Page 65 of A Fine Line

“She had an IUD that was no longer appropriately positioned. I would’ve tried to fix it, but I didn’t want to risk it with not knowing how long it’s already been in. Regardless, we should let her know she’s no longer protected against pregnancy.”

“I’ll tell her,” I say firmly. “I don’t think there’s any reason to bother her with that kind of details right now, so I’ll inform her when she’s feeling better, and she can decide how she wants to proceed with that.”

He gives me an assessing look, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as he asks, “So, you don’t want me to tell her?”

I cross my arms over my chest and stare him down as I repeat, “That’s right. Don’t tell her.”

“Don’t tell her what?” Nettie’s voice cuts in from the doorway, and I inwardly groan.

I give the doctor a hard look as I turn to Nettie and reply, “Nothing. It doesn’t concern you.”

Darius appears behind Nettie. He smiles, his eyebrows raising knowingly as he elbows her and says, “I bet you know.”

Her eyes widen, and she looks from Darius to me, and back to Darius, and then gasps, “No! It can’t be?”

He lifts a shoulder nonchalantly and inclines his head toward me as he replies, “He’s really the only one who can confirm.”

I look between the two of them and drop my hands to my hips as I say, “Seriously, guys? Are you gonna go on one of your book trope rants now? It’s not exactly the time.”

“Listen, Tony,” Nettie says as she walks toward me. “You can basically get all of life’s do’s and don’ts from a book trope list. I don’t know why you have such a hard time with this.”

I look over at Darius, holding my hands up in front of me in surrender as I say, “Seriously, man. Help me.”

“Don’t get me involved in this,” he replies with a laugh. He puts his hands in his pocket and leans against the door jamb as he adds, “She usually has our number when it comes to book tropes. And honestly, I don’t think they’ve led me wrong so far, so you might wanna listen to her.”

Nettie pokes the doctor in the chest and asks, “What do you have to do with this? Don’t you have some kind of ethical standard you have to maintain?”

He gives her a bored look and then laughs. “I provide medical care for a criminal organization. So, I think we use the ethical requirements rather loosely.”

She narrows her eyes at him and crosses her arms over her chest as she takes a step closer. “But would you let him harm her?”

“Who am I to say what’s actually harmful to her? I don’t know her.”

“What’s your name?”

“I don’t think I have to tell you that.”

“You don’t have to tell her, but I highly advise you do because she’s not opposed to stabbing you for fun.” Dare’s words are laced with humor, but the look on the doctor’s face indicates he understands the underlying seriousness of the statement.

Finally, he says, “My name is Ryan Gray.”

Nettie smiles approvingly. “You can call me Antoinette. I used to go by Toni with an ‘i’, but having two of us got annoying, so we killed her.”

He returns her smile, then asks, “So which trope are you thinking? Secret pregnancy or forced pregnancy?”

Her eyes widen, and she crows with excitement, “You know your tropes!”

He smiles rather smugly and leans back against the table as he responds, “Oh, yes. I have three sisters who got me into reading with them a few years ago. It’s quite entertaining.”

She smiles approvingly and then whirls on me and asks, “So which one is it, Tony?”

I cross my arms over my chest again and lift my chin defiantly as I say nothing, and finally, she continues, “Don’t even think about it. As far as she knows, she can’t get pregnant. You can’t not tell her. Jesus fucking Christ, Tony, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Nettie, I don’t know what point you lost track of the fact that I am a self-centered asshole, but those are the facts. How you can question any completely self-serving agenda I might have is beyond me.”

She glares and punches me in the arm. “Don’t make fucking excuses with me, man. I know you’re a good guy, and technically, you’re only a couple of better choices away from being a great guy, and frankly, I expect you to be a great fucking guy. Do you hear me?”

Darius laughs from the other side of the room, and I shoot him a glare and a middle finger. He laughs even harder and says, “She won’t stop until you’re a great guy, Tony, so you may as well just give in.”

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