Lincoln Hospital

Chapter Six

TWO YEARS AGO

Cian left the hospital and drove towards home, the genius idea of stopping off to pick up some fresh daisies to surprise his beautiful wife, Hannah, with popping in his head. The local floral shop would be pleased with the business and he'd be blessed with one of Hannah's "special" smiles as she called them, the dazzling one she saved for just the right moments, and hopefully a mind-blowing marathon of sex later that night in bed.

Their anniversary was coming up in a few months, five years of marriage. Quite an accomplishment in this day and age. He had plans to surprise her with a romantic cruise around the Caribbean, he just had a few more details to work out in his schedule at work and then he'd be making the reservations. She'd argue with him over the money of course, they were complete opposites in that sense, she was frugal and seriously contemplated over every penny they spent, while he didn't give a shit about what things cost. They brought in a more than decent living between his salary at the hospital and hers as the Assistant District Attorney.

With demanding careers, their schedules didn't allow for a lot of down time for the luxury of things like vacations, so pulling off a surprise trip was going to be a huge feat on his part. Luckily, Hannah had an amazing assistant that was helping to clear her schedule in a subtle way so that the cruise would be possible. He couldn't wait to see her reaction.

Pulling into the driveway of their home in the suburbs of New York, he glanced at Hannah's old beat up Toyota Corolla and grimaced. He really needed to put his foot down and talk her into letting them purchase her a better vehicle. A nice SUV, something that he wouldn't worry the wheels would fall off of as she drove down the road. Ever since he'd met her, she'd been stubborn and strong-willed, yet with a heart of gold. Her compassion for others and her drive and ambition were the main things that attracted him to her.

The first time he'd seen her in line at a concession stand at a New York Rangers game, he'd thought she was adorable; all decked out in her Boston Bruins gear. Damn ballsy of her at a Rangers game, but as he learned over the next several months, she was spirited and had no problem standing up and cheering for her team at an away game. Her laugh and smile were so infectious at that first game that he had no choice but to charm his way into a date with her, beers at a local pub after the game to celebrate the Bruins win. The rest was history from there. They married six months later in a small ceremony of mostly her friends and family since Cian didn't have a large amount of either, and had been living their dream together ever since.

Sliding the key into the lock, he opened the door and stepped into their home. It was a modest house, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. On the large side for just the two of them, but they were hoping to try and start a family at some point over the next couple of years. Timing seemed to always get in their way with both of their busy professions.

"Hannah? Babe? Where are you?" It was strange that she wasn't puttering about in the kitchen fixing their dinner. They both loved to cook and alternated on making meals depending on who got home first. Since this was his heavier week at work, she'd been handling most of the kitchen duty all week.

Confused at the silence that met him, he set the bouquet of flowers down on the counter and wandered into the living room. Finding no sign of her there, he headed upstairs. The house was eerily quiet, but he brushed it off, thinking it was his imagination after a long shift at the hospital. Wondering if she'd wanted a nice hot bath after a long day herself, he opened the door to their bedroom, preparing to head to their ensuite.

"Babe? Are you—" he broke off at the sight before him. Letting out a roar, he rushed into the room. Hannah was sitting straight up on their bed, hands and feet bound, and mouth gagged. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to scream from behind the sock stuffed in her mouth. Enraged, he charged towards her, not noticing the frantic shaking of her head.