His expression hardens. “Your medical assistantdruggeda pregnant woman so she could be kidnapped from your office. You’re lucky you’re still practicing medicine at all. Do it, or my next call is to the hospital administrator. How happy do youthink he’s going to be if I wake him up this early and tell him all about it?”
He swears under his breath as he shoves the phone back into his pocket. “We’re going to need a betterinat the hospital after this.” His cold gaze lands on me. Shit. This man could probably kill me in under ten seconds and not break a sweat. “You stay in the helo,” he says. “I have more questions that need answers.”
Sweat dampens my palms, and I hug my duffel to my chest. “I?—”
“She comes with me,” Doc says weakly. “Non…negotiable.”
“Doc, we just airlifted you from the middle of the fucking Sound at 3:00 a.m. You have a hole in your chest, and you’ve both been beaten to shit. Not to mention the dead body. The favors we called in for this…the ones we’llkeepcalling in…”
“Non-negotiable,” he repeats. “You want to talk…about favors?” His gaze flicks to Raelynn. “She’s alive. So is Cara. Hope. Quinton.”
Graham sucks in a breath and turns to the SEAL. “I’ll stay with them until you’re back.”
“You have to take care of Doc’s plane.”
The younger man shakes his head. “I can do that from here. I’ve got a contact at the Coast Guard station in Anacortes. He’d love a little action.”
“A little action?” Raelynn chuckles as the helicopter sinks smoothly toward the helipad on the roof of the hospital. “Didyouget a little action with him before you met Q?”
Graham’s cheeks turn bright red. “No! He’s not gay. Even if he were, he’s not my type. Too over-the-top gym bro.”
“Focus,” West snaps. “Not a fucking word to the trauma team.” He arches his brows and stares me down. “You stick to Graham like glue. He gives you an order, you take it.”
I nod. Can he see it in my eyes? That I’m going to run the first chance I get?
The skids touch down, and within seconds, Doc’s on a gurney, the trauma team rushing him through the automatic doors and into an elevator.
Graham keeps his hand at the small of my back as we wait for the car to return to the roof. “They’ll take care of him,” he says, as much to himself as to me. “When we get to triage, let me do the talking.”
“I don’t need a doctor.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “And I work with the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. Try again.”
“Okay, fine. I can get by with a couple of aspirin and a clean pair of pants.”
“Be honest, and I’ll get you both of those things.Afteryou see a doctor.”
I sag against the back wall of the elevator as Graham punches the button for the main floor. “A guy broke into my house and shot me. Then slammed my head through a glass door and beat the crap out of me.”
Graham whistles, takes my right hand, and examines my knuckles. “You fought pretty hard.”
“Didn’t plan on dying tonight. Err. This morning.” I wrap my arms around myself tightly, hoping Graham won’t press me any further. He’s too perceptive. And though there’s kindness in his green eyes, I don’t know him at all.
The doors slide open with ading. The ER waiting room is quiet, only a handful of people slouching in chairs. Graham curls his hand around my elbow and pulls me with him to the triage desk.
“Excuse me. My sister was mugged. She needs to be seen.” He leans in and lowers his voice. “Dr. Wright is my neighbor. She said you could get us back ASAP. Without all the usual…fuss.”
The nurse pauses for a beat, then sighs. “I’ll buzz you through. Bring your sister back and we’ll get you in a room.”
A little after6:00 a.m., I pull on a clean pair of scrubs. Nat Templeton—that’s apparently Graham’s last name—has seven fresh stitches in her hip and another half dozen in her scalp. The doctor wanted to admit me and give me a CT scan, but I refused, and thank God, Graham didn’t force the issue. I have a prescription for antibiotics, but the pharmacy doesn’t open for another two hours.
Graham knocks as I reach for my boots. “Nat, if you’re decent, we can head upstairs to wait for word on Doc.”
I peer out from behind the privacy drape. “You don’t need to wait for me. I’m…not moving all that well.”
“West would kick my ass. And Doc would never forgive me if I let anythinghappento you.”
Shit. He knows I’m going to run.
