“Get a defibrillator out now!” he yelled. “I just lost her pulse!”
The paramedics came on the run, as John ripped open her shirt, and made sure her skin was dry. He stood up and got out of the way as the paramedics took over. They gave her two shocks and got her heart started again. John gave them all the information they needed to treat her. He rode in the ambulance with her to the hospital, praying to God she’d be okay. And once he knew she was, he was going to kick her tiny little ass for scaring him to death!
John waited to talk to the doctor before he made any calls. Once the doctor told him that Cassie would be fine, John got on his cell phone. He called Brenden at home. When he had Brenden on the phone he took a deep breath and gave him the news.
“Cassie tried to overdose this afternoon,” John said. “I found her. She’s going to be alright, but I thought I’d better let you know.”
“Jesus fucking …” Brenden muttered darkly. “Why did she do that?” he asked plaintively.
“I think she finally gave in to her dark side,” John said, sounding very human for a moment, something he wasn’t given to doing.
Brenden sighed, shaking his head. “I’ll get down there as soon as I can.”
“We’re at Cedars,” he told him
“Okay, you’re going to stay there, right?” he asked.
“That’s my job,” John said, his tone a bit self-depreciating.
Brenden heard it, and knew that he was beating himself up for letting Cassie hurt herself.
“John,” Brenden said, trying to think of something to say, but he had no idea what to say to him. “Thanks for calling and letting me know, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay,” John replied simply.
BJ grabbed his keys and called Tommy as he was driving out of his garage.
When he told Tommy what happened, “Fuck,” was his first response. “I’ll get down there now and call the rest of the guys.”
“Okay, I’ll see you down there soon,” BJ said.
When Tommy got to the hospital, BJ was on his phone. He was calling a press conference for that evening. And when BJ Sparks called a press conference, the press came. It was a rare occasion that he made formal statements, so when he did, everyone who was anyone listened.
Brenden hung up with his last contact and walked over to where Tommy and the rest of the band stood. Tommy looked at him with a face set in stone.
“I’m guessing you have a problem,” Brenden said evenly.
Tommy’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You could say that, yeah,” he said, his tone anything but respectful.
“Let’s go talk,” Brenden said, nodding his head to the quad outside the hospital.
Tommy glanced at the rest of the band behind him, then back at Brenden. He nodded, and Brenden gestured for Tommy to precede him. Tommy led the way outside. Once outside he lit a cigarette immediately and Brenden did the same.
“So, what’s up, Tom?” Brenden asked after a few minutes.
“That’s my question for you, BJ,” Tommy replied.
“Explain,” Brenden said simply.
Tommy hesitated. He got the impression that Brenden had no idea what he was pissed about. Well, he’d tell him.
“First, we get dragged into that meeting at Badlands,” Tommy said, keeping his tone as even as he could at that moment. “Then we get told that you won’t be releasing our album ‘at this time,’ then we get the fucking run around about the tour.” His lips twisted in a sarcastic grin. “I wonder what might have caused my lead singer to try and check out, when everything she had just got ripped out from under her.”
“Whoa,” Brenden said, holding up his hands in surrender, “let’s ease back here a bit, Tom.”
“First of all,” Brenden began, holding his hand out and ticking off his points as he spoke, “your album is on hold because I don’t want to put out something that’s sure to fail, given the media attention. I think you, Cassie, and the guys have worked too damned hard on this to let it get fucked by bad press. In this business it’s all about timing, and I know the timing on this is bad right now. Now, maybe I didn’t say it the right way, but believe me, your album has not been shelved. The fact is, Tommy, if we put your album out right now, it’ll be a matter of sensationalistic hype, and believe me, that’s not the venue you want for your music. It’ll die, and it’ll die fast. You’ve got to trust me on this, I know what I’m doing.”
Tommy looked mutinous for a moment, his emotions warring with each other. He’d been so convinced they’d been screwed, it was hard to believe anything else right off the bat. Finally, he nodded, thinking that what Brenden was saying was probably true. He’d seen it with enough bands to know that. He didn’t want to be a flash in the pan. He thought Fast Lane’s music had a lot more merit than that.
“What about the tour? Why couldn’t you ‘decide’ at that time?” Tommy asked, sure he had Brenden nailed on this one.
“Plain and simple, I want Cassie to be safe out in public, and I need this bad shit to die down before I want to put her out in the public eye on a damned tour.”
Tommy looked back at Brenden for a moment, realizing the man was being extremely honest with him. He was willingly showing his own weakness, and it proved a lot to Tommy.
“Okay,” Tommy said, nodding.
“But, give it a couple of months and the tour’s on,” Brenden said, his voice holding conviction, “and we’re going to kick ass all over this country. Providing your lead singer is truly okay.”
Again, Tommy nodded, taking a deep breath and blowing it out.
“Look, I need you and the band to come with me to this press conference I’ve called tonight. Can you do that for me?” Brenden asked.
“Press conference?” Tommy asked.
“Yeah, I think I need to set a few things straight out there,” he said, gesturing to the world beyond the walls of the hospital.
“We’ll be there,” Tommy said.
