Racing Against the Clock

by Lori Wilde

  Start CPR.

  Automatically, Tyler slipped into physician mode, performing the procedure with flawless execution. First, he pressed his mouth against Hannah’s blue-tinged lips and gave her two quick breaths of air. Then he moved down her body to compress his interlaced hands against her sternum.

  Live. Live!

  She did not respond.

  If only he had drugs and a medical team. But he had neither.

  “I know CPR,” Marcus said, staggering over. “Let me help.”

  “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

  “Hell, yes.”

  Tyler looked at the other man, a mix of emotions playing through him. He was grateful that Marcus had taken a bullet for Hannah. A heroic action that had given Tyler the opportunity to overpower Daycon, but he also experienced an overwhelming resentment. If Hannah hadn’t saved Marcus’s life, she would be alive. For Hannah’s sake, he swallowed back his rancor. She had done what she had to do.

  They worked for ten minutes without stopping, neither meeting the other’s eye. “It’s no use,” Marcus said at last. “We can’t keep this up.”

  “Go call 911,” Tyler said. He knew Marcus was right. That Hannah was dead. But he would not stop trying.

  “Tyler…” Marcus shook his head.

  “Just do it!”

  “I loved her, too, but she’s gone.”

  “No!” Tyler shouted. “Don’t you understand? She’s my heart, my soul, my everything.” He’d lost one love. He could not bear to lose another.

  Marcus put a hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “It’s over.”

  “Go call 911,” Tyler barked. “Now.”

  “Okay.” Marcus held up his palms, got to his feet. “What about him?” Marcus jerked his head at Daycon who lay on the floor where Tyler had trussed him.

  “To hell with him.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Marcus disappeared, leaving Tyler alone with Hannah.

  He continued CPR even though he was splintering into a thousand pieces.

  We never got to do normal, simple things, you and I, he mentally whispered to her. No dinner dates, no walks in the park, no movies, no dancing. I would give up everything I own to have you back, Hannah. Everything.

  Memories of Yvette’s death rose in his mind. He had loved her once, yes. And losing her had hurt, but not with this blinding, appallingly painful intensity.

  Tears gushing down his face, Tyler stopped CPR and scooped Hannah into his arms. He sat rocking her, cooing a lullaby and crying.

  He kissed her forehead and thought of the wonderful moments they’d shared. Making love in the chalet Jacuzzi, snuggling close in the big king-sized bed, showering together.

  Gone. All gone before they’d had a chance to really explore their newfound love.

  Tyler closed his eyes and prayed like he’d never prayed in his life. Cradling her to his chest, he rested his head against hers.

  Please, let her recover, God. Please. Please.

  He had prayed!

  The awareness of what he had done hit Tyler with the force of a hurricane. Six years ago he had forsaken God, renouncing his belief in a supreme being when the one nearest and dearest to him had been taken away without rhyme or reason. Now, here he was actually uttering a prayer of desperation.

  Lifting his head beseechingly toward the heavens, Tyler clutched her tighter to his chest. “Please.” He said the single word aloud.

  A strange tingling heat began in his fingertips and spread up his arms. Surprise rippled through him. Tyler frowned. What was this sensation? He’d felt it before. When Hannah had healed his cut hand.

  The tingling intensified, overtaking his whole body until he was a humming, vibrating mass, alive with electricity.

  What was happening to him?

  His heart seemed to unfold like a rosebud opening to the sun. He felt filled with love and…

  Peace. So very peaceful.

  Why? Trepidation clutched his chest.

  There’s nothing to fear. The words leapt into his mind. Words spoken in Hannah’s soft voice.

  He opened his eyes.

  Looked down at Hannah. And she was looking up at him with those wide blue eyes and smiling brightly.

  Tyler stared. Could it be?

  “How?” he croaked, praying he wasn’t having a hallucination. Praying this was true, that Hannah was indeed alive.

  “You healed me,” she whispered.

  He shook his head. “But you’re the one with the healing power.”

  “And now,” she said lightly, “so are you.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You remember when I was afraid to make love to you, because I was worried I could pass my ‘affliction’ on to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you told me you’d already been exposed to my blood through a needle stick?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Well.” She smiled shyly. “I did.”

  “Did what?” Puzzled, he frowned.

  “Pass it on to you.”

  He shook his head.

  “Don’t you get it, Tyler? You healed me.”

  The tears he cried were now tears of joy. He’d wished and hoped and prayed. He’d wanted to keep her so desperately and now, by a miracle, he had.

  “I left you,” she said. “I died.”

  “We tried to save you,” Tyler said, still disoriented and confused by what was occurring, but overjoyed to have her talking to him. “Marcus and me.”

  “I know. I saw you. I was floating above the ceiling watching you.”

  He brushed a lock of blond hair from her smooth forehead, desperate to touch her in every way he could and make sure this was real.

  “It’s true,” she mused. “What they say about the tunnel and the light. I went there. It was the most serene and tranquil sensation. I can’t even describe it adequately. But death is nothing to fear, Tyler. It’s just another stage. Another evolution of our souls.”

  “I didn’t fear death, Hannah. I feared spending the rest of my life lonely and miserable without you.” His fingers trembled as he played them over her face. She was alive!

