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“Everything okay?” Dr. Jenkins asks again.
Nik’s name flashes again just a second later. Again, I swipe, but it disconnects.
“My brother is calling, but I don’t have any service in here.”
I type out a message, but a red error symbol pops up next to it. I can’t even text now.
“I can stay with Luna while you go take your call,” Dr. Jenkins offers. “I can hang out in here as well as I can in the nurse’s lounge. It’s no trouble to me.”
I clench my jaw. I haven’t left this room in days and Luna hasn’t been out of my sight since we stepped through the hospital doors. I don’t want to start now.
But my phone keeps ringing. Whatever Nik has to say, it’s important. It could be the difference between life and death. Between protecting Luna or failing her.
“No one gets through the door,” I growl, jabbing a finger into the doctor’s chest. “I want the door locked and I don’t want anyone else, no matter who they are, getting inside. Got it?”
Dr. Jenkins nods solemnly. “I won’t let anything happen to her. She’ll be safe with me.”
Luna is still sleeping. Her chest rising and falling in slow, even breaths.
I’ll only be gone for a minute. She’ll be fine.
I step into the hallway for the first time in three days and Dr. Jenkins locks the door behind me.
58
LUNA
I wake up as the door closes.
It’s the first time in a few days that I haven’t woken up with Yakov’s hands around mine, his voice in my ear trying to calm me down. I blink into the dim room, but Yakov isn’t in his usual post by my bedside. He’s not here at all. Instead, there’s an unfamiliar figure locking the door.
My heart jolts. I sit up so fast I get lightheaded. My vision swirls. By the time it comes back, Dr. Jenkins has turned to face me.
“Oh.” I sigh and fall back in my bed. “I thought you were someone else.”
Pavel, maybe. Somewhere in the darkest part of my mind, I thought it could be Akim, even though I know that isn’t possible.
Dr. Jenkins nods and drops his bag on the desk in the corner. He turns his back to me as he digs through it.
“Where is Yakov?” I ask.
“He had to take care of something.”
I frown. Yakov hasn’t left my side in days. If he left—especially while I was asleep—it must be important.
“Did he say what it was?” I press. “Is everything okay?”
Dr. Jenkins turns so I can see his face. He’s smiling, but he doesn’t meet my eyes. “Everything is totally fine. He asked me to watch over you while he’s gone.”
Yakov trusts Dr. Jenkins. That means I should, too.
“Sorry. I’m on edge, I guess,” I admit with a laugh. “It’s probably why I keep having nightmares. I can’t relax even when I know I’m safe.”
Dr. Jenkins slides a few things into the pockets of his jacket and then turns to me. He reaches over my bed for the blood pressure cuff. “Post-traumatic stress is normal after what you’ve been through.” He slides the cuff up over my bicep and pumps it with air. It constricts around my arm until it’s just on the edge of painful before it finally releases. Dr. Jenkins is staring down at the reading, but his eyes are glazed. He’s not looking at his watch like usual.
“Are you feeling okay, Dr. Jenkins?”
He blinks and smiles, still not meeting my eyes. “Yes. I’m fine. I was just thinking that, once you have the babies, I can suggest medication to help with your nightmares.”
