Free Club Prive: Sweet Escape (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Leslie Johnson Page A

home?”
    “Not by yourself.”
    “I won’t be, my—”
    She stops when a clattering of heels comes echoing down the hall and the blonde from last night whirls into the room. “Oh my gracious, Avery,” she pants, her hand going to her chest as she rushes to the bed. “They told me what happened. I ran the entire way. Are you okay? Can you talk? Please tell me you’ll be okay!”
    “She’ll be fine,” I tell her, and the blonde’s eyes snap up to me, then widen in surprise.
    “Oh. You. I…”
    Dr. McGill steps through the door, no doubt being drawn out of his lair by this sensual woman. She looks different from last night, a sharply tailored business suit hugging her voluptuous curves.
    I stick out my hand, staring at her intently. “I’m Dr. Gray Atwood, and I was just stepping into a meeting with Miss Beck when her allergic reaction occurred.”
    “Oh, well, yes.” She shakes my hand and nods, her eyes meeting mine. “I understand. I’m just so glad it happened here, under your capable hands.”
    McGill steps closer. “Yes, she gave us quite the scare, but we were on top of it.” He sticks out his own hand. “I’m Stan McGill. And you are?” I’m going to puke if the bastard kisses her fingers.
    “Brooke Jenkins. Thank you so much for taking such good care of my friend.”
    McGill sidles closer to her. “You’re very welcome. Avery means the world to us.”
    I grip the railing of Avery’s bed, so I don’t knock his teeth out.
    “Can I leave now?” Avery asks and everyone’s attention snaps back to her.
    “Of course you—” McGill begins.
    “Let’s keep you under observation for a couple hours,” I interrupt the red-faced man. “I don’t like that your throat is still swollen.” Glancing at Brooke, I ask, “Does that fit your schedule?”
    Brooke grasps Avery’s hand. “That’s fine. I have meetings until four. I’ll come back and get you then.” She looks up at me. “Is that okay?”
    I take a business card out of my wallet and write my cell phone number on the back. “Call before you leave and we’ll make sure she’s ready.” I stare at her again, trying to make her read between the lines.
    “I understand.” Leaning down to kiss Avery on the cheek, she murmurs, “Get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”
    McGill watches her leave before turning to me, his eyes narrowed. “I don’t appreciate you interfering with my orders.”
    “And I don’t appreciate you attempting to release a sick woman without bothering to physically examine her first. It’s beyond stupid, especially after such a severe reaction. Did you not see how quickly her throat closed? Seconds, damn you. Until we’re certain all traces of her reactant is eliminated from her system, she should be monitored for secondary symptoms.”
    McGill’s face grows even redder, his mouth opening and closing before sputtering, “I planned to examine her prior to release, of course.”
    “Well, now you don’t have to because she’s officially my patient.”
    Between us, Avery tries to sit up, but I put a hand on her chest and press her back down.
    “Stop it,” she says.
    “Are you allergic to anything else?” I ask her, trying to change the subject and defuse the situation, but I’ll damn well be going through McGill’s charts very thoroughly from this point on.
    “No.” She covers her eyes with her arm. I step over to the wall and flip off the lights, then walk over to the sink to recool the cloth. After wringing it out, I fold it and place it over her eyes.
    McGill sneers at my actions. “You’d make a damn fine nurse, Dr. Atwood. Do all your patients get this special treatment?”
    Fury burns hot in my gut.
    “I suggest you pay attention, Dr. McGill, because it seems you have a few lessons to learn.” I step around the bed and keep walking until we’re toe to toe. “More importantly, you should pay attention to your actions and your inactions because I’ll be watching them very carefully. Do I