Operation: Healing Angel

by Margaret Kay

  “A few of our people have children. Brielle is expecting in July. Her husband works for me too,” Shepherd said. “Our Christmas party this year will have six children at it, all under the age of five.”

  “You and Angel seem very close. Are you related? Sammy calls you grandpa,” Diana said.

  Shepherd felt his smile widen. “We are close. She has been good for the office, and for me. There is no blood relation. In the Army, those you serve with become your family. It’s the same here. All the children of my people call me or will call me grandpa.” He saw a disbelieving expression on her face. “What?”

  “You are not old enough to be a grandpa.”

  Shepherd laughed freely. “Oh, I most certainly am, but thank you for saying that.”

  They finished their meals and then he escorted her to the fifth floor to see her out. He needed to contact Chamberlin to see what the holdup was. Just as they reached the door to the outer office, Shepherd’s phone chirped. “It’s Doc.” He pressed accept. “How is she?”

  “She and the baby are both fine. They’re sending her home when the IV bag finishes draining. Her blood pressure settled down. Her OB will monitor her to be sure she isn’t developing preeclampsia.”

  “Hold on, Diana is still here. Let me put you on speaker. Repeat what you just said.”

  Doc repeated it. Shepherd watched Diana. She nodded as he spoke.

  “What caused her nearly passing out?” Shepherd asked.

  “The blood pressure and the ER doctor said he thought she was dehydrated.”

  “That’ll do it,” Diana remarked. “Sometimes, the baby presses against blood vessels in the abdomen, causing the dizziness.”

  “Yes, the ER doctor mentioned that as a possibility too,” Doc said. “I’m going to go back in. I’ll drive them home when she’s released, but I wanted to get you an update.”

  “Thanks, Doc. Tell Angel to take tomorrow off and I’ll give her a call sometime in the afternoon,” Shepherd said.

  “You are going to tell her to start her maternity leave tomorrow, aren’t you?” Doc urged.

  “Yes. I know she’ll argue, but she needs to rest and take care of herself now,” Shepherd said.

  “I’ll talk with Jackson tonight,” Doc said.

  “Thanks. See you tomorrow.” Shepherd disconnected the call.

  “I’m glad. The good news is, she’s far enough along in the pregnancy that the baby should be fine even if it is born soon.”

  Shepherd nodded.

  Diana could tell that he was relieved. He may have had a tough exterior and was always even keeled, but Sam Shepherd had a big heart. There was no doubt he cared about Angel and the rest of his staff. “Well, I should head out. Thank you for dinner again this evening.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Diana let herself out. As she closed the outer door, she saw Sam still within the office on the other side of the glass, watching her leave.

  Kilo

  Diana arrived at the Shepherd Security office suite Friday at the normal time. Brielle sat at Angel’s desk. “How is she?” Diana asked after she was buzzed through. “I was here last night when she collapsed.”

  “She’s already arguing with Shepherd about being off on maternity leave from here out, so I’d say she is back to her normal self.” She chuckled.

  “I have to ask you, where are you from? I haven’t been able to place your accent,” Diana said as she walked down the hall with Brielle towards Sam’s office.

  Brielle laughed again. “The Bayou Lafourche, Louisiana. This is a different accent than those who live in New Orleans proper. I was born and raised on the bayou.”

  “What brings you to the Chicago area?” Diana asked as they reached Sam’s closed door. She wasn’t sure if she should be asking this because of the confidentiality agreement, but this inquiry fell into what Diana considered normal, polite conversation.

  “My husband, Brian. He works here at Shepherd Security and I was lucky enough to get employed here after we got together.”

  “So, you left home to be with him,” Diana summed up. She wasn’t sure which man was Brian. Doc and Jackson were the only ones she’d been introduced to.

  “Something like that,” Brielle agreed as she rapped on Shepherd’s door.

  “Come,” his voice came from the inner office.

  “Have a good evening, now,” Brielle said. “I’ll be gone before you’re done with his session.”

  “You too,” Diana said, and then opened the door to find Sam standing in his harness behind his desk again. “Hi. How are you feeling today?”

  “Not bad,” he said. “I’ve spent most of the day standing, and before you say anything, no, I am not overdoing it. I feel good.”

  “Not too fatigued?”

  “Not too bad, but really, the slight fatigue I feel standing doesn’t compare to how good my back feels not sitting. This is a game changer.”

  “I’m glad it has made a difference.” She watched him do several mouse clicks, assuming he was closing out of programs. “Brielle told me that Angel wants to come back to work.”

  Shepherd’s lips pulled into a grin. “She is stubborn, insists she is okay. I’m sure she is, but she also deserves a rest. Her mom is in town, she should be spending as much time with her that she can. But she’s worried about providing proper coverage here. I’ve told her we’ll be fine.”

