Undercover Prison King novel · Chapter 4 of 24

Chapter 4: Observation

The infirmary smelled of bleach and burnt coffee.

It was a long ward with twelve beds, half of them full.

A glass-walled office stood at the far end, where a lamp burned all day.

The doctor sat him on an exam table and snapped on gloves without a word.

Up close she was younger than he had thought, thirty or so, with a chipped front tooth she did not hide when she frowned.

Her name tag said M. NEUMANN, MD.

"Shirt off," she said.

He pulled it over his head.

She looked at his ribs a moment longer than medicine needed.

Then she studied the pale burn scar down his left forearm and the castle tattooed on his bicep.

"Cheekbone's not broken," she said. "Wrist needs three stitches. The ribs are bruised, not cracked."

"I could have told you that."

"Then you saved me the time." She threaded a needle with quick small fingers. "What did you do before, Mr. Maitland?"

"Line cook."

"Hold still."

The needle went in, and he did not flinch.

"Interesting," she said. "I've sewn up a lot of line cooks, and they all swear."

"I'm a quiet cook."

"You counted five seconds between breaths yesterday."

"Lucky guess."

"Out loud, under your breath, the whole time." She pulled the thread through. "Nobody counts like that unless somebody drilled it into them under fire."

He met her eyes through the round glasses.

They were green, steady, and very tired.

"Maybe the kitchen was busy," he said.

← Chapter 3 · All chapters · Chapter 5 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend