"Evening," I say as I settle into the gurney.
He checks his watch. "Actually, it's just past two AM." The gentle giant stands and walks over. "How you feeling?"
"My head hurts."
"Yeah, you whacked it when you hit the floor. They already gave you a CT scan. There's no swelling so probably no concussion. Just a couple staples for the gash and some blood loss. Jem said they'd do more tests when you woke up."
"Is he here?"
"He's around somewhere, but…"
"But?"
"We both thought it best he keep his distance. Because of, you know. So I pulled guard duty."
"You know it was Cain?"
"Yeah. I came over around nine to check on you, but your butler told me you were out with Jem, which I knew was a lie. I'd just left him at the docks an hour before. When you weren't in the living room, I opened the fireplace and found you bleeding and unconscious on the floor. We tried to revive you, but when we couldn't, your butler phoned an ambulance and I moved you upstairs. Seems Cain injected you with an anesthetic. It's not dangerous or anything, no long term effects, just knocks you out for a couple hours." Brendan sits on the edge of the gurney. "I called Jem while we waited for the ambulance to make sure he'd be the one to examine you. We checked you in under a fake name, but there have been a few calls. We've just kept silent."
"That's why I pay a PR firm buckets of money to handle things like this. How long do I have to stay here?"
"That's a Jem question but minimum overnight for observation. I'm gonna go tell him you're awake. He was…" He ceases speaking to find the right words. "Well, let's just say he'll be very, very relieved you're up. As will the nurses he's been haranguing at non-stop. Be right back."
My friend squeezes my hand before walking out. When the door shuts, I let out a long sigh. The last time I was in a hospital bed I'd been Tasered, kidnapped, shot at, burned with acid and had a subway station fall in over my head. A measly gash and tranquilizer are an improvement. I guess.
Jem must have been nearby because five seconds after Brendan steps out, the men return. My doctor looks as horrible as I probably do. His dark hair is wild as if it hasn't seen a brush in years, and his clothes are mismatched and rumpled except for the white doctor's coat. The moment he lays eyes on me, that striking face falls with relief but only for a second before he shuts off again.
"I'll leave you two alone," Brendan says. "I'm gonna call Lexie, tell her you're up if she's not already on the plane."
"She didn't have to fly back," I say.
"Too late. We need to get ahead of this thing, if possible. Come get me when you're done with your…examination." He smiles at us both before departing.
Alone again.
Jem refuses to move from across the room, not sure how to proceed from here. I'll make it easier for him. "Aren't you gonna examine me?"
"Oh, um, yes," he says, shaking his head to clear it. He takes a tentative step, then another. "Do you have--"
He's too surprised by what I do next to finish his thought. The moment he's within reach, my arms spring around his chest, drawing him into an embrace. Jem stiffens as if I was Medusa and he just looked into my eyes. He even stops breathing.
"Just so you know, I'm not letting go until you hug me back like I know you want to. You know how stubborn I am. I'll hold on for hours if I have to, so you might as well just do it now." I pause. "Please."
He begins breathing again right away but it takes ten seconds before his arms encircle my body, and another three to give into the sensation of comfort this should afford us both. He relaxes and clings to me as hard as I to him. "I'm okay," I whisper. "I swear I'm okay."
I shouldn't have spoken. It brings too much reality to the situation. He moves away, once again refusing to look at me. "Do you have, um, any double vision or nausea?"
"Little nausea. I've had concussions before, and this isn't like that. I'm fine. Really. Besides drugging me, he barely laid a finger on me. He said he just wanted to size me up and use Doris."
"How did he even get in?"
"He was there when I got home. Dobbs let him in. He looked exactly like you, right down to your mannerisms and aftershave. It was uncanny."
"What did you say to him?" he asks, fear level rising a few notches.
"Jem, I knew it wasn't you right away," I say, sounding more offended than I intended. I take him through the whole ordeal only leaving out the incest revelation because I can only face so much right now. That's a whole other conversation.
"Do you think he believed you?"