  “Everyone wants to feel they are needed,” Diana said as he transferred himself into his wheelchair.

  “Oh, she is, trust me, and she knows it. But I also care about her and want her to enjoy this time with her mom.”

  The hallway was quiet when they stepped from his office. They rode the elevator in silence to the tenth floor. She waited in his workout and therapy room while he changed his clothes. He came back into the room and pulled himself on top of the table.

  “Did Lexi tell you that I was really stiff today when she came?”

  “No, I didn’t have the chance to touch bases with her today. Why do you think that was?”

  “Maybe due to all the standing. I don’t know.” He was hoping she would give him a mini massage.

  “Let’s see how tight you are when I am stretching you out.” She ran through the normal routine, bringing the stretches as deep as she could. She worked out a few knots that were in his shoulders. She massaged his back. “Your hips are tight. I’m going to work into the hip joint.” She massaged it hard for a good five minutes until she felt the muscle go lax. Then she slid her hand down the back of his thigh where the pain from the sciatica usually traveled.

  “Diana, I feel your hand on my leg.” He turned on his side to face her and then sat up. He felt euphoric. He swung his legs from the table. “My legs feel perfectly normal. No pain. No numbness. I think I can stand.”

  “Sam, you really should not try to do that with no assistance. Let’s put you up on your harness,” she suggested.

  He eased his way down before she could say another word. For a glorious moment he stood, supporting his own weight. No harness, no lift, no pain, no numbness. He felt the floor beneath his feet. He held onto the table. He took a step, and then another, riding a natural high. He was standing. He was walking.

  Then his legs gave out, no warning. Diana was there, expecting it. She grabbed onto him and tried to bend his torso over the table. They went down, Diana holding onto him as tightly as she could so he would not injure himself, helping to ease him to the ground.

  Shepherd landed on top of Diana. He pressed himself up on his hands, hovering over her. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I’m more worried about you.” They were tangled, lying on the floor. “Don’t move. Let me try to get out from under you so I can see how you landed to be sure you didn’t injure yourself.” She tried to pull herself from beneath him. But his weight held her down. She wiggled some more and then felt it. He had an erection, and it pressed against her.

  In her eyes, Shepherd s
aw that she felt it. “I’m too heavy on you. You’ll never extricate yourself. And quite frankly, your wriggling around is making it worse.”

  She laughed, understanding his meaning. “I’m sorry, don’t want to make it worse. Glad to see that you have that much function. I’m assuming you can feel it?”

  Shepherd should have felt embarrassed. He did not. “Oh, yeah, I have feeling. I’m happy to say I have full function.”

  Diana smiled with him. “You’re right. I won’t be able to pull myself out from under you. Go ahead and roll to your back and I’ll check your joints to be sure you didn’t injure anything.”

  Shepherd couldn’t help but laugh. He had a joint for her to check, all right. And if he rolled to his back, she’d get an eyeful. His loose athletic shorts would be tented. He rolled to his side and bent at the waist. He didn’t want to lie there on display.

  “Sam, I am a doctor. I know all about biology and physiological responses. Just roll to your back already. I promise you; I have seen a man’s erection before.”

  Shepherd rolled to his back, knowing his little colonel was still standing at attention.

  “Okay, then,” she said, tearing her eyes from the pole in his pants. She focused on his joints beginning at his feet. She bent his toes, examined his ankle joints, moved them around, then the knees. “Everything looks okay.” She offered him a hand, which he took, and pulled himself into a sitting position. “Sam, you cannot try to walk like that yet. You will get there, I’m sure. You need to have more patience.”

  “I’m sorry, Diana. I could have hurt us both. I won’t do that again and risk your safety. I promise. But I had feeling. I felt the floor under my feet. I had no pain, no numbness.” He was genuinely excited.

  She felt over his thigh with a soft touch. “Can you feel this?”

  “Yes,” he confirmed. The sensation from her fingers shot right to his dick. He grabbed her hand. “And you probably don’t want to continue that.”

  “Let’s get you off the floor,” she said. She stood and pushed his chair up beside him.

  He easily pulled himself into it, one of the first things he was taught to do after he became paralyzed. How to recover yourself and pull yourself back into your chair in case you have fallen out. “Diana. I have full sensation.”

  “We’re on the right track,” she said. “Time it. Let’s see if it remains for longer than a few minutes.” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

  Sure enough, the familiar pins and needles sensations came back. “You knew it wouldn’t last.” He felt a crushing disappointment.

  She nodded. “Keep doing what you’re doing, and we’ll keep treating you as we are. The periods of feeling and the strength will increase. You need to be patient and not push it. You don’t want to risk injury.”

  His phone rang. It was a welcome distraction. Checking the display, he saw the contact, Michael St. Vincent from the Marshals Service. He knew it wasn’t a social call. “Excuse me, I have to take this,” Shepherd said. “Could you please wait in the hallway and close the door?”

