by J. D. Faver
“The cook is making chicken fried steak for lunch, but he can make you just about anything on the regular menu.” She gestured to the posted items near the cash register. “We have some salads prepped and sandwiches. Hamburgers? Fries?”
Cassie tilted her head toward the array of food choices. “What looks good?”
Chloe put her hands on the sides of her stomach. “Nothing really. I know I need to eat, but my stomach has been upset all day. Probably just the stress over everything and then my mom having chest pains.”
Cassie nodded. “Well, I’m hungry as a bear. I’ll have a cheese burger with fries. A kiddy lunch and maybe some ice cream or yogurt for Lacy. Mrs. Solis will have a vanilla milkshake with extra ice cream. Tell the cook it’s for the sheriff’s wife and daughter. And give me one in a to-go cup for Sybil.”
Chloe gave Cassie a grateful smile. “Thanks, Cassie. You are a cool head in an emergency.”
“That’s me,” Cassie grinned at her. “I’m a take-charge kind of woman.” She found a booster seat for Lacy and got her settled at a table close to the serving line. “Sit down Chloe and try to relax.”
“Easy for you to say. Raffy gave us strict orders to drive straight to San Antonio. He got reservations for us at the Marriott on the River Walk.” She held onto the table and eased into a chair, a sigh escaping as she stretched her legs out in front of her.
Cassie noted that Chloe looked paler than usual. “I don’t think you’re going anywhere. The storm is too near. You can’t drive and neither can Sybil, so just quit stewing about it and chill out for a while. This is the safest place on the island and you’ll be nearer Rafael when the storm is over.”
“You’re right. I just have to let Rafael know where we are.” She reached for her cell phone.
“Don’t bother. The cell doesn’t work in here. After we eat, I’ll walk outside with you to make your call.” Cassie took a tray from the dietary aide and served the food to Lacy and Chloe.
A janitor stood nearby, swirling a mop over the same few floor tiles. He caught Cassie’s eye and moved on.
~*~
The sheriff’s wife!
Luther swabbed the mop over the polished floor tiles.
That’s just great! It’s not bad enough that her sister and boyfriend are attached to her like Velcro. Now it’s the sheriff’s wife.
He stuck the mop back in the rolling bucket and pumped it up and down in the murky water, then squeezed it out in the attached wringer. Gripping the handle to the wringer, he released his anger into the task, feeling his strength as he shoved the wringers over the mop head.
I’m almost close enough to deal with Sky. I’ve just got to stick to the plan.
He glanced back at the women having lunch with the little girl. Taking a deep breath, he let it go slowly.
Let them enjoy their meal.
He was sure that his plan could still work. He just had to cut down on the odds.
He had subdued and bound the tall, lanky orderly with duct tape in a closet in the mechanical room. He’d overpowered him when he was sneaking a cigarette down a darkened corridor near the ER entrance. Now he needed to take care of the other one.
I have to make sure no one else can join the party.
~*~
Javier was one of the fire fighters assigned to man the station. Others had been dispatched to do a drive through of the town, making sure no one remained on the island and that those who chose to ride out the storm in Port Isabel were well sheltered.
He stood outside, watching the wind whip the American and Lone Star flags on the flagpole. He had done this before. He was prepped for a storm, one that might or might not come ashore at their location, and then the inevitable waiting for whatever was to follow.
This time he had real anxiety. His family was safely evacuated. But his future family, Cassidy Danforth, was not. She remained in the hospital with her sister and her sister’s soon to be husband.
Javier knew the hospital was safe from the hurricane because his mother was usually manning the emergency room.
He’d barely gotten Cassie back after his foolish pride had made him walk away from her. He hadn’t been able to hold her enough to make up for the lapse. If anything, he’d learned how precious she was and just how much he needed her in his life.
He heaved a deep sigh, trying to release some of the tension in his shoulders and chest. Intellectually, he could accept that she was in a safe place, but emotionally he didn’t believe she was safe unless he could see her, touch her...He heaved another sigh and started to lower the flags, to protect them from the ravages of wind and weather.
At least he could protect the flags.
~*~
Sky adjusted Sybil’s flow of oxygen and tried to make her comfortable. Sybil had been loaded into a patient bed with side rails that Carlos had brought from the nursing home wing and pushed into one of the curtained cubicles. It was much more comfortable than the examination table. Sky adjusted the drip of medication into her IV bag and lowered the head of the bed a bit.
“Just relax, Sybil. Everyone will be safe here.”
Sybil nodded, lifting her hand in brief acknowledgement of Sky’s words, before her eyelids fluttered closed. A heart monitor hung around her neck that would sound loud and clear if any abnormality occurred.
“Is my mother going to be all right?” Chloe asked.
