For a long moment, she stared at him, then what he said sunk in. No one at the hospital knew of her background, knew of her family’s money or stature. She definitely didn’t use her connections to get anywhere, and she would rather people didn’t associate her with her father. Even her supervisor didn’t know about her personal background. But Ryan did.
“What do you mean?”
“With your family, you understand how important it is that people respect my position.”
She glanced around the area to make sure no one had heard him, then she set her gaze on him.
“How do you know about my family?”
He shrugged. “I thought everyone knew.”
“No. If they do, I have no idea how they found out.”
He hesitated, then said, “My dad knows yours.”
Great. She searched her memory for anyone with the last name of Davis, but it was a common last name. Plus, she really hadn’t had much to do with her father for over a decade.
“How nice for you. Just so you know, I have little to do with my family.”
“I know.”
“So, why would you even bring them up?”
“You might not want anything to do with your father, but you have to understand your place in this world.”
“Oh, really?”
Again, he showed her that book smarts really didn’t lead to common sense.
“Sure. Someone with O’Reilly’s background needs to understand that questioning a person with our backgrounds should be handled with a certain soft hand. That is, if she should question us at all.”
That was enough. She stood up and faced him. “Listen, Ryan, I left home for one reason and one reason only: that attitude. I can’t stand it, which means, I can’t stand you. I’m beginning to realize now why you zeroed in on me to begin with.”
“Let’s be honest. You and I have a lot more in common than you and Fitzpatrick.”
“Either way, it isn’t any of your business. And, for the record, if you pop up to see me again, when you apparently have no other reason to be here at the hospital, I will report it to my supervisor and yours.”
She didn’t wait for him to answer. She stomped out of the room, her nerves even more on edge. The nerve of the dick.
She marched toward the trauma station and found Peg. “I’m going to walk off some of my energy.”
Peg smiled. “Have fun on those stairs.”
It was common knowledge that she liked to use the stairs as a way to blow off steam. Wendy headed for the stairwell and started up the stairs. The nerve of the man. Really. But that was why she didn’t want to hang out with the men her family would find acceptable. They tended to be unacceptable to her on so many levels. That was why she was so attracted to Aeden. He was the antithesis of what her father would find acceptable. Dependable, good, and she loved him.
She stopped walking and leaned against the handrail. She had known it from the start, but each time she thought the words, it left her a little breathless. And a whole lot of scared.
Normally, by now, she would be moving on. Relationships took too much work and she couldn’t take the chance on getting hurt. Men leave, or they usually did. So she would always keep it light. Aeden was the same way. But neither of them seemed to have any issues with that right now. In fact, it was starting to feel like a longer relationship.
Before she could deal with that thought, the entire stairwell went dark. Thankfully, she wasn’t walking or she might have misstepped.
“Hello?” she called out. Sure she heard footsteps on the stairs, she was worried someone might have been hurt. There was no answer though.
The hairs on the back of her neck went up, as a chill raced over her skin. The auxiliary lights didn’t come on, which meant that someone had turned the lights off on purpose. It was then that Wendy remembered her phone had a flashlight function. She pulled it out of her sweater pocket and clicked it on. It didn’t provide a lot of light, but it enabled her to feel comfortable enough to start back down to the landing closest to her. As she reached the next to last step, she heard a flurry of footsteps behind her. She turned to face who it was, but before she could, something heavy and solid connected with her head. Her awkward position on the stairs had her falling backward. Pain vibrated through her body as she hit the hard, cement floor; her hip and shoulder taking the brunt of the collision. Her hand hit the railing on the way down, causing her phone to fly out of her hand. Her head was throbbing, and she felt something warm and wet on her temple.
Fear coursed through her as she heard footsteps approaching. In the distance, she heard the sound of a door opening, then voices.
“What the hell? Is anyone down there?”
“I’m down here. I fell,” she called out, not sure if her voice reached them.
“Hold on,” a female voice called down as the lights came on.
Blinking, she tried to make out who her attacker was, but her vision was a little blