Secure Again

by R L Dunn

  Elizabeth's heart overflowed. "I love you too."

  "Tell me what's going on?" Martin's phone hooked into its speaker atop the kitchen counter while he cut some peppers and onions for an omelet.

  "Ian said not to worry," Karen Rhodes advised.

  "Tell me what's going on." Martin's tone was stern. "Austin is sick, not me. My workload isn't disappearing."

  Karen was going over his schedule as Elizabeth walked in, showered and wrapped in a silk robe with a towel twisted atop her head. Martin stopped chopping and pulled her into his arms.

  He listened to Karen's update about some personnel health issues. "Ask Tuck Hanlon to send me reports on them. Ask Lee Shelton to call me when he's up to it. Make sure their families have what they need until everyone comes home." Martin continued going through his agenda items.

  "Um, I hope you don't mind, but I asked Mr. Nash to clean out your perishables and bring Mercutio to the office instead of feeding him there. I figured he would be lonely."

  Elizabeth smiled up at Martin as he whispered, "My cat."

  "Thanks, Karen, I appreciate it."

  "Farmer, how's Austin?" Kieran Chase's voice interrupted the call.

  "Hey, Boss. He's holding on. I'm on an open line at Elizabeth Reed’s. I'll let her talk to you about Newsome."

  "Mr. Chase, thank you for your help. Please send me the bill." She rested her cheek against Martin's palm.

  "No worries. Terry’s an old friend. Farmer, I told Zach, and I'll tell you, whatever she needs."

  With his call complete, Martin’s expression turned sexy. "How about an omelet?" He boxed her in between himself and the counter. His lips brushed over hers until the kiss deepened.

  "Mmm." She coiled her arms around his back. "That sounds delicious." She suckled his bottom lip and scooted free, then cracked eggs over a bowl. “So, Kieran is your boss? You guys sound tight.”

  "We’re family. Part of my job is making sure everyone stays safe." Martin tossed some cut-up bacon into a skillet.

  "Someone would want to hurt them?" Elizabeth blinked rapidly.

  "Ian and Kieran are wealthy men. They also own a business where enemies are part of the job. Spouses and children are inherent weaknesses." His demeanor hardened.

  "I'm sorry to ask so many questions; I'm nosy."

  “I want you to ask. Sometimes, I won't be able to tell you things—not because I want to keep secrets, but I'm required to. Can you live with that?" Martin secured each of her hips with strong hands and stole another kiss.

  "I think so. I can't share some things about my patients. I heard you mention qualifications tests?"

  Martin smiled. She was adorable. "We have four levels of operators, and everyone has to pass a biannual test.” He went on to describe all four levels and their skills and qualifications.

  "Are you a level four?" Her eyes widened.

  "I passed the exam a month ago."

  "What happens if someone fails?"

  "We throw them in the street." Elizabeth looked horrified until she focused on Martin's smiling face. "We downgrade them a level with a chance to re-test in three months. If they fail again, they can repeat in six months. If they fail a third time, the downgrade is permanent. No one loses their job as long as they try their best. They’re placed somewhere else in the organization.

  "Wow. Mercutio?" Elizabeth peered over her shoulder at him before putting some bread in to toast.

  "I bought a foreclosure on Lake Barcroft, six bedrooms and five baths—enough room for family and colleagues. Mercutio showed up on my deck one night and never left. He's a giant Maine Coon cat. The first time he came out of the darkness, his eyes were magical." Martin unraveled the towel from the top of Elizabeth's head, burying his nose in her hair scented of coconuts. "I want you to meet him and see the house." He opened his phone and showed her a picture of the cat lying in the sun.

  "Oh, my. I'm in love."

  "Me too." He cuddled her.

  Elizabeth's stomach growled. "You made me hungry." She hurried to the table before she gave into other urges.

  "Are you going to be all right by yourself tonight? With everything going on with the police, I worry. I'm going to head to my folks’ to shower and change, then stay with Austin."

  "I’ll be fine. I need to process this. My body needs to rest." She blushed.

  "Did I hurt you? You need to tell me." A pained look crossed his face.

  "Did I say that? I said I need to rest. Build some stamina." Her eyes filled with love.

