She chuffed once and shook her head as she urged me to get back into the swing of business. “Sometimes, I forget you’re from a whole ’nother world, Doc.”
Mobsters.Oh, my God…I wanted to think that I’d seen it all, but I doubted it. This simply wasn’t the kind of workplace danger I was used to.Yet.Walking briskly with her, I listened to which patients were more priority. I nodded, sticking with her so Iwouldn’t get lost in the crowd again. It wasn’t right to want a coworker with me for protection, but I wasn’t going to risk it.
We worked together, moving from one patient to another, trying to reclaim some order and balance. When the cops showed up, it wasmorechaotic, but I deferred to the other attendings and residents who were much more desensitized to this kind of a night.
For hours, we all worked as a team to move some to surgery and others to intensive care. Delegating patients and cases made everything much more streamlined after the initial rush of the large intake process. But still, I was shaken by it all. The shouting and fighting. Not understanding what was said. Then falling and almost being kicked.
“That was wild,” I commented at the end of the shift. Jack and Fatima stood at the nurses’ station, going over the reports.
Jack shrugged, not looking up from his chart. “It’s just another night with New York’s finest acting up,” he replied sarcastically.
I raised my brows at his dismissive tone. He was classically handsome and had an excellent reputation as a doctor, but something about his attitude toward the night’s events gave me pause.
“Have you treated those men before?” I asked, catching myself from repeating the label Fatima had used, that they were mobsters.
He shrugged and glanced up. Spotting me watching him, he smiled slowly. “Damn, Claire. You could try to lose that bewildered expression, huh?” He elbowed me playfully as he left the station. “I bet you’ve seen your fair share of fights across the pond.”
“Sure. Of course, I have.” I spent a couple of years in the ER over there too. “But?—”
“It’s just part of life here.” He shook his head, walking with me down the hall, less crowded and calmer now. He yawned. “Those Russians always cause a huge backup when they pick a fight on the streets.”
“The Russians?” I furrowed my brow as I stuck my hands in my pockets, easily keeping up with his quick stride since I wasn’t that short. Our shoes squeaked over the floor as I considered what he’d said. “The ones who spoke in Russian seemed stable. But the Italians all seemed high and drunk.”Like the one who’d almost kicked me.
“Nah.” He frowned at me. “I didn’t notice them giving anyone trouble.”
I huffed a laugh.Um, no. They sure did.Unable to shake the impression that Jack’s indifference about the violence seemed to carry a prejudice, I stopped at the intersection of the hallway, not heading his way.
“Don’t worry too much about it,lass,” he said with that teasing smile. I’d given up the first week of being here with telling him that was more of an Irish endearment. He might be a wise doctor, but that didn’t necessarily have to mean he knew the difference between Britain proper and Ireland.
I nodded weakly and lifted my hand to wave him off as he exited and bade me goodnight.
Don’t worry about it?
I shook my head, turning back to finish my shift. He might not be bothered by the violence. He might be immune to it.
I, however, lacked the confidence that I’d ever be okay or accepting of such criminals running through my department, making threats and causing hell.
On a full moon night or not.
I’d never stoop so low as to familiarize myself with lowlife criminals like the ones who’d disrupted my shift tonight.
Sure, Jack. Don’t worry about it.
That was most definitely easier said than done.
3
MIKHAIL
Despite the late night of dealing with the bombing at the restaurant, I was up early the next morning for my daughter’s arrival. Anya would be here any moment, and I wasn’t looking forward to her attitude. It’d be lousy. She wouldn’t want to be here. But there was nothing she could do about that. I was literally her only family left now. Her last resort.
I didn’t have the time or patience to feel upset about that either. I’d learned my worth. If I wasn’t wanted, fuck it. She would be different, though, obligated to be under my care until she was of legal age.
“At least it wasn’tourbuilding,” Andre said as he stood next to me in the foyer. He straightened his cuffs and looked as disinterested in standing around for this as ever. Again, I couldn’t blame him.
“True,” I replied mildly. “But it was still too close for comfort.” The building that had been bombed last night wasn’t an Orlov property, but it was near our turf. Too near. Thanks to theGiovanni we had captured and questioned, or more so, thanks to his weakness and ability to cry and tell us whatever we wanted when we applied pressure, we had the heads up to make sure none of the planned attacks would impact us or our businesses in the area.
The Popovs had set up the attack on the Giovannis, but somehow, Niko Popov was spinning the narrative to place the blame on us. Roberto Giovanni was just pissed at us and the Popovs and swore retaliation on us both.
