“What do you mean?”
“Josh has been trying to ruin him because he’s still trying to win me back.”
She blanches, suddenly looking sick. “That’s a hell of a thing to say.”
I shrug unrepentantly. “Aston never put in those wrong medication orders, and equipment only malfunctioning with Aston is suspect. Whether it’s Josh or someone else doing all of this, they’re putting patients’ lives at risk.”
She shifts her weight, looking incredulous. “You’re sure about that? You’re sure it’s not Aston messing up?”
“Positive. When I spoke to Aston earlier about it, he was a mess, and he’s mentioned before that it didn’t make sense what the orders were put in as. Someone had to have gone in and changed them. It has to be the same with the equipment.”
She runs her fingers through her hair and shifts her weight again. “Wow. I don’t know what to say. So… you and Aston…”
“Are really happy.”
She blinks at me. “Then I’m happy for you.”
I need to get back to my patient. “We’ll talk more later, but if you hear people gossiping about that, you can tell them I said it’s bullshit.”
She nods and goes back to her patient.
I head back to mine to help the tech get her ready, but once he’s good to image, I say, “I’ll step out.”
“You sure? I have an extra lead gown for you.”
“No, thanks. I’ll see you when you’re finished.”
He gives me a funny look, but I don’t care, and I’m certainly not telling him I’m pregnant. I step out and walk down the hall. The X-ray won’t take long.
“Hey, you’re on break in ten,” Suzanne tells me as she passes by.
I check my watch. Damn, this has been the slowest and longest shift ever. “Okay. Thanks for the reminder.”
“All set,” Dawson calls out to me, and I head back in to finish up with Rose and make sure she’s settled before I go out on break. I pull my phone out as I get near the elevator to text Aston to make sure he’s okay when a hand on my arm startles me.
“What do you want, Josh?” There is no hiding the aggravation in my voice.
“You stepped out.”
I cock an eyebrow at him as I step onto the elevator, shaking his grip in the process. “Yeah, hence me getting onto the elevator now. I’m on lunch break.”
“No. You stepped out of the room for the X-ray. I saw you. You never step out. You always stay. In all the years I’ve known you and worked with you, not once have you done that.”
Shit. I redirect as the elevator descends. “Have you been messing with Aston’s medication orders and equipment?”
The doors open at the lobby, and instead of answering, he grabs me by my elbow, his fingers digging in painfully, and he drags me out the front doors, down the street a bit, and into an alley.
“What are you doing?” I try to pull away, but his grip tightens. “Let go of me.”
He pushes me against the brick wall, pins me, and gets right up in my face. “When you stepped out, it got me thinking. I looked a little harder at you. Thought more about some things I’ve noticed since you left me. Are you pregnant?” he asks, his voice low but fierce in a way that makes my skin crawl. Before I can answer, his other hand moves to my lower stomach, palming me. I’m not showing much, but enough that he can feel the difference in my stomach.
I swat his hand away and push myself deeper into the building. “Don’t touch me.”
His eyes narrow, and something dark crosses his features. “You are, aren’t you? I can feel it. That’s why you married him so suddenly. That’s why you’ve been avoiding me.”
“My marriage has nothing to do with you,” I say firmly, though my heart is pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird desperate to break free.
“How far along are you?” he presses, leaning into me.