  Marty stared at her, his thoughts turning darker. "Tell me the truth. Do you think Austin will make it?"

  "Every day he lives, his chances increase, but, Marty, I don't know. He was down a while." She fiddled with the sash of her robe.

  "Sunshine, I shouldn’t put you on the spot like that.” He swiped at his face. “I know in my heart you did everything possible." He played with a piece of toast.

  Elizabeth’s eyes flitted around the room and back to Martin’s face before she reached for his hand. "Do you think the police will charge me?"

  Martin held on to her. "Depends on the evidence. I'm more worried about your dad sticking his nose into things. Do you have any idea what his interest is about?"

  "After finding out what he did, I stopped speaking to him. I never thought he was capable of something that horrible. He and Hal Dufour go back a very long time. They met at the University of Iowa and went to law school together. When my mom got sick, Hal told my father about the opening at Horizon. Now his daughter is dead, and Cecile slapped me when I told her...."

  "When you told her what?" Martin’s investigator came through.

  She shook her head. “If you look, you'll be able to find out. The autopsy will be redacted for identifiers, but it’s a public document. Viola Dufour was pregnant, and Randy missed it. The pregnancy was in her tube, which can turn life-threatening alone. He rushed her surgery and left pus behind. The combination of the infection and the ruptured tube caused her death."

  "It was malpractice?"

  "The ME will label it malpractice. I call it manslaughter. The ER attending and staff are facing legal action too. They let him cancel the standard pregnancy test. The hospital and anyone involved with her care are liable. That includes me."

  Martin’s brain was swirling. "Try not to worry, Sunshine." He leaned across the small table, his tongue darting to lick a little strawberry jelly from the corner of her mouth. "Would you let me have my people check further?"

  "I still can't believe you’re here. Promise me you’ll tell me what you find, no matter what." She rolled her palm in his hand.

  He couldn’t make a complete promise. "I will do my best. We’ll make our way through it together. I'm not losing you again, but I need to head out. Will you be alright alone?" He picked up their empty dishes, rinsed them and placed them in the dishwasher.

  "No worries...I'll be fine." At his insistence, she wrote down all his phone numbers. They shared a lingering, passionate kiss before he stepped outside.

  "Latch the door." Martin stood on the stoop and waited to hear the bolt engage. Anyone could break into her house. When he got to the hospital, he planned to order an alarm system and assign a surveillance detail to her. He wanted his Sunshine safe.

  Chapter Ten

  Julian and Martin sat in the corner of Austin's hospital room. Two PAs from the Colorado branch worked at Austin's bedside, watching him with eagle eyes.

  "Personal security for Elizabeth Reed?" Julian's question came from curiosity and caring.

  "Elizabeth...my Sunshine." Martin’s voice cracked, and his eyes dampened.

  Julian's eyes lit with awareness. He was one of the few who knew of the girl he lost.

  Martin explained their history. "I didn't think. She was honest, sometimes to a fault. She would never fade away. I wrote often, and when I didn't hear from her, I focused the hurt into the training. Week six, I got the news I was accepted to the special warfare rating. I couldn’t deal with more. Ba
ck home, she found out she was pregnant. We were each other's first in the back of my pickup. Cliché, huh?”

  “Mon frère, originality has never been your strong suit,” Julian teased with caring.

  “Her father gave her a choice—abort the baby or marry the banker's kid. I got her background report. Tech is damn thorough. Our baby girl died right after birth." He gulped on the words. "When the cops picked her up for questioning this morning, I found a picture of the baby—Grace."

  Julian winced and focused on his friend. “What can I do?”

  Martin talked about the letters and her mother's confession, as well as how she found them. "Before I left her house, I took them. She agreed for me to hold them in case the warrant comes down. They are too private, and she doesn't trust they'll stay that way. Her mother's letter is missing; we didn't find it. We’ll try again tomorrow if she doesn't find it tonight."

  “I’ll remove them and keep them safe.”

  Martin opened his wallet and showed Julian the photo of Grace.

  “Mon frère, I'm so sorry. The petite one, Grace, was beautiful."

  "Today, after the lawyers left, we talked. The pain and guilt came pouring out from both of us. We’re at an impasse—she believes it’s her fault, and I say it’s mine. We have a lot to learn again, but I love her."

