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His toasted almond-brown eyes glaze over for a minute as he clasps his fingers together on the desk. I watch as he casts his gaze to the picture to the right of him that sits on his desk. Although I can’t see it, I know it’s a picture of his new wife, his three kids, who are all teens now, and his youngest son, the one his newest wife bore him.
A warm smile lights the planes of his café au lait face, and he looks at me.
“Someone made a difference for me. Cynthia was a godsend when I thought I was sinking,” he says of his second wife. “Being a new oncologist here at the hospital, she had many changes she wanted to make and challenged me every step of the way. Her love for this hospital and these patients reawakened mine.”
“Exactly. Detective Blackwood is fighting for his life. He is my hope, Dr. Lennox because he inspires me. I can’t walk away from this unit and the patients fighting for another chance. Just because I was attacked and felt unsafe, that can happen anywhere. Things can and will happen in the ER, NICU, geriatric ward, home...no matter where I go.
“I’d rather remain here fighting by my patients’ side to give them hope and encourage their families. I’m not about to let some punk steal that from me. I have to stand strong, and if I run away now, it’s like saying that I don’t believe in Detective Blackwood and his purpose. He needs me.”
Dr. Lennox nods and says, “Okay. Then you’ll remain in the ICU. Security will continue walking you to and from your vehicle until the perpetrator is caught.”
“Thank you. Anything else?” I ask as a knocking sound at his door.
“That will be all,” he says, rising as he pushes his rimless glasses up his nose before running a hair through his sandy-brown hair lightly streaked with grey.
He walks to the door with me and pulls it open.
“Hi, Dr. Lennox. Simone, Detective Blackwood’s brother would like to speak with you.”
I fidget nervously, recalling the last time we spoke. I’d damn near had a nervous breakdown on the man, and I’ve been avoiding him since. Once I’d calmed down after he left my presence, I was embarrassed by my behavior.
Tiffany had assured me that I had no reason to be embarrassed and commented that she’d experienced a similar reaction when she’d heard about my attack. Her supervisor had to work hard to calm her down before allowing her to visit me, so it had taken her so long to appear after the attack.
“Did he say what he needed?”
“I asked and tried to see if anyone else could assist him with questions about his brother’s care, but he said it wasn’t concerning that. I informed him that the anesthesiologist under Dr. Rhodes’ supervision will bring Detective Blackwood out of the coma today since his tests have been good each time he’s done it.”
“Tell him that I’m in a meeting.”
Shaking her head, Pearla says, “Tried that. He won’t take no for an answer. He found a chair, pulled it across from the nurse’s station, and said he would wait for you to return.”
Dr. Lennox clears his throat and suppresses a smile.
“What?”
“I think you’d better go see what he wants. The last thing we need is a host of Oakland’s finest camping out in front of the nurses’ station, scaring patients’ families away. And I’m not referencing OPD either.”
“Fine,” I huff, rolling my eyes and following Pearla.
The moment we step off the elevators and hit the corner, my eyes spot him before he spots me. Why does he have to be so fine and exude sexiness the way that he does without even trying?
He stands when he sees me coming, and I walk up to him, crossing my arms as though trying to ward off an attack. The only thing I’m holding in is keeping my sexual tension at bay and covering my budded nipples.
“How can I help you, Mr. Blackwood.”
“It’s Nitro, and is there somewhere we can speak in private?” he asks as a couple walk by, heading to a room where their son lies unconscious. He’s a new patient who just arrived last night.
“You can speak here.”
“It’s about your safety,” Nitro says, his jaw flexing as he stares at me.
Though I can’t see his eyes beyond the sunglasses, I have an idea they don’t look too happy with me, if his jaw clenching is any indication.
“My safety? I’m just fine.”
“No. You’re not.”
“I am. I can assure you that we have more security assigned to this floor now, and they’re ensuring that I’m being walked to and from my car daily for each shift.”
