Chapter 2 - The Name Everyone Feared
Dr. Howard Bell entered Room 417 wearing a white coat and an expression Elena had never seen on him before.
Fear.
Behind him stood hospital administrator Charles Wynn and two unfamiliar men.
“Elena,” Bell said quickly. “Step away from the patient.”
Rafael’s eyes were closed again.
Elena understood immediately.
He was pretending.
She moved to the monitor.
“What happened?” Bell asked.
“Heart rate variation.”
“How significant?”
“Enough to check.”
Bell looked at Rafael.
“Any movement?”
Elena paused.
“No purposeful response.”
From the bed, Rafael remained perfectly still.
Wynn watched Elena carefully.
“Nothing unusual?”
“The patient has been medically unusual for six months.”
Wynn’s mouth tightened.
“You know what I mean.”
“Actually, I don’t.”
Bell stepped closer to Rafael and reached for his eyelid.
Rafael’s hand exploded upward.
He caught Bell’s wrist.
Every man in the room froze.
Rafael opened his eyes.
“Doctor.”
Bell went white.
Rafael released him.
“You look disappointed.”
“N-no. Of course not.”
Wynn backed toward the door.
Rafael noticed.
“Stay.”
Wynn stopped.
Elena stared between them.
“Someone needs to explain this.”
One of the unfamiliar men muttered, “She shouldn’t be here.”
Rafael looked at him.
“And you are?”
The man said nothing.
Rafael turned to Marco, the guard near the doorway.
“Who authorized them?”
“Administration.”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
His gaze returned to Wynn.
Wynn cleared his throat.
“Mr. DeLuca, your condition required specialized security.”
“Security from whom?”
“Potential threats.”
Rafael looked around.
“Interesting.”
Elena checked his blood pressure.
“You need to calm down.”
Several heads turned toward her.
Rafael looked at Elena.
“You heard the nurse.”
He settled back.
Wynn seemed unable to understand what he was seeing.
Everyone knew Rafael DeLuca.
Everyone except Elena.
By sunrise, she understood why.
The truth came from another nurse.
Samantha cornered Elena inside the medication room.
“You were with him?”
“Yes.”
“When he woke up?”
“Yes.”
Samantha shut the door.
“Elena, Rafael DeLuca controls half the private freight coming through this city.”
“Controls?”
Samantha lowered her voice.
“He’s organized crime.”
Elena stared.
“You’re joking.”
“I wish.”
“He’s a mafia boss?”
“People don’t use that word around him.”
“Well, he’s unconscious most of the time.”
“Elena.”
“Fine. Was unconscious.”
Samantha grabbed her arm.
“You need to be careful.”
Elena pulled away.
“He’s still a patient.”
“He’s Rafael DeLuca.”
“That does not change how kidneys work.”
Samantha stared at her.
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
When Elena returned to Room 417, Rafael was sitting partially upright.
Marco stood beside him.
Another man had arrived.
Older.
Expensive suit.
Silver hair.
He looked at Elena.
“You must be the nurse.”
Elena stopped.
“I have a name.”
Rafael said, “Elena.”
The older man smiled slightly.
“Dominic Russo.”
He extended his hand.
Elena shook it.
“You work for him?”
Dominic glanced at Rafael.
“For thirty-one years.”
“And you knew he might hear us?”
“No.”
Elena looked at Rafael.
“Neither did I.”
Rafael’s gaze followed her as she checked the IV.
Dominic noticed.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“What did you talk about?”
Elena shrugged.
“Everything.”
“Business?”
“No.”
“Names?”
“No.”
“People entering the room?”
“Occasionally.”
Rafael’s eyes sharpened.
“Who?”
Elena looked at him.
“You want six months of visitor logs from memory?”
“I want anything unusual.”
“Everything about this room was unusual.”
Rafael almost smiled.
Dominic leaned against the window.
“Try.”
Elena thought.
“Administrators. Specialists. People who never introduced themselves.”
“Doctors?”
“Some.”
“Anyone touch your equipment?”
Elena stopped.
Rafael noticed.
“What?”
“There was a respiratory technician.”
“When?”
“About three weeks ago.”
“Name?”
“I don’t remember.”
“What happened?”
Elena lowered her voice.
“He told me he had orders to change settings on your ventilator.”
Dominic straightened.
“But you weren’t ventilator-dependent three weeks ago,” Rafael said.
“I know.”
“What did you do?”
“I stopped him.”
The room became silent.
Elena continued.
“He got irritated. I called Dr. Bell. Bell said nobody had authorized the change.”
Dominic and Rafael exchanged a look.
“What?” Elena asked.
Rafael answered quietly.
“That wasn’t a respiratory technician.”
Elena felt suddenly cold.
“He had an employee badge.”
“Badges can be copied.”
She looked toward the hall.
“Then why didn’t anybody tell me?”
Rafael’s jaw tightened.
“Because whoever arranged this expected me to die.”
Elena shook her head.
“You survived six months.”
“Because somebody kept interfering.”
His eyes settled on her.
“You.”
“I was doing my job.”
“No.”
Rafael’s voice softened.
“You were doing more than that.”
Elena looked away.
“I treated you like a patient.”
“You treated me like a person.”
Dominic stepped toward the door.
“I’ll review every camera feed.”
“No,” Rafael said.
Dominic stopped.
“Quietly.”
Rafael looked at Elena.
“If someone tried once, they’ll try again.”
“And you think they’re still inside the hospital?”
“I know they are.”
“How?”
He looked toward the rain-streaked window.
“Because only three people knew where I was taken that night.”
Dominic’s expression darkened.
Rafael continued.
May you like
“And one of them has been standing in this hospital pretending to protect me.”
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