I stepped into the break room and grabbed my protein shake from the fridge. After taking a few sips, I pulled out my phone to call Kennedy.
“River, I need you out here,” Dr. Daniels said from the doorway. “We’ve got an MVA coming in as well as a possible drug overdose.”
I put my phone back into my pocket and downed the rest of my shake before returning to the fray just as the paramedics were pushing a stretcher into one of the empty rooms. I followed behind them and reached for a pair of gloves wondering why they weren’t spewing off the patient’s vital signs and a quick history of what happened.
“We declared death two minutes ago. We just need someone to officially pronounce,” one of the paramedics said.
“Oh, let me get one of the doctors for you,” I said and stopped dead in my tracks when my eyes landed on the lifeless woman on the stretcher.
Imposter Barbie.
Didi.
I shook my head and stepped out of the room. “Dr. Daniels, room six is a DOA. They just need you to pronounce.”
“Got it. Can you check on the new arrival in room three?”
“Yeah, sure,” I said, still feeling a bit dazed at seeing Didi’s dead body. I didn’t know her, and I damn sure didn’t like her, but that didn’t mean I wanted her to die. I just wanted her to go away. Though, her strange behavior made more sense. She was probably high on something the day she was watching porn at Jonah’s house and when she showed up in his room at the clubhouse.
I knocked on the door and entered the room without waiting for permission. “Hi, I’m River and I’ll be your nurse tonight,” I said and began assessing my newest patient.
The night continued on at the same pace. Before I knew it, my shift was over and I happily handed the reins back to Stacie.
When I pulled into Jonah’s garage, I was disappointed that his bike wasn’t parked in its usual spot. He said they might spend the night in Croftridge, but I’d hoped he would come back to Devil Springs.
Sighing, I drug my ass out of the car and into the house where I stripped off my filthy scrubs and took a quick shower before crawling into my bed and falling into a deep sleep.
I woke sometime later because I was uncomfortably hot to the point I was sweating. It took me a few seconds to wake up enough to figure out why I was overheated. Jonah had come in at some point and gotten into bed with me. The man was like a furnace with the amount of heat he put off.
I kicked the covers off of me and rolled over to face his chest. “I tried not to wake you,” he rumbled and placed a kiss on top of my head.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Around three o’clock.”
“Oh, well, it’s time for me to get up anyway,” I said and made a big production of stretching and yawning. “When did you get back?”
“Around noon. How was work last night?”
“Crazy busy,” I said and paused for a moment to gather my thoughts. “Listen, I can’t tell you any details, but Didi was brought into the ER last night. She, um, she was dead on arrival.”
“Say what now?” Jonah said as he shot up in bed.
“She was already gone when they got to the hospital. Like I said, I can’t tell you any details, but I thought you would want to know,” I said softly.
“River, nothing ever happened between her and I.”
“I know. You’ve already told me that and I believe you, but she was at your club two nights ago and I felt like it was something you would want to know. I didn’t know if any of the other guys knew her or whatever.”
He shrugged, “I don’t know either. She only came around a few times that I know of. I don’t know why she seemed to be fixated on me. I shot her down the first time she was at one of the parties and haven’t spoken to her since.” He paused for a moment and asked the question I was expecting. “You can’t tell me what happened?”
I shook my head. “No, I can’t. Even though she’s deceased, the privacy laws still apply.”
He nodded and reached for his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting Spazz,” he answered distractedly as his fingers rapidly tapped against his phone.