Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Juliette POV
I pressed down gently onto Allen’s stomach. He winced as soon as I made contact, and I smiled.
“What did we talk about, Allen? Did we not talk about a change of diet?”
“You want me to eat greens Julie,” the old man pouted. It was comical to see him acting like such a child in his old age. “How am I meant to survive on that vegan shit? Who even eats that?”
“I do,” I smirked, “and last I checked, I am alive and well.”
“I don’t want it.”
“You could die, Allen. Is that really what you want to happen?”
“I’m 85. I’ve lived long enough,” he huffed. “I would rather go out enjoying a good steak than munching on a damn carrot. Let me live, woman!”
The laugh forced its way past my lips before I could even stop it. I held onto the edge of the bed to keep myself from doubling over.
“You’re laughing, but you try those damned recipes you gave me. What the hell is imitation meat? That ain’t no chicken, Julie.”
Allen had to be one of my favorite patients. He had been in here a few times for gastrointestinal issues. We had discovered that not only was his cholesterol high, but he also had ulcers. They weren’t great diagnoses, but they weren’t life-threatening. With the right diet and exercise, he was well on his way to health.
The issue was that Allen was a boomer, and these boomers were a little too…well, Allen .
“Okay, how about we get you on a pescetarian diet? You would at least have access to fish, and you won’t just be eating veggies.”
He mused over what I had just said and nodded his head. “I’m going to trust you, beautiful. But if it’s shit again, expect to see me back here.”
“Of course, Allen,” I chuckled. “Let me go and write down your prescription, and I will send you your diet over email. Okay?”
“Okay.” I settled him back into the hospital bed. “As long as you don’t make me a damn rabbit, I’m happy.“
I walked out of Trauma One laughing. There was nothing quite like a consultation with Allen to lift my mood.
My days had been spent worrying about Ethan and how I was going to come up with the money to send him for treatment. I made a good enough living to survive, but that was as far as it went. Where was I going to pull out 100K+ from?
I handed Grace Allen’s chart and walked over to the computer to find the file I needed for his new diet. I did everything I needed to do and then logged out.
“You have another patient in trauma 1,” Grace handed me the chart. “But I need to warn you, this man is walking sex on legs, so be prepared.”
“Sex on legs? Really, Grace?”
She held up her hands and made the cross sign. “On my mama’s life, the man looks like he crawled out of a Vogue shoot.”
I rolled my eyes and took the chart from her. Grace had a nasty habit of being a little too boy-crazy.
I walked into Trauma 1 flipping the chart open only to pause when I saw the name written at the top.
No .
I snapped my neck up to find the devil himself lying on the bed in a full suit, looking rather comfortable.
Manuel Gomez . The dashing Drug Lord of Chicago, the King of Darkness, as many in the streets had labeled him.
“What are you doing here?”
“Is that any way to speak to a patient, doctor?”
I bit down on my tongue. I stomped my way into the room and came to stand by his bedside. I opened his chart and looked over his vitals, which were all completely normal.
I resisted the urge to throw something at his face and kept my composure.
Now it made sense why Grace had been looking at me like that. She had mistaken the face of the devil for an angel. Didn’t she know that Lucifer had been the most beautiful of all the angels, and yet look at how he had turned out?
“You’re not sick.”
“And how do you know that, amor ?”
His brown eyes liquified, giving way to a lighter shade of caramel to peek through. How could a man known for such malice and destruction look so… beautiful? The world truly was a strange and unruly place.
“Don't call me that,” I quipped. “I am not your lover.”
“You could be.” His eyes danced with mischief. “You would like that, no?”
“I would far rather walk on molten lava than to be your lover, Manuel.” This man brought out the aggression in me. The last thing I wanted to be dealing with right now was an evil drug lord. “Don't you have better things to do?”
“I’m having fun right where I am.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you not having a good time, amor ?”
I balled my fist at my sides. I closed my eyes, trying to stop the anger from bubbling up to the surface.
“There are actual patients who need these beds, Manuel. So, unless you actually have something wrong with you, please leave.”
“I find your tone rather rash. Is that any way to talk to the newest donor of your hospital?”
I stilled. “What?”
“Did you just think any old riff-raff had 2 million dollars lying around to spare? In this economy? I think not.”
“You’re the person who donated to the pathology lab, and the one who donated to the echo machines that help to oxygenate blood?”
The very machines that were helping my brother to stay alive.
“What can I say? I love to help the community. It’s a deep and great passion of mine.”
