by Laura Iding
She ducked inside the ED. "Here, call upstairs to the ICU, tell Emma she needs to take over my patient assignment. Then call this number." She scribbled Grant's number on a slip of paper. "Tell Grant to meet me at the park a few blocks down from Parkway Middle School. Tell him Rico's in trouble with the Hombres."
Shoving the paper at the stunned unit secretary, Serena left. Now that she knew where Rico was going, she prayed she wouldn't be too late.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Grant had gotten home a few hours earlier from visiting Daniel's grave and was brooding about fatherhood when the phone rang. He had trouble figuring out what the woman from Trinity Medical was trying to tell him. Then his blood ran cold. Marta had been badly beaten. Serena had taken off after Rico, who was going after the Hombres for hurting his sister.
He grabbed his weapon and flung himself to the driver's seat of his battered, rusty Chevy. With one hand he dialed the MPD on his cellphone as he headed for the park.
"There is possible gang activity in the park across from Parkway Middle School," Grant informed the dispatcher. "Requesting back-up. Notify Captain Reichert. He'll want to get some men out there, a.s.a.p."
He parked his car alongside a portion of the road overhung with trees and lined with brush. Gun in hand, he crept from his car. There wasn't much light from the moon, but there were a few scattered streetlights still working. Several others had lamps that were broken, no doubt by the gang members.
The hair on his neck rose in alarm. He was reminded of the night he'd found the dead rookie lying in a bloody puddle in the center of the street. Using the bushes for cover, he swept his gaze over the area, alert for any movement. Where in the hell were Rico and Serena?
As he rounded the corner of the bushes he noticed an outbuilding located off in one corner of the park. He stared at the structure. Had he seen movement? Were they behind the building, shielded from view of the road? There wasn't much cover between the bushes where he was hidden and the structure. If the kids were there, deep in the shadows, they might see him before he reached them.
Grant took a deep breath. He couldn't wait. His best approach would be to take them by surprise. Were they armed? With a sense of defeat, he realized he'd left without his flak jacket.
Again.
Mentally preparing for the worst, he took a deep breath, then ran. The building was only about two hundred yards away, but with pain shooting down his • injured thigh, the distance seemed endless.
As he grew closer, he saw the group of kids, dressed in dark green to blend with the night. There was a woman—dear God, Serena—standing with her hands up as if in surrender. Rico stood off to her left. The pack of kids stood threateningly and, from what Grant could tell, at least one kid standing in front of the group was armed with a gun.
Thank God, they hadn't seen him yet.
"Think about what you're doing," Serena pleaded.
Even Grant could see her words fell on deaf ears. The entire group took one menacing step closer.
"Traitor!" The leader in front shouted as he pointed the gun directly at Rico. "Rico Gonzales, you'll die a traitor!"
"No!" Serena shouted as she dove in front of Rico. The sound of a gunshot seared Grant's brain. Serena's body blocked Rico's for an endless moment, then jerked before hitting the ground.
"Serena!" Grant aimed and fired at the Hombres' leader, the one holding the gun. The rest of the kids scattered like rats, taking off in several directions. The shrill sound of police sirens filled the air. Grant could see that he'd hit his mark. The kid was lying motionless on the ground.
Ignoring him, Grant sprinted to Serena's side. Her limp form was also motionless and her blue scrubs were stained crimson.
"Oh, God, we need to call an ambulance." He pulled off his shirt and wadded it into a ball, then pressed it against the bloody hole in the left side of Serena's belly.
"I'll go." A strange voice spoke from behind him. Grant glanced around at one of the Hombres who hadn't left. He was about the same size and apparent age as Rico. By the meaningful glances the two boys exchanged, Grant figured the kid had once been Rico's friend. Maybe the one who had dragged him into the gang in the first place.
"My phone is in the rusty Chevy parked around the bushes," he directed. The boy nodded and dashed off. The sounds of sirens grew louder.
Rico knelt on the grass on Serena's opposite side.
"Why did she do that?'' Rico whispered to Grant. "She jumped right in front of me. Why?" The boy's dark eyes were filled with guilty horror.
