He was right. I did need stitches. I had just been hoping that either Skip wouldn't be on duty or one of the other doctors would get my case.
That hadn't worked.
I did my very best to avoid Skip as much as possible, which wasn't that easy. My commander's husband was a mess and was always getting into one scrape or another. Lany had Skip on speed dial. Everyone who knew him did. It was safer that way.
He was a good guy from everything I’d learned about him over the last couple of years, and it was a lot. I was always listening to any tidbit I could get about the handsome doctor, which was really kind of stupid on my part since I never planned to do anything about my crush on him.
Getting romantically involved with someone just wasn't something I was willing to do. I'd been horribly burned once before, and I refused to be betrayed like that again. That meant a lot of backroom hookups, but it was better than having my heart broken again.
I glanced up when the door opened and then smiled at the nurse coming in. "You must be Jean."
The nurse gave me a confused look. "I am."
"Skip told me you were coming in to numb me up."
"Skip?"
"Oh, Dr. Jones."
"You know the doctor well?"
"I've known him a couple of years. My boss's husband has him on speed dial."
The guy squinted at me. "You mean Lany Delvecchio?"
I laughed. "I see you've heard of him."
"Everyone in the emergency room has heard of him."
I was not surprised.
"His husband must have nerves of steel."
"Yeah, pretty much," I replied. "It's why he makes such a good SWAT commander." Going to work every day was child's play compared to all the messes Lany got into. It was like going on vacation every day from nine to five.
"Dr. Jones said you're going to need a couple of stitches."
"Yeah." I lifted my arm and showed the nurse the gash in my side. "I forgot to duck when a druggie took a swipe at me."
Jean walked over and washed his hands, dried them, and then pulled on a set of gloves. "Well, the doctor will have you stitched up and out of here in no time."
"That would be great. I still have a report to file on the stabbing."
I hated paperwork.
Jean took the syringe he'd brought in with him and leaned toward me. I winced and stiffened when he stuck the needle in my side. I didn't care who you were. That shit hurt.
"A druggie with a knife you said?"
"Yep. Fucker was stoned out of his gourd." It had taken three of us in full tactical gear to take him down, but I wasn't going to share that bit of information. That was job intel and not for public knowledge.
"Well, Dr. Jones should be able to get you all fixed up and you can go get your paperwork done, and then I'd suggest you take it easy for the rest of the night."
That was the plan.
I wouldn't say the longer I was around Skip the more I wanted him because I wanted him all the time. But the more time I was around him, the more my inner wanton lust seemed to make more sense, weakening my resistance to the handsome doctor.
I did not need the headache that came with getting involved with someone like Skip. I had enough things on my plate right now. Anything happening between the two of us would only lead to heartache, for me and for him.
