Her eyes look frightened, but she nods as she watches the men warily.
I go and take the phone from the nurse, and she scurries off in the opposite direction from where I came.
“Sof, what’s going on?”
“Mia Pia, thank God. We need you here at the house. Go with the men there for you. Please. Trust me.”
“You owe me a huge explanation. Oh, and if Lorenzo’s there, you better keep him far away from me. He’s dead to me.”
She sighs. “Hurry up, Mia.”
The panic sets in as she hangs up the phone. Is someone hurt? Is it Lo?
I scold myself for caring. I should hope he’s hurt. I should hope he’s dead. If I were a stronger woman, I would have killed him myself. Instead, I stand here worried about him. Hoping he’s okay. Praying it’s anyone else who needs me. He sounded okay on the phone, right?
I can’t even remember. I was so upset at him, I never took the time to think that he could be hurt.
I rush to the staff room and grab my things from the office. Then I hurry back to the men and walk right past them. When I get outside, Angelo is sitting in his car across the street.
Why didn’t they ask him to come get me?
I don’t question it. Sofia said to get in the car with these men, that’s what I’ll do. Once in the car, I turn and watch Angelo follow behind us. I let out a breath. At least I know him. These other two are new, and I have never met them until now.
As they drive, my mind gets the best of me. I start thinking of different scenarios. Maybe these men are here to kidnap me. Why else would I go with them and not Angelo? Or maybe he’s the traitor. Is Sofia kidnapped too? Did they make her tell me to get into the car with them? If so, then how is Lo connected? Did he turn on Bash?
My mind runs rampant all the way to Bash’s. Even pulling up out front, I still feel anxious. It isn’t until I’m through the front door and see Sofia standing there that I finally take a breath. I run to her and hug her.
“You’re okay. Thank God,” I whisper to her.
“Of course, I am! Did you think I was hurt?”
“I didn’t know what to think. You order me to get into a car with two strange men who think showing me their matching tattoos means I should trust them. Then Angelo is out front, and I start to worry about why you didn’t have me go with him. My mind has gone over several different ways this could have gone.”
She chuckles. “Oh, Mia, I said trust me. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay, Sof. Tell me why I’m here though.”
She pulls me into the meeting room. I freeze as my eyes meet Lo’s. His look sunken in. They have dark circles under them, almost like he hasn’t been sleeping. He’s also disheveled, and there is a stain on his shirt. I don’t examine it too closely, but it almost looks like blood. I shudder at the thought of what he’s been up to.
“We are waiting on Izzy. She should be here soon.” Sofia takes a seat away from Bash, Lo, and Giovanni.
I give her a thankful smile, knowing she did it for me, and take a seat next to her.
“While we wait, why don’t you tell me about your progress at the clinic?” Bash’s voice draws my eyes back to his end of the table.
I look to Lo briefly before fixing my eyes on Bash. “It’s going well. Dr. Fields thinks I should be ready to go solo soon. She’s been letting me treat all the patients on my own under her supervision since I started. She’s going to let me take my own patients by myself starting Monday.”
Bash scowls. “Sounds like Dr. Fields is rushing things a bit.”
My heart sinks. I thought I was doing well, but I hadn’t considered that she has a personal gain from rushing through my training.
“I suppose she might be. Either way, I’m getting a lot out of it.”
He nods and gives me a pensive look. “Do you think you could treat a man with a gunshot wound?”
“I do. We have had three come in this week. I feel confident I could handle it.”
“What about a man who’s been burned?”
