by Dale Mayer
Every time she’d tried though, she’d ended up in the exact same place. A hospital. Within days she’d be transferred to the private hospital under Dr. Bronson’s watchful eye, and he’d offer that tiny lip twitch of a smile that never matched his eyes and let her know how happy he was to see her safe and sound and back under his care. Then they’d go through the same dance again where he evaluated her actions, her mindset and her emotional stability, and she’d lie through her teeth. After weeks of this routine and unable to find anything wrong with her, he’d be forced to release her into her father’s care. There she’d stay until her father and his ugly henchmen let their guard down and she found a way to escape.
She knew one of these days her father would refuse to give her an opening to squeak out, but she couldn’t stop herself from trying.
She needed her freedom. Even if she flew and crashed – like she did every damn time – it was still better than lying locked up in a cage and never tasting the fresh air of experience.
She’d even started her own business on the sly. Without Tasha, her manager, she’d have gone under a long time ago. This was Hannah’s third episode since Tasha had started to work for her. Hannah wished there was a way to keep her in the loop, but there wasn’t. Not unless she could anticipate when the blackouts would happen. Based on the previous sessions, Tasha would be contacting her shortly.
In reality Hannah needed to call her store manager, not the other way around.
Except, where was her phone? She glanced around but couldn’t see one. Which meant Hannah would need to get yet another one. What was that – her third already this year? Then again with her faulty memory who knew – it could have been a half dozen. Brooding, Hannah stared at the damn white sheets and wondered – what kind of excuse could she make up this time?
*
“You have no idea who she is?” Dr. Trevor Johnson asked, a knot of quiet humor lifting the corner of his mouth. “Wow, he who knows everything is stumped.”
“Blocked would be the correct term here,” Stefan Kronos said blandly. “If you’re going to insult me, then do so correctly.”
Trevor laughed. “Good enough.”
He studied the bloody prints on the doorway to Stefan’s house. “Have you showed these prints to anyone?”
“I have.” Stefan laughed. “A fingerprint specialist.”
Trevor said, “But to get a match, that would be too easy.” The fingerprints were clear and showed the fingers had been drenched in blood not just a little dab sufficient to leave a partial print. In this case the whole hand stood out in stark relief. He shook his head. “She had to have been bleeding at a decent rate.”
“Stuff poured off her,” Stefan said cheerfully. “The ambulance drivers were shocked to see she was still alive. Apparently the amount she lost should have killed her.”
“Except you and I know how often the term should doesn’t apply to people like us.” He slid a sideways glance over at his friend. “She’s like us, I presume?”
Stefan shrugged his elegant shoulders. Trevor had never seen his friend in any other state except perfectly dressed. He had no idea how he did it. Trevor couldn’t manage that one day a month, no matter try for every day. Yet Stefan continuously turned up looking like a cover model.
“I believe so,” Stefan said in a noncommittal voice. He turned away from his doorway. “I don’t know how anyone but someone like us could get past my energy shields.” He turned to stare at Trevor. “That’s what’s really got me confused.”
“How long after a person walks by can you see the energy?”
“Sometimes minutes only, but usually for a couple of hours. In the case of a powerful psychic, or someone who has experienced great rage or trauma, longer, sometimes much longer.”
“So she didn’t experience those, or she has such weak energy there wasn’t much power in the residual energy for some reason.”
“Right. She keeps it close. That’s why I was hoping you could take a look at her.”
“Why me?”
“Because her energy is…off.”
Trevor started. “Off in what way?”
“That’s what I don’t want to tell you. Let you make your own impression.”
“Right.” He cast one last glance at the disturbing handprint on the wall and asked, “Where is she?”
“They took her to the closest hospital. I was hoping to get her onto Maddy’s Floor but there’s no room.”
“As usual. Beds don’t open up there often.”
“They are these days with her new wing in place, and with the expansion program they are running, the hospital stays are shorter than ever.”
“Sure, but the waiting list is ten times longer than it was, and now that more people are hearing about it, applications are coming in from all over the world.”
Stefan nodded. “And the same for our project at the Children’s Hospital. But like you said, the need is great and the more people that benefit, the more people there are who hear about the program and want a place for their loved one.”
“Children are the most devastating cases. Nothing like sick children to break your heart. Especially when a life could have been saved.”
“We’ve hired what amounts to a triage nurse for energy evaluation in terms of each application. He’s new to Maddy’s Floor but we’ve come to trust his evaluations.”
“So he decides which applications to accept?” Trevor’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s heady stuff.”
“Not really. He goes through his applications and sorts them. Priorities, and easy ones she can help quickly so the beds are put to the best use. The center is trying to keep a dozen beds for fast turnovers, but they still end up requiring days before the kids are released. The adults on Maddy’s Floor still need twice that in the easier cases. Adults just don’t heal as fast.”
“That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“It is. We do checks to make sure nothing jumps out at us, but really we don’t have time to go through each of the thousand applications sitting on the desk at any given day, and we can make mistakes too. Maddy has a special program going on, but it’s not like she can expand it to help everyone. She’s doing what she can.”
