Even though I feel surprisingly rested, I’m an extremely light sleeper. Hazards of the job. I just woke to a strange woman entering the hospital room with a syringe in her hand. I don’t recognize her from my introduction to the staff, and as I glance briefly at the wall clock, I know the shifts haven’t changed yet.
“I said, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
I remember Alejandro telling his parents that they aren’t giving him more pain medication intravenously. Yet this woman’s trying to inject something into Alejandro’s IV. I push up from where I reclined to see her badge more clearly. It definitely doesn’t match the other ones I’ve seen so far today, and there have been several. It’s ringing every alarm in my head.
Get her away from Alejandro.
I spring from the bed, nearly tripping over the IV lines. I’m careful not to tug them straight out of Alejandro’s arm. It surprises me that he’s not awake too. I know the medication they gave him must have worn off already.
Did she already put something into his IV, and I slept through it the first time?
Anger pulses within me as I wrap my hands around her throat and wrist. I squeeze with all my might. I stare at her as she turns rose, then fuchsia, then scarlet. I memorize her features: the mole near her left ear, the scar beside her right nostril, the birthmark on her right temple. Her hair’s a mousy shade of blonde, and her eyes are a bland shade of brown. She’s shorter than me and probably weighs twenty pounds less. I’m using the latter to my advantage.
She fights against my hold, trying to pry my hand free from her throat. I could squeeze a fuck ton harder and choke her out. She can still breathe, even if it’s a struggle. I force the haze of fury aside and formulate a rational thought. I need to know what the fuck she’s doing.
“Ma’am, ma’am.”
She chokes out the words as she tries to thwart me. She had her chance to explain. I loosen my hold only ever so slightly just in case she had a legitimate reason, and I startled or intimidated her too much at first.
“What are you giving him?”
“A pain medication.”
“What’s it called?”
“Are you his wife?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t see your name on any of his charts. You’re not cleared to know personal things about this patient’s medical treatment.”
“I’m here. I came in with him. I’ve been by his side. You found us in bed together. I say that tells you I’m his wife.”
“Are you though?”
The way she asked that question chills my blood. She knows more about us than she’ll say outright. That’s my warning. Itighten my grip again, fully prepared to kill this woman right here, right now. I wrestle the syringe away from Alejandro’s IV. It doesn’t have the pointy tip since it was to be added to his IV. But when she shoves it against my arm, I know she’s trying to pierce the skin. With no needle, it won’t, but it’ll bruise. Like I don’t already have enough of those.
I headbutt her, sending her and the syringe flying. She had no opportunity to depress the plunger into the IV, and without breaking the skin on my arm, whatever she intended to give Alejandro hasn’t entered either of our systems.
She lands hard on her back. I follow her, straddling her torso and punching her. She fights back, giving me a few well-placed jabs to my ribs. She’s stronger than I expected. The gleam in her eyes as she defends herself makes my heart race more than the exertion. She’s a mercenary too. After she did whatever she intended to Alejandro, I would’ve been next.
“Vita?”
Alejandro’s raspy voice permeates the murderous fog clouding my mind. I don’t dare take my eyes off this killer.
“Jandro, are you okay?”
“I am, and you are, but she won’t be. What’s going on?”
His tone’s so casual—almost amused—as I beat the woman to a near pulp. I think the arrogant man’s getting off on me protecting him.
“I didn’t meet her at the nurse’s station. The shift hasn’t changed, and her badge isn’t right. She was trying to inject something.”
I punctuate my last word with my fist to her cheekbone. Immediately, she goes limp. I frisk her, finding a pocketknife in her scrubs. It’s not a large blade, but it’s certainly sharp. I’ll use it on her in a heartbeat if I must.
“Jandro, we need your family. Didn’t they leave guards here for you?”
“They did, but they must be outside the ward, rather than outside my door. That’s something to be sorted out at another time.”
