Indestructible. Cassie Miles

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      His intensity must have impressed the nurse because she quickly escorted them to a small room with an examination table and the typical medical paraphernalia arrayed on a countertop beside a sink. She turned to Drew and said, “You can wait outside.”

      “I’m staying here.”

      The nurse helped Melinda onto the table. “You’re in luck, hon. Dr. Lynn is on duty tonight until nine, and she’s the best.”

      “Thanks, Ruth.” Her recall of the nurse’s name was somewhat reassuring. Her long-term memory seemed to be unaffected by the assault. Only the few moments after the flash remained blank. “You didn’t really have to rush us in here. It looks like other people were waiting.”

      “No problem.” She patted Melinda’s hand. “You sit tight, hon. You’re going to be okay.”

      When she left, Drew came closer again. “Do you want to lie down? Should I get you some water?”

      “Give me some space, okay?”

      He backed off one pace. “How’s this?”

      “That extra eight inches is really swell.” He didn’t take his eyes off her for a second. She couldn’t help but comment on his change in attitude. “I thought you were in a big hurry to leave town.”

      “Not anymore,” he said. “I’m staying with you.”

      “What if I don’t want you around?”

      “You’ll get used to having a bodyguard.”

      A bit overprotective, but she liked being taken care of. The attack upset her. That kind of violence wasn’t supposed to happen to people like her. She’d always lived a very quiet, very safe, very average life.

      Doctor Bethany Lynn entered. In spite of her horn-rimmed glasses and blond hair pulled back in a severe bun, she looked like a teenager. Melinda knew that Doctor Lynn was in her late twenties and she liked to read Jane Austen.

      After the doctor introduced herself to Drew and shook his hand, she focused on Melinda. “Tell me what happened.”

      “I wish I could. I was alone in my apartment. I opened the door and got hit by a bright flash of light. After that my mind is blank until Drew came into the bathroom and found me lying on the floor.”

      The doctor shot a vaguely suspicious glance toward Drew. “Why did you go to her apartment?”

      “I’m Melinda’s upstairs neighbor. I heard crashing.”

      “And the woman who lives across the hall from me also heard the noises and called the police. She saw a strange man inside my apartment.”

      “Was it a burglary?” the doctor asked. “Was anything taken?”

      “Not even my purse,” Melinda said. “The police think Drew scared him off before he could take anything.”

      “Take off your sweatshirt, and I’ll get started.” Dr. Lynn continued to ask simple questions while she examined Melinda’s bruises, paying particular attention to the wound on the inside of her arm. “This is on the vein. Was there a lot of blood?”

      “Just a few smears,” Melinda said.

      She wrapped a cuff around the uninjured arm to test blood pressure. “Any vomiting?”

      “No.”

      “Ringing in the ears? Dizziness?”

      “I’m really tired. Kind of weak in the knees.”

      The doctor ran through a couple more tests. “Your blood pressure is a little low, and you’re slightly anemic. The bruising appears to be superficial. Mostly defensive.”

      “What does that mean?”

      “Your arm was grabbed with force, and you were dragged. While you were trying to fight off your attacker, you bumped into things, which caused the crashing noises.” The doctor gave her a reassuring smile. “I’d like to ask some personal questions. It might be best if we were alone.”

      “I’m not leaving,” Drew said. When he folded his arms across his chest, it looked like they’d need a bulldozer to remove him from the examination room.

      “It’s okay with me if he stays,” Melinda said.

      Dr. Lynn didn’t look pleased, but she continued, “Were you sexually molested?”

      “Golly, no.” If she’d been raped, Melinda would have felt it. “I still had my pants on.”

      “I was downstairs pretty quickly,” Drew said. “Five or six minutes after I heard the first crash.”

      Ignoring him, the doctor examined Melinda’s eyes. “You don’t appear to have a concussion, but your amnesia concerns me. I’d suggest you go to the hospital for a CAT scan.”

      “I’m pretty sure I don’t have a head injury. What else would cause a blackout?”

      “You might have been drugged. I should take a blood sample and run tests to find out.”

      She hadn’t wanted to acknowledge that possibility. “Drugs might be a problem. I’m pregnant.”

      Behind her glasses, the doctor’s eyes widened. Of course, she’d be surprised. She knew Melinda was single. “Well, congratulations.”

      “Thank you,” Drew said.

      His fierce protectiveness was softened by a proud smile. If he’d given her that kind of warmth when she first told him, she would have been elated.

      Not anymore. She was leery of Drew.

      After they left the clinic, her suspicions deepened when he drove past the turn leading to their apartment building. “Where are we going?”

      “Not home,” he said. “That’s for damn sure.”

      Exhaustion crept over her. Too tired to argue, she leaned back in the passenger seat and groaned. “I need to go to sleep. In my own bed.”

      “You can sleep in the car. I have a cabin that isn’t too far from here.”

      “Absolutely not.” She mustered just enough strength to resist his ridiculous idea. “Tomorrow I have work.”

      “Being assaulted qualifies you for a sick day.”

      Taking time off wasn’t a problem in terms of her employment, but she was concerned about the people she worked with. “If I don’t show up at the library tomorrow, everybody is going to worry. They’ll be calling to make sure I’m all right and bringing over casseroles. I don’t want to cause a fuss.”

      And how would she explain that she was running off to a secluded cabin with Drew? She’d mentioned to Heather and Lily Rhoades, the head librarian, that she was dating, but that was a far cry from spending a weekend at his СКАЧАТЬ