Chapter 43
ISLA
I felt something on my leg, followed by a throat clearing. I blinked my eyes open and saw a white-haired man at the foot of my bed.
“Isla, I’m Dr. Palmer.” He patted my leg. “We’re just doing our rounds. How are you feeling?”
“Uh…” My brain was a clouded haze of confusion. I remembered being in the hospital. Everything else was static like on that television in the movie with a possessed house built on a graveyard and the little blonde-haired girl, Carol Anne.
Static. My brain was nothing but static.
“He was the attending physician when you came in last night,” Jon said from the other side of my bed. “Do you remember him?”
“I’m sorry. I’m fuzzy on the details.” I relaxed upon seeing a familiar face. Strangely, I trusted Jon.
“No worries.” Dr. Palmer moved in next to Jon and gripped his bicep. “When I work with this handsome guy, I’m invisible. Can we examine you?”
“But Dr. Jon is my friend.” I wasn’t sure why I said that.
“I’m her Jedi in training,” Jon teased. “We work together at West End.”
“Oh… I love the tomato bisque,” Dr. Palmer said.
“That’s Isla’s specialty. She makes all the soups at West End.”
“Well, I’m impressed. I can’t boil water.” The doctor laughed while putting his stethoscope on my chest. Once done, he moved back.
Jon repeated the action and listened to my heart. He gave me a friendly wink as he stepped back.
“How are your ribs feeling?” Dr. Palmer pulled the blanket down and fumbled with my gown.
My heart rate spiked. All my doctors were women. I wasn’t used to being touched by men other than… Ciro. His handsome face flashed in my head. Why hadn’t I thought of him since this ordeal? Until this moment, I’d forgotten him.
“Isla, did you hear, Dr. Palmer?” Jon asked.
“Hmm? What?”
“It’s stuck. Your gown. Can you lift a bit?” Dr. Palmer asked.
“Oh.” I tried to raise my bottom, but it hurt, causing me to wince in pain.
“Hold still.” Jon placed his hand on my thigh. “The strings are probably tied in the back.”
I blushed. “They are. I tied them when I went to the bathroom a little while ago.” My brain was such a jumbled mess. It was hit or miss what I remembered, like Ciro. He’d been the love of my life until we broke up.
Wait. Our breakup was a while ago. Gosh, something felt off. I seemed to recall having seen Ciro somewhat recently. But why?
“I need to untie them so we can get a better look. Okay?”
“Sure.” I nodded to Jon, biting on my lower lip.
Jon’s hand slid in between me and the mattress.
As he tugged the side of my gown out from behind me, a cool rush of air tickled my skin and made me shiver.
He made sure not to reveal my entire breast, but I felt the side of it exposed.
Side boob wasn’t something I never showed, I was usually modest in public.
But now that I thought of it, my breasts were fuller than I remembered, so more flesh to reveal. When did that happen? I was certain I wouldn’t have gotten breast implants.
“There we go. Much better.” Dr. Palmer smiled and started pressing on me, distracting me from my thoughts.
I couldn’t hide how much it hurt and screwed up my already-messed-up face. The door opened, probably a nurse. I couldn’t confirm who’d entered with Dr. Palmer, blocking my view.
“Dr. Lake, have a feel.” The older man stepped aside for Jon to feel me up. Feel me up was the wrong way to say it. What I meant was examine me.
As the two switched places, I saw who’d come in. I locked gazes with him and my heart swelled with so much love for him.
“Hi,” he said. “Can I come in?”
I nodded. “How did you know I was here?”
“I just know everything about you, My-la.” Always the charmer. He made my heart skip a beat. “How are you doing?”
“She’s a strong woman. A little beat up, but she’ll make a full recovery.” Dr. Palmer assessed Ciro. “We’re just examining her now. I’m Dr. Palmer, and this is—”
Ciro glared at Jon “We’ve met. I’m Ciro Remotti.” He gave the doctor a curt nod, not taking his eyes off me.
“A Los Angeles Remotti?” Dr. Palmer asked.
“We do a lot of business in LA,” Ciro replied. “How is she really?” Ciro’s don’t-bullshit-me tone made me cringe.