“Good,” Brenden replied.
Cassie woke slowly, opening her eyes and looking around her. The memories came back shortly after that. She realized she was in a hospital, which meant she’d been found too soon. Which meant she couldn’t even get killing herself right, which irritated her no end. Glancing next to her, she saw Tommy sitting there watching her.
“Hi,” Tommy said softly, his eyes searching her face.
Cassie said nothing. She only looked back at him, her face drawn and unhappy.
“Cass—” Tommy began, his voice aggrieved.
“Look,” Cassie said, cutting him off, her voice quiet but determined, “could you just, can you go? I really don’t want to talk right now, okay?”
Tommy looked back at her for a long moment, knowing that she was avoiding the whole thing. But he knew that if he argued with her, her determination would turn to anger and that could be much worse on her. Finally, he nodded. He stood, looking down at his friend, his eyes showing the worry he was feeling.
“I’ll be here if you need me,” Tommy told her, knowing he’d already let her down almost fatally.
He left, and Cassie stared at the door for a long time after it closed behind him. As she flexed her left hand, she felt the IV in it. She saw the needle, with the tube leading up to the IV bag. Reaching over, she pulled the tube out of her the catheter, and dropped it. She turned over onto her left side, drawing her legs up to her chest and crossing her arms in front of herself. She lay staring off into space. That’s how the nurse found her a little while later.
Cassie jumped when the woman went to reconnect the IV tube. She yanked her hand away from the woman, moving to sit up to get away from her.
“Miss, your IV’s become disconnected,” the nurse explained. “I need to reconnect it.”
“No,” Cassie said simply.
“Miss,” the nurse said, her tone more authoritative now, “just give me your hand,” she said, reaching for Cassie’s hand.
“Get the fuck away from me!” Cassie yell
ed, getting out of the bed on the other side.
“What’s going on?” John asked from the doorway.
“She’s pulled out her IV,” the nurse told John, gesturing to Cassie. “I need to hook it back up.”
John looked over at Cassie.
“I don’t want that thing in me,” she told him, her tone agitated.
John blew his breath out, looking back to the nurse.
“What’s in that?” he asked the nurse, pointing to the IV bag.
The nurse looked at him like he was nuts, then looked up at the bag.
“It’s a saline solution,” she said.
John nodded, looking back over at Cassie. She shook her head at him, indicating she didn’t care what it was, she didn’t want it. John looked back over at the nurse.
“Look, she doesn’t want it, so let’s just call this one a draw,” he said, his tone amicable.
“Sir, the doctor ordered the IV, I have to make sure it’s in and operating properly,” the nurse told him, her tone no-nonsense as she started to walk around the bed to go towards Cassie. Cassie backed up, her hands coming up defensively.
“Jesus,” John said, moving to intercede and step in front of the nurse.
“Sir!” the nurse exclaimed. She didn’t know who this man was, or why he was keeping her from doing her job.
“Ma’am, look,” he said, “I’m not going to let you do something she doesn’t want done. Now if you want to go get the doctor, I’m sure we can come to some kind of compromise.”
He turned to Cassie then, noting how pale she looked at that point.
“Cassie, get back in bed before you pass out,” he told her.
She looked defiant, her eyes going to the nurse then back to him.
“Cassandra, get your ass in that bed before I pick you up and put you there,” he told her, his tone stronger now.
She got the message, and climbed back in bed, still eyeing the nurse suspiciously. John once again turned to the nurse, who had watched the preceding with a shocked look on her face. She didn’t know who this man was, but he certainly took charge of things.
“Now,” John said to the nurse, “if you want to get the doctor, I’m sure we can solve this problem.”
His tone left no room for discussion, and the nurse heard that, and responded to the authority in his voice. She left the room and went down to the nurses’ station.
“Where is Doctor Ellis?” she asked the head nurse on duty.
“He’s with a patient,” the other nurse said, “why?”
“I need him, we have a patient that doesn’t want her IV in.”
“They never want their IV in, Kathy, just insist, it’s for her own good.”
“It’s Cassie Roads,” Kathy told the other nurse.
“So?” the head nurse said, unimpressed. “I don’t care who she is, she needs her IV in, or the doctor wouldn’t have ordered it. Honestly Kathy, you need to learn to take charge better.”
“She had a very big man in there who wouldn’t let me get near her,” Kathy told the head nurse. She didn’t want to be disciplined for not doing her job, when she’d attempted just that.
“So, call security,” the head nurse said.
“But—”
“Just call them, Kathy,” the head nurse said, her tone short.
Kathy shook her head as she picked up the phone to call security. She didn’t think this was going to solve anything, but she’d give it a try.
In the room, Cassie was curled back into a ball again. John moved to sit in the chair next to the bed, his eyes looking her over. Her violet eyes moved to him, but she said nothing.
“Give me your hand,” he said then.
“Why?” she asked.
“Just give me it, little one, I won’t hurt you,” he said gently.
She put her hand out and he took it gently. He checked her pulse, then felt the skin on her arm. He looked at her, touching her eyes gently.
“Open your mouth for a minute, little one,” he said softly.
