trix, you had better wipe that sh*t-eating grin off your face before I get back home, do you hear me? I want this girl’s entire life on my desk when I get there,” he barked into the phone and hung up before Trixie had a chance to speak.

Marcus tossed his phone into the empty seat next to him. Immediately, his head was drawn to the passenger seat beside him where Bonnie once was. Remembering how frail and weak she looked made his stomach churn in knots.

His eyes darkened on the road ahead of him while his mind wandered over the million dollar question.

‘Who is Bonnie Renolds?’