"We can help with that too," Carly said. "There are resources, programs — "
"You don't..." Lisa shook her head frantically. "He said he'd find me. Always finds me. And anyone who..." Her eyes darted to the door. "He means it. You don't know him."
Lisa's phone, sitting on the bedside table, lit up with a text. She glanced at it and went even paler.
"Can I see that?" I asked gently.
With trembling hands, she turned the phone toward me. The message was brutal:
Get your ass out here now or I'm coming in there and dragging you out.
Another text came through as I watched:
And if any of those heroes try to stop me I'll put bullets in every one of them.
"Lisa," I said urgently, "this is him threatening you. And threatening us. We can — "
"Please," she whispered. "Please just let him back in. If you don't... he'll take it out on me later. You know he will."
Carly was already on the phone with security, but I could see the impossible calculation in Lisa's eyes. Stay here and face his escalated rage later, or leave now and face it immediately.
"We can protect you," I said desperately. "We can — "
"No, you can't." Her voice was flat, certain. "You can't be there when your shift ends. You can't be there tomorrow, or next week. But he will be."
The man's voice echoed from the hallway — loud, demanding, getting closer despite security's presence. "Where is she? Where's my wife?"
"Lisa, please," I said, standing up. "Let us help you."
She was already reaching for her IV line. "Take this out."
"Lisa — "
"Take it out, or I'll pull it out myself."
I met her eyes, saw the resignation there, the terrible clarity of someone who'd calculated her odds and found them wanting. With shaking hands, I removed the IV.
The man appeared in the doorway, brushing past security like they weren't there. "There you are, baby. Come on, we're leaving. These people don't know what they're talking about."
He reached for Lisa's arm, and something in me snapped.
I stepped between them, close enough that I could smell his cologne, close enough to see the veins in his bloodshot eyes.
"Back off," I said quietly.
He looked at me like I was an insect. "Move, nurse boy."
"Make me."
The words came out flat, emotionless. I could feel Chloe's shock from across the room, could see Carly reaching for her phone, but I didn't care. I stared into this man's eyes and willed him to give me a reason.
"Do it," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Put your hands on me. Idareyou. Do it."
For a moment, I thought he would. I could see the calculation in his eyes, the same predator's instinct that had trapped Lisa. But he was too smart, too controlled.
He stepped back, hands raised in mock surrender. "Whatever, man. This place is a joke anyway." He turned to Lisa. "Come on. Your stuff's going in the trash if you're not in the car in two minutes."
Lisa slid off the bed like a ghost, not looking at any of us. At the door, she paused for just a moment.
