Chapter 5
Chapter Five
My stomach rolled as my eyes scraped open.
The pounding in my head reminded me I’d drunk entirely too much the night before.
I strolled down to the bar in pajama shorts and a tank top, in desperate need of hydration, carbs, and a shower.
The guys paused their conversation as I approached—the same faces as the first few mornings, but with one new addition who looked like he was deciding whose throat to slit first.
“The fuck is she doing here?” Merrick asked, glaring at Thane, Reaper, and Hatchet. “You let one of the guys fuck my sister?”
Thane chuckled. “Calm your tits.”
I rolled my eyes as I cracked open a Red Bull and reached for a bottle of water from below the bar. “First of all, I’m a grown-ass woman. I’ll fuck who I want. Second, I live here now.”
“What?” Merrick rumbled, his deep voice echoing off the walls.
Enjoying his bewilderment, I grinned. Razzing my brother was one of my favorite activities.
“Care to explain?” he asked, his eyes wild and promising blood.
“Nope,” I said, popping the P. I sipped my drink and winked at Thane. He enjoyed my brand of chaos.
“Stop torturing your brother,” Reaper said with a laugh. “His mind is going to the worst possible scenario here.”
I slid onto a barstool. “I know. It’s fun to see those old, rusty wheels turning.” I chugged my water, watching as he tried to figure out why I was strolling around the clubhouse in pajamas.
“What makes you think living in the clubhouse is a good idea? Why aren’t you in your townhouse?”
I chucked the empty plastic vessel at his head, and he caught it easily. He continued to stare at me as he tossed it into the trash without looking.
“Luca cheated. I moved out. I didn’t want to bother you and Kenna, so I moved in here.”
“He what?” Merrick roared. He slammed his fists onto the bar. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
“Chill. I got my revenge. It was sweet.”
Hatchet chuckled. “It really was.”
Merrick stood, glaring at him. “Why didn’t you give her the code to my house? That would have been a better place for her to go.”
Hatchet shrugged. “Couldn’t remember it.”
“You couldn’t—” Merrick threw his hands in the air. “It’s my birthday. You couldn’t remember my goddamn birthday?” He fumed as his gaze returned to me. “Get your shit. You’ll stay in our spare room.”
“No can do, bro. Working today. But, fortunately for me, I can remember your birthday. I’ll move my stuff tonight.”
“I’ll have a prospect do it for you,” Merrick said.
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Have Coast do it. I like him.”
Merrick’s eyes narrowed at me.
“God, not like that. Could you stop being an alpha-hole for like, five seconds? Coast gave me a ride home last night. Good guy. He has my vote. Not that I get one, because I have boobs. But, if I did get a say in club business, then my vote is he’s fully patched.”
Merrick glanced between Thane, Reaper, and Hatchet. “I was going to suggest that anyway. I know it’s early, but he’s proven he can be trusted. It’s time to patch Bayou in, too, now that the dust has settled.”
Thane nodded.
“I’m good with it,” Reaper agreed.
I stuck my tongue out at Hatchet, downed the rest of my Red Bull, and grabbed another bottle of water. “Now that this little interrogation is over, I have to get to work. Save lives and all that.”
* * *
The hospital bustled with energy as I moved through to the locker room. Dr. Patel waited for me outside the door.
“What’s going on with you and Dr. Rossi?” she asked, always direct and to the point.
“I ended things.”
Dr. Patel pulled her long hair into a high ponytail. “Figured as much. Messy?”
I huffed a laugh. “You could say that. Why?”
“He wants you on his service today.”
I froze, pleading with my eyes. “Please, no. I’ll volunteer to change bedpans all day.”
“Relax,” she assured. “I told him you were with me. But you look worried. Do I need to get HR involved?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t returned his calls or texts since I left.
Maybe I just need to talk to him and get it over with.
Then he’ll finally leave me alone. I’ll find him at the end of my shift.
Thank you, though. It’s not just that I have no interest in his specialty or that we broke up. He’s been …” I trailed off.
“You don’t have to explain to me,” Dr. Patel said. “I worked with Dr. Rossi at another hospital, and I heard … rumors. Just don’t talk to him in private. I don’t trust him. And let him know that I’ll go to HR if there’s any inappropriate behavior.”
I smiled at my supervisor, grateful for her mentorship and support.
Then my day went to shit.
A sweet elderly patient coded on me twice.
After resuscitating her, the family caused a scene and called me incompetent.
While Dr. Patel calmed them down, my iPad crashed, deleting hours of notes.
Then I lost a patient. Literally. A ten-year-old wandered away from her bed, and I spent nearly an hour tracking her down in an irritating game of hide-and-seek that I did not consent to.
A pile of paperwork sat before me as I attempted to eat lunch before my pager buzzed again. And by lunch, I mean a granola bar and another Red Bull. As I sorted through insurance forms, discharge summaries, and lab orders, a familiar voice rumbled above me.
“Dr. Morris.”
My body tensed. I lifted my gaze to see Luca hovering over me. I held my expression carefully blank. “Can I help you with something, Dr. Rossi?”
“We need to talk.”
“Then talk.”
“Somewhere where we can be alone.”
“No.”
“I’m very sorry. We can get through this. Let’s find a place with more privacy.”
“‘No’ is a full sentence. If we have a patient in common, we can talk. Otherwise, you can fuck off.”
“I understand you’re angry. I found a couple’s counselor. Our appointment is at seven. We’re having dinner after your shift and then meeting him. We can fix this.”
I started to laugh. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”
Luca’s expression chilled. “I am not joking, amore mio. This is just a bump in the road.”
“No, this is the end of the road. Actually, this is a fucking blown-up bridge. There’s no road left. You need to stop calling and texting me. We’re done. We’re over. Move on.”
