Tossing back the covers, he rose from the double bed in Room 214 of the Whitewood Motel, a two-story U-shaped structure on the strip outside of town. Sitting on the side of the bed, Worth rubbed his hands up and down his thighs, then dropped his hands between his knees. Although common sense told him that even if he’d shown up at the town square last Christmas Eve and even if he’d married Faith, he couldn’t have prevented what happened to her. If some crazed serial killer had gotten his hands on her, it would have happened regardless of what Worth had or hadn’t done. But the illogical, emotional part of his nature ached with guilt and told him that if Faith had been with him instead of trying to make it on her own, all alone, she wouldn’t be missing right now.
Worth stood and walked across the room to the window overlooking the parking lot. He opened the blinds and glanced outside at the first light of dawn spreading across the eastern sky. Memories of another dawn over a year ago flashed through his mind. The morning after he and Faith had made love for the first time. Her first time shouldn’t have been in some dark, dank cave in a barbaric country half a world away from her home. And it shouldn’t have been with a emotionally battle-scarred former Ranger who wasn’t capable of genuine love. Faith had deserved so much better.
He closed the blinds and shut his eyes. He could almost hear her voice, almost feel her soft, smooth skin. How sweet she’d been, how incredibly sweet. And how shy. That morning before they’d headed out for the rendezvous point to meet the rescue chopper, she’d been worried that because she was dirty, her gown tattered, and her hair a mess, he’d think she was ugly. She had told him that she’d always been skinny and unattractive. How wrong she’d been. And he’d made his feelings perfectly clear.
You have no idea how appealing you are to me. You’re not skinny—you’re delicate. And you have beautiful eyes and a cute little nose and the most delicious mouth I’ve ever tasted. If we didn’t have a helicopter to catch out of this hellhole today, I’d take you back inside that cave and make love to you until neither of us could stand up for a week.
He should have known there might be consequences! After all, he didn’t have a condom handy that night. Why hadn’t he at least picked up the phone and called her after he got out of the hospital last year? He could have at least seen how she was. Damn! Had Jody Crenson been right? Had Faith been too proud to tell him about his child?
Faith had wanted love and commitment. Moon, June and happily-ever-after. He’d tried to be honest with her, tried to tell her that he was the wrong man for her. Yeah, he’d tried all right—just not hard enough. He had made love to a woman who, because of her romantic nature, had waited her whole life for the man of her dreams before giving her innocence. But because she’d feared dying a virgin if they couldn’t escape from Subria, she’d begged him to make love to her. He had resisted, at least at first. But what man could resist such alluring temptation?
The ringing telephone brought Worth from the past to the present rather quickly. He stomped across the room, lifted the receiver and said, “Worth Cordell here.”
“Mr. Cordell, this is George Dawson.”
Worth’s heartbeat went wild.
“They’ve found Faith,” George said. “She’s alive, but just barely.”
“Where…when…how?”
“Come to Memorial Hospital. Drive through downtown Whitewood, go half a mile on Main Street until you reach Underwood Lane, turn right and go one block.”
“Thanks, George. I’m on my way.”
“Mr. Cordell?”
“Yes?”
“You’d better hurry.”
Chapter 3
When the elevator doors swung open on the second floor of Memorial, the only hospital within a forty-five mile radius and served Whitewood, Sparkman and South Lake, Worth rushed out and, following the arrows pointing the way, hurried down the corridor to the ICU waiting room. Jody glanced up at him, a somber expression on her face, but not with the hostility he’d seen last night. Margaret offered him a soft smile. George rose from the green vinyl sofa and came to meet him.
Grabbing Worth’s arm, George said, “She’s alive, but just barely. They told us she came out of surgery about an hour ago. We don’t know much, only that they had to stop some internal bleeding.”
“Where was she found? What happened to her?” Worth asked.
“Come on outside.” George led Worth into the hallway. “The ladies are terribly emotional right now. As a matter of fact, I am, too. Been crying a bit myself. Faith has become like a favorite niece to Lindsey and me. And Hope is like a grandchild.”
“What did the police tell y’all about Faith?”
“The Sparkman police received a call from a 911 operator on duty who had gotten an anonymous phone call from a downtown pay phone telling them to look in a certain Dumpster for a woman’s body.”
“A Dumpster?” Bile rose to Worth’s throat. Someone had thrown Faith in a Dumpster? He gritted his teeth as his hands instinctively clutched into tight fists.
“It seems she was beaten. Severely beaten. And thrown in the Dumpster. The police estimate she’d been there, unconscious, for the past forty-eight hours and if she’d stayed there another night, she would have died.”
Worth grabbed George by the shoulders. “Do they have any idea who—”
“Detective Rollins of our Whitewood police department told me that the M.O. of the crime fits the M.O. of the Greenville Slayer. All of his victims have been found in similar places—Faith and another woman who died were put in Dumpsters; two were found at landfills; and another was actually discovered in her own garbage can inside an abandoned warehouse.”
“My God, this guy is a real psycho.” Worth tightened his hold on George’s shoulders. “Have y’all spoken to the doctor? What odds are they giving that Faith will live?”
