Page 15 of Lane

“Barry sent me a list of who I need to see. I’m going to visit them individually to lessen the spread.”

“At least they’re all vaccinated.”

“I’m grateful they take me up on it when I offer vaccines. Without it, this would be much worse.”

“Stop by for some soup on your way out. I’m making it in bulk.”

I grinned. “Will do.”

Everything that came from Vail’s kitchen was amazing. He could have opened his own restaurant, but he enjoyed caring for the people in this building.

I decided to tackle the patients from the top down, starting with Reghan. Barrett had texted me this morning he was vomiting and looked gray.

Barrett answered when I knocked on the door. His light-brown hair was going every which way, and his T-shirt was covered in wrinkles. “Oh, thank fuck. I don’t like him being sick.”

“When did the symptoms start?”

Barrett gave me the details as I walked into their bedroom and found Reghan curled up in bed, shaking from chills beneath the blankets. I examined him quickly and did the rapid test. Sure enough, he had the flu. After giving Barrett a list of dos and don’ts, I sent in a prescription for an antiviral. My guess was there were going to be quite a few of them. One of the guards would run out and pick them up.

Neither Raiden nor Marshall caught the virus and were both steering clear of those who did. That meant I wouldn’t see Raiden on my trip to the building today. It was probably for the best. He didn’t say much to me anyway.

Next, it was to the eighth floor where Sheldon was. As Vail had said, he wasn’t in great shape, but much better than Reghan. I listened to his lungs and made sure there was nothing else going on I had to treat him for.

I saw a few more patients before knocking on Lane’s door. I hadn’t had much interaction with him. When I did, he was always friendly. There was also the fact he was very attractive. Lane was the type of man who knew what he offered. He was confident, not cocky. Kind, not cruel. From what I’d gathered after overhearing others talk, he was doing well, given the situation he’d come from.

I knocked on his door. My phone started vibrating, so I withdrew it from my pocket to find a text from a number I didn’t recognize.

Unknown:I’m too sick to move.

He texted me the code to get into his apartment.

The door opened into a kitchen to my left with an island. There was no counter separating the kitchen from the dining room; it flowed from one room to the next. Past the dining area was the living room, where Lane was lying on his side on the couch, a fluffy blanket pulled up to his chin, and the TV remote on the coffee table in front of him.

“Enter at your own risk, Doc. You don’t want to catch this shit.” He started coughing and had to sit up and take a sip of water to calm it down. “This cough is terrible. The only time I feel like I’m going to puke is when I can’t stop coughing.”

“Can you stay seated for me?” I sat my bag on the dining table.

He did and started coughing again. I didn’t like the sound of it.

Not wanting him uncomfortable for too long, I was quick with my exam like I’d been with the others who were sick. His flu test was positive, and he had bronchitis. I sent in the prescription for him, but since he was the last person I had to see, I wasn’t ready to leave yet. What reason did I have to stay though? To make sure he didn’t get worse? There was a building full of people here to help him.

A knock on the door had me getting to my feet to answer it. Vail was on the other side with a large container of soup. “If you’d please give this to Lane. I have other deliveries to make.”

“Of course.”

With the door shut, I stepped into Lane’s kitchen and found a bowl to put the soup in. “How much would you like?” I asked.

“A bowl full would be good, but you don’t have to do that. I can get it.”

“Nonsense. I’m here. I can help.”

I took the bowl to the living room as Lane was getting comfortable and handed it to him.

“You can have a seat, but if you catch this, it’s not my fault,” he said.

“I’m not worried about me. I don’t have to be back to work until Wednesday.” I had already planned on taking Monday off but decided to add Tuesday. The break was much needed. Since I had the coverage at work, I was taking advantage of it.

Lane glanced at me as he sipped his soup and I sat down. “What would you be doing if you weren’t here?”

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