Snaring me with this… awareness.
The door opened and I flinched. Jarred out of this trance-like wonder about this man, I stepped back from the bed and looked up to see Jack entering.
“Sounds like I missed out on some excitement earlier when I was off at my meeting.”
“Oh, right. The delivery of the twins,” I said with a slight smile.
He stepped closer to the mystery man and frowned. “No, I meanthim.” Smirking as he looked over the unconscious patient, he held his hand up, as if to ward me back. “Another one of those fucking Orlovs.”
“You know who this man is?” I asked, surprised by the curt and cool tone he’d spoken with.
“He’s no one you want to mess with,” he replied in a more clipped tone than before.
“I’m notmessingwith him. I was saving his life.” As I was expected to! Shocked by Jack’s instant dislike, I dug in my heels more. I wasn’t leaving this room now. I wasn’t backing away at all.
“I’m not sure he’s worth saving,” he retorted as he took the tablet and skimmed the results.
“What the hell?” I took the tablet and stepped closer, almost blocking his view of the man. “Jack.”
“Claire, you don’t understand. A man like him…” He shook his head. “He’s not— Just stand back.” As he reached for his phone, he gave me a frown of disapproval. “I’ll call the cops now and have him arrested.”
My jaw dropped. I let out an indignant huff. “You will not!”
He furrowed his brow, staring me down. “Claire, you don’t understand who this man is. Who he might be.”
“No, I do not,” I said, agreeing. “Until he wakes up or those other men can vouch for his identity, I do not know who this is. But I am certain that whoever he is, he should not be arrested in this state. He needs critical care. Supervision after those wounds. Not to be subjected to an arrest and transported in this fragile moment.”
“Fragile?” He smiled meanly and laughed once. “You’re calling a member of the Orlov familyfragile. That’s rich.”
I had no clue who the Orlovs were. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. But I refused to let Jack order this man to be moved before he was more stable for transportation or anything else.
“Out,” I ordered.
He dipped his brows at my order.
I pointed at the door, marching him backward to exit with me. “He ismypatient. And until I discharge him, you will not do anything to hinder his recovery.”
“Claire—”
I didn’t stop, making him backpedal out of the room. “No.” Shaking my head, I wondered if I should have security watch over this door.
It seemed like that wouldn’t be necessary, though, because the two men who’d brought the man in were striding down the hall now as if they were looking for him.
They couldn’t have been told where he was. No nurse or lobby employee would’ve divulged information like that, and with my patient still sleeping, it wasn’t as though anyone entered his personal information into the registration process.
While I was alarmed by these two men helping themselves to walking through the department, I was more bothered by Jack’s immediate insistence that this man was some kind of villain to be moved to police custody. Not now. Not yet. He wasn’t even awake yet!
“You will not be calling anyone about my patient or discuss his medical information,” I warned Jack, surprising myself with how natural it was to defend the unconscious man lying naked and recovering in that room behind me.
“Who do you plan to call, Doctor?” the taller man asked as they approached.
Jack backed up, hardening his expression at the pair of them.
“How about we take a walk and chat?” the other man suggested. His smile was charming but his tone was too cunning. He wasn’t asking Jack to speak with them. He was ordering it as they steered him down the hall.
I frowned after them, concerned and bewildered about this situation.
Nervous to leave the man unattended—and eager to know just who he was—I retraced my steps until I opened the door and slipped back inside again to watch over him.