He leaned in, all pretenses of concern wiped from his face. “You really think you’re too good for me now? Just remember, the biker trash you party with can’t save you here. You wouldn’t work here if I hadn’t vouched for you.”
“Fuck off.”
His lips curled in a condescending smile. He glanced around and lowered his voice. “It’s pathetic, honestly. Tricking people into thinking you belong, when everyone knows you’re just a lowlife whore.”
I shoved my chair back, ignoring the stares from two nurses lurking nearby.
“Don’t walk away when I’m talking to you,” Luca hissed. “I’m not finished.”
“I am.”
“That club? Those men? They take you in because they have no standards. The hospital keeps you because I told them to. Everyone’s just too polite to say it: you’ll never belong.
Not with me, not in this hospital, not anywhere.
Play doctor all you want, but everyone knows the only thing you’re good at is spreading your legs.
And when they’re done with you, you’ll crawl back to me. Because no one else wants you.”
His hand wrapped around my shoulder, and I turned, rage sparking within me. I slammed both hands into his chest, shoving him so hard he staggered back.
“If you ever touch me again, I’ll have the entire club on your ass,” I threatened.
“Is there a problem here?” Dr. Patel asked, stepping beside me.
“No. I think we have an understanding.”
Dr. Patel handed me a stack of charts. “OB is short on hands today. You’ll be working a double shift with Dr. Chen.”
I threw her a grateful glance, knowing she had chosen a service as far from Luca’s department as possible and given me a reason to stay late so he couldn’t corner me on my way out.
The OB floor was loud—screaming women, wailing babies. Certainly not a specialty I wanted to choose, but I enjoyed the hustle and intensity.
“Merci? Is that you?” a female voice shouted from a room as I strode past on my way to the lab. I backtracked to the doorway.
“Naomi Johnson?” I stepped into the room to see a friend from high school, her belly ballooning beneath the sheet.
“It’s Naomi Williams now.”
“You married Amir?” I grinned, remembering the days of talking about our crushes. She’d had a thing for Hatchet and my brother, which made me laugh and cringe at the same time.
She giggled and rubbed her palm over her enormous stomach. “Married with almost two kids now. What about you?”
I held up my hand to show my now-empty ring finger. “No husband. Definitely no kids.”
“Too busy becoming a doctor?”
“Something like that.” I flipped open her chart. “Here for an induction?”
She groaned as she tried to shift. “Yeah, this baby was due two weeks ago.” Her face lit up as her husband and a toddler walked into the room. “Do you remember Merci?”
Amir nodded. “Good to see you.” He pointed to the little girl with beaded braids who used a plastic stethoscope to examine her new teddy bear. “That’s Aaliyah.” He leaned over to kiss Naomi in a slow, gentle way that felt far too intimate for me to witness.
My stomach tightened, a hollow ache blooming in my chest. I wondered if I’d ever have that with someone. Love. Family. Kids. “It looks like you have Dr. Chen. She’s great. I’ll try to check back in later.”
“I’d love it if you could be here,” Naomi said with a soft smile. “How cool would it be if you got to deliver my baby?”
“No promises. I’m just an intern. I go where they tell me.”
After my shift, I changed into my jeans and a T-shirt, then stopped by to check on Naomi. She grimaced at me as a wave of contractions rolled through her, sweat plastering her hair to her brow.
“Still here?” I asked, flipping through her chart out of habit.
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, this baby is as stubborn as her daddy.”
“Where’s Amir?”
“Aaliyah started throwing up. He’s taking her to my mom’s place, but there was an accident on the highway, so it’s taking longer than he thought.” She glared at her stomach. “Not that this baby is going to make an appearance anytime soon.”
“I’ll keep you company,” I offered.
We chatted for a while as I periodically checked on her progress. She winced with each wave of contractions, and I tried distracting her with stories from college.
Naomi leaned back and gulped for air, her expression twisting with sharp pain.
“Something’s wrong,” she cried out.
“Let me check. Maybe it’s time to push.” I pulled up the sheet to see blood pooling beneath her. I glanced at Naomi with concern. Her ashen face grimaced in pain.
The rhythmic monitor began beeping at a furious pace. “I need some help here,” I shouted down the hall in alarm.
“What’s wrong?” Naomi rasped, grabbing my hand.
Dr. Chen strode in, already pulling on a pair of gloves.
“You’re in good hands. Just stay calm,” I assured.
Naomi gripped my hand, fear shining bright in her eyes. Her grip weakened, and her eyelids fluttered before she went silent. Her chest barely moved.
“She’s hemorrhaging,” Dr. Chen said with a sense of urgency as she quickly examined Naomi.
“Uterine rupture?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I need to get her in the OR now. Get changed, and you can join me.”
I glanced down at my street clothes, my shoes soaked with the hot, slick blood staining the tiles.
“Tell the OR we’re on our way,” Dr. Chen shouted to a nurse as she rolled Naomi out of the room. “And page NICU.”
I moved on autopilot, sprinting to the locker room to change into a fresh set of scrubs. I collided with Amir in the hallway as I rushed to the OR.
“Where’s my wife?” he asked in a panic.
“She’s in surgery. I’m heading there to check on her now. We’ll update you as soon as we can.”
* * *
Under the blinding lights of the OR, I stood beside Dr. Chen as she barked orders. My gloved hands trembled as I realized she was no longer trying to save Naomi. My friend was gone before Dr. Chen pulled a limp newborn from the bloody womb.
“Come on, baby girl,” Dr. Chen urged, rubbing the infant’s chest gently. Finally, a scream pierced the sterile surgical suite.
She handed the baby to a waiting nurse and then glanced at me. “You can either close her up or inform the husband.”
“I’ll go tell Amir,” I whispered.