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″Unless you’re on a date with Kirkland,” Paddy remarks.
I’m not sure why Paddy is acting jealous. He’s never once flirted or been interested in me, and I’ve always appreciated that.
″It’s not a date. It’s dinner with a friend.”
″Sure, Savi.”
My eyes narrow as Paddy stuffs his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders. I fling open the curtain and push them out of the stall. “Get out of here before we get caught.”
As I stand against the wall, I let out a breath of relief when I can no longer see them. Hunched over, hands on my knees, I let my hair fall forward. My heart is pounding in my chest. Sixteen years of working toward this point in my career, and I could have just ruined it in the blink of an eye.
The buzz of my phone pulls me upright. Grabbing it from my pocket, the screen flashes with Andi’s name. She is three hours behind me on the west coast, so it’s only six in the evening for her.
I answer. “Hey.”
″What’s wrong?” She asks, not skipping a beat. She’s gotten good at listening to the tells in my voice since I’ve moved.
″Nothing, babes. What’s up? How is my niece?”
″Charlotte’s fine. I was calling to tell you I want to come out there for my birthday. That’s okay, right?”
I nod, then remember she can’t see my face. “Yes. Give me the dates and I’ll make sure I’m off.”
″Are you sure you’re okay? You sound winded.”
″I’m fine. Just a busy night. Gunshot wounds and crazy people running about.”
My mind goes back to Callum, and my throat dries up. Is this what Andi feels when she looks at her husband, Dom? I tap my head against the wall in frustration. I’ve only known Callum a few moments, and he was a total douche bag. The lass nickname is irritating as hell. I just need to get some sleep. Clear my head.
″Okay…” Andi drawls as if she doesn’t believe me. “I’ll look at flights and text you the dates. It’ll just be me. Dom has training and Charlotte will be with her dad.”
″Sure thing. I’ll make up the guest room for you. We can go out to bars or whatever and even take a ride over to Salem.”
″Oh, that will be so fun! I can’t wait. I’ve gotta go. I’ll text you. Love you.”
″Love you, too.” Disconnecting the call, I stuff my phone in my pocket as my pager goes off. At the same time, my name is called over the intercom.
My pager reads, ‘Code Gray.’ Combative patient. Fuck.
I’m only down the hall, so I hurry to the room. Yelling comes from behind the door, and I open it, preparing for the worst.
″Mr. Simmons! Please sit down so we can listen to you,” my favorite nurse, Lena, pleads with the patient. He’s not dressed in a hospital gown yet and wears only his t-shirt. His pants and underwear are caught around his ankles. He’s in his seventies, at least.
″What’s going on?” I ask, glancing around the room. Still no security.
″Mr. Simmons doesn’t want to change into his gown. He had a nasty fall and we’re worried about a brain bleed.”
″I didn’t fall, goddamn it!” Mr. Simmons snaps. “Those bastards will say anything!”
I grab the second nurse’s arm. “Get Mr. Simmons ten milligrams of ketamine.” Ketamine will calm him down enough so we can start an initial exam. The nurse hurries to get the medicine. I always forget her name. I need to get better at remembering their names.
When I step toward Mr. Simmons, I gently place my hand on his arm, and immediately his elbow rears back, catching my eye. I stumble back. “Fuck.”
Lena tosses me a scowl. “You fool. You’re supposed to wait for security. Now we’re gonna have to file an incident report.”
I move my hand from my face to look for blood. “I always forget the old ones are so strong.”
Lena smirks, checking my eye. “You’re not bleeding. You should be fine.”