She looked at him like he was nuts but did as he asked her. He nodded, sitting back. She didn’t ask him what he was doing, she merely lay there until he was finished.
“Done?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah,” he said nodding. “Relax, little one, I won’t let them hurt you, okay?”
She looked back at him for a long moment, tears coming inexplicably to her eyes. She nodded, then closed her eyes to force back the tears.
Half an hour later Cassie heard the door open, and heard John mutter, “What the fuck?”
She opened her eyes and saw that John was standing. As she turned over she saw a man in a security uniform and the nurse standing there.
“I’m betting you aren’t the doctor,” John said wryly.
“Sir,” the officer said, ignoring John’s comment, “I’ll need you to leave the room.”
“That’s not going to happen,” John told him.
“Sir,” the security officer said, stepping forward threateningly, “I’m telling you, you will need to leave this room.”
“And I’m telling you,” John said confidently, “that I’m not going anywhere.”
“This woman needs medical attention,” the officer said, pointing to Cassie, “and I’m here to assure that she receives it.”
“And if you touch her, I assure you, you’ll be sorry,” John countered smoothly. He looked at the nurse then. “Get the doctor,” he told her, “now.”
The nurse nodded, responding instantly to what she heard as a direct order, even coming from someone outside the hospital.
“I can handle this,” the officer said, becoming irritated that his authority was getting usurped so easily.
“You can’t handle me,” John told him.
Cassie watched the entire thing with wide eyes. It astounded her the way John was acting, but she couldn’t help but feel awed by how seriously he took his job. He was protecting her, no matter what. He’d told her he would, and he was keeping his word.
John looked at the nurse again. “Get the doctor.”
She nodded and left the room.
John and the security officer regarded each other for a few moments.
“Just turn around and walk out,” John told the other man, “that’s the only thing you’re going to do here.”
John’s tone was all cop at that moment. He didn’t doubt for a moment that he could handle the officer, and that confidence permeated his entire aura. The officer knew that he was outmatched, and he knew that he’d be over-stepping his authority if he tried anything on the man standing there staring him down. He really was only security. He wasn’t equipped to handle people like this, it wasn’t his job. Finally, he shook his head and walked out.
John sat down again, looking perfectly at ease. He caught Cassie’s violet eyes regarding him with something akin to awe. He winked at her, then sat back, getting comfortable again.
It was another half hour before the doctor came in. A discussion ensued about why Cassie needed the IV. John informed the doctor that she was by no means dehydrated, that he’d checked her skin and her mouth and neither indicated signs of dehydration.
The doctor walked over to Cassie, looking down at her.
“You do realize, miss, that this IV is also in place to help cleanse the toxins out of your body,” he said condescendingly.
“You do realize, asshole,” Cassie said, her eyes narrowed, but not looking at the doctor, “that I’m the one that put the toxins into my body.”
John hid his grin behind his hand, she was a little spitfire this one. There was no denying that.
The doctor straightened, glancing at John, and catching the other man’s dark eyes. John shrugged, shaking his head as if saying, What can I do? Finally, the doctor sighed, glancing at the nurse.
“Go ahead and take it out,” he said. Then looked at Cassie. “Keep in mind this is against my advice.”
“Noted,” Cassie said flatly, her eyes still staring straight ahead.
>
As the nurse approached her, Cassie moved her hand away from the woman, her look wary again. The nurse glanced at the doctor uncertainly and he shook his head, thinking this girl was more trouble than she was worth.
“She has to take the needle out, miss,” the doctor informed Cassie.
Cassie shook her head, reaching for the tape herself.
“I can’t let you do that,” the nurse said.
“Jesus,” John said from behind the nurse as he stood. “Would you mind if I did it?” he asked. “I have EMT training,” he further explained.
The nurse looked at the doctor, and the doctor nodded.
The nurse stepped away, and John stepped toward Cassie.
“Let’s see it,” he told Cassie. When she didn’t move, his eyes narrowed at her, telling her silently not to argue with him. “I won’t hurt you, little one.”
She held her hand out to him, and he carefully removed the tape and pulled the needle out of her hand gently. The nurse handed him a cotton ball and another piece of tape to place over the puncture site. Cassie’s eyes stayed on John the entire time. When he was done, he sat back down, resuming his previous position. The doctor and nurse exchanged a glance, then left the room together. They weren’t sure what this man’s relationship was to Cassie Roads, but there was no denying the fact that he did indeed have the upper hand with her.
It was to the benefit of the hospital staff that John Machiavelli remaining in the room, as it turned out. Cassie wouldn’t let the staff do anything without John’s approval, and or his presence in the room. She didn’t trust anyone and didn’t want anyone touching her.
****
Brenden Sparks walked into the large conference room at Badlands Records. There was a determined set to his jaw and everyone saw it. He was followed by the members of Fast Lane, except for Cassie Roads, and by Devlin McGregor. Brenden walked over to the podium, and the members of Fast Lane and Devlin took up positions behind. The press shifted uncomfortably as they noted the narrowed looks they were receiving from the people standing behind Brenden.
In the Fast Lane (Wild Irish Silence Book 2) Page 8