Jordan rocked on the balls of his feet, his arms crossed in front of his body. “Go to hell, Davis.”
“Been there, done that already.” Ash smirked, mimicking Jordan’s body language. He didn’t think they’d end up in a brawl inside the hospital, but he wasn’t about to get caught short. Not by Jordan. “What’s your problem?”
“What are you doing here? You’re not family or close with us. And why are you wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday?” Jordan’s disdainful gaze raked him up and down, but there was nothing sexual in his appraisal. If anything he looked angry and disgusted.
Since when did Jordan think he owed him any explanations? Ash raised a brow and smiled. “Fuck off, Peterson. I don’t answer to you, and neither does Drew.” Then, knowing how it would infuriate Jordan, Ash turned his back on him and walked away, toward Mike and Rachel.
Ash didn’t count on Jordan’s tenacity, however. Before he reached the seating area, where Mike and Rachel waited for Drew to come back and tell them about Esther, Jordan grabbed his arm.
Ash stopped dead in his tracks. “If you want to have your hand remain intact to perform surgery, I suggest you get it off me. Now.” No one touched him unless he wanted them to. Years of getting tied down and brutalized would do that to a person. Jordan, however, didn’t know that and continued to hold on to him. Ash began to shake as he felt beads of perspiration dot his forehead. A combination of rage and fear spiraled though him. Spots whirled before his eyes, and his breath caught in his throat. If he didn’t get Jordan off him, he’d end up in the midst of a full-fledged panic attack in the middle of the hospital.
With one gigantic effort, Ash pulled away from Jordan’s grasp, though the nausea and dizziness remained. The coolness of the tile wall he braced himself against seeped through his sweat-soaked body. Jordan took a step closer, and Ash stiffened, then snarled at him. “Get off me. Leave me alone.”
Jordan got the message at last and allowed Mike to lead him away, though both men kept shooting confused looks over their shoulders as they found seats in the waiting area. Rachel came over to him and, speaking very gently, touched his hand. “Ash, are you all right? You look like you’re about to pass out.”
He gazed down at her concerned face. Unlike Jordan, Rachel radiated only warmth and compassion. He gave a weak smile. “Yes. Thanks. I, um, don’t like people grabbing at me, that’s all.”
She shot him an unreadable look, but then Drew came out of his grandmother’s room, and she left his side to run to her brother.
“How is she, Drew? Is she going to be all right?” Rachel held his arm, and Drew hugged her to him. Ash remembered last night and the feel of Drew’s arms around him. He could feel the heat rise in his face.
Drew smiled at Rachel and at all of them as Mike and Jordan, who wisely skirted a wide berth around Ash, joined their small group. “Yes, she’s much better. Her heart remained stable all night, and she’s breathing on her own and is awake and demanding to go home.”
Recovered from his earlier anxiety, Ash chuckled, knowing that sounded exactly like Esther. Drew caught his eye and grinned, then took Rachel by the hand. “Come, Rach, we can see her together now. She says she remembers what happened.” He took a few steps, then stopped and turned around. “Jordan, could you call Keith? I’d like for him to hear what she has to say.”
Jordan nodded and immediately pulled out his cell phone to call his detective boyfriend. Ash begrudgingly admitted to himself that Jordan was a good friend to Drew, no matter that he was an arrogant dick. Did it matter if he and Jordan got along? Not really. He knew the man would always be suspicious of him because of his past behavior. Watching Drew through the glass window of the ICU room interacting with his grandmother and sister, Ash wondered how long it would take before he’d screw up or hurt Drew. He didn’t know what it was to care about someone. He’d spent his whole life with a barrier around him—don’t touch, keep away. The only one who’d ever penetrated it was Jacob Frank. Except for last night. Being with Drew had cracked open his facade, and he didn’t like it. Those feelings of helplessness and pain rushed in like floodwaters after a rainstorm. He’d spent years making sure he’d locked himself up tight, only to have it all come crashing down with the press of Drew’s mouth on his and the feel of his body underneath him.
It wasn’t part of the plan.
Maybe it would be better if he disappeared like they all probably wanted, and let the people closest to Drew help him. After all, he was a stranger, like Jordan said, not part of their family. They didn’t need him. With one final look through the glass, he hastened to the elevator, managing to make it inside before the doors slid closed.
As the elevator whooshed downward, he wondered at the emptiness inside him now that he’d left Drew, and the yawning sense of loss, like he’d left something behind he might never be able to find again.
Chapter Twenty
“Nana, you have to lay back and relax. It won’t do you any good to fight us.” Drew gazed down at his grandmother with affectionate exasperation. Now that she was no longer in any danger, he had no problem exerting his authority as a doctor rather than being the worried grandson. “You aren’t going to leave here a moment before Dr. Porter says so.” He sat in the chair next to her bed and felt a twinge in his ass. A small smile broke over his lips as he recalled the reason for his discomfort.
He allowed himself a brief glance out of the window to catch a glimpse of Ash but didn’t see him. Rob Porter came in with a bevy of young interns and residents following him.
“Well, Mrs. Klein, you gave your family quite a scare.” He flashed a broad smile at her.
One thing his grandmother loved was a nice-looking man, no matter the age. Rob Porter was tall, with dark hair and piercing light blue eyes. Drew noticed with amusement how she turned her charm on the doctor. She might be almost ninety, but she was still a flirt.
“Why, I didn’t mean to, of course.” Her brow furrowed as the smile dimmed from her face. “These two young men came to my door and said such awful things.” The pink color drained from her face, leaving her pale. Alarmed, Drew grabbed her hand while Rachel brushed back the hair from her face.
“Mrs. Klein, try not to get upset. I’m sure your family will see to it that you are given the best of care and that something like this never happens again.” Rob beckoned Drew over to the door.
Anxious to hear what Rob had to say, Drew jumped up from the chair, first stopping by his grandmother’s bed to give her a kiss. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” When he joined Rob, the doctor was frowning.
“Drew, she’s fine. I’m going to keep her here one more day for observation; then she can go home, but I recommend you have someone stay with her once she returns home. She shouldn’t live on her own.”
That’s what Drew was afraid of. The one thing his grandmother never wanted was to be one of those people who had to rely on help. She was fiercely independent and hated people fussing over her. He and Rachel would have to tread carefully. “Don’t you worry, Rob. She’s going to have to listen to us now.”
After making some notations on the chart, Rob said good-bye and left, the group of doctors trailing in his wake. Drew returned to Rachel and his grandmother. “Nana. You’re going to have to have someone with you from now on. No argument.”
Rachel got up from the bedside. “I spoke with Mrs. Delaney. Now that her husband is gone, she told me she was thinking of selling the house, since she can’t afford the taxes and the upkeep. She told me she’d love to move into your spare bedroom, Nana. It would be the perfect solution. You like and trust her, and she could keep you company, as well as help out.”
“That’s a wonderful idea, Rach. A win-win in my book, right, Nana?” Drew said.
