“At least for the time being,” he muttered. “Look, I’m through with arguing. Get me something to wear and tell me where my wallet is, or I’m walking out in this and making the hospital pay for my taxi home.”

“Wait. Here.”

“Not. For. Long.”

As the door eased shut, he paced around, energy burning through him. He’d woken up logy, but that was all gone now.

Man, he could remember this feeling, back when he’d been in the service. Once again, he had a goal, and as before, that gave him the power to throw off exhaustion and injury and anyone who threatened to divert him from his target.

Which meant that nurse had better get out of his way.

Not surprisingly, when she came back a couple of minutes later, she brought not one, but three reinforcements. Which was not going to help her. While the doctors formed a circle of rational thinking around Jim, he just watched their mouths move and their eyebrows go up and down and their elegant hands gesticulate.

As he thought about his new job—because he sure as hell wasn’t listening to the MD brigade—he wondered how he was going to know what to do. Yeah, he had a date with diPietro…but then what? And, holy hell, was that girlfriend going to be there?

Talk about “guess who’s coming to dinner.”

He focused on the peanut gallery. “I’m done. I’m leaving. Can I have my clothes now, thanks.”

Crickets in the background. Then everyone walked out in a huff, proving that they thought he was stupid, but not mentally compromised—because adults who had their marbles were allowed to make bad choices.

As the door was shutting, Adrian and Eddie stuck their heads in the room.

Ad smiled. “So you tossed the white coats out on their asses, huh?”

“Yup.”

The guy chuckled as he and his roommate stepped inside. “Why does this not surprise me—”

The whistle-blower nurse barged past them with a pair of hospital scrubs and a large Hawaiian shirt draped over her forearm. Ignoring Eddie and Adrian as if they weren’t even there, she tossed the threads onto the bed and presented Jim with a clipboard. “Your things are in that closet and your bill’s been taken care of. Sign this. It’s a form stating that you are releasing yourself AMA. Against medical advice.”

Jim took the black Bic from her and drew an X on the signature line.

The nurse looked down at the mark. “What is that?”

“My signature. An X is legally sufficient. Now will you excuse me?” He untied the neck ribbon on the johnny and let the thing drop from his body.

Full-frontal got her out of the room without further conversation.

As she took off at a dead run, Adrian laughed. “Not much on the words, but you know how to get things done.”