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privacy.
    She had to fi KShein frontght the urge to look at Clay, had to force herself to turn away to give him at least a small measure of respect.
    “This is a bad idea,” she told Payton, keeping her eyes on the carpet. “He already hates me because I’m a doctor. He’ll hate me more once he knows I drugged him. How can I help him if he won’t stay in the same room with me?”
    “He can hardly hate you more for giving him a quick look, can he? It’ll be our secret. Once you’re done, I’ll dress him again and he’ll never have to know.”
    “Not only is that a huge violation of trust; it’s illegal. I need consent to treat.”
    Payton offered her a knowing smile. “Since when have you let the legality of something stop you from doing it?”
    A flash of anger surged and she spoke through gritted teeth. “Only when someone’s bribing me with visits to see my imprisoned brother.”
    Payton let out a weary sigh in the face of their old argument. “He’s not in prison. He’s being held for his own safety. It’s not even against his will. Garrett wants to be there.”
    “Because he knows what could happen if he’s left to roam free. More people could be hurt.”
    “Unless we help Clay find out who’s doing this and how. If that happens, then perhaps we can figure out how to undo it, and Garrett can go free without risk.”
    Leigh went still, worried that if she so much as breathed, that fleeting wisp of hope would disappear. “Do you really think that’s possible?” she whispered.
    “If Clay is well and at the top of his game, I do. Which is why I think you should take a look and make sure he’s not in need of medical care while he’s still too unconscious to refuse it.”
    It was then that Leigh realized that this was the trap Payton had set all along. He knew that if he dangled her brother’s future in front of her, she would have no choice but to do as he wanted. “You’re a son of a bitch, Payton. You know that?”
    A sad smile lifted his mouth but didn’t reach his eyes. “I do. Luckily, I don’t let it stop me from doing the right thing. And neither should you.”
    He left, returning a minute later with her medical bag from downstairs. He set it on the carpet and then shut the bedroom door on his way out.
    Leigh stood there for a moment, collecting her wits. She wasn’t going to do anything to harm Clay. She’d already broken the law and drugged him against his will, so what was a little look-see going to hurt? If Payton was right and they needed Clay to find a way to help her brother, she really had no choice. Restoring Garrett’s freedom was worth invading one man’s privacy.
    She sucked in a deep breath and sat on the bed where Clay lay.
    His skin was covered in bruises of varying ages. From fresh dark purple to aging yellowy-green. Several were the size of a man’s fist, but a few were larger and longer, as if someone had kicked him or beaten him with a bat. His ribs had taken the brunt of that Krunt?”
    No wonder he’d flinched when she’d touched him.
    She moved his dog tags aside and ran her fingers lightly over his skin, feeling for signs of broken bones as gently as she could. He didn’t twitch or make any noises of pain, allowing her to finish her exam without her stomach twisting with guilt.
    Clay wasn’t as skinny as she’d thought. There was no fat on him, and he really could use a few more pounds of it, but he was far from skin and bones as she’d imagined. Dense, lean muscles hugged his frame and were likely the reason he wasn’t lying in a hospital with broken ribs. She couldn’t guarantee they weren’t cracked, and they were definitely bruised, but she didn’t think any had been severely broken.
    She donned her stethoscope and listened to his heart and lungs. Everything checked out—his pulse as slow and strong as that of an athlete in his prime.
    There were several scratches and a couple of healing cuts that probably should have been sutured but