  Julian smiled. "What's the problem? See where it takes you. First, dump the guilt. Both of you. Remember what you taught me: guilt is toxic."

  "You're right; guilt is toxic. After that comes fear. She's afraid this is a dream. I'm afraid I'll screw up. I feel so foolish about wasting all this time. I don't want to lose another moment with her."

  "Enjoy it. Second chances don't happen often."

  Martin smiled. "I guess they don't. I asked for her permission to run Knox's murder."

  "I wanted to tell you in person: Pete overheard the argument between Elizabeth and Knox. He had the motive to kill her, not so much the other way around. Now with what you told me, there are a lot of new people with a motive to murder Knox. Tech started running Lewis James when the divorce showed up on our radar. We tracked him to Silverton after the divorce finalized. His sister wouldn't talk to us, but we tracked down a maid. She said he came home end of May 1998, and then he disappeared. Usual databases show nothing. Under normal circumstances, you need to sign off on a dark-level search, but considering the situation, I'll take it to Mike. Minimize any conflicts.”

  “Good.” Martin leaned in and whispered, “Before we left, I was running a case for Homeland. It looks like the injured child and Austin’s shooting are tied in. I initiated a dark op. DHS found their sixth undercover murdered this morning. According to jail records, they released him yesterday. Jule, he was beaten and sodomized. Mike has the file. I’m putting nothing pertinent in our system.” Martin explained the plan.

  “Shit, this isn’t a simple exfil,” Julian worried.

  “Troy demanded real charges and the danger that comes with it. Todd Duran at Homeland thinks there’s a leak, but the faucet must stop dripping. I started feeding Homeland fluff; pretend we’re working the case without success. We’re looking at a lot of sleepless nights."

  “Call me if you need me. Get some rest if you can."

  Before Julian left, he said a prayer for Austin. "Night, fellas."

  Martin shared a few minutes with the PAs before reading the addendum Kieran submitted on the Homeland case. The more he read, the more his brain refused to rest.

  Friday, July 12th

  Elizabeth overslept. It was 5:30—she hadn’t slept that well in years. With no time for breakfast, she prepared a travel mug with coffee.

  "It should be Friday the thirteenth instead of the twelfth,” she noted as she observed black skies. Rain and hail pelted her car, and the roads ponded. She grasped the steering wheel with both hands. Today, she was working as the ICU hospitalist for the twelve-hour day shift, in addition to caring for her own patients. With Randy dead, his load fell to her and Steven.

  She took a few minutes to stop by her office, hang up her rain jacket, and look at the ER census before she hit the floor. A full ER meant patients coming her way. Grabbing her lab coat and stethoscope, she headed first to visit unidentified female alpha 0709, whom the nurses nicknamed Victoria for surviving.

  "Dr. Reed, what brings you to the peds ICU?" Indira Choudhury, a pediatric intensivist, greeted her.

  "Checking on Victoria," Elizabeth said.

  "Sad case. We don't expect her to make it. You realize personalizing her name will make it harder on you when she doesn't survive?"

  The dispassionate tone irritated Elizabeth. "Maybe God's plan is different."

  Elizabeth found two nurses caring for the child. Her little body was swollen. "How's she doing?"

  "She's running a high fever. Her kidneys are starting to fail," one of the nurses said. Elizabeth brought the little girl's hand to her lips and said a silent prayer. She would give the pediatric surgeon a call later.

  On her way to the Adult ICU, she shook off the wave of sadness. She nodded at the Silverton police officer and the two men in khaki pants and black polo shirts at the unit's door. The letters CS were embroidered above the pocket.

  Virginia sat at the desk completing her charting. "Good morning," Elizabeth said.

  "Good morning to you. Aren't you bright and cheery? Mmm hmm, what’s different about you?"

  "Thank you for the compliment? Tell me what I'm walking into." Elizabeth ignored her friend’s probing comments.

  "I'll start with Patrick Hedges. Can you say yummy?" Virginia was wide-eyed.

  "I hope he's not a patient." Heart rhythms rolled across a set of monitors in front of her. "Darn, I left my coffee on my desk," she grumbled.

