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Ronan sat on the couch across from me while Phoenix took up an armchair nearby. Cain remained near the door. I liked that I could still have my eyes on him as we talked, though I wasn’t sure why. Maybe I needed to see if there was any point where I’d see something in his gaze that told me the words he’d said to me earlier were a lie.
Not that it mattered since between the three men in the room, I wasn’t going anywhere unless they decided to let me go.
“Thank you for coming, Ethan,” Ronan began. “I know it couldn’t have been easy for you.”
I bit back the retort I was about to spew out that I didn’t really have a choice in the matter and just remained quiet.
“Before we talk, I would like to know if I can take a look at your injuries.”
“I’m fine,” I assured him.
“I don’t doubt that,” he said calmly. “But the doctor in me won’t be able to relax until I know for sure.” He paused before saying, “I think you know what I mean.”
I wanted to believe he was only guessing with the implication, but I doubted it. I supposed it could have been the procedure I’d performed on that patient that had tipped Ronan off, but I doubted that too. In my gut, I knew that Ronan knew I was a doctor. I had a sneaking suspicion he knew more than that.
“Okay,” I finally said, though in truth, I didn’t want him touching me. Not that I had anything against him personally. I just didn’t want anyone touching me.
I saw Ronan nod at Phoenix who immediately left the room. I saw Ronan’s eyes connect with Cain, the silent message clear. I was about to tell him I wanted Cain to stay when Cain said, “I’ll stay.”
To give Ronan credit, he barely reacted, but I didn’t miss the subtle shift in his eyes as he looked from Cain to me and back to Cain. For my part, I was beyond relieved that I hadn’t needed to ask the man to stay myself.
Since I didn’t even know why it was so important that he did.
“Is that okay with you, Ethan?”
I quickly nodded, keeping my eyes off Cain so Ronan wouldn’t think my behavior odd. I endured Ronan’s touch as he quickly examined the bruises on my jaw and neck. He ran through the standard questions I would have asked one of my own patients. When he asked me to remove the T-shirt, I did so reluctantly. He took a stethoscope from a small bag next to the couch and listened to my heart and breathing and then went through taking the rest of my vitals. He rattled off the different diagnoses as he worked, looking to me with each one to see if I concurred or not.
I did…on every single one.
I was glad when he didn’t ask me to remove my pants, instead having me roll them up to take a look at a gash on one of my legs. The exam took a good fifteen minutes before he seemed satisfied.
“Do you need anything?” Ronan asked. “Something for the pain?”
I shook my head. While I was still really sore and likely would be for a while yet, I needed my wits about me. But there was one thing I needed if I could just find the courage to admit to it. I cast a brief glance at Cain and was surprised to find him watching me, his expression unreadable. He hadn’t moved even once from his position near the door, but I’d still felt oddly comfortable having him there.
“Do you need Cain to step out for a moment, Ethan?” Ronan asked as he waited patiently. The man was way too perceptive. Few people likely would have known I was working up to something.
“No,” I shook my head. I forced myself to make eye contact with Ronan as I softly said, “Can you draw blood?”
Ronan nodded, but waited for me to continue on my own.
“I need to be tested for STDs,” I finally managed to get out just before I shot another look in Cain’s direction.
I couldn’t tell if his expression was unreadable anymore because he was no longer looking at me.
I couldn’t say I really blamed him. After everything I’d let happen to me, I couldn’t look at me either.
Chapter Seven
Cain
The reminder of Ethan’s rape had me so enraged that I had to look away from him so he wouldn’t see the fury in my eyes and somehow think it was for him. I’d already seen him look at me once today like I was no better than the piece of shit who’d hurt him and I couldn’t go through that again. Watching Ethan stand before me quietly as he’d waited for my fists to fall, resigned to his fate, had been a brutal wake-up call for me. I’d never claimed to be an easy man to deal with, nor a particularly gentle one. But I’d also never hurt someone who didn’t deserve it. So to be placed in that same category had hurt like a motherfucker. And in that moment, nothing had mattered but making Ethan understand I would never do that to him. Yes, I’d hurt him briefly when I’d sought to disarm him the night before, but I’d still been careful not to do anything that would have left him with any kind of lasting pain.