“How about training people to do what she does?”
“We’re working on it.” Stefan smiled. “England has asked for a sister wing in London.”
“Sure, but one can’t just duplicate Maddy and her world.”
“Exactly. If they get the healers together and can manage to find a coordinator like Maddy to guide the energy and do what must be done, then maybe it can work.”
“Right. Let’s go meet your mystery killer.”
Stefan laughed as he walked to his kitchen counter and snagged up his keys. “Except for one thing – it’s not me she killed.”
*
No.
She couldn’t be hurt. She’d suffered enough. They all had. This had to stop. She’d done everything she could to protect her girl. But it had all been for naught. Now she was helpless. A pawn. Like all women were pawns in the world of men. They saw women only as possessions. Chess pieces to be moved at will to their pleasure. Her life had been no different. Her life was one big board arranged and rearranged.
But not now. Now she moved freely.
And could connect to many people – talented people. More talented than she was. But she was learning. And now that she’d found someone she could talk to. More than talk to…
Thank heavens.
Little had gone as planned in her life. Including this. But she was learning.
The men in her life would have laughed and said didn’t it figure. Couldn’t arrange the one thing in her world without a man’s help.
They were wrong. As a woman, a child of their whims, she’d been nothing if not adaptable. And adapt she had. She could operate without them knowing.
Now if only she could help the one who needed her. Before the others took her out of their game. Permanently.
Cha
pter 3
Hannah opened her eyes, her gaze slow to focus. When she realized the brightness in the room she bolted upright.
“Damn it,” she whispered to the empty space. She’d planned on sneaking out after the nightly rounds and before the security guard who walked the hallways came by. Instead she’d fallen into a deep sleep – and missed her window of opportunity.
She groaned and flopped backwards.
“There, nice to see you’re awake. I’ve checked in on you a couple of times but you were fast asleep.” The nurse bustled around and plumped up the pillows helping her to sit up. “And you missed breakfast…”
Damn it. That meant it was later than she thought. She gave the woman a sleepy smile. “I slept well, but I’m hungry.”
“Good,” the nurse said. Hannah read the woman’s name tag. Tammy. Yeah she looked like a Tammy, pink cheeked and short curly blonde hair with a comfortable huggable frame.
“I’ll see about rousting you up some food. And how about a coffee?”
Hannah brightened. “Coffee would be lovely.”
Tammy finished her ministrations, checked Hannah’s blood pressure and temperature then disappeared.
Coffee would be excellent. It would help her to get moving.
Hannah couldn’t remember much of last night and wanted to ask Tammy for details but knew better.
She relaxed back, letting her body wake up that little bit more. And then wished she hadn’t. Last night things hurt. Today they throbbed. She also had to go to the bathroom, but the thought of doing so scared her.
The nurse returned holding a real china mug. Nice. Hannah brightened. She hated those plastic cups they always seemed to bring.
“Now let’s get you to the bathroom.”
Hannah winced. “How did you know I hadn’t made it there yet?” she muttered.
Tammy laughed. “Because you were staring at the room as if trying to figure out how to make it happen without having to actually get onto your feet.”
That startled a laugh out of Hannah.
The nurse grinned. “That’s better. Now let’s get you to the bathroom and back again.” She flipped the blankets back off Hannah, letting a rush of cooler air in. In spite of herself, she shivered.
“We’ll get you back under the covers again in a minute.”
Hannah sat up then slowly slid to the floor. The nurse held up weird little slippers she hadn’t seen before and helped her stand up in them. Hannah took a deep breath, held onto the side of the bed and straightened. She schooled her features and took one step.
“There, that’s not so bad, is it?”
“No, it’s not.” It was way worse. But there was no way in hell she was going to tell Tammy that. “I can make it fine on my own.”
“If you’re sure…”
Hannah smiled reassuringly. “I’m fine.” And she walked to the bathroom. When she made it inside, and had the door securely closed behind her, she dropped the façade and a gasp of pain broke free. “Shit that hurts,” she whispered to the face in the mirror. The lips on the image moved to match the words coming out of her mouth, but it was hard to recognize the rest of the features. Except her hair. Long auburn ringlets. Yeah, those were hers.
But the rest… There were long scratches on the sides of her face, dried blood on her forehead. Her hair had dried-on, thick clumps at her temple. She reached her hand up to the back of her head and winced.
Her fingers touched more dried blood that poked her. She stared into the mirror. Had she been hit? Attacked? In a car accident? She leaned closer to see one eye bloody around the iris. She still had all her teeth, thank God. She did a quick search to find the ribs on her side turning colorful hues. She already knew her legs hurt like shit, but why? She had a bandage on one thigh and her other ankle was in a simple tensor bandage. All of her ached.
She needed a shower in the worst way. But had she time? Or the energy to do so? There was a bathtub and shower in the room. One of those fancy sit down things. She could do it.
“Hannah? Do you need help?”
“No, I’m fine.” But she really had to go. She used the toilet then turned on the water to give herself a moment. Then using the washcloth soaked in warm water, she gently wiped her face. And saw her hands. As in really saw them.
