“Please, call me Ethan.” The doctor offered her a smile when he’d barely managed to grunt out a greeting to them.
Caleb stiffened where he sat on the other side of Genevieve, glaring up at the doctor. Hmm, maybe Doctor Elders hadn’t been the best choice.
Genevieve smiled back at the doctor. Aleki raised his gaze watching them both intently.
“Call me Vivi.”
Ethan nodded. “Vivi, would you like me to examine you in private? Anything you say to me is confidential and won’t leave this room, if that’s what you want.”
Wolfe frowned. “We’re paying your bill.”
The doctor gave him a calm look. “And she is my patient. I took an oath.”
Wolfe snorted. “Bet I could get you to break it.”
“Wolfe,” Caleb said firmly.
She glanced around at them all and Wolfe fully expected her to tell them all to get out, but she just sighed tiredly. “It’s fine. They can stay.”
“Sure?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Ethan gave her a sharp nod. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.”
Wolfe stiffened. More lies. He didn’t understand the need for lies. If everyone spoke the truth life would be simpler. Free of subterfuge and misunderstandings.
“Good, huh? I doubt that that’s the case,” Ethan said bluntly.
Hmm. Maybe he wasn’t that bad. Then he went and put his hand on her wrist. Wolfe swore something shot through him. He had to fight hard not to rip the doctor’s hand from her wrist.
Fuck. This possessiveness was not welcome.
“Easy, man. He’s just checking her over,” Aleki said quietly to him.
It was then he realized he was glaring at the doctor. Genevieve was giving him worried looks as the doctor took her pulse.
He’s checking her over. What he’s being paid to do.
Yes, but did he have to take so long doing it? Was that interest in his eyes?
Her damn husband was sitting right there. Well, not her real husband but the good doctor didn’t know that.
He might need a lesson in manners.
“Do you need to touch her like that?” Wolfe snapped.
The doctor glared at him. “Are you insinuating that I am touching my patient inappropriately?”
“He wasn’t saying that, were you, Wolfe?” Genevieve frowned at him.
He shrugged. Actually, he was totally insinuating that.
“Why don’t we start that again,” Ethan suggested. “How are you feeling, Vivi?”
Hell, he didn’t even like her name coming from this asshole’s lips. This wasn’t good. He was supposed to keep Aleki and Caleb from becoming too involved. From acting with their hearts.
Wolfe wasn’t certain he even had a damn heart. Aleki told him if he did there was no way he could watch those cute cat vids that Aleki loved without smiling.
So yeah, maybe he didn’t have a heart.
He still wanted to kill the asshole doctor smiling down at Genevieve.
Genevieve opened her mouth and Wolfe knew she was going to lie again. Brat needed a good spanking.
Fuck.
“Vivi,” Caleb spoke gently before she could. “The doctor needs the truth of how you’re feeling.”
“But I am fine,” she whispered back.
Caleb gave her a firm look. “We all know that’s not true.”
Genevieve sighed. “I still think you’re all making a fuss about nothing. I just feel a bit tired and weak.”
“You came in here with a temperature of a hundred and three. Your pulse was slow and your blood pressure was low.” Ethan set a cuff around her arm as he spoke. “You have a badly sprained ankle and an infected wound on your arm that appears to be a bullet wound. Does that sound like you’re fine?”
Wait. What the fuck?
Wolfe straightened and beside him, Aleki raised his face. But it was Caleb who spoke.
“What the fuck did you just say?” he snapped.
The doctor frowned at him as Genevieve jumped in surprise.
“What part of it did you not hear?” Ethan asked snootily.
“The part where she was fucking shot and you took over twenty-four hours to tell us that!” Caleb snarled back.
“She is my patient, not you. And I wasn’t going to give you information about her health without her consent.”
“You don’t think that her safety trumped your fucking morals?” Caleb roared. “She was shot! Whoever shot her could be looking for her right now!”
Fuck. Who the fuck shot her?
“Aren’t you supposed to report all gunshot wounds by law?” Wolfe asked.
“Yes. But you’re paying me for my discretion.”
“We’re paying you to tell us when the women we have brought in has been shot!” Wolfe scowled at the doctor until he gulped nervously.
Fucker should be nervous. Wolfe was pissed. So was Caleb.
“Shot?” Aleki whispered. “Vivi, what is going on?”
Genevieve wouldn’t look at them, her gaze aimed at her feet.
“I can still get them to leave,” Ethan told her, touching her shoulder gently.
“Get your hand off her,” Wolfe growled.
The other man snatched his hand back with a start. “I have to touch my patient to examine her.”
“Examining her is fine, groping her is going to end up in you losing your hand.”
“I was not groping her!”
“Wolfe!” she gasped.
“Vivi,” Caleb said quietly but firmly. “Look at me.”
She raised her gaze to his immediately.
“Do you know who shot you, jelly bean?”
Her pale cheeks flushed slightly. “I couldn’t see their face.”
Wolfe thought she was being honest this time. But it was obvious there was a lot she was holding back.
“But this has to do with the person you’re so afraid of?” Caleb asked.
“I think so,” she whispered.
“Okay.”
Wolfe opened his mouth to ask her more questions, but Caleb nodded at the doctor. Right. He should have thought of that.
“So how are you feeling?” the doctor asked her.
She licked her lips. “I can’t really feel my arm or foot.”
“Because I’ve given you some good drugs.” Ethan looked to him. “If it’s okay to touch her now, I’d like to continue examining my patient?”
Wolfe nodded, ignoring the asshole’s sarcasm.
“You’re dehydrated. The IV is helping rehydrate you. Antibiotics are fighting the infection. You’ve still got a slight fever, so we’re going to keep a close eye on that. What about your foot? How did you injure that?”
“I twisted it.”
They all waited but she didn’t say anything more. The doctor sighed. “Right. And then you walked on it?”
“More like ran,” she admitted.
He grunted. “Well, I will need to x-ray it to be certain, but I don’t believe anything is broken. I think it’s a severe sprain. We’ve got a portable x-ray machine that we’ll bring in soon. Any chance you’re pregnant?”
“N-no.”
“Good.” He wrote some more. “Right, Vivi. Well, I’ve got to tell you that I’m worried about you.”