Page 111 of Craving Venom

“You don’t get it, doc. This guy’s not just some criminal—”

“He’s a fucking headline,” another interrupts. “The press eats this shit up. If anything happens to him, if he dies, if he escapes, if he so much as fucking sneezes we’re screwed.”

“He’s conscious?”

“Not yet,” the doctor lies. “But his body is responding, which means it’s only a matter of time.”

“Fine,” one of them mutters. “Three days. But the second he’s stable enough to move, he’s back in his fucking cell.”

“Of course.”

Footsteps approach, followed by the creak of a door and the faint shuffle of movement inside.

“Vitals first,” the doctor murmurs. Latex gloves snap into place. I feel the press of fingers against my wrist, the weight of them checking my pulse, then the cold touch of a stethoscope against my ribs.

I could open my eyes now.

Could say something.

But I don’t.

A low sigh leaves the doctor as he makes a few notes. “He’s holding steady.”

One of the guards grunts. “I still don’t like this.”

“You never do.” The doctor’s voice holds just a touch of exasperation. “Now, if you’re done breathing down my neck, I’d like to do my job without an audience.”

The boots shift once more, followed by subtle movement and the soft click of the door closing.

“You can stop faking it now.”

I smirk, cracking one eye open. “Faking what?”

The doctor raises his brows, clearly unimpressed.

I shift slightly on the bed despite the ache spreading through my ribs. “What?” I eye the white coat, stretching my fingers slightly, testing my limbs. “No hey, long time no see, no ‘how’s it been,’ no ‘missed you, asshole’?”

Nothing.

Not even a twitch of amusement.

I sigh dramatically. “Come on,Luke, you’re acting like Ella now.”

“Motherfucker.” Luke steps forward, pulling me into a hug.

I grunt, but I still let out a low chuckle, wrapping an arm around his back and giving him a hard squeeze.

“Missed me, huh?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

I smirk against his shoulder.

Luke pulls back, shaking his head, eyes still flicking over me like he’s making sure I’m in one piece. “I’m happy you finally decided breaking out of that shithole. It was a long time coming.”

“Yeah… about that.”

His brows pull together. “What?”

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