Page 17 of Deadly Intentions

“Nope.” The phone at the nurse's desk rang, giving us a chance to escape any further inquisition from her.

Donny followed me into the staff room and waited as I put up my belongings. Grabbing my stethoscope, I headed toward Johnny’s room. I hadn’t seen him a few days and needed to lay my eyes on him for some bizarre reason. The stranger in the bed gave me an odd sense of comfort.

“Wait out here. I’ll be out in a minute.” I pointed toward the wall and started inside.

“What the fuck?” Donny pushed past me and into Johnny—John Doe’s room. He stopped at the foot of the bed staring at the man who laid unconscious hooked to machines.

“Donny.” I grabbed at his arm. “You can’t be in here. Are you trying to get me fired?”

“Catarina… please tell me you aren’t that damn oblivious.” Donny snarled as he jerked his arm from my hold and fisted his hair in frustration.

“Excuse me?” I flinched as though his words had slapped me. "Get the fuck out." I growled, stepping away from him.

“Don't you know who this is?” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled something under his breath.

“No. That’s why we call him John Doe, you jackass.” I moved to the bedside and started checking his fluids. “He was here before I was. His bandages just came off and as you can see, he’s still swollen and bruised. Alex—rather Detective Coulter, hasn’t been able to ID him. It’s as though he doesn’t exist.”

“He won’t be able to identify him.” Donny stepped closer to the bed to get a better look.

“I'm afraid that's true. Pretty sure he was beaten and dumped. Alex seems to think he was involved with Javier’s dealings and should be dead.”

“He wasn’t. And his identity was scrubbed to protect him.” Donny’s voice was grim.

“He wasn't what? And how could you possibly know that about his identity?” I stared at him, confused. "Not everyone operates like my family, Donny."

“Look at him, Cat. Really look at him.” Donny's eyes softened and his shoulders dropped.

I turned toward the unconscious man I’d come to care about and looked at him. It was the first time I’d seen him without all the badges, but even still he was severely swollen. But as I stood there, a familiarity washed over me. It was like seeing someone you’d met but couldn’t quite place where or when.

“He wasn’t involved with Javier.” Donny leaned down close to my ear and spoke. “Because the man that put him in this bed was Dmitri Ivanov.”

My hands flew to my mouth as a gasp escaped my lips. How could I have missed this? How had I not known? All this time, the man I’d spent my nights talking to was someone I’d known. Someone that meant everything to my brother. A lone tear slipped out and trickled down my cheek. This was going to cause a shitstorm I wasn’t ready for.

“I don’t…” I reached out and ran my hand down Michael's still arm. “How is this possible?” I turned toward Donny who looked a mixture of stunned and relieved. He'd been there to see the pain and turmoil my family had been through. Pain I ran from, leaving them to put the pieces together without me. Guilt assaulted me as that thought ran through my mind.

“I have no idea. But you understand what this means, don’t you?”

My head snapped back to the still form on the bed. “No. You can’t. Not yet.”

“Catarina.” Donny reached out and tried to press his hand against my shoulder, but I moved. “You can’t keep this secret. It’s not fair to your family—or Antonio.”

“We need to be sure. You could be wrong.” But even as the words came out, I knew they were a lie. The man laying there was Michael.

I refused to admit my new life was unraveling and coming to an end. It was selfish—I knew that. But the sanctuary I’d built in the short time I’d been in the small town was mine. And calling my brothers would end that—even though the truth was Javier had already disrupted the life I was trying to build. A life that was built on a lie. A lie that was staring me in the face from a hospital bed.

“Excuse me.” A voice I wasn’t prepared to face cut through the tension building in the room.

Turning I found Alex in the doorway staring at the proximity of Donny to me. I stepped around him and moved to the head of the bed. “Alex.” I forced a smile. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“I was in the area and decided to come by sooner.” He stared hard at Donny. I could see the question in his eyes. A question I wasn’t ready to answer. “I’m Detective Coulter. And you are?” He extended his hand toward Donny.

“He’s, my cousin.” The words rushed out before I could stop them.

Donny quirked an eyebrow at me. His smirk told me he wasn’t about to let the comment fly. “She’s being shy. I’m her fiancé,” he quipped. “I know you and she have gone out a few times, but I’m back and she’sofflimits.” Donny growled.

“Donny,” I gasped. “Alex, can I talk to you in the hallway for a moment?” My eyes cut toward Donny, begging him to stop talking and give me a moment to sort things out with Alex.

“Sure.” Alex’s head swiveled between us before he followed me out into the hall.

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