Lex had barely closed his eyes when it felt as if he was opening them again. A nurse came in to take his vitals. He knew he'd fallen asleep at some point, but he had no idea when. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was just a little after eight o'clock in the morning.
"Do you always wake your patients this early?"
He could really use some more sleep.
The nurse smiled at him. "Dr. Green is starting his rounds, and he wanted to make sure you were awake when he comes in to exam you."
"Oh." Guess that kind of made sense, although Lex wished he'd had a couple more hours of sleep. He ached, and all he wanted to do was close his eyes and float away again.
The nurse finished up what she was doing then entered some stuff into the computer terminal before heading for the door. It opened before she got there and Dr. Green walked in. He walked over to the terminal, glanced at it for a moment, then turned graced Lex with a smile.
"Good morning, Mr. Mathis. Did you get a good night's sleep?"
"It was okay."
"How are you feeling?"
"Sore." Every inch of his body.
The doctor pulled out a pen light and flashed it in each of his eyes. "Well, under normal circumstances, I'd be signing your release papers for you this morning, but—"
"I thought you were going to hold me for forty-eight hours."
"I think it's safe—medically—to release you at this point, but I'm not sure if you'll remain safe if I do release you."
Lex shot the doctor a sharp glance. "What do you mean?"
"I spotted Mr. Carson sitting in his car in the parking lot when I came to work this morning. He's supposed to wait for visiting hours to come up here, but I wouldn't be surprised to find him loitering in the corridors before then."
Lex sucked in a breath. His chest felt as if it were going to explode. He fisted his hands in his blanket.
"Calm down, Mr. Mathis. We'll figure something out."
Lex swallowed tightly as he grabbed the doctor's hand. "I have to get out of here."
The doctor pulled his hand free then reached into his pocket. He pulled out his cell phone and held it out to Lex. "Why don't you try your friend again?"
Lex took the phone and dialed Tony's phone number. He let out a small curse when it went to voicemail. He tried Senator Khor again. Just like last time, it too went to voicemail. Lex's shoulders sagged as he handed the phone back.
"Voicemail."
"Well." Dr. Green tucked his cell phone back in his pocket. "We'll try again later."
"Can't you just get security to bar him from the hospital?"
The doctor shook his head. "We don't have any evidence that he's a danger to anyone."
Lex's eyes widened before he gestured to the bruises on his arms. "What about this?"
"Until the police can connect him to your assault, there's not much we can do."
"As my doctor, can you bar him from my room?"
"He has medical power of attorney. If I tried that, not only would I lose my job, but he'd have grounds for a lawsuit against this hospital. My supervisors would never allow it."
"But I didn't sign that power of attorney."
"And until we can prove that—which could take days—I'm not sure I can keep him away from you. He could call the police, have you moved to another facility, sign you out of the hospital against doctor's wishes. There are a number of things he could do. We have to figure out to keep him away from you."