“You’re a liar.”
“And pray tell, amor , why would I lie about this? I will raise you one better, how would I even know about the donation?”
I clamped my mouth shut. I thought over his words, and he was right. There was no way that he would know about the donation. Unless, of course, he was on the board of directors, and as far as I knew, he wasn’t .
Unless… “Are you a director?”
He quirked his eyebrow up at me. “And if I am?”
“Then I need to start applying to new programs, because I can’t stay here knowing that you are at the helm.”
“You wound me, amor . Am I truly that bad of a man that you would choose to leave the number one hospital in the state?”
“Yes, you are.” I didn’t hesitate in my answer. “You gang of hooligans is the reason I see so many overdose and gunshot wound cases.”
“And how is that my fault? Am I the one forcing this stuff down their throats and noses?”
“You’re enabling them.”
“And who said I am? I am simply but a humble businessman. I came here as a young baby with my parents when I was three years old. How am I, an honest and hardworking man, contributing to gun violence and drug overdose?”
He had some nerves.
“I can see from all of this you are doing very well. There is no need for me to look you over. Good day, Mr. Gomez.”
I turned, ready to make a run from this place.
“How is your brother doing?”
I stopped short, my back still turned to him. The room fell eerily silent, and the remnants of his words hung in the air like a pungent smell.
I pivoted on my feet slowly, bringing myself to face him again. “What do you mean, ‘how is my brother doing’?”
“I make it a habit of knowing everyone, amor . Don’t be too shocked. I had to do my due diligence.”
“Your due diligence ?” I snapped. “Listen, you can mess with me all you want, but you will leave my brother out of it. Do you hear me?”
He held his hands up in mock surrender. “I would never think of harming the sick. Contrary to what you may think of me, I am not all monster. There are parts of me that are good.”
“The devil has no redeeming qualities.”
“The devil? Is that who you’re likening me to?”
“Are you not him in human form?”
“Touché.” He narrowed his eyes playfully at me.
I needed to keep reminding myself that this was not just a random man. This was the criminal of all criminals. I was sure that his rap sheet was longer than the Hudson River, which meant that I needed to tread carefully. I needed to teeter on the invisible fine line that had been drawn.
“Come work for me.”
I blinked, and his question sunk in only a few seconds later. Then I tilted my head back and let out the most boisterous laugh. When I finally calmed and looked at him, I saw the serious expression on his face.
He ran a hand through his raven-black hair and stared at me in waiting.
“You’re serious?”
“I’m not a man known for joking, amor .”
This man had lost his damn mind.
“Why me?” I didn’t understand why he would even want me to be a part of his dirty organization. “Surely, there are other doctors you can approach.”
“None of them are you.”
I glared at him. “I think we’re done here.”
I turned to leave, but he caught my arm. His touch was as hot as fire. I ripped my wrist from his hold.
“Don't touch me,” I spat.
He held up his hands in surrender. “Forgive me, amor . I got ahead of myself.”
I bit down on my tongue to keep myself from saying something that would likely get me shot.
“What would this job even entail?”
“Simple. All you need to do is join my organization. You become our on-call doctor, and your brother gets the treatment he requires to save his life. Not to mention, you will be getting twice as much as you are making right now.”
“I don't do this work for the money.”
“Clearly,” he drawled. “I admire how… noble you are at heart, but what I’m offering you here is the chance to save your brother.”
He was right. He was not only offering me the treatment money, but I would have enough to give him comfortable accommodation and get him care, too.
This was the deal with the devil that I had been willing to make only a few short days ago. But now that I stood here, faced with the option of taking the money or not, I hesitated.
My brother’s life was on the line right now, and I was being gifted the cure on a silver platter. All I needed to say was yes. One single word, and my entire world would change. Ethan’s entire world would look a lot different— brighter , if you would. His dreams wouldn’t seem so bleak and mundane. He would have hope for the future, a hope that he could cling to.
There was only one logical thing to say at this moment. But for some reason, my brain went against all logic.
“No. I can’t accept your offer.”
He wasn’t expecting my answer the same way that I wasn’t, either. It made sense to say yes to his deal. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. But something in my gut was holding me back.
“I will have you discharged.” I looked him dead in the eyes as I spoke. I turned to leave, but his voice followed me.
“You will come back to me eventually, amor . They always do.”
I didn’t turn around. I just walked out of the room without so much as another word.
The others he had dealt with may have come running back, but I would not. I would never be one of them.