Mav pivoted toward me, his gaze falling upon my body like a dog in heat. “Guess so.”
“You guys just… have a doctor on speed dial for all the women you capture and torture?”
He snickered. “Trust me, what you went through wasn’t nearly—”
I blinked. “Go on, don’t be shy. Finish that sentence.”
He clicked his tongue as he pulled a kitchen chair to my side. “I’ll sit with you until Doc gets here.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
He shrugged. “Or, I could leave. Give you some privacy. If that’s what you’d prefer. But Doc can be a little…”
I slowly turned to face him. “A bit what?”
He bobbed his head side to side. “Eccentric?”
“I have no idea what that means.”
“Boys!” someone exclaimed down the hallway. “I hear I’ve got a patient!”
Mav thumbed over his shoulder. “That would be Doc. Hold on a second.”
My brow stitched together with confusion. “Wait, you guys really just call him ‘Doc’?”
“Coming, Doc! She’s in the kitchen!” Mav exclaimed down the hallway, leaving the kitchen.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. I held out my hands and found skin scraped away from my wrists. I peered down at my ankles and found bruises already formed. Skin, already exposed to the elements. Jesus, I hadn’t even looked in a mirror. I had no fucking clue how bad off I was. And as my attention turned to my injuries, a dull ache pulsed all across my body.
As if my entire form vibrated with frustration.
“Ugh,” I groaned, leaning my head back.
“She’s in here,” Mav said.
“Ah, hello,” a gentle voice said as the chair next to me raked across the floor, “what’s your name?”
I slowly leveled my head on my shoulders. “Brielle.”
“What a lovely name,” the gentle white-haired doctor said as he wiggled his fingers at me. “Why don’t you give me one of those ankles so I can take a look?”
“You’re not gonna take my vitals or something first?”
Doc grinned as he dipped down and gently picked my leg up into his lap. “You don’t show any signs of a panicked state. Your breathing is registering as normal. You’ve got your arms wrapped a bit tight around you, but it hasn’t impacted your ability to focus. If I take your vitals, I’m probably going to find that they’re slightly elevated because of the intense situation you’ve found yourself in, but it won’t be anything that shocks me.”
Mav chuckled. “He’s good, I promise.”
“Like your word is supposed to mean something,” I muttered to myself.
“Well,” Doc said, placing my ankle down and picking up the other one, “the skin removal is topical. Doesn’t feel nice, but I can give you some Tylenol with codeine to help with the pain.”
“I appreciate that, thank you. Will it help with the headache I’ve got going on?”
He placed my ankle back down gingerly. “Now is where I’m going to check your vitals. You ready?”
“Bring it.”
Out came that tiny flashlight from his white jacket pocket. He clicked it on and shined it on my eyes while simultaneously asking me to follow his finger. The light blinded me at times, but it didn’t make me flinch. Hell, it didn’t even make the headache any worse.
