Page 7 of Doc

“It is not for everyone. Some people are more comfortable with the roles they have.”

“Yes. I would like to offer you the job.” Leaning forward, I rest my arms on the desk. “I need to be honest with you though, this isn’t a job like any other. For one, the team you will be on is solely in charge of caring for the main Family, and two, there are things you may see or hear that you must not repeat outside these walls.”

“You know who my family is. I can keep a secret.”

I push the NDA I had drawn up over to him. “Before I can go any further, I need you to sign this.”

Soren looks at the paperwork, the corners of his mouth twitching up as he reads it over. “Who is Doctor A. P. Wescott?”

“The very person I can’t discuss without the NDA signed.”

Soren tilts his head and looks up at me, assessing my words. “Fine.” He pulls a pen out of his pocket, reads through the entire NDA, and then signs it.

When he hands the paperwork over, I sit back in my chair. “Doc has been our doctor for many years now. I found him and helped him get through school, all with the understanding that he would be not only my family’s personal doctor, but in charge of all the medical staff for the rest of my organization.

“He is…not what one would expect. His tongue is as sharp as his scalpel, and he has no filter. He also gets free rein of telling my family what to do. He’s the only one that gets that. Do not think being on his team means you don’t have to show me respect.”

Soren frowns. “I don’t understand why I needed to sign the NDA to hear that.”

I smile. “You’ll see. Doc is better to experience than to explain. He runs his staff his way, and I allow it because I trust him. I trust your uncle in that what he told me about you is true. I donottrust you, and won’t until you earn it. This”—I set my hand on his paperwork—“is the first step in earning that type of trust.

“You know we’ll kill you if we think you don’t fit into our Family. But should you piss Doc off… Well, let’s just say he’ll make your uncle look like a softie.”

Soren lets out a low whistle and I can see when he understands some of the situation. The only way to really get Doc is to meet him and experience it. It’s always fun throwing new people at him.

“He’s expecting us. If you don’t have any other questions, let’s go meet him.”

Soren stands and straightens out his suit. “Lead the way.”

Cristian Amato is nothing like I expected, though my uncle did warn me about that. Kind of. He said the Amatos did things…differently, and he wasn’t kidding.

As I follow the mafia Boss out of his office and through a different hall, I can’t help but wonder what exactly I have gotten myself into.

The office I’m led to is more a private medical room than anything, and I’m slightly impressed by the set up. There are two beds, an examination table, and various other pieces of medical equipment. Cabinets along one wall seem to be filled to the brim with supplies, and there’s a sink and counter on another wall, with drawers and a cabinet that I’m assuming contains other things one might need in an emergency.

There’s a man who I assume to be the mysterious Dr. Wescott sitting on one of the hospital beds. He looks up from the tablet in his hands when we enter the room.

“This my new victim?” he asks.

Cristian shakes his head. “You promised to be nice.”

Dr. Wescott grins. “Thatwasme being nice. This was your idea, not mine.” He hops off the bed and comes over to me, holding out the tablet. “What do you make of this?”

I take a look at the photos for a long moment before looking up at the two men. “It looks like a healing amputation, but this is a hand, not a leg, and unless we were ill informed, I’m here to replace someone because of a lost leg.”

“Yes to all that,” Wescott says. “This is the residual limb of Georgio De Luca, who sadly lost his hand instead of his head. I was hoping you could see the start of an infection—maybe gangrene—that my assistant and I missed during our examination, but alas, I guess not.”

I blink and look from the doctor to the mafia Boss. Cristian must read the ‘is this guy for real’ look on my face because he grins, a lightness in his dark eyes that wasn’t there before.

“I think you two are going to get on well. Soren, come see me before you leave today and I’ll get you set up with all your employment paperwork.” With that, the asshole leaves me alone with the doctor, who is looking at me like I’m something he wants to study under a microscope.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Wescott,” I say, trying to get past the awkwardness and move this introduction along. “I’m Soren Knightly.”

“Doc, I go by Doc, not my name. Knightly? I thought you were Petrov’s nephew.”

“I am, but I don’t use my family name, for obvious reasons.”

He stares at me with a quirk of a brow, his cognac colored eyes intense. “No, I don’t think they are. Obvious, I mean.”

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