Sky nodded. “It looks like a good old fashioned panic attack. Probably all the stress of trying to evacuate her pregnant daughter and her granddaughter under such trying circumstances.”
Chloe looked stricken. “I feel so guilty.”
Sky squeezed her arm. “Not to worry. The doctor ordered a full battery of tests to make sure there’s nothing else causing her symptoms.”
“Have a milkshake.” Chloe held a bag out to Sky.
“Thanks, I was getting hungry.”
Chloe looked around. “Where is the doctor? I want to thank him too.”
“Rick went to the cafeteria to check out the food scene. You should have passed him on your way back here.”
Chloe shook her head. “We didn’t see him.”
Sky spied Cassie pacing back and forth in front of the doors to the hallway. Every time she passed the electric eye, the doors opened and closed automatically. She appeared to be oblivious to the movement.
Sky suspected her little sister was thinking about the handsome fire fighter who was somewhere out in the storm.
“Why don’t you two go out on the loading dock by the ambulance bays? That’s where people go to smoke and make calls on their cell phones.”
Chloe gave her a wide grin. “I hate to hear what Raffy is going to have to say to me. He was so counting on us being away from here so he wouldn’t have to worry about us too.”
“He should know that the hospital will be safe during the hurricane. Don’t worry, we have plenty of beds and I’ll have Carlos fix you and Lacy up with a room on the second floor. Zach and Cassie got us settled in up there.”
Chloe clutched the middle of her back with both hands. “I think I’ll probably head up for a little nap right after I call Raffy.”
Cassie gestured to the doorway with the cell Javier had bought her. “I’ll go out with you and see if I can talk to Javier. We just got back together and I’m still not sure how.”
Chloe grinned at her. “Just a long as you got together. I’m glad you worked it out.”
~*~
Zach felt frustrated as he tried to reason with Sky. “Sure, I’ll try and find them, but I don’t want to leave you here in the ER by yourself.”
“I tried paging them, but Rick and the orderlies have disappeared.” Her large blue eyes were pools of concern.
“Carlos and Ted are totally irresponsible, but I can’t imagine that Rick wouldn’t respond.”
“I’m not going to leave you. You can come with me to look for them or we can stay here and wait for them. Your choice.”
She tilted her head, her wide blue eyes
imploring him to do as she asked.
He could tell she was getting irritated with him. “Look, I understand what you’re telling me, but I’m not going to leave you here alone to go looking for some idiot people who are goofing off somewhere. The hurricane isn’t the problem. The stalker could come rolling right in through the ER doors and be in your face before I could get back.”
Sky shivered and allowed him to fold her into his arms. “I know you’re right, Zach. We’ll just wait for Rick to come back. Then I’ll take a break and we can get something to eat in the cafeteria.”
Zach kissed her forehead. “That’s my girl. Let me stand guard over you and I’ll be a happy camper.”
Sky giggled. “This is kind of like camping out, isn’t it?”
He nodded, glad that her good humor had returned. “Where is Cassie?”
“She and Chloe went out to try and get a call through to Rafael and Javier. They should be back in a few minutes.”
“We’ll just wait for them.”
Sky went to the cubicle and checked on Sybil again, making notes in her chart before returning to his side.
He caught a strand of honey blonde hair that had escaped her hair clip and brushed it back from her forehead. “I don’t think I’ve mentioned it lately, but I love you.”
Her full lips curved up into a smile. “Glad to hear it, because I’m so very much in love with you.”
“We could be on our honeymoon right now,” he reminded her. “We could be walking on a beach, somewhere on the Pacific side of Mexico. Only gentle breezes. No gale force winds.”
“We could be dancing to a romantic Spanish song.” She sighed.
Zach nuzzled her neck. “We could be making love.”
A blush tinged her cheeks. She ducked her head. “There is a possibility that when Rick comes back, we could take a break...upstairs.” She glanced up at him, melting him.
Zach chuckled as he contemplated taking a break with his future bride. “Why don’t you page Rick again?”
~*~
“Um, Miss Sky?”
Sky turned around, embarrassed to be caught snuggling with Zach while she was supposed to be on duty. “Yes, what is it, Hank?”
“There’s a car parked out under the loading dock shelter with its lights on. I was, uh, thinking it might be yours.”
Sky frowned. “A silver Audi?”
Hank nodded. “Yes, that’s the one.”
She looked at Zach hesitantly.
He shook his head. “Sorry, I thought I’d turned them off. I’ll be right back. Wait right here.” He flashed a grin and headed for the loading dock.
Hank gave her a long look and followed Zach back out the door.
Sky checked on Sybil, charting her vital signs and making note of the readings on the heart monitor and the pulse-ox attached to Sybil’s index finger.
When she closed the cubicle curtain, she turned to find Hank staring at her intently.
