Stronger With Us (The Strength Series Book 3) Read Free Page A

the arm. Is something wrong, Curt?" I smile as sweetly as I can.
    "No, nothing's wrong. My arm is a little sore from the accident, but it's all right," he says tightly.
    "Hmm, well, I guess if there's nothing wrong then I'll see about getting you discharged as soon as possible. We've got to use these beds for real emergencies." I start to walk out of the room and get the attending to sign off on the paperwork.
    "Wait, my leg hurts. You didn't even look at my leg," he says quickly. "You didn't examine my chest either and it's starting to bother me." I turn around and look at him.
    "If you're ready to take this seriously, then I'll help you. If you're going to continue to hit on me, I'm outta here and you can deal with Nurse Jonathan. He'd be happy to examine you completely," I say with all the seriousness I can muster.
    "I'll be good, I promise. No need to have anyone else, really."
    "Okay, let's try this again... do you have any pain, Mr. Lindey?"
    "Yes, my chest and my right leg hurt," he answers politely. I smile to myself. It's so easy sometimes.
    "All right. Now we're getting somewhere. How about I have an orderly come help you into this hospital gown and I'll see what we need to do about your leg. I'll be back in a few minutes," I say as I back out of the room, closing the curtain behind me. I shake my head as I walk up to the main desk and ask the orderly to help my patient change.
    "Whatcha got goin', CJ?"
    I turn to see Jonathan, returning from transporting the heart patient from earlier, coming toward me wearing his signature grin. I love this man so much. He's the best gay friend a girl can have.
    "Oh, the usual. Casanova in room one who got hit by a car. Since I walked into a trauma, I didn’t get a chance to ask you, but what're you doing here? I thought you and Oscar were taking the week off."
    "Well, he got called into court. You know how that shit goes. So I figured I'd make some cash while he's working." Oscar is a deputy prosecutor, and he has been working on a few big cases lately. I'm not really surprised that their plans got interrupted.
    "I'm sorry about your plans, but I'm thrilled that you're here. I can't stand this place without you." I wink as I say this.
    "Well, let's make the most of our time together then. If you need help with your patient let me know," he says with a grin, walking toward the employee lounge. Bill comes back a few minutes later to let me know that Curtis is ready. I take a deep breath, put on my nurse face, and go back to deal with what I hope will be the last of this type of idiot for the day.
    Twelve hour shifts suck. I mean, really suck. Our usual pattern is three days on, three days off. Today is my third day in a row. I’m exhausted and ready to sleep for the next forty-eight hours, but I still have two hours left of this shift. Jonathan went home a few minutes ago so it’s just me, Bill, our orderly, Dr. Sanders, and Skylar. We’re all sitting around the nurses’ station when a call comes in from registration.
    “There’s a rape case in the waiting room,” Bill announces. Fuck. I hate these situations. They hit a little too close to home for me. I hear Dr. Sanders tell Bill to put the woman in room three, but it sounds like she’s in a tunnel. I know I’m starting to go into a panic attack, and I can’t let that happen here. I try to focus on my breathing like my therapist taught me, and in a few seconds things start to come back online for me. Before I register what I’m doing, I’m following Skylar to the room to start the assessment.
    Here’s the thing about treating a woman who says she’s been raped. We have to remain professional no matter what. Sometimes it comes off as cold or unfeeling, but it’s really the only way to maintain objectivity. It’s a social worker’s job to be empathetic and hold the woman’s hand, and it’s my job to take samples and collect any physical evidence that the police can use. I try to shut off all emotions in these