“Isla, do you want us to share that information with him?” Jon asked.
“Yes, it’s fine.” I reached for Ciro’s hand. It was strange having him here, but I was grateful to have someone supporting me. My mother wasn’t around and I hadn’t seen Alba. Now that I thought of it, Alba would have come if she’d known about my injury.
“As you wish. Isla suffered a concussion and received several stitches on her left temple.”
“Here.” Jon lightly touched the side of my head. “She’s had some memory loss, but I think it’s starting to come back. Isn’t that right, Isla?”
I nodded. “Yes, I’m confused about somethings. I have a lot of questions.”
“After the doctor finishes, we can talk more,” Ciro said.
“Okay.”
“She has three bruised ribs and bruising along the side of her body where the assailant kicked her.”
“Jesus Christ,” Ciro hissed. Not only did he look worried, but he looked like he could kill someone.
“Her injuries could have been far worse. We’re just finishing up our exam.” Dr. Palmer looked at Jon as if nudging him to finish.
“Of course. Please continue,” Ciro said, but he didn’t move from his spot beside me.
Jon gently touched my side.
I sucked in a painful breath. “Your hands are cold.”
“Sorry.” Jon grimaced. He rubbed his hands together briskly, then resumed his inspection of me. He touched me in places Dr. Palmer hadn’t and took a little longer.
“When can she be released?” Ciro asked in his business voice. It was flat, like he was annoyed.
“Tomorrow at the earliest,” Jon replied and covered me back up.
“I have a nurse to tend to her. Can she leave this afternoon?” Ciro asked.
“You have a nurse to take care of me?” I whispered, quite surprised to hear this. “But why?”
“That’s unusual,” Dr. Palmer said. “Just let her stay until tomorrow.”
“But she can check herself out if she wants.” Jon gave Ciro an almost knowing look.
“Perfect. Let’s begin the process.” Ciro smiled at me. “You’ll be more comfortable at my place.”
“I don’t understand why you want me to leave so soon.” I flinched and winced from the stabbing pain in my rib area.
“I hired a private nurse, and my personal physician will manage your care.”
Oh, Jesus…
“Well, we’ll let you two discuss this in private,” Dr. Palmer said, interjecting. “Get lots of rest, Isla.” He patted my leg.
“Take care, Obi-Wan.” Jon winked. “And if there’s anything you need, feel free to have me paged, or any nurse can get ahold of me.” Jon nodded. “Ciro.”
“Jon…”
I was so relieved when both doctors left. Ciro and I needed time to talk. Maybe he could help me fill in the blanks about our relationship and what he was doing in San Francisco.
“My God, Isla.” Ciro studied my face.
“It’s bad, isn’t it? I haven’t looked.” I still hadn’t seen my face, too afraid of what I’d see. The mirror in the bathroom was covered, which was brilliant for the medical staff to do.
“You’re gorgeous, My-la.”
“Liar.” I brushed his hand away. My playfulness was met with a scowl.
“I’m not a liar. You’re the most beautiful woman and your injuries will heal like Palmer and Jon said.”
“Yeah? You should have seen me when I was pregnant, all fat and with swollen ankles.” I gasped registering what I’d just said. Pregnant repeated in my head.
“Isla? Sweetheart,” Ciro said in a tender voice. “I know you’ve struggled with your memory. Don’t force yourself to remember. Let it come back slowly.”
I ignored him. Why would I not want to remember everything? I was pregnant, which meant I had a baby. Ciro’s baby. Was that why he was in San Francisco?
“Isla?” He patted my hand, but I continued to ignore him.
Like a black and white home movie, the last twenty-four hours replayed in my head.
I gave Pippa a bath and nursed her before bed.
I was angry after talking to Paolo because Ciro was going to be late dropping by my apartment. I suspected he was in LA to visit the redhead.
Someone pounded on the front door. It was Elsie. Roy had badly beaten her.
Roy. Roy. Roy.
“Roy attacked me!” I shook my head, my chest tight as tears flooded my eyes. “Where’s Pippa?”