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Once I’m done, Neil clears his throat and hems and haws his way through asking about my credentials. I guess I can’t blame him; I mean, he’s not used to our lifestyle, so he’s probably concerned that the “doc” who patched him up isn’t really a “doc.” I decide to go the straight-shooter route and be honest with him.
“I was probably a month from finishing med school and starting my residency in earnest when Bunny and Kendrick found me half-dead in an alley from an overdose. I didn’t take too well to the stressors of hospital life. They got me clean, but by then the damage to my career was done. Rather than try to backpedal and deal with the repercussions, I opted to take the coward’s way out and hide out with Bun here in the Burrow. I run a clinic for the underprivileged here, helping people who often are caught in the same situation I was.”
“Or people who had the misfortune of getting their asses kicked in the club?”
I chuckle at Neil’s self-deprecating humor. “Yeah. Or that.”
Bunny runs a hand through Neil’s short hair, clearly bored with the Doc talk. “Hey, can I show him around the Burrow?”
“Sure. Just no gym time. I mean it when I say he has to watch the lifting and bending.”
She sighs dramatically as she drags Neil to his feet. “Fine. I’ll wait for that part.”
Neil’s good eye widens, and he casts an anxious glance my way. “Wait, why would I need to go to a gym?”
“You’re gonna have to learn to defend yourself at some point,” Bunny chirps as she leads him out of the room. “But not yet. Doc’s orders.”
Keys waits until they’re out of earshot to burst into laughter. “She’s going to eat him alive.”
Kendrick grunts and starts clearing the table. We mostly use paper plates and plasticware, but the serving dishes and pots and pans he used still need to be washed. I follow him back into the makeshift kitchen and grab an old towel to dry stuff. We work in silence for a bit until Kendrick finally slams the last pot down in the drying rack and runs both hands over his bald head.
Heaving a sigh, I set down the pan I’m drying. “Kendrick, calm down. You know you don’t have any more control over who Bunny latches onto than she does.”
“He’s a dweeb! We’ve already got a dweeb. We don’t need another one.”
“Maybe Bunny does.”
He growls and yanks the drain plug from the sink. “Fucking gamers.”
“Kendrick …” I normally defer to him, but in moments where he’s being unreasonable, I have no problem bringing out the Doc Voice. I may be an ex-addict med school dropout, but I know more about mental health than he does, and I know when he’s stressing himself out over things he has zero control over.
His knuckles turn white as he grips the edge of the sink. “I know, I know. If Bunny was meant to be a one- or even two-guy girl, she would be. I should have known when she brought Keys into the operation that she wouldn’t be satisfied with just us.”
“And that’s perfectly fine. She knows her limits. Let her explore this, at least. And who knows? Maybe with Neil here to distract Keys, he won’t be getting on your nerves so much.”
“I guess so …”
“Want to help me in the clinic today? It might take your mind off Neil for a while, and I could use some assistance. Today’s the day the girls from the shelter are coming in for birth control refills. Seeing as how you helped most of them get off the street, they might appreciate seeing you again.”
Finally, Kendrick cracks a small grin. “Okay. I’m always up for helping at the clinic.”
I clamp a hand on his shoulder and smile up at him. “You’d have made a great nurse, you know that? I wouldn’t have anyone else in the OR with me when shit goes south.”
Chapter 6
Bunny
“And over here is where Kendrick and I train. We go out a few nights a week and patrol the streets, y’know, just making sure nobody’s starting shit.”
“Uh, Bunny … Didn’t Doc say not to take me to the gym?”
I scoff and wave a dismissive hand. “Oh, he just meant not to let you use the equipment. As long as you’re not doing any heavy lifting, you’re fine.”
“Okay … So, what do you mean by ‘patrol’?”
“You know. Like I found you. I go out and stop people from being assholes. Sometimes that means stopping a drug deal, sometimes I have to chase down a mugger, and sometimes I have to clobber a mafia bodyguard to keep him from killing a nice guy.” I wink at Neil, but from his nervous expression, I suspect he didn’t get the joke. I nudge his shoulder. “I’m teasing! Look, it’s simple: Keys monitors the city’s traffic and security cams, and if he sees shit going down, he sends me and Kendrick to stop it.”
Neil raises a skeptical brow at me, but he doesn’t let go of my hand. Good. I like holding his hand.