“I spoke to the nurses and they didn’t say much, but I got the impression they don’t think her chances are very good.”
“Have they let any of you see her?”
“Not yet. But they’ve told us we can go back, one at a time, during visitation.”
“When?”
George checked his watch. “In about fifteen minutes.”
“I want to see her.”
George nodded. “You care about Faith, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I care.” Admit it, Worth’s inner voice told him, you care a hell of a lot more than you thought you did. Ever since he saw that noon news account about Faith missing, he’d been figuratively holding his breath. And when he heard she was still alive, he had released that breath with great relief. You wanted Faith to be alive because you need a chance to make things right with her.
Jody came out into the hall. “I just called Lindsey to check on Hope.” Jody glanced at Worth. “They’re at Toddle Town and as soon as Hope goes down for her morning nap, Lindsey is coming to the hospital.”
“I should be thanking all of you for taking care of Hope,” Worth said. “She’s a lucky little girl to have so many people care about her and her mother.”
“You don’t need to thank us,” Jody said. “We’re Hope’s family, the same way we’re Faith’s family. You, on the other hand, are a stranger to Hope.”
“I’m Hope’s father and I don’t intend to remain a stranger to her.”
“Well, you’d better wait and see what Faith has to say about it. She might not want—”
George put his arm around Jody’s shoulder. “We all know what Faith wanted. Worth being here when she wakes up is going to be the best medicine possible. Why don’t we put aside any misgivings about Worth and give him a chance to prove what kind of man he really is.”
Jody glared at Worth. “I’ll give you a chance, but so help me, if you hurt her again, I’ll—I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”
Worth smiled. “I understand. Faith brings out the protector in everyone, doesn’t she? She’s so small and delicate, so kind and caring.”
Jody swallowed hard. “She’s too good for h
er own good most of the time.”
Worth nodded. “She’s too good for me. Don’t think I don’t already know that. It’s one of the reasons I believed she was better off without me.”
Margaret joined the others in the hallway. “It’s about time for visitation. Maybe we should check with the nurse in charge. I won’t rest easy until I’ve seen our girl.”
“I want to see her, but…if she was beaten as badly as they say she was, it’ll be hard for us to see her in that condition.” Jody hugged Margaret and both women brushed away tears from their eyes.
Worth led the others when they entered the intensive care unit en masse and swooped down on the nurses’ station.
“May I help you?” A plump, pleasant-faced nurse asked. Her name tag read Wilson.
“We’d like to see Faith Sheridan,” Jody said.
“Are you family?”
“Yes, all of us are family.”
“Then you may go back, two at a time. But you mustn’t stay longer than five minutes.” Ms. Wilson rose from her desk and looked directly at Worth. “Are you her husband?”
“No, I’m…I’m her—”
“He’s her fiancé,” George said.
“Yes, and the father of her baby,” Margaret added.
Ms. Wilson blushed and Worth suspected that the middle-aged lady didn’t quite approve of unwed parenthood. “I must warn you…all of you—” She glanced from one to the other in turn, then back at Worth. “Ms. Sheridan is in a coma. And she won’t look like herself. She’s badly bruised. Her face is swollen and her nose was broken and…just be prepared.”
“Oh, dear, dear, I don’t know if I can bear to look at her.” Margaret rung her hands.
“You don’t have to see her,” Jody said. “It won’t be easy for any of us.”
“No, no, I must see her.”
George placed one hand on Margaret’s shoulder and the other on Jody’s. “You two go on back to see her, then Worth can go. I’ll wait for Lindsey and we’ll go in during the next visitation period.”
Worth and George hovered near the doorway while Jody and Margaret disappeared inside cubicle four. Worth crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. Neither he nor George said a word. He figured they were both trying not to think about what they’d find when they saw Faith or how savage they’d feel. Worth wanted to get his hands on the man who’d tried to kill Faith. He wouldn’t have to think about what he’d do; he’d just do it. With one quick snap of the bastard’s neck, he’d rid the world of a monster.
Within three minutes Jody and Margaret emerged from the cubicle. Jody held on to Margaret who was weeping uncontrollably. Tears streamed down Jody’s face as they approached George and Worth.
“Must be really bad,” George said, then moved forward to help Jody with Margaret.
“You can’t imagine how horrible she looks,” Margaret said between gulping sobs. “The fiend who did that to Faith must be found and punished.”
“I’ll take the ladies to the waiting room,” George said. “You go on back to see Faith.”
Worth took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and marched toward cubicle four. Before opening the door, he paused, willed himself to remain calm and in control; then he opened the door, entered the cubicle and walked straight to the bed.
He’d thought he was prepared for the worst, but he’d been wrong. Despite all the death and destruction he had encountered as an army Ranger and as a Dundee agent, nothing had prepared him to see the mother of his child lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to wires and tubes, her every breath monitored. And dear God in heaven, her sweet face and delicate body had been battered almost beyond recognition. Purple bruises covered her arms, chest, throat and face. She had a busted lip, both eyes were swollen, and her nose had been broken.
Worth stopped dead still. If the police didn’t find the Greenville Slayer, he would—if it was the last thing he ever did.
