stay in a hospital bed that was connecting her brain cells again? Or was it Eli’s presence?
She fisted her hand and rested it at her side. The truth of the matter was her psyche was unprepared to remember the attack.
“Julia, I can only help if you tell me what’s going on. Like all men, I’m a really horrible mind reader.” He took her hand and gently uncurled her fingers, smoothing his palm against hers. “One night is all I’m asking. We want to be sure the next safe house doesn’t have any maintenance issues.” He gently squeezed her hand to add strength to his request.
“You don’t think the elevated carbon monoxide levels were an attempt on my life?” Julia asked.
A brisk knock at the door, and Dr. James Solan entered. His hazel eyes glimmered under the light nearly as much as his bald head. “I thought you said to me once you’d never step foot into an adult ER again.”
Eli stood from his chair. “You two know each other?”
“I worked here for about two years after I graduated from nursing school until I figured out adults were too crazy for me.”
Solan stroked his white beard. “It was obvious she didn’t like to care for anyone twenty-one and over. She’d bargain with the other nurses to take care of their pediatric patients.” Looking at Julia, he stated, “You don’t know how much they miss that.”
Julia laughed. “Sadly, it took me a couple of years to figure out there are hospitals that exist where adult patients aren’t allowed. Don’t know how smart that makes me in the long run.”
Dr. Solan turned to Eli. “Don’t let her fool you. She was one of the best nurses we ever had. As much as she’d hate to admit it, her adult nursing skills were above par.” He turned back to Julia. “As I’m sure they still are if you’d ever like to come back.”
“Not unless I can’t find any other job.”
“I’ll never give up trying to win you back. Julia, is it okay if I discuss your medical information in front of this young man?”
Eli held a hand up. “It’s okay, I’ll step—”
“It’s fine, Eli. Stay.”
“Very well, then. I know the nurse relayed to you that your last carbon monoxide level was negligible. The good news about CO poisoning is that if it’s caught early enough, patients turn around very quickly and don’t suffer any long-term effects.” He motioned to Eli. “I understand from the EMS team that this gentleman here found you. His quick action likely saved you from having a serious medical fiasco.”
Did she just see Eli blush?
“You’re medically clear to go home when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, James,” Julia said as he backed out of the room. “It was good seeing you again.”
Eli returned to the seat next to her and shook his head. Was it relief at the doctor’s words? The closer she examined Eli, the more she noticed his state of distress. His hair was disheveled. The blue irises tinged red. Had Eli not slept well? His face was one of worry.
“I want to go back to the question you were asking me before the doctor came in. They found a crack in the furnace at the safe house and the FBI is looking into the possibility that someone may have tampered with it.”
Blood roared in her ears. Could this assassin have found her that quickly?
“Julia...” His voice trailed, and he looked away. There was something he wanted to tell her but he seemed to question if whatever truth he held could be too much for her to take. Eli lifted his eyes. “Do you trust me?”
Unexpectedly, his question felt like a punch in her gut. In every relationship, there was an inherent amount of trust. Just based on her position as a nurse, she expected her patients and their families to trust her on some level in order for her to do her job. If a family didn’t have that basis of understanding, it made her care more difficult because the doubt they possessed clouded every action she took at the bedside. Did that nurse clean my child’s skin enough before she put the IV in? Is that why my child now has a blood infection three days later?
Eli locked her eyes with his. “I can’t do my job unless you trust me on some level.”
“Why do you think that I don’t?”
“I’m just putting myself in your shoes. I uprooted you from your life, and the first thing that happens is you almost—”
“Eli, I don’t blame you for the furnace. How could I?”
His body relaxed. “I’m relieved, but I also would understand if you’d want another agent to take my place.”
Julia found herself shaking her head before her mind registered a thought. If she was truthful, she would have to confess that she wondered if Eli could keep her safe, but there was also a feeling that she didn’t want to be separated from him. “I don’t want that. I don’t want to have to get to know another team. I want to stick with you and Ben.”
For now.
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