They were completely encrusted in dried blood that someone had attempted to wash off only to leave smears on her skin. She opened the door and smiled at the anxious nurse on the other side then continued to clean her hands and arms.
“I’m fine. I just need to wash up.”
The nurse smiled in sympathy, her shoulders relaxing. “Only your hands and face. We’ll try for a shower later. After the doctor has checked your stitches over.”
Hannah couldn’t hold back her start of surprise. She hadn’t noticed any stitches. She took a quick glance in the mirror but couldn’t immediately understand what they’d stitched back together unless they were talking about her bandaged leg. That would make sense. Then again so would her head. Still, the nurse appeared agitated the longer she stayed in the bathroom. Not wanting to upset her further, Hannah let herself be led back to the bed and helped back under the covers.
In truth there was a huge sense of relief when she could lie down and relax. With a wan smile, she said, “Thank you. That feels much better.”
“You need to stay in bed,” Tammy scolded gently. “Don’t try to do too much. You need to stay off both those legs and rest.”
“I will,” Hannah promised then confessed, “I’m really hungry.”
“I’ll go see what I can find for you.” Tammy bustled around her, moving a glass of water closer and straightening the blankets. “Don’t forget your coffee on the table.”
At the reminder Hanna brightened and tried to shift back so she was leaning against the headboard.
“Wait, I’ll raise the bed for you.”
The nurse stepped to the side and using some mechanical control she raised the head of Hannah’s bed so she could sit more comfortably.
“Thank you,” Hannah murmured, wondering just where she was that had nice equipment. A general hospital didn’t necessarily have the funding for a bed like this. Maybe she was in a private hospital. That was always her father’s choice. Still it was comfortable enough here. Given that her legs were both injured, running away was hardly a good option.
“You also have visitors,” Tammy said as she bustled around her, tucking the blanket in around her legs and moving the little table holding her coffee closer.
“Visitors?” she asked warily. “I’m not sure I’m up to seeing anyone.”
“If you’re not then I’ll send them away, but it’s the man who helped you last night. He’s asked to see you so he can make sure you are okay.”
Ah, then there wasn’t much chance of getting out of this. Besides, it was important to make it look to the world like she was completely fine. Just a stupid accident was all.
“Then send them in,” she said quietly, “But do please warn them I’m really tired, so it needs to be a short visit.”
“I can do that.” She smiled. “And while they are here, I’ll see about getting you a little food.”
“Make that a lot of food and you’re on. I’m starving,” she admitted. She truly was. She also couldn’t identify what her last meal had been or when. That bothered her a lot. She took a big sip of coffee and leaned back to wait for her visitors.
She didn’t have to wait long.
Two men walked in.
She gave them a faint smile, her gaze assessing. Inside her stomach sank. She didn’t know either of them. But in the back of her mind…there was something…familiar about both of them…
*
“Interesting,” Trevor said as they stood at the doorway watching the two women interact.
“What is?”
“Her aura, it’s non-existent. Normally I’d see that in a dying person, at least comatose.”
“I can see how tiny and tight against her body it is, it
’s why I thought she was severely hurt last night,” Stefan admitted. “But she’s looking damn lively to me.”
“She is.” Trevor contemplated the woman in the bed before him. He gave a slight snort in understanding. “She’s doing it on purpose. She’s tucking all the energy in close to hide something.”
“Why? And how, that’s a huge drain on a person,” Stefan said. “But you’re right. Look, a corner flared off just now.”
“Hmm, I saw it. I wish I knew what the nurse said to her for that to have happened.”
He watched as the woman leaned back and the nurse walked toward them.
As she approached, he asked, “What did she say?”
“She was perturbed at the idea,” the nurse said. “However, she did say yes, but only for a short while. And she emphasized short so you can’t ask too much or be there too long. I will be back in ten minutes,” she warned as she walked past them. “I’ll be bringing her breakfast with me.”
And she walked away.
With a raised eyebrow look at Stefan, Trevor walked into the hospital room.
“Good morning,” he said. “I’m Dr. Trevor Johnson and this is Stefan Kronos. Thank you for seeing us.”
She gave them a veiled look and pulled her aura in closer. Very interesting. She considered them a threat.
“Interesting flight response,” Stefan muttered as he approached the bed. In a normal tone, he said, “I’m glad to see you looking as healthy as you are this morning. You had me scared last night.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, her gaze shuttered. “I wasn’t in very good shape. Thank you for helping me out.”
“No, you weren’t,” Stefan said with a smile. “I’m glad I was able to help.”
Her gaze narrowed, and Trevor almost gasped as he watched an energy probe, light blue to almost pure white slide out from under the bedding to check out the powerful energy of the room now that they’d arrived. The probe shifted silently with great stealth as it checked out Stefan’s energy. Interestingly enough his friend let the probe do its thing.
Then the probe turned on Trevor. Its movement was more hesitant. As if he was a stranger she was unsure of. Sure she’d met Stefan last night but hardly enough to be sure of him. Then again, Trevor was a complete unknown. He also had to decide quickly if he was going to allow the probe to retrieve the information it wanted to access.