bear to believe the young man was going to make it. While Tony was stable for now, he wasn’t out of the woods yet, and Jillian knew there were many things that could still go wrong. It would be so much better to get him to a hospital where his condition could be properly monitored, but since that wasn’t going to happen, she’d just have to make do as best she could.
“Hey,” she said again, waving her hand to get her kidnapper’s attention. “It’s not time for a break yet. I need another square of curtain liner.”
He blinked at her, as if he was coming out of a trance. With a short nod, he rose from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.
Jillian pressed the saturated gauze over the incision she’d made and allowed herself a brief moment of rest. Treating patients always brought an adrenaline rush, and tonight was no different. If anything, she was even more on edge, given her current circumstances. Still, she had done her job, and done it well. She had saved this kid’s life, and if he cooperated, nothing else would go wrong. Maybe the kidnapper would even let her go—after all, she’d done what he’d asked her to do. Surely there was no need to keep her now?
That thought made her shudder as she circled back to the realization she’d had in the car. While she didn’t know his name, she had seen his face. He wasn’t just going to let her walk out of here—no way.
That didn’t mean she had to make things easy for him. She heard him stir in the bathroom and knew she didn’t have much time. Glancing quickly over the supplies on the bed, she grabbed a syringe and a vial of sedative and shoved them both in her pocket. When she was finished with Tony, she’d ask to use the bathroom and draw up a dose of the drug while she had privacy. It was a risky defense, since she’d have to get close to the man to administer the drug, but it was the only option she had.
She wasn’t going down without a fight.
* * *
God, he was actually going to make it.
Alex sagged against the wall of the bathroom and shook his head at the realization, relieved beyond words. Tony was going to survive, which meant he was one step closer to discovering the identity of the mole who had betrayed him. It had seemed like such a long shot that he had hardly dared hope Tony could be saved. His death certainly would have been the low point of a truly crappy day, but now there was a chance he could make things right.
And all thanks to her.
She’d been amazing, he reflected as he bent to his task. So totally focused and intense, as though she could heal Tony through the sheer force of her will. It had certainly made him sit up and take notice, and he could only imagine what her patients thought when she brought that energy to them. He couldn’t have asked for a better doctor, and felt a fresh wave of guilt at the knowledge he had forever changed her life.
He wanted to let her go, wanted to return her to the nice, safe life she’d led before. But now that he’d pulled her into this mess, he couldn’t leave her until he knew she’d be safe. With the 3 Star Killers after him and the FBI thinking he was a traitor, he had to clear his name and make sure she had protection before walking out of her life. Hopefully she’d forgive him for what he’d done, once she knew why he’d done it. He paused, wondering why with everything else going on, the thought of her anger upset him. Not like he didn’t have enough to worry about right now.
He cut the plastic square free and stood, folding his knife and putting it back in his pocket as he returned to the bedroom. She was still sitting on the side of the bed, her hand pressing a square of gauze to the place where the tube entered Tony’s body. A small part of him felt a perverse satisfaction at the memory of Tony’s reaction as she’d inserted the tube—he deserved all the pain he could get.
The doctor glanced up as he neared, but quickly looked away when she took the square from him. Interesting. She’d never had trouble meeting his eyes before. He watched as she taped it into place with brisk, efficient movements. Then she sat with her hands in her lap, as if at a loss for what to do next.
He could relate. When he geared up for an operation, adrenaline was a palpable rush in his limbs, coursing through his veins in a powerful rhythm. During the operation was no different, his body seeming to move of its own accord, his actions perfectly choreographed thanks to endless hours of training. But afterward, when the danger was gone and there was nothing left to do, it was hard to come back down to earth. He imagined emergency medicine, with its life-or-death stakes, was much the same way.
Without stopping to question his motives, he decided to distract her. “Alex,” he said softly in answer to her earlier question.
She looked up at him, confusion in her eyes.
“Before, you asked me my name. It’s Alex.”
“Oh,” she said, her gaze sliding away from him again. She removed her gloves with fumbling fingers and tossed them into the trash can by the desk. He gave her a moment to respond, but she didn’t say anything.
“When someone offers their name, it’s customary for you to offer yours in exchange.”
She glared at him then, a flash of temper darkening her brown eyes in the dim light of the room. He fought to keep a smile off his face, knowing it would only anger her further. “It’s the polite thing to do,” he pointed out reasonably.
“Polite?” she huffed. “You manhandled me in the hospital parking lot, shoved me into a car, threatened me and forced me to treat your friend with stolen veterinary medical supplies, and now you want to lecture me about manners?” She shook her head, her ponytail dancing with the movement. “As if this night couldn’t get any stranger,” she muttered.
“I did do those things, yes,” he said. “But there’s no reason we have to be rude to each other now.”
“Is this some kind of Hannibal Lecter thing?” She tilted her head, leaning away as she studied him. “Because I’m really not in the mood for games.”
He frowned at her. “What are you talking about?”
“You know, the bad guy from Silence of the Lambs.”
“Never seen it.”
“Well, he always insisted on being uber-polite to his victims before he killed them. You should know that’s not going to work on me.”
He’d tried to keep her from bumping her head as he’d put her into the car, but maybe the stress of being abducted had caused her to snap. “I’m really not following,” he said, sitting on the second bed and trying to appear non-threatening. At least she’d saved Tony before going insane. That was something.
She sighed, the action pulling her white coat tight across her chest. He swallowed hard, keeping his eyes glued to her face. No way was he going to let her catch him ogling her, especially when she was clearly delusional. She seemed calm right now, but if she thought he was going to assault her, there was no telling how she’d react.
“Being nice to me won’t make me trust you,” she said, speaking slowly, as though he were a small child.
“I don’t expect you to trust me,” he replied truthfully. “I just want to know your name.”
“Why?” Her expression was wary, like she thought he could use her name against her somehow.
He spread his hands, palms up,
