Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(63)

You’d think that caseload would have been enough of a distraction.

It wasn’t.

I’d repaired complex human anatomy, had brought back a few people from the brink of death, but for the life of me could not figure out why Adam had been at my house without letting me know. Why would he even come around if he didn’t want to see me? And not just once but several times, according to my observant neighbor.

“Erin. Here, take this.”

I looked up from the screen to see Sherry holding out a gel ice pack. “Thanks.”

“She didn’t break the skin, did she?”

I gave her my cheek, letting her inspect my injury.

“Jeez,” she sighed. “It’s swollen but thankfully there’s no open wound. What the hell happened?”

I held the ice pack under my eye, hoping it would help dull the throbbing. “Heroin overdose. We pushed Narcan and Robert was bagging her when she came to. She completely freaked out. Took five of us to subdue her.”

Doctor Miriam Vonore’s annoyed throat clearing was hard to ignore.

“Doctor Novak, I understand that your intern had issues intubating the coding patient,” she said, her condescension and disapproval making my head throb even worse. We’d worked on him right before the overdose came in. “If you can’t intubate, it’s better to manually ventilate. You should know that.”

My guard immediately went up, but I couldn’t let her see my defenses. I’d allowed the attendings to treat me like I was an ignorant dumb shit when I was a resident; I’d be damned to let any of them think they could get away with talking to me like that now. Enough was enough. And so much for her asking if I was all right after being kicked in the face.

“I’m well versed in airway, Doctor. The patient was combative, which made it more difficult, but Doctor Reyes was able to intubate him on her second try.” I turned my gaze her way, giving her just a smidgen of my attention. She was lucky that she got that much. The woman was worse than that arrogant Doctor House from television. “I was right there supervising her technique, gave correction, and did not see a need to intervene any further. Besides, isn’t that why we have interns? So they can learn just like we all did?”

Doctor Vonore’s saggy jowls puckered. “The patient needed someone with more expertise in airway. Because of the delay, he’s going to suffer.”

I fought rolling my eyes, especially since she was trying to make something out of nothing.

My desk chair rolled a few inches when I stood up. “My patient’s care was my top priority. As their attending, it was my call and I made the decision to allow the intern to try again. The patient’s welfare was never compromised.”

Doctor Jeremy Bond, tall, dark, and whistling happily, came around the corner, scrawling on a med chart. “Has anyone seen a leather notebook? It’s dark brown.”

Sherry slipped it off a workstation. “You mean this?”

“Yes,” he said, relieved. “Thank you.”

“No problem, One-Shot,” Sherry teased.

His glare was amusing. “You all will never let me live this one down, will you?”

A resounding chorus of “Never!” echoed from the far reaches of the department.

I was glad for the playful distraction, although Miriam was far from amused. I could see her frustration growing from being ignored. “You should never have told them you got your wife pregnant on your honeymoon,” I said to him. “You can’t give them ammunition like that.”

Sherry pegged me with a knowing glance, one that said ‘if you would have dated him when he asked, you could have been the one who got pregnant on your honeymoon.’

“Dayum, Novak. What happened to your face?” Jeremy asked.

“Heroin OD,” Sherry said. She nudged my hand. “Ice. Face. Now. Doctors. I swear. You make the worst patients.”

“Good news.” He patted my shoulder. “Mr. Trujillo’s surgery went well. You and your team did a great job.” He nodded at Miriam. “Doctor.”

I set my ice pack down, thanked Doctor Bond, and enjoying my moment of righteous indignation. I’d also owe Doctor Bond a favor or two for that save, but it would be worth it, seeing Miriam’s maw gape like a confused fish. I turned my pleasantness back on her. “Unless you have any other constructive input, I have patients to attend to.”

“This hospital doesn’t need a malpractice suit. Remember that.” She turned on a final huff and stormed away, probably a little self-satisfied she got the last word in again. She was always looking for a reason to make my life hell. Bitch! That sentiment was followed by a string of mental expletives. That woman had been riding my ass since day one, and my contempt for her ran as deep as hers did for me. Maybe even deeper.

That was it. My mind was made up. As soon as I left work I’d run home, shower, find some makeup to cover up the bruise blooming under my eye, and let Tommy have his way with my body. Hopefully he won’t stare at my face while he’s doing his thing between my legs. And while I was on a roll, screw Detective Adam Trent and his fickle bullshit, too.

When did I shave my pits last? Will I have time to stop for food and make it to Tommy’s place by eight? Eating before I get there without brushing my teeth—yuck. Bad idea. I’ll just shower and primp and then head over to his…