Page 25 of Booked for Theft

Both primary surgeons had convinced me of that much, as had the surgeons handling the other transplants. “His misfortune became miracles for others,” I added.

“You’re right. I just wish Nathan’s life hadn’t come at the cost of Spencer’s.”

I nodded. “I feel much the same way about what happened with Senator Maybelle. If I could have saved her, I would have.”

“But you couldn’t, so you did the best you could under the circumstances. Honestly, I feel it is shameful that some members of her family have taken to harassing you with the media. The freedom of the press means there’s nothing I can do to stop it beyond make a public comment in your favor.”

Interesting. I smiled for the man’s benefit before saying, “I appreciate that, Mr. President. I can handle a grieving family member saying bad things about me to the media, but I truly do appreciate your kind words. I truly do understand their perspective. I could save the others, so why not Senator Maybelle? And I can do a lot in an operating room or ER, but I can’t stop death, not from a bullet to the brain. Now, I could stop death, possibly, from a bullet to the heart, but I would need to be touching the person at the time of the injury and take over full control of their circulatory and respiratory systems to do it. That’s a challenge even for me. I don’t know if I could keep them holding on long enough for a mender to begin repairing the damage. I’ve handled torn aortas and gunshot wounds before, and it’s difficult.”

“I’ve read over some of the files of cases you’ve worked on. One of my last acts as President of the United States will be working to establish a mentorship program for exsanguinators in a hospital setting, allowing hospitals to legally and easily acquire help from those with your abilities. You would be able to step into any ER in the United States and be available to assist at your whim. The hours would count for your service as well—and the bill will make it so insurance companies cannot refuse treatment for anyone who received volunteer medical aid from an exsanguinator.” President Castillo’s smile turned rather predatory. “After what those companies have done to my nephew, I will enjoy spending the remainder of my presidency making them pay—and protecting others from dealing with the same anguish.”

I hated that I could find common ground with a man I viewed as a monster, but I appreciated that even he had limits to how far greed should go. “Might I recommend a program, operated through the public libraries, to educate people on how best to get medical care? If you can introduce the loopholes to force the insurance companies to provide mandatory care, I am sure librarians around the country would love helping the public educate themselves on the presence of the loopholes.”

“You know what, Janette? I think I’ll take that idea and run with it. Until my nephew needed new lungs to survive, I had not realized how corrupted the insurance companies were—and how much profit they make from the suffering of others. If you could have changed anything about your access to care before your engagement, what would it have been?”

“I would have truly appreciated access to medications and painkillers. I didn’t qualify for many treatments, and those medications might have made a big difference,” I admitted, taking care to keep from meeting Bradley’s gaze.

One day, we would fully overcome all the consequences of the crash, a little at a time.

“She couldn’t get anything other than basic painkillers,” Bradley added when I failed to elaborate on my past situation. “She was barred from the better antibiotics. The only reason she’d gotten any care whatsoever on her foot is because her doctor took her on as a charity case. I’ve since made certain Dr. Mansfield was compensated for the cost of Janette’s care. Working to make certain nobody else has to suffer like that needlessly would be an excellent cause.”

“Indeed.” President Castillo led us to the sidewalk, where several Secret Service agents loitered. Several police cars, with lights on but sirens off, cleared a spot outside of the entrance.

Had it been the emergency entrance, I would have freaked out, but as we were only blocking the general entrance, I reined in my urge to criticize. Before I could become truly agitated over the issue, a black SUV pulled up, and the Secret Service agents went to work opening doors for us.

“Take the front seat, Janette,” President Castillo suggested. “That has more space. You were limping a bit. Do you need any painkillers?”

“It’s nothing ibuprofen can’t fix, and I’ll take a pair once we’re at the White House.” I held up my purse, which did include a small stash of the anti-inflammatories, kept at Dr. Mansfield’s recommendation. After climbing inside and buckling my seat belt, I stretched out my legs with a groan. “This was a good reminder that I need to work at being on my feet for longer periods of time. Bradley, stop making me sit down all the time. I am going to pay for this tomorrow.”

“I refuse,” my fiancé replied. “I will encourage you to adhere to Dr. Mansfield’s plan for rehabilitation of your foot, and that means no more than four hours of walking and standing at any given time except during a legitimate emergency. And on days following legitimate emergencies, you’re to walk and stand for no more than one hour at a time, take your ibuprofen, and relax while monitoring the swelling. And if it swells, we will pay the nice doctors and nurses here a visit. After I got here, I got to talk to one of their foot doctors for a while just in case you need a treatment while we’re here. I booked you for a visit tomorrow afternoon.”

Damn. “What time? I’ll add it to my phone.”

“Three. We’ll meet the doctor at this entrance to spare you from trying to navigate this maze.”

President Castillo chuckled. “It’s excellent to personally see how proactive you are about her care. Still, I do apologize for the lack of warning.”

“Emergencies happen,” Bradley replied. “Janette was needed here, and I headed over as soon as I finished handling everything at home. Ajani is with your parents until we’re back, by the way. Our mothers wrestled for the right to have your cat, and yours won.”

I snickered, as our parents had taken to engaging in the oddest sports competitions to determine who would get my fluffy goddess when I couldn’t watch over her. “I guess that means we’ll be riding when we get back.”

“You would be correct. Your mother’s willing to host the engagement party planning before we go on our shopping expedition, and our mothers are already working on the guest list and invitations.”

I sat up in my seat and twisted around to glare at Bradley. “You’re stealing my thunder, sir!”

“No, ma’am, I’m stealing your cat and your horse and your goats. You can keep your thunder.” He smirked, and then he raised a brow in challenge. “If you want your cat, your horse, and your goats back, you’re just going to have to do what I want, which involves heading back to New York early on Saturday morning. We can spend tomorrow doing tourism here before your checkup. I might have already made a dinner reservation for us.”

I realized I had left Bradley unattended for numerous hours. When left unattended, he indulged in excess. “Isn’t it only Wednesday?”

“For a little while longer,” he confirmed.

“What are we doing Friday?”

“I have made plans.”

“Bradley!”

President Castillo laughed. “Will staying at the White House interrupt your plans?”

“As long as I have a place to park our car, it won’t interrupt any of my plans. Not having to worry about finding a hotel is appreciated, though. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do. Yesterday, we were anticipating Nathan’s funeral. Today, we’re looking forward to the rest of his life. That is a debt my family can never repay. Providing you with dinner and settling you in a guest room is truly the least I can do. And Janette, I’ll contact your employer myself before dinner and apologize for delaying you here.”

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem, but I appreciate that. Mr. Tawnlen might give me a token lecture about skipping out of work, but he’ll do it because he enjoys having intellectual company willing to argue with him.”

“Ah. I have a few people I’m like that with. It’s relieving to be able to do such things from time to time.”

“It is, and when we’re having a rough day at the library, it’s a safe way for both of us to vent some steam.”

“I’d love to hear some stories about your library tonight over dinner.”

“Easily done, and I think I’ll start with when I adopted a half-dead kitten and took her to a job interview.”