Forcing himself to move, Worth eased to the bedside. Except for the rise and fall of her chest, Faith appeared lifeless. Unconscious. In a coma. Without even thinking about what he was doing, Worth touched her slender hand, lifted it a couple of inches off the bed and held it tenderly.
“Oh, Blue Eyes. This shouldn’t have happened to you.” Emotion lodged in his throat. “You’re going to be all right. It’ll take time for you to recuperate, but I’ll be here with you. And when you get to come home, I’ll care for you and nurse you back to health. I promise that you can count on me. You and Hope.”
God, how he longed to lift her into his arms and hold her. He wished that he could take away all the suffering she had endured. If it were within his power, he’d gladly suffer for her.
“I’m here and I’m staying. Do you hear me, Faith? I’m not going to leave you.”
He hoped that on some level she understood him, that somehow she knew he was here with her, making her promises that he intended to keep. Faith needed him. Perhaps even more than she’d needed him in Subria. And Hope needed a father.
Worth Cordell wasn’t the kind of man who shirked his duties.
Jody Crenson entered the ICU waiting room carrying a bag from the downstairs deli. Worth Cordell sat slumped in a chair by the windows, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes closed. Jody had wanted to hate the man who’d broken Faith’s heart, but seeing his devotion to Faith these past two days had softened her attitude toward him. The guy hadn’t left the hospital in forty-eight hours; he’d been cleaning up in the rest room and eating from a vending machine. He looked like hell. His clothes were rumpled and his face was darkened with beard stubble.
As she approached him, Worth opened his eyes and stared at her.
“Hi,” he said. “How’s Hope doing?”
Jody set the bag down on the table beside his chair. “I called Lindsey as soon as I got off from work to check on Hope. She’s doing all right. But we all figure she’s missing her mommy. She’s not sleeping good and her pediatrician has already changed her formula again.” Jody nodded in the direction of the ICU. “Any change in Faith’s condition?”
Worth shook his head, then got up and walked across the room to the coffeepot on the table in the corner. “Want any coffee?”
“Sure, fix me a cup, please. Black.” Jody pointed to the paper sack. “I brought you a sandwich and some chips.”
“Thanks.” Worth poured two cups of coffee, handed Jody a cup, then sat and held his cup with both hands.
“If you want to shower and shave, you’re welcome to come to my house or—”
“George has already offered to let me stay with Lindsey and him, but I’d rather wait until Faith comes to. I don’t want to leave. Not yet.” Worth sipped on his coffee.
“Sooner or later, you’ll have to leave,” Jody told him. “Faith could stay in a coma for weeks. The doctors don’t know for sure when she’ll come out of it.”
“She squeezed my hand, you know. Last night.”
“Yes, I know, but—” Jody stopped herself before she said something negative. By nature she was a pessimist, so she always expected the worst—of people and of situations. But there was no reason for her to take away Worth’s hope that Faith would recover.
“The local police don’t have enough staff to post an officer here 24/7,” Worth said. “That means I’m not leaving her here unprotected.”
“Unprotected? What are you saying? How is she—? Oh, my God, you think the person who did this to her might come after her here in the hospital.”
“Local TV and newspapers have reported that she’s alive and in a coma,” Worth said. “If this guy thinks she might identify him when she wakes, then he very well could come after her.”
“I’ve been so caught up in Faith’s condition and everything going on here at the hospital that I never thought about…Oh, Worth.”
“The police don’t think we have anything to worry about.” Worth finished off his coffee and set the cup on the table. “The other two victims who survived couldn’t ID the
guy. They said they never got a good look at his face because he came up from behind them, knocked them out, then kept them blindfolded and tied up while he—” Worth swallowed hard.
Jody laid her hand on Worth’s arm. “I’m really glad you’re here.”
“Even if I am a year late?”
“Better late than never. Besides, Faith needs you to be her protector again. From what she told me, you’re very good at the job.” Jody pointed to the sack. “It’s roast beef on whole wheat. Eat up.”
Worth glanced past Jody to the door. Jody followed his line of vision. One of the ICU nurses entered, a wide smile on her face. Nurse Malone.
Worth shot out of his chair. “Has something happened?”
“It most certainly has,” Nurse Malone said. “Faith has come out of the coma. She’s awake.”
Jody let out a deep breath, grabbed Worth and hugged him. Worth lifted Jody off her feet and swung her around several times.
“What’s she saying? How is she?” Jody asked. “Did she ask about Hope? Does she want to see me? Does she remember who attacked her?”
“Dr. Tracy is with her,” the nurse told them. “We’ve telephoned the police to let them know she’s conscious. Right now, Faith seems to be slightly disoriented, but that’s not unusual in cases such as this.”
“When can we see her?” Worth asked.
“Dr. Tracy will come out and speak to y’all after he finishes his examination. I’m sure he’ll allow y’all to see Faith very soon.”
The minute Nurse Malone left, Jody rushed to the pay phone on the wall, then glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll call Lindsey and George, then Margaret. They’ll be so thrilled to hear the good news.”
“I’m sure they’ll want to see Faith,” Worth said. “But you should probably tell them that you’ll call them back after we see Faith and give them an update.”
12 Stocking Stuffers Page 4