I was sure that Devek had sent over the two goons to retrieve Sanjay and Juleen and take them back to India. I didn’t know if beating me up in the process was part of the plan. I couldn’t picture him doing that to me. But I was very bad at reading men. I had made terrible choices. I could have blamed it on my father—my mother had died in childbirth—but the truth was I had a brain. I just didn’t use it when faced with the Y chromosome.

Chris was still working on his laptop, oblivious to my awaking. When I said hey, he jerked his head up.

“Hey there.” He took off his glasses and closed his laptop. “How are you?”

How was I? I wasn’t sure.

“Are you in pain?”

“Little.”

“I’ll get the doctor.”

“No.” I shook my head. I was tired of being out of it. “No.” I closed my eyes. It was a strain to keep them open. “How long have I been here?”

“Five days. Wow, you sound much better.”

I did sound better. I could talk in full sentences. “Juleen is okay?”

“She’s doing fine. She’s safe. She’s with Gabe. Do you remember Gabe visiting you?”

“No.”

“He’s going to Japan tomorrow. His agent got him an Asia tour. I told him to take it. I know he’ll want to see you.” A pause. “It’s midnight.”

“Don’t wake him.” I felt his hand on my cheek. His touch was delicate. “I’m tired.”

“I’m happy to see you, Terry.”

Tears in my eyes, I turned my head away from him.

“I’m going to get the doctor. I want him to see you awake, okay?”

“Okay.”

He took his hand away and I heard him leave.

Awake, I could feel waves of pain—sometimes it was acute, sometimes it was a throbbing pulse. It didn’t feel good, but it was tolerable. A minute later, I heard two men come in. I opened my eyes. The stranger introduced himself as Drew Jamison.

“How are you?”

“Passable.” My speech was funny sounding but understandable. “What are my vitals?”

“Your vitals?”

“She’s an ER doctor,” Chris told him.

“Your vitals are fine. Your temperature is back to normal.”

I had had an infection, then. Not surprising, considering what I went through.

He said, “Your creatinine levels are still high.”

“Rhabdo.”

“Yes, but they’re starting to come down. I’m hoping to take the catheter out soon. Once you can drink and pee on your own, I can send you home in a day or two.”

Home. Where exactly was home now?

“You know your jaw is wired.”

“Yes.”

“You can drink from a straw. I’ll start you on liquids. But you’re going to have to drink tons and tons of water to get rid of the excess protein in your urine.”