“Can’t I go home?” Renee asked the white-coated female doctor who was currently surveying Renee’s chart.
“You have quite a bump on your head, and you told me you blacked out. I want to watch you overnight.” With a stethoscope flapping around her neck and her black-rimmed glasses, the young doctor projected calm and efficiency.
Renee sighed, sensing the doctor’s mind wouldn’t change.
“I can’t believe how fast you’re healing.” The doctor frowned at the mottled bruises on Renee’s torso. “Your arm is also healing well. Both arms. You say you crashed yesterday and were out in the storm?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe you don’t have any frostbite.” The doctor tapped her right fingers on the chart, her frown still in evidence. “Well, despite the rapid improvement with your injuries, I still want to watch you overnight.”
Kansas let out a loud yawn. “She’ll stay.”
The young doctor sent Kansas and Dakota a piercing look. A faint flush grew in her cheeks, and Renee’s brows squeezed together. Jealousy. Good grief. Renee gave her head a hard shake and wished she hadn’t. A flurry of cutting pain assailed her skull.
“Headache?” the doctor asked, her tone sharp enough to stir another wave of pounding.
“Yes,” Renee admitted. At least the doctor wasn’t ogling her men any longer.
“You two need to sleep. Depriving yourself of rest won’t make your friend get better quicker,” the doctor declared.
Renee gritted her teeth and glared. She caught Dakota sniggering.
“Dakota. Kansas. Are you still here?” Calian asked, long strides taking him to Renee’s hospital bed. “You both look as if you’ll collapse. Matto will give you a ride back to the hotel.”
“My patient needs rest too.” The doctor replaced the chart at the end of Renee’s bed. “Five minutes.”
Calian nodded. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
His brothers plus the doctor left, and Calian pressed a light kiss to her lips. “You’re lucky you survived the crash.”
“I know.”
“Jason Vega is dead.”
Renee swallowed. “What? How? Are you sure?”
“The person who informed me is reliable.”
“Who?”
Calian met her probing gaze without difficulty. “A friend. Check with your police contact if you don’t believe me.”
Renee opened her mouth then shut it with a clink of teeth. “If he’s dead and his son is dead, it’s unlikely the hit on me will continue because there’s no one else left to pay an assassin’s fee.”
“That’s right, sweetheart.” Calian leaned closer and kissed the tip of her nose. “We’ll come to pick you up in the morning.”
“Assuming the doctor will let me go.”
Calian grinned. “You leave that to me.”
The next morning, the doctor signed release papers for Renee on the condition Calian and his brothers made sure she rested.
Matto seated her in the front passenger seat of their SUV rental and checked she fastened her seat belt. He joined Dakota and Kansas in the rear while Calian took the wheel.
“Before we leave,” Renee said. “Can I say something?”
“Can’t it wait until we get back to the hotel?” Calian asked.