Grant was too choked up to answer. He knew Serena had risked her life for the boy out of love. She had the heart and soul of the very heroes she despised. But he couldn't worry about the reasons now. She was bleeding to death right in front of him. What could he do to save her life? The extent of his medical knowledge was only enough to cover the basics. He'd never felt so worthless in his entire life. He leaned his weight over the makeshift bandage, hoping to slow the bleeding.
Rico held onto Serena's hand, and glanced up again at Grant. "I'm sorry," his voice was soft. "This is my fault. First Marta, then Serena." He swallowed hard then dropped his gaze.
Grant pulled his attention away from Serena, using his knee for added pressure so he could lay his hand briefly on Rico's shoulder. "None of this is your fault, Rico. The Hombres did this. That kid over there..." he gestured to the body in the grass behind him "...pulled the trigger, not you. Those kids attacked your sister. Don't be so hard on yourself. You were brave to stand up to them. You showed real courage to do what was right. At your age, I'm not so sure I would have had the guts to do the same thing."
Rico straightened his shoulders, feeling better after hearing he'd acted with true bravery. Grant's stomach twisted in fear as he stared back down at Serena.
Her face was pale against the red-gold riot of curls that framed her features. Grant felt his heart lurch in his chest. God, he'd just found her again, after eighteen long months without her. He couldn't bear to lose her now.
"Be strong, Serena," his voice broke as he spoke to her, praying that somewhere deep inside she could hear him. "Hang in there. Help is coming. Please, don't leave me, not like this." Where in the hell was that ambulance? He glanced at the road and relief hit when he saw the red and white lights coming closer. Finally. "Help is almost here, sweetheart. I need you to be strong. To hang on."
Along with the ambulance came the police. He wasn't surprised to see Captain Reichert show up. The guy didn't know when to quit. The Captain crossed over to check on the supine body of the boy he'd shot. "This one is dead."
"Well, Serena isn't." Grant didn't ease up his pressure on Serena's wound. He refused to even consider the possibility that she might not make it.
"Is someone going to tell me what the hell happened here?" The captain glared at them, rubbing a hand over the center of his chest.
Grant ignored him. Luckily, before the captain could go off on another tirade, the paramedics arrived.
"What do we have here?"
"Gunshot wound to the abdomen." Grant didn't move as they surrounded Serena, hooking her up to their equipment.
"Heart rate 160 and tachy. Respirations shallow. She needs to be tubed."
"Go ahead, I'll start an IV."
"ET tube in place. Bilateral lung sounds. Pulse ox at 95 percent. She's looking better."
"I've already given a half-liter of fluid. BP still only 90 over 45."
The two men worked over Serena as Grant applied pressure on her wound. Once they'd gotten her as stable as they could manage, one of the men nudged Grant aside.
"Thanks, we'll take it from here."
Grant didn't want to leave Serena, but he moved out of their way. The monitor beeped with the reassuring sound of Serena's pulse. The sound echoed in his head. She was going to make it.
She had to.
The two paramedics worked over Serena in a synchronized harmony of movement. When they'd gotten a pressure dressing strapped over her abdominal
wound, they lifted her onto the stretcher and wheeled her toward the waiting ambulance.
Grant tried to follow, but Captain Reichert grabbed his arm.
"Oh, no, you don't. I need some information and I mean now. Didn't I tell you to stay the hell away from my case?''
"Yeah, but..." Grant watched as the paramedics stowed Serena in the back of the ambulance. Rico came up to stand beside him, glancing at the captain uncertainly. Grant ground his teeth together in frustration. Obviously he couldn't leave this mess without some explanation. Once he'd satisfied the captain, he'd take Rico with him to the hospital. He couldn't leave the boy stranded here alone.
"Well?" The captain's irritated tone cut through his thoughts. "I'm waiting."
Grant glanced down at the scared boy at his side. "Rico? Why don't you start at the beginning?"
The story came out in bits and pieces but by the time they were finished, the captain appeared mollified. The body of the dead Hombre was photographed and taken away. The cops dispersed from the scene. Somehow they'd managed to round up and arrest a half-dozen of the Hombres thanks to information from Rico and his friend.
