Chapter 2 - The Stranger Bleeding in the Rain|
The man with the gun looked at Clara as though he couldn't decide whether she was brave or stupid.
"Lady, I don't think you understand who you're dealing with."
Clara glanced at the wounded stranger slumped against the warehouse wall.
"I understand he's losing blood, and you're wasting time."
The gunman's expression hardened.
"Put the phone away."
"No."
"Do you have a death wish?"
"No. I have six years of emergency nursing experience, and your friend needs an ambulance."
For one long second, the alley was silent except for the rain.
Then the injured man groaned.
The gunman immediately turned.
"Boss?"
Clara's eyes narrowed.
Boss.
Of course.
She should have kept walking. She'd just lost her job, her reputation was being threatened, and the last thing she needed was an encounter with armed strangers in a dark alley.
But the man on the ground was struggling to breathe.
And Clara had never learned how to walk away from someone who needed help.
"What's your name?" she asked the wounded man.
His eyes opened slightly.
They were an unusual shade of gray.
"Adrian," he managed.
"Okay, Adrian. I'm Clara. I'm a nurse."
His mouth moved.
"Unfortunate... night for you."
Despite everything, she almost smiled.
"You have no idea."
She looked at the gunman.
"What's your name?"
He hesitated.
"Rocco."
"Rocco, call emergency services and tell them we have a man with a serious injury and difficulty breathing. Give them the exact address."
"Boss doesn't go to hospitals."
Clara stared at him.
"Then Boss might not live to complain about it."
Adrian made a sound that could have been a laugh.
Rocco looked offended.
Clara removed her jacket and knelt beside Adrian. She assessed his responsiveness and breathing, then pressed folded clean material against the bleeding wound while keeping him as still as she could.
His shirt was soaked through.
She could tell the injury was serious, but she couldn't determine its full extent in the dim light.
"Adrian, stay with me."
His eyes followed her.
"You're very... bossy."
"I'm charging extra for conversation."
His lips twitched.
Rocco finally lowered his gun.
He made the call.
Clara continued monitoring Adrian, talking to him as steadily as she could.
"Look at me. Don't try to stand."
"Who... are you?"
"Clara Bennett."
His expression changed slightly.
"Bennett?"
"Yes."
"Interesting."
She frowned.
"Why?"
He closed his eyes.
"Nothing."
"Adrian, keep talking."
His breathing was shallow.
She looked toward the alley entrance.
"Rocco, where's that ambulance?"
"On the way."
Clara pressed her lips together.
She had spent the last twelve hours fighting to keep people alive during a highway pileup.
She had been publicly humiliated by Marcus.
Fired.
Accused of stealing medication.
And now she was kneeling in freezing rain beside a stranger who might die before help arrived.
She wondered whether the universe had personally decided she'd suffered too little today.
Then Adrian's hand closed around her wrist.
"Don't... let Marcus..."
Clara froze.
"What?"
His fingers tightened weakly.
"Marcus Vale."
Her blood ran cold.
Marcus.
Her former supervisor.
The man who had fired her less than an hour earlier.
"How do you know Marcus?"
Adrian struggled to speak.
"Hospital..."
His eyes slipped shut.
"Adrian!"
Clara checked his breathing and responsiveness.
"Stay with me!"
For a terrifying moment, he didn't respond to her voice.
Then the ambulance siren sounded.
Clara nearly cried with relief.
Paramedics rushed into the alley.
She delivered a concise handover, explaining what she'd observed and the care she'd provided.
They moved quickly.
One paramedic looked at her.
"Are you coming?"
Clara hesitated.
Her hospital badge was gone.
She had been fired.
She had no authority to accompany a patient as a staff nurse.
But Adrian opened his eyes again.
He looked directly at her.
"Clara."
She leaned closer.
"Yes?"
"Come."
Rocco stepped forward.
"She comes with us."
The paramedic shook his head.
"We have patient transport protocols."
Clara raised a hand.
"Please focus on getting him to the hospital. I'll follow separately."
Adrian's eyes closed again.
The ambulance doors slammed.
Clara stood in the alley, shaking.
Rocco turned toward her.
"You're coming with me."
She looked at his gun.
"That wasn't a request, was it?"
He hesitated.
Then, surprisingly, he put the weapon away.
"Please."
Clara stared at him.
The polite word sounded strange coming from a man who'd pointed a gun at her minutes earlier.
She glanced toward the ambulance disappearing into traffic.
"Fine. But we're going to the hospital, and I'm calling my sister to tell her where I am."
Rocco nodded.
"Deal."
Twenty minutes later, Clara walked through the emergency entrance of St. Augustine Medical Center.
Her former workplace.
The building she'd been fired from less than an hour earlier.
The receptionist stared.
"Clara?"
Before she could answer, Marcus appeared near the trauma bay.
He stopped.
His gaze moved from Clara to Rocco.
Then to the stretcher carrying Adrian.
His expression changed completely.
Not surprise.
Not concern.
Fear.
Rocco pushed past him.
"Get your best trauma team."
Marcus swallowed.
"Mr. DeLuca..."
Clara looked between them.
"You know him?"
Marcus ignored her.
He approached the stretcher.
"Mr. DeLuca, we'll take excellent care of you."
Adrian's eyes opened.
His voice was barely audible.
"Clara."
She stepped closer.
"I'm here."
Adrian looked toward Marcus.
Then back at her.
"Did he... fire you?"
The entire trauma bay seemed to go quiet.
Marcus went pale.
Clara stared.
"How do you know that?"
Adrian's mouth curved faintly.
May you like
Then he whispered:
"Because I came here tonight... to find out why."
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