Ruthless King

“And now you said ‘sorry’! I don’t like it when you act weird.”

“I’ll try not to act weird. You just rest. The doctor will be here soon.”

“Doctors don’t make house visits,” she grumbled.

“This one does.” He got paid enough to.

Getting up, Regent moved into the bathroom to wet a cloth. Returning, he grasped her chin and started washing her face.

“Whatcha doin’?” she asked without opening her eyes.

“Washing all this gunk off. Then I need to free your hair. It looks like it would be painful.”

“It is. Hate wearing my hair like this. And the makeup. It itches.”

“Then why do it?”

“Got to disguise myself.”

He paused. What could that mean? “What were you doing tonight, baby?”

Regent knew this was a morally gray area. Asking her questions while she was ill and didn’t know what she was saying.

But morally gray was his color.

“At the club.”

“Doing what?” he asked.

“Dancing. What else am I gonna do there?”

“No drinking?”

“Nope. I never drink and dance.”

“Do you go out to nightclubs to dance often?” he asked.

“Every weekend. My head hurts. Can you make it stop?” she begged.

“I will soon.” Fuck. He didn’t like this. What if she was really ill? What if she needed to go to the hospital?

Where the hell was Doctor Stanley?

He got up and stormed toward the door just as someone knocked on the other side. Opening it, he saw the older man standing there. His hair was white, which stood up on end and he wore small round glasses.

“It’s about time.”

“I got here as fast as I could,” the doctor grumbled. “Where is the patient?”

“She’s in here. You need to watch your bedside manner. Jilly’s not one of the guys. She’s . . . sensitive.”

Doctor Stanley snorted. “As if I don’t know how to look after a patient. You stick to what you do. Let me do the doctoring.”

He had known the doctor for over twenty-five years. But he would rip his tongue from his mouth if he made Jilly cry or upset her in any way.

But as soon as the old bastard walked into the room, he changed. Softening.

If Regent had been thinking properly, he would have realized that this was how the doctor had always acted with Lottie too.