Grant wanted nothing more than to get over to Trinity Medical to see about Serena. When he turned back to the captain to ask if there was anything else he needed to do, he found the older man bent at the waist, his hands propped on his thighs just above his knees for support.
"Captain? You OK?"
"Yeah." But the word was faint, and Grant could hear the captain struggling to breathe.
"Hey, you'd better sit down." He guided the captain into the outbuilding and to one of the picnic tables located there.
"Damn." Ted continued to audibly gasp for breath. "I've had this nagging heartburn all day but now it feels like there's a damn elephant sitting on my chest."
"Maybe we'd better get you to the hospital." Grant wanted to go there anyway to see Serena, but he was genuinely worried about his boss. Even in the dim light he could see a fine sheen of sweat covering the captain's face. "No offense, sir, but you look like hell."
"I'll be fine after a few minutes. Just let me rest a minute."
Grant glanced around their dark surroundings. The park was fairly isolated and the officers had already left the scene. No way did he want the captain to stay here only to possibly grow worse.
"I don't think so." Grant turned to Rico. "Stay with him for a few minutes. I'll get my car and drive it over here. We're only a few miles from Trinity."
Rico nodded and Grant half loped to his car, favoring his injured thigh. He wondered if the captain was having a heart attack. He knew his boss had had heart trouble in the past. The car bumped and rattled over the grassy terrain as he drove right up to the outbuilding where the captain waited.
Within ten minutes he and Rico had gotten the captain into the back seat and over to Trinity Medical Center. Grant sent Rico inside to get someone out to help. In record time hospital personnel surrounded his car.
"What happened?" One young doctor crawled into the back seat, where Ted was slumped in the corner.
"He was having trouble breathing and complained it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest."
"Does he have a history of heart problems?'' The young doctor was backing out and gesturing for the gurney to be pulled up alongside the car.
"Yeah, he's had a heart attack in the past."
"Well, his classic symptoms tell me he's likely having another one now." The doctor and several nurses pulled the limp form of the captain out of the car and between them they shoved him onto the gurney.
Satisfied the captain was in good hands, Grant parked his car, then went in search of Serena. In the emergency department, he stopped at the front desk.
"Can you tell me the status of Serena Mitchell?"
"Are you a relative, sir?" The clerk used the computer to search for Serena's name.
"Yeah, I'm her fiancé." Hell, he wasn't exactly telling a lie. He fully intended for Serena to become his wife. The sooner, the better. Grant wasn't about to let minor details stand in the way of him being allowed in to see her.
"I'm sorry, but they've already taken her into the operating room. You'll have to wait in the surgery waiting room. The doctor will call as soon as he's finished."
"Surgery?" Grant paled, though he shouldn't have been surprised.
"Yes. Does she have any other family that we should notify?" The clerk frowned at her computer screen. "I see she's an employee here, but the only person to call in case of an emergency is a Dana Whitney, another nurse who works here at Trinity." Now the clerk peered at him suspiciously over the top of her reading glasses. "Are you sure you're her fiancé?"
Grant nodded. "I swear. Our wedding is already planned for later this fall." And Serena would know that as soon as she awoke from surgery. He glanced down at a silent Rico. He'd almost forgotten about the kid. "And how about Marta Gonzales? This boy here is her brother."
"Hmm." The clerk entered the information then nodded. "Yes, Marta Gonzales was admitted to a regular room. But it's too late for visitors."
"Look, he just needs to know she's OK." Grant bit back a hiss of impatience. The security was tighter here than at the White House. These people were downright fanatical about their rules. "I promise, five minutes and we're out of there."
The woman let out a loud sigh. "She's on the third floor general surgery unit. Room 315."
"Thanks." Grant guided Rico by the shoulder toward the elevators. First he'd take the boy to see his sister, then he'd head back down to the waiting room.
Once upstairs on the third floor they found Marta's room without anyone seeing them. The nursing staff must have all been busy in other rooms. Easing open Marta's door, Rico ducked ahead of him into the darkened room.
"Marta?" The boy hesitantly approached the bed. Grant closed the door most of the way so only a sliver of light shone in. Hopefully, no one would notice their visiting violation.
"Rico?" From her position in the hospital bed, Marta held out a trembling hand. "I was so worried about you."
Rico ran to her side. "I'm sorry, Marta. So sorry."
"Shh." Marta smoothed a hand over his head. Her bruised face tilted in a lopsided smile. "I'm just glad to see you."
Rico sat in the chair next to Marta's bed and laid his head on the mattress beside her. Marta kept her hand on his head, stroking his hair.
Grant was glad to see Marta would be OK, but his feet shuffled nervously. What about Serena? He needed to get down to the waiting room so that he'd be there when the doctors came looking for him.
"Marta, I'm going to leave Rico here for a while." He hesitated to tell her about Serena being shot. The woman had enough to worry about right now without hearing that disturbing news. "I'll be back in a while."
"OK." Marta's eyes slid closed.
"Rico, stay put until I come back for you."
Rico nodded, looking as if he'd be content to spend the night if the hospital personnel would permit it.
Grant slipped from the room and headed back downstairs. He followed the signs and found the waiting room without difficulty. The area was deserted, but there was a small coffee-maker located in the corner of the room. Restless, he busied himself with making a pot of coffee.
Sipping the strong brew, Grant paced the length of the room, his stomach tied in knots. Half an hour later, a cute, petite, dark-haired nurse came into the waiting room wearing baggy blue scrubs. She halted abruptly when she saw Grant.
Slowly she approached him, sending him a tentative greeting. "Hi. I doubt you remember me, but I'm Dana, a good friend of Serena's."
"I remember." He frowned, then asked, "Have you heard anything about Serena's condition? Anything at all?"
"No. I happened to be working tonight when they called to tell me she'd been brought in. First I hear she left before the end of her shift, then I find out she was brought in after suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Both are pretty untypical behavior for Serena. I don't suppose you know
anything about what happened?"
Grant abruptly sat down in the nearest chair, dropping his head into his hands. "Cripes. Serena took off after Rico. I don't know why she didn't wait for me or simply call the police. She must have followed him to the park, facing the Hombres all by herself. I have no idea what she was thinking. There was no way she'd be able to talk them out of their insane gang mentality. They were determined to take out Rico, and they didn't give a damn who got in the way. The leader had a gun. He aimed at Rico but Serena jumped right in front of him, taking the bullet in her side." Grant dug his thumbs into his eye sockets, trying to erase the horrifying memory from his mind. "I should have been quicker to stop that stupid kid."
Dana sighed and dropped into the chair beside him. "Sounds like Serena is responsible for her own actions, not you. She is by far the most stubborn woman I know."
Grant couldn't forgive himself so easily. The vision of Serena's blood-stained blue scrubs haunted him. He finally understood why she hated his cop career. Watching someone you loved throw her life into the path of danger had been the most awful thing he'd ever seen. He'd lost years off his life. And the waiting was pure hell. He wished someone would tell him what was going on in that operating room.
"Hey, don't worry. We have the best trauma team in the state," Dana tried to reassure him. "Serena couldn't get better care anywhere else."
Grant nodded, but unconvincingly. "I know." He just couldn't stand the interminable waiting, wondering if Serena was going to pull through or not. What if he didn't get another chance?
Dana put a comforting hand on his arm, and reluctantly stood up. "I have to get back to work, I'm in the trauma intensive care unit tonight. I promise to call as soon as we hear any news." She regarded him thoughtfully. "Detective Sullivan, maybe you should get something to eat."
Grant dragged his hands over his face and shook his head. "No, I'll stay here." Dana poured him a fresh cup of coffee from the pot in the corner of the waiting room before heading back to work.
The waiting was killing him. Other people walked past the waiting room but he didn't pay any attention to them. All he could think about was Serena. She was desperately important to him. He remembered her touch, pulling him from the darkest bowels of hell after he'd been shot. He imagined her scent and the pure pleasure of making love with her. Hell, he could just sit across from her without saying a word and still be happy. He couldn't imagine a world without her. His heart physically ached at the thought of never being able to touch her or hold her again.