  Virginia pushed off and rolled back in her seat, feigning fright. "All right, don't bite. Fresh coffee is in the lounge. Beat the vultures; the black and tans at the door brought in some tasty muffins."

  "Leave it to you to give the extra security a nickname!" Elizabeth laughed.

  "What...? ‘Sex on a stick’ is politically incorrect." Her brow rose.

  Elizabeth shook her head at her friend.

  "Fine. Austin passed the oxygen trial, and they started the ECMO wean. Hedges arrived before dawn and hasn't left the room. There are two PAs per shift. They are sharp and yummy too. Well, three out of four, and I guess four if you like women. Mrs. Whelan had a huge blow out with her husband last night. We had to call security. She's had chest pain on and off since. Cardiac enzymes are negative times two. She responded well to nitro."

  "She would be so much better without him. Keep going," Elizabeth huffed.

  "I started your jail patient on ice chips. His bowel sounds are returning. Nice guy for a murderer."

  "You didn't ask?"

  "No, one of the guards told me. Mr. Fitzgerald is a new admission in room four. He's got esophageal varices. I think he's gonna crap out."

  "Terrific." Elizabeth pulled up his latest test results. "His liver is shot too. Depressed clotting factors. Is family with him?"

  "Yeah, his wife. I think she drinks more than he does. I got buzzed on her fumes. As I explained her husband's illness, she called me the C word. More women have called me that than men," Virginia snorted.

  "Next is a sad case. Twenty-eight-year-old Ralph Locke, a Silverton corrections officer, attempted suicide. Vicodin and Ativan. The ER tried, but his acetaminophen levels were toxic. I'm waiting on repeat labs, but I'm not expecting any change.

  "Your new residents are all over the floor, courtesy of Randy dying. Here's the list. They are petrified of you. You’re a meany, having expectations." Virginia made a funny face. "Randy's load is fourteen inpatients as well as clinic hours. Four are here. Steve took the clinic hours and the floor. Hillinger reassigned Hailey to Steve. Her flirting won't affect his evaluation."

  "He can't think her flirting will affect mine. Are they really scared of me? The new ones don’t know me well, yet. I’m not that mean, am I?"

  Vir
ginia's brows arched. "Mean, no. Fearsome, yes. Short-tempered, sometimes. Demanding, yes. Will you make them good doctors? Big time." Virginia gave her shoulders a squeeze.

  After the report on the twenty-four ICU patients, Elizabeth wished Virginia a peaceful day off. She wanted to visit Austin before the residents found her. Virginia was right. If the man speaking with Martin was Patrick Hedges, he was hot, but he didn't make her blush like Martin did.

  "Hi, how's everyone doing this morning?" Elizabeth felt her cheeks heat when Martin winked at her.

  "Dr. Reed? I'm Patrick Hedges. Pleased to meet you. We are moving along, going to start the ECMO fresh air decrease about noon." He gave a side-eyed glance toward Martin.

  Nodding, she said, "Call me Beth." Her hand rested on Austin's. "Dr. Hedges is taking good care of you. I'll come back to annoy you later. Thank you, Patrick. I'm here if you need me, but to be honest, he's one less worry. Now only twenty-three to go."

  "You’re carrying the floor?"

  "Just another day in the neighborhood."

  She continued her rounds with her extra-large troop of residents. She needed a light-up orange baton like they used to direct planes. She exited a patient room as Henrietta Krump and Detective Young approached. Elizabeth faked a smile when the administrator asked her about Carol Whelan.

  "Henrietta, what's this about? Are you going to do something about her husband, Detective?"

  "Why would you ask that, Dr. Reed?"

  "Dr. Harper advised me he caused a problem last night. The man is a menace. He caused her admission to begin with." Elizabeth did not hide her animosity.

  "Did he threaten you?" The detective raised a brow.

  "He did.” She lifted her chin in defiance.

  "Karl Whelan was found dead this morning. Can she cope with the news?"

  Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open. "Detective, I believe she’s strong enough for you to tell her. She'll be curious when he doesn't show up later. She always takes him back."

  Henrietta pursed her lips. "It may be best for you to be there, Beth. I'll call the pastor too."