  Diana was stunned to be asked to leave the room. “Sure, I’ll just wait outside,” she said. She stepped out into the hallway.

  “Vinnie, what’s up?”

  “I need a favor, Shepherd. I have a witness with proof of a crime that I don’t think I can secure. I need you to protect him at your isolation site. How fast can you get me a team?”

  Shepherd did a quick mental calculation. The Lear was at Chicago Executive. He could have Garcia and the pilots on board in just over thirty minutes. Flight time to the airport near Bull Shoals was just under an hour and a half. “That depends, where is my team flying into?”

  “Atlanta, Georgia,” St. Vincent replied.

  “Under four hours,” Shepherd guaranteed.

  “I need you to secure this witness and I need him to give his testimony the day after tomorrow over a video call. The proof is digital, but I need your team to retrieve a flash drive from the location my witness hid it. I don’t even know where it is. This guy is skittish, knows he’s as good as dead if we can’t protect him.”

  “My man, Razor, will lead this operation. I’ll scramble the team now and get back in touch with you for instructions when they arrive onsite.”

  “Thank you, Shepherd,” St. Vincent said, the relief apparent in his voice.

  Shepherd dialed into Ops. Yvette and Jackson were on. He gave the order. They would scramble Garcia, the Lear pilots, and the three remaining Charlie Team members still on the ground at Bull Shoals. “Once they are in the air, I will brief them of the mission particulars. Street clothes, side arms, and ARs approved for this mission.”

  “Roger that, Shepherd,” Jackson replied.

  Diana wished she had grabbed her bag and just told him they were nearly done and that she’d just go. She wasn’t sure why being asked to leave the room bothered her so much, it just did. Part of it was that she was mad at herself for not insisting he put the phone away during their sessions here. She had no problem dictating the no phone call policy at her clinic. This was something she would address when she came next. Another part was that for some reason, she couldn’t help but wonder if he was discussing something illegal or immoral. It was all the little nagging things that were just off about him and his building. She knew that her desire to help him medically had her dismissing things that were substantial.

  She also decided that if he happened to invite her to stay for dinner again tonight, she absolutely would decline. She was spending too much time with him. She was letting her attraction to him get the better of her judgement. She knew better than this and had never let her attraction to a man influence her decisions. There was something about Sam Shepherd though, that made her act like a foolish schoolgirl.

  “You can come back in,” she heard Shepherd’s voice call from the other side of the door.

  She plastered on a pleasant expression and reentered the room.

  “Thank you,” Shepherd acknowledged. “Where were we?”

  “We’re done.” She went to her bag and placed the few items she had removed from it, back inside. “I’m going to go ahead and go, if you’d see me out, or call someone to, please.”

  Shepherd evaluated her sudden temperament shift. Was it because he’d gotten an erection while lying on top of her? Was she angry he had walked and fallen, bringing her down? Or was it because he’d asked her to wait outside while he was on the phone? “Would you like to have dinner? It’s Mexican tonight.”

  Diana pulled her bag onto her shoulder. “Thank you, but I can’t tonight. I have plans.”

  “Okay, sorry if I kept you.” He pulled a sweatshirt on. He pushed himself to the door. “I’ll escort you down now.”

  As the elevator descended to five, he convinced himself it was for the better that she was not staying for dinner. He would have many more phone calls in the next few hours, and it was best that he focused on this new mission.

  On her short drive home, Diana tried to calm her thoughts. She was disappointed with how the session with Sam ended. She was disappointed by her own reaction. She felt so wounded that she’d been asked to wait outside, felt saddened that he didn’t trust her to be in the same room while he took a phone call. She’d signed his nondisclosure agreement, not that she would ever repeat anything she heard while with a patient. And she was mad at herself because she actually felt suspicious of him. What could he possibly be discussing that he did not want her to hear? Was he breaking the law or participating in something she’d find immoral?

  As she turned into her driveway, her phone rang. Putting the car in park, she dug into her bag and pulled her phone out. She was disappointed it wasn’t Sam Shepherd. For some reason, when the first ring sounded, she thought it might be him. It was a friend from class, Mike Covey. “Hi Mike.”

  “Hi Diana. I didn’t get you at a bad time, did I?”

  “No, I’m just getting home. What’s up?”

  “I was thinking, if you’re n
ot doing anything tomorrow night, would you like to grab dinner?”

  “Did you want to get together and study?” She asked, assuming this invitation was class related.

  “Um, no. I just wanted us to go out. No studying. Just, you know, a date.”

  “Oh,” Diana said. A date with Mike? He was a decent guy. Why not? “That sounds nice. Yes, thank you, Mike. Let’s have dinner.”

  “Great,” Mike said. “How about I pick you up at six? Is Italian okay?”