Chapter 2 - The Man Who Feared Sleep
Dominic's fingers dug into the mattress as Norah cleaned the wound.
He didn't scream. He didn't ask her to stop.
He simply stared at the ceiling with the rigid concentration of a man determined to defeat his own body.
"Your blood pressure is probably dropping," Norah said. "I need a hospital."
"No."
"You're running a dangerous fever, your wound is infected, and your breathing concerns me. I can't safely manage all of this in a bedroom."
"You can manage it here."
"That's not how medicine works."
"Then learn."
Norah paused, looking at him.
"Do you threaten everyone who tries to save your life?"
"Only the ones who won't listen."
"Funny. I was about to say the same thing."
She finished cleaning the wound as carefully as she could, applied an appropriate dressing, and insisted on obtaining vital signs and arranging urgent medical assessment. Dominic resisted every suggestion until a wave of dizziness forced him to close his eyes.
For one alarming second, his head fell sideways.
"Dominic?"
His eyes opened immediately.
"Don't call me that."
"What would you prefer? Your Majesty?"
He almost smiled.
Almost.
Norah took his temperature again. It remained dangerously high. She explained that she would not pretend a dressing change could cure a serious infection. He needed prompt evaluation, appropriate antibiotics, laboratory tests, and possibly surgical treatment.
He finally allowed her to call the physician responsible for his private care.
Dr. Samuel Bennett arrived forty minutes later, carrying a black medical case. He was in his late fifties, with silver hair, an expensive watch, and a calmness that seemed practiced rather than genuine.
He examined Dominic's shoulder and asked Norah what she had found.
When she described the wound, his expression barely changed.
"He's been difficult," Bennett said.
"He's been dangerously ill," Norah corrected.
Bennett looked at her.
"How long have you been nursing?"
"Long enough to know those aren't the same thing."
Dominic made a low sound that might have been amusement.
Under Bennett's direction, they arranged additional treatment and monitoring. The doctor warned that Dominic's condition required continued close observation.
Then he asked Norah to step into the hallway.
"Mr. Rossi doesn't tolerate people who challenge him," he said quietly. "If you want to keep this position, learn when to remain silent."
Norah glanced toward the bedroom.
"Silence isn't going to lower his fever."
Bennett's smile disappeared.
"You're new here. You don't understand what kind of man you're dealing with."
"Then explain the medical part to me. I'll figure out the rest."
She returned to Dominic's bedside.
That evening, she discovered why six nurses had quit.
Dominic refused his medication, accused her of tampering with his food, and demanded that she leave the room every time she attempted to check his condition.
When she returned with fresh water, he knocked the glass from her hand.
It shattered against the floor.
"Get out!"
Norah stood still.
"You're angry. I understand that. But I'm not cleaning broken glass while you're sitting in it."
She picked up the call button and summoned Leo to help clear the floor. Then she returned to the bedside.
Dominic watched her with an expression she couldn't interpret.
"Why haven't you left?"
"Because you still need care."
"Money?"
"Yes."
The honesty seemed to surprise him.
"How much?"
"Enough to pay my rent, fix my car, and stop worrying about whether my landlord changes the locks while I'm at work."
"That's all?"
"That's a lot when you don't have it."
He looked away.
Later, when the medicine began working and the fever finally started to ease, Norah settled into a chair beside the bed.
She had been awake for nearly twenty hours.
Dominic drifted toward sleep, then jerked awake with a strangled gasp.
His left hand searched beneath the pillow for the gun.
Norah rose immediately.
"You're safe. You're in your bedroom."
"Don't touch me!"
She stopped.
He was staring at something that wasn't there.
"No," he whispered. "Not the car. Get her out of the car."
His face had gone white.
"Dominic, look at me."
He pressed his good hand against his chest.
"She can't breathe."
Then he suddenly seized Norah's wrist.
His eyes were open, but he didn't seem to recognize her.
"Tell me you got her out."
Norah held his gaze.
"Who?"
Dominic's grip tightened.
"My sister."
Before Norah could ask another question, the bedroom doors flew open.
Leo stood there, his face drained of color.
Behind him was Dr. Bennett.
"Step away from him," the doctor ordered.
Dominic released Norah.
His expression changed instantly, the terror disappearing beneath the familiar mask of cold authority.
"Everyone out," he said.
Bennett looked at Norah.
"Now."
She gathered her supplies and walked into the hallway.
But as the doors closed behind her, she heard Dominic whisper a name.
"Elena."
And for the first time since arriving at the estate, Norah understood that the man in that bed wasn't simply afraid of dying.
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He was afraid of remembering why he deserved to live.
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