CHAPTER 12

Amanda’s POV

The hospital was a war zone.

At least, that’s what it felt like. Every corridor was crammed with people  some sitting on the floor with their heads in their hands, others pacing, voices low and tense. The smell of disinfectant hung thick in the air, but even that couldn’t mask the sharp tang of stress that came from too many patients and too few hands.

I was halfway through stitching up a deep gash on a teenager’s arm when one of the nurses rushed in, tablet in hand. “Dr. James, we’ve got three more cases incoming from the freeway accident. Two critical.”

I tied the final knot and stepped back. “Send them straight to Trauma One and Two. I’ll be there in five.”

By the time I finished and moved toward the ER bay, my phone was already buzzing in my coat pocket. I fished it out and pressed it to my ear without looking at the caller ID.

“I hope you’re calling with good news,” I said, my voice tighter than I meant.

On the other end, a familiar male voice  the one belonging to the man who’d asked me to take over the hospital’s management  spoke in that maddeningly calm tone of his. “How are things going, Dr. James?”

“How do you think?” I snapped, my patience fraying. “We’re drowning. I’m pulling double shifts every day, half the residents are working on three hours of sleep, and the waiting room looks like a refugee camp. If you want this place to keep running, I need more doctors. Now.” the hospital was unusually full even people without any actual problems sat in the waiting room which was very frustrating.

There was a pause, and I could almost see him leaning back in his expensive chair, unbothered. Uncaring. “Amanda, I told you  recruitment takes time. The budget is stretched thin as it is. You’re going to have to hold things together a while longer.”

I let out a humorless laugh. “Hold things together? I’m barely keeping myself together.” gritting my teeth. It took every bit of self control in me not to curse at him right now lol.

“You’re capable. That’s why you’re here,” he said simply. “Keep doing what you do best.”

The line went dead before I could reply. I stared at my phone for a long second before sliding it back into my pocket. The irritation burned in my chest like acid. What the hell was that supposed to  mean.

When I finally slumped into my office chair, I realized I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. My eyes darted to the glass of water on my desk  the one I’d poured from the jug earlier while reviewing patient charts. I grabbed it and took a long gulp, the cool liquid easing my dry throat.

But as soon as I set the glass down, the room tilted. Just slightly at first. A slow, unsteady lurch.

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a steadying breath. It’s nothing. You’re tired. Overworked.

I pushed myself to my feet, determined to get moving before the dizziness could catch up with me. My head still felt faintly foggy as I reached for the office door. The hallway swam in front of me for a second, but I kept going.

And then I saw them.

Ryan.

And Levi — my Levi — standing right beside him.

It was like the dizziness vanished in a burst of raw adrenaline. I stopped in my tracks, my pulse spiking.

“What the hell are you doing with my child?” My voice cut through the hallway like a whip as I stormed toward them.

Ryan’s brows drew together, his tone measured. “He was still at the school when I got there. It was late, Amanda. I wasn’t about to leave him sitting there alone.”

“You had no right,” I snapped, my hand closing around Levi’s shoulder as I pulled him toward me. “Do you think this is some kind of game? I told you to stay away from him. Do you hear me? Stay away. I am never giving him back to you.”

Levi’s wide eyes darted between us, confusion clouding his small face. “Mommy…?”

I softened instantly, leaning down so my face was level with his. “It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here now.”

When I looked back at Ryan, all the softness was gone. The fogginess in my head had been replaced by a hot, sharp fury.

“I was helping you,” Ryan said, his voice tightening. “That’s all this was. You think I’d use him like—”

“Leave, Ryan.” My tone was cold enough to freeze the air between us.

He held my gaze for a moment longer, as if searching for something in my face. When he didn’t find it, he turned, placing a guiding hand on Blair’s shoulder. Without another word, they walked away.

I watched until they disappeared through the sliding glass doors, the weight in my chest pressing down until I thought it might break me.

“Mommy,” Levi’s small voice pulled me back.

“Yes, sweetheart?” I turned toward him, masking the storm in my chest with a smile.

“What did you mean… when you said you’re never giving me back to him?”

The question sliced through me sharper than any scalpel. For a moment, I considered telling him the truth — or at least my truth  about why I didn’t trust Ryan. But looking into those trusting eyes, I couldn’t do it.

I crouched so we were eye-level. “I just meant I’m not letting you go anywhere without me. Ever. You’re my little man, and I’m going to keep you safe.”

He seemed to think about that for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Okay.”

I brushed a kiss to his forehead and led him down the hallway, my hand tightening around his. But even as we walked, the earlier dizziness whispered back at the edges of my mind.

Something about that glass of water nagged at me.

But there was no time to dwell. Not now.

Not when I had a hospital to run… and a war with Ryan that was far from over.