  “It’s okay. I’m here.” She reached up to trace a finger over his cheek.

  “Oh, my darling Hannah.” He crushed her to him, holding her tightly, never wanting to let her go. “You’ve come home to me.”

  “Yes.” Hannah sat up. They were on the ground, sitting cross-legged, gazing into each other’s eyes just like they had on the night they’d first made love. He remembered that night and how their beautiful lovemaking had moved them both to tears.

  “You trust me at last,” he said.

  She smiled that shy smile he loved so much. “How could I not? You’ve chased away all the shadows from my life. You’ve proven to me I’m worthy of being loved.”

  “And you’ve helped me let go of the past. I’m ready to move ahead into the future. With you.”

  “What are you saying, Tyler?” She audibly caught her breath. He held her gaze, clearly transmitting his feelings to her.

  “I’m saying I want to marry you.” Tyler lost himself in the stunning beauty of her sapphire eyes.

  “Oh, Tyler.” She exhaled the words. “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

  “Wow,” she whispered. “Wow.”

  “So is that a yes?” He lifted a tentative eyebrow.

  “Yes, yes, yes.”

  Then Tyler kissed her again as the ghost of old memories and self-doubt lifted. And he knew that the adsventure stretching out before them was going to be the happiest one of their lives.

  Epilogue

  Time was running out.

  But Dr. Hannah Fresno wasn’t afraid.

  Each time a contraction hit, her husband would reach over, lay his hand on her swollen belly, caress her with a swirling motion and the pain would miraculously lessen.

  Hannah smiled to herself. Her mental clock ticked off the passing seconds.
Soon. Very soon now, they would have a baby.

  A girl, according to the sonogram. Conceived on the night they’d made love in the Jacuzzi at the ski resort chalet.

  Jokingly, Tyler had suggested they call her Taos.

  Hannah had quickly vetoed that idea.

  The baby’s first name would be Eden. Because paradise was what they had found in each other’s arms. And when Hannah had told Tyler she wanted their daughter’s middle name to be Yvette, his eyes had filled with tears, letting her know it was the right thing to do.

  “You’re the most spectacular woman in the world, do you know that?”

  “Aw shucks, doc, don’t go syrupy on me at a time like this.”

  “I love you so,” he whispered and pressed his lips to her cheek. “For bringing me back to life.”

  “Excuse me,” she said. “But if memory serves, you were the one who resurrected me.”

  “We saved each other,” he said and squeezed her hand tightly.

  She smiled at her husband and her heart filled with joy. In the nine months since that awful night Daycon had shot Marcus, so many things had happened. First, Daycon and the rogue CIA agent Rudolph Cleveland had been found guilty of treason and they were both serving extended sentences in federal prison. Marcus Halpren had created an antidote for Virusall and administered it to the unfortunate test subjects, all of whom had made a complete recovery. Tyler and Hannah had also taken the antidote and while it had cured them of their blood disorders, it had also taken away their healing powers.

  Hannah had not mourned the loss of her supernatural abilities. Instead, she’d started taking courses toward her medical degree. There was nothing wrong with medicine practiced the old-fashioned way, using hands-on TLC. And Marcus was busily at work on Virusall II, attempting to replicate the original drug’s healing potential but without the harmful side effects.

  The most miraculous changes had taken place in Hannah’s personal life. Tyler had opened his own clinic in Galveston and Hannah worked for him part-time. And their abiding love for each other expanded more every day.

  The woman who’d once hated to be touched, the woman dubbed a cold unfeeling fish, the woman who’d never believed she’d find her Prince Charming had finally learned how to trust. She’d filled the missing void in her life with love.

  And in a few minutes there would be another precious Fresno to embrace into the fold.

  “I love you,” Tyler told her once more and kissed her tenderly. “More than you will ever know.”

  “And I love you.”

  “You’ve finally gotten over being afraid of your feelings?”

  She nodded.

  “All those old demons are gone?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “That’s good,” he said fiercely. “Very good. Couldn’t have you slipping out of my bed and running off in the middle of the night.”

  “Never again,” she promised.

  The expression on his dear face took her breath. “I’d die without you, Hannah. You came into my life and made me whole again. You and little Eden.”

  “It’s time,” she whispered, feeling the baby’s head crowning between her legs.

  Tyler called for the nurses and in a flurry of activity, they took Hannah into the delivery room.

  Eden Yvette Fresno was born seven minutes later.

  “Look, Mom,” Tyler rested the crying, red-faced baby on her belly. Hands trembling with wonder, Hannah reached out to stroke her daughter’s cheek.

  Instantly, the baby stopped crying and wrapped her little fist round her mother’s index finger.

  Hannah looked down into Eden’s face and felt the familiar hum like a high-voltage wire vibrating with raw energy.

  “There’s no denying it, you’ve got the touch.” Tyler whispered.

  Lying there, with her beloved husband beside her and their newborn daughter in her arms, Hannah’s heart filled with a love so bright and true she knew that she would never be lonely again.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7361-4

  RACING AGAINST THE CLOCK

  Copyright © 2004 by Laurie Blalock Vanzura

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