Page 126 of Bleed with Me

“My favorite.”

As I took the file, the name immediately caught my attention.

Carlile, Sonny.

Well, well, well. The demon reared his nasty head. Isn’t this a lovely coincidence?

“It sure is,” I mumbled under my breath and entered the room.

Carlile sat on the bed, holding a bloody towel around his right hand. The moment he saw me, surprise flashed across his face, followed by a brief hint of unease. But then, his shoulders relaxed.

“Doctor Zhumagulov.” He smiled. “Thank God. Someone competent.”

I smiled back.

“What happened?” I closed the door behind me and put gloves on.

“Glass shattered while I was opening a bottle.” He lifted his bleeding hand. “Everything is against me today.”

You have no idea, the demon grinned, baring his teeth.

“Let me see.” I sat before him and examined the injury. The cut wasn’t terrible, but it required a few stitches. “You should be more careful.”

“Yeah.” He stared at my fingers as I picked up a scalpel. “What are you going to do with that?” He tensed, his eyes jumping from it to my face.

“Treat the wound,” I replied matter-of-factly, grasping his injured hand. I pushed it down against the metal counter, the tools clattering with the impact.

“Hey!” Carlile yelled, trying to free himself. “What are you doing?”

“Treating. The. Wound.” I repeated in a grave voice, sticking the scalpel inside the torn flesh.

“What? Aaaaaaaah!”

The blade pierced straight through his palm, and blood immediately welled around it before spilling over the side of his hand. A thin stream ran down his wrist, dripping onto the metal counter beneath it.

“You maniac!” he screamed. “What are…”

He trailed off as I twisted the scalpel, my gaze set on his pale, scrunched face.

“I told you I’d cut off your hand,” I snarled, dragging the blade sideways, widening the wound. His breathing turned ragged, sweat breaking across his forehead as his entire body shook from the pain. “Are you enjoying it?”

“No! Stop!” he groaned loudly. “Please!”

“What the hell?”

My head whipped toward the door. Melody stood on the threshold, her eyes wide with shock.

“Leave!” I ordered, giving her a pointed look, but she hesitated, glancing between the horrific scene and me.

“Melody!” I raised my voice to catch her attention. “Leave and send Sasha here!”

She slowly nodded, her hand trembling on the door handle.

“Just—”

“Leave for Christ’s sake!” I hollered. She ran out of the room, effectively waking me from my daze. I was set on at least cutting a few of Sonny’s fingers off as a punishment for touching Nina, but this was my hospital. He could cause scandal I didn’t need.

I looked at his disgusting face, tears and snot mixing on his chin. He cried like a baby, holding his injured forearm with his healthy one.