Page 82 of Talk to Me

“No.”

“Good. Stay here. The rooms are shielded and it should hopefully jam any signal.”

“Just like that?” It’s Patch who asked, doubt in her voice.

The doctor paused, meeting her gaze evenly. “Yes, just like that. I can explain or I can get the kit.”

Her reluctance to trust anyone was understandable, but I’d execute the doctor before I let him endanger her. “I’ll be with him,” Locke said. “We’ll be right back.”

At her nod, they left and she stared at me. “I want all of this to be real… and at the same time, I keep wishing it was just some nightmare that I could wake up from.”

“We’re real,” I promised. “As for the nightmare—we’ll deal with that too. If you’ll recall, removing problems is something I specialize in.”

An actual smile touched her lips. “You are very good at removal and erasure.”

“Yes, I am.” Facts didn’t require arrogance.

Eyes closed, she sucked in a deep breath before releasing it. Then the door opened letting the doctor and Locke back in. He was carrying medications and a pouch. Her nose wrinkled as he moved to her feet.

“Ready?” Locke asked her. The earlier smile flickered back to life.

“Can’t wait.”

Chapter

Twenty-Six

PATCH

Doctor Thana proved both kind and swift. His name tag was rather long and complicated. When I asked, he just said call him Thana. He also didn’t ask for my name.

Understandable.

I didn’t envy his working under the cool gazes of Locke and Remy. Though neither man stared at him, one of them had eyes on him at all times. Remy’s gun was also resting in his palm. He was seemingly ready for anything. As unsettling a thought as that was, it offered an odd kind of comfort.

No one was going to throw open that door and cut into me again. No one was going to beat me up or starve me or pump me full of drugs until I drooled. Remy would kill them first.

So would McQuade. While Locke wasn’t a huge fan of violence and it was never his first choice, he was also not opposed. That kind of security could not be purchased. If I hadn’t already decided to trust them, I would have in this moment.

Doctor Thana kept a steady conversation going as he used lidocaine to numb the bottom of my foot before he examined and cut into the soft tissue. Unfortunately, the tracker was actually in an area that had begun to heal. Scar tissue would form over it and tighten it up.

Rock steady hands and a conversational style told me a lot about Doctor Thana. He was a good guy and his interest here was purely clinical. As he worked, he seemingly forgot about Locke and Remy. Good for him, he didn’t need to feel the pressure of their glares.

If the guys were planning to kill him before we left, I was going to ask them to change their minds. We hadn’t had to bribe or blackmail the doctor. He’d been inclined after one look at me.

That made him a good doctor.

With a pair of tweezers he worked on extracting the hateful little device. It required a deep sensation of pressure before he tugged it out. There was blood dripping from it.

More blood and flesh they’d taken from me.

Doctor Thana’s dark look spoke volumes for his thoughts about the device. He surrendered it to Remy when the assassin held out his hand. With care, Thana returned to my foot and wrapped it to apply pressure.

“We’re going to shoot another couple of images, I want to make sure there’s no more surprises.”

“Thank you,” I murmured and he nodded once.

The x-rays of each foot revealed no more foreign objects. Relief spilled into me as the doctor returned. He added some small sutures to the incision he’d made then treated the rest of the injuries before he wrapped it again.