She smiled at him. “Is there something you need, Hank?”
His countenance changed before her eyes. His pleasant, somewhat diffident expression turned to pure malevolence. He narrowed his gaze and his thin lips turned up in a mocking smile. “Is there something I need? Yes, there’s something I need. One wife. One son. Can you give them back to me, Miss Sky?”
Sky’s pulses gave a kick. “You!” she breathed.
He raised his chin. “Me, Luther Franks, at your service.” He took a step toward her.
Fear gripped her insides. “Where is Zach?” she croaked out. “What have you done with him?”
He laughed, a joyous sound from deep in his chest. “Your oh-so-attentive boyfriend is outside. He got himself locked out.” Luther’s laugh ground down to a snarl.
The electric eye opened the doors and Chloe stepped into the emergency exam room, holding Lacy by the hand. “Sky, I’m really feeling funny. My back is killing me and my stomach is a little queasy.”
“Chloe, get out of here!” Sky shouted, stepping between them and Luther Franks.
A grimace of pain contorted Chloe’s face as she held onto her stomach. Lacy started to cry.
Luther gripped Sky’s arm, skewering her with a venomous glare. He shoved her behind him and reached for Chloe.
Lacy shrieked, “Mommy!”
Luther jerked Chloe into the room and, as he did, she moaned, stiffening as her water broke, the viscous liquid hitting the floor and splashing onto Luther’s shoes.
Sky stepped forward, her hand outstretched to Chloe.
“Don’t you move!” he growled at Sky, shoving Chloe into her arms. He stepped to the control panel by the door and opened the metal covering. He quickly scanned the system and pushed a few buttons before turning back to the women.
Lacy clung to Chloe’s legs, howling at the top of her lungs.
Sky took a shaky breath. “Look, Mister Franks, you have no business with them. Let them leave.”
“I can’t let them walk out of here. She’s the sheriff’s wife.”
Chloe clutched Sky’s hand. “Oh, no. I can’t go anywhere. The baby is coming now.”
“Where is Rick?” As soon as she asked it, Sky knew she didn’t want to hear the answer. She met Luther’s narrowed gaze. “The doctor’s not coming back, is he?”
Luther’s cheek twitched close to his eye. The facial tic was the only clue that he was human.
Sky held Chloe as her body stiffened again, signalling a spasm of pain.
Luther licked his lips, extracting a long knife from his pocket. “What we have here is a situation.”
~*~
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Inundation
The wind blew hard from the front of the building; the water side. It made a mournful howling sound as it raced past the concrete entrance to the ambulance bays and the loading dock at the rear.
Zach checked Sky’s vehicle and discovered that he hadn’t left the Audi’s lights on. Nor did he see any other car with its lights on. He couldn’t imagine what the janitor had been talking about.
Irritated, Zach turned back to the sliding doors. He stepped on the rubber mat in front of the doors, but they failed to open.
Puzzled, he stepped back and then onto the mat again.
With a blinding clarity the entire state of affairs crashed in on him as he realized he’d just left Sky in the hands of the stalker.
His pulses throbbed in his ears as he peered through the glass, hoping that someone would pass and activate the door for him, He resorted to banging his fists on the doors, but to no avail.
Zach blew out a breath through his gritted teeth. He punched Rafael’s number into his cell and waited. Three rings and it went to voice mail. “Rafael, there’s a problem at the hospital. The guy who’s been stalking Sky is here and he’s locked himself inside with her. And he’s got Chloe and Lacy in there too.”
~*~
Cassie had tried to talk to Javier, but she couldn’t get a signal. Although she was loathe to walk outside of the protected covered parking over the loading dock beside the ambulance entrance, her need to hear Javier’s voice was close to the point of desperation. She’d walked all over the building, trying to find a clear signal.
She heaved a loud sigh and headed back to the emergency room to tell Sky she was going to venture out into the gale.
Turning the corner of a long corridor, her foot kicked against something metallic, sending it skidding across the floor to disappear under the water fountain.
Cassie started to pass it by, but thought better of it. She bent to retrieve the object, almost standing on her head in the process. Her fingers grazed the small article, finally grasped it. Standing upright she gazed at the item in her hand. It was a cigarette lighter with the name Ted written on it in permanent marker.
She frowned. Ted was the name of one of the orderlies that Sky had been looking for. Cassie slipped the lighter into her pocket, thinking she’d return it whenever he surfaced.
She turned another corner and spied the Emerg
ency Room just ahead on the right with the exit to the ambulance bays across the hallway a little further to the left. She paused, ready to enter the emergency exam room where Sky was tending to Sybil. She heard some kind of commotion coming from the ambulance entrance.
She crept toward the noise, surprised to see Zach outside, hammering on the doors.