Page 95 of Doc

“James needs you,” Cristian smoothly cuts in. “Doc wouldn’t want you to experience this.”

I go to protest, but he says, “It’s not a choice, Soren, it’s an order.”

Snapping my mouth closed, I clench my jaw and give him a stiff nod. Vonny escorts me to the door and gives me a hard hug. “I’ll take care of him, Sory. I promise.”

I nod and cling to my best friend for a moment before leaving the room. James is still in the hall, Dima and Joel watching over him.

“Everything okay?” Dima asks.

I swallow and manage a brief nod. “Yeah. I just… Yeah. It’s fine, for now.”

“Come on.” Joel gets up and helps his brother to stand. “Let’s go somewhere more comfortable.” He ushers both James and I down into Doc’s office. I don’t want to be so far from the surgeryroom, unable to get a glimpse in and see what’s happening, but I also know that’s exactly why I was kicked out.

I’m more of a liability than anything right now. James collapses on the sofa, and as I watch tears fall from the bodyguard’s eyes, my heart begins to crack.

Without hesitation, I sit next to him and pull him into me. It should be awkward, with how much bigger he is than me, but it’s not. We fit together as easily as Doc and I do, and it’s not a hardship to comfort him.

“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper, pressing a kiss against his hair. “He’s going to be fine. He’s not allowed to leave us.”

James and I cling to one another, both letting my words bring us comfort, even though we’re distinctly aware it doesn’t work like that. We have nothing if we don’t have hope, and clinging to that belief is all I can do right now. After all, my boy may be bratty as all hell, but he’s a good boy who listens to his Daddy in the end…

Awareness comes in waves, my brain getting with the program way ahead of the rest of me. It takes what feels like years to finally open my eyes, I almost instantly regret it. Slamming them closed once more, I groan before carefully fluttering my eyelids open a little bit at a time.

As I adjust, going from the darkness of unconsciousness to the bright lights of the room, I’m aware of someone else. I can hear them moving around, and by the time I get my eyes all the way open, they’re standing over me.

It takes a moment for my brain to process what I’m seeing, and when I do, my mouth opens and words come out before I can think better of what I’m doing. “The fuck are you doing here?” I ask in a scratchy voice as Doctor Aidan Murry stands over me.

He scowls. “Oh you know, only saving your ass.”

“What…” I’m not sure I actually make a noise when I try to talk, my throat and mouth are so dry, and it hurts to even breathe right now, let alone speak.

Murray reaches off to the side and comes back with a cup and straw. He helps me take a few slow sips, wetting my parched throat. When he’s deemed I’ve had enough, he pulls the cup away and I try not to whimper.

“You’re going to be fine,” he says. Almost begrudgingly, he continues. “How much do you remember?”

I sit with that question for a moment, urging my brain to hurry up and fire all its synapses so I can figure out what the hell is going on. Remembering how the bullet ripped through me makes me flinch, and I look back up at Murry. “Most of it,” I tell him honestly.

He nods and folds his arms across his chest. “I got a call from someone named Dmitri, who told me you needed my assistance. I resisted at first, of course. I don’t owe you anything anymore, but they threw my sister in my face.” A dark look crosses his features before he smoothes out his expression again. “When I arrived, your people already had you on a table, hooked up ready for surgery. I had to dig the bullet out of you, but, I’ll give you this, your guys are well trained.

“They had you prepped and ready by the time I got here. It was a straightforward surgery. I would have preferred to do it at the hospital, but your setup isn’t terrible.”

I chuckle, and regret it as pain shoots through me. “Damage?” I manage to ask once I catch my breath again.

“As I said, it was straightforward. You got lucky. The angle of the shot wasn’t great, so while it was close range, it didn’t have the best entry point. It lodged itself neatly against your intestines without perforating it. I don’t know any other bastard who’s as lucky as you are.”

I give him a pained smile. “What can I say? I have nine lives.”

Murry snorts. “All in all, you’re going to be fine. I’d like to monitor your healing progress, but I’d say you should be up and about six to eight weeks. That’s not to say you won’t take longer, but in my estimation, because you’re the luckiest fucking asshole I’ve ever met, that’s the timeline we’ll be working off of.”

“You’re going to be my doctor?” I tease.

He gives me a blank stare. “Well, you can’t very well monitor yourself, and you only have three nurses and a med student on your staff, so yes, sadly for you, you’re stuck with me.”

“Such a shame,” I mutter. I shift in the bed and say, “I’m surprised you allowed me to be moved.”

“Your clinic isn’t exactly set up for long-term stay. So we had no choice but to move you. Your Boss assured me you had a space set up, and I am pleasantly surprised.”

I roll my eyes, but the remarks aren’t surprising. I’ve spent years setting up my office here at the main house so that it fits my needs. I didn’t exactly ever picture myself laying in one of the beds, but here we are.

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