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“I’m fine,” Madden rumbled. “Give me the damned papers so I can go.”
I stepped to his side and he glanced down. I could see the pain behind his eyes. I wrapped my arm around his, more so to make she he didn’t fall over than anything else. There was a slight sway to his body I didn’t quite trust.
“Are you sure?” I whispered. “One night won’t be so bad. I can take you home first thing in the morning. A compromise, right doctor?”
The doctor reluctantly nodded.
“I don’t compromise,” Madden growled. “I’m leaving now.”
A hundred different things that could go wrong flashed through my head. I still hadn’t recovered from seeing him get stabbed or all the blood. I wasn’t sure I could handle another emergency if anything happened.
The police had taken my statement after we got to the hospital and they spoke with Madden for a few minutes after he regained consciousness. The two men were alive and had been brought to the same hospital. At least Madden hadn’t killed anyone, though their fate was up to some public prosecutor because Madden refused to press as**sault charges.
I didn’t understand why and when I asked, he refused to answer.
After the police left, the pain pill took over and he fell back asleep for a few hours. At some point when I was grabbing some sleep, he must have called his driver to bring him a change of clothes. I didn’t know that until I returned to his room after grabbing some coffee in the hospital cafeteria and saw him struggling to put on his clothes.
No amount of pleading to get back into bed had changed his mind.
“I’m going home. And unless this is a prison,” he glared at the doctor, “I’d like it to be now before the damned press gets ahold of all this. If they haven’t already.”
The doctor stood up straighter and cleared his throat. “We take security here very seriously Mr. Cross, as I’ve said. You can be sure of complete discretion during your stay.”
Madden scowled. “There will be no stay, I’m leaving. You have two minutes to give me the paperwork to sign before I’m walking out without it.”
“Very well.” The doctor set his clipboard on the counter and slid it toward the nurse. “Have Mr. Cross sign the paperwork stating that he left against my advice. If there is any change in your condition, Mr. Cross, you must come back immediately. I’ll have the nurse give you a prescription for painkillers that you should take every eight hours for the first twenty-four. Then you can take as needed. You will be sore for some time, Mr. Cross and again, if there is any excessive bleeding, you need to come back right away.”
“I’ll make sure he does,” I said. Despite what Madden wanted, if it looked like anything was wrong, I was calling for another ambulance. His wishes be damned.
Madden signed the paperwork and I took the prescription.
“There’s a pharmacy on the first floor so you can fill that before you leave,” the nurse said. “And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call.” She glanced appreciatively at Madden. Even pale and weak, he was imposing and still very handsome. Especially with the dark shadow of stubble that covered his jaw. I tightened my arm through his.
“Thank you, we will,” I said over my shoulder as we walked away.
“You’re the only nurse I want tending to my wounds,” Madden murmured in my ear. When I glanced up at him, I saw that familiar smirk drifting across his lips. God, even on potent painkillers he was still sexy as hell. And he knew it.
“You almost died tonight. I want to make sure you’re taken care of, and if that means a dozen nurses tending your wounds, then so be it.” I pushed the button on the elevator and tapped my foot impatiently.
Madden threw back his head and laughed. Despite my irritation, the sound was music to my ears. It meant that he really was feeling okay.
“It’s just a cut,” Madden said. “I’m all stitched up. The f**king hospitals and doctors and insurance companies just worry about liability. Covering their as**ses, that’s all.”
I looked down at the rust colored smudges that were all over my clothes and shuddered. There was dried blood under my fingernails and I could smell the metallic tinge every time I took a breath.
“Now if I could just change out of these clothes and have a shower,” I murmured.
Madden’s hand tightened on my arm. “I’m sorry about all this. I never expected…” He stopped and shook his head. When he looked at me his eyes were too guarded for me to see anything in them. He leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Thank you. I don’t think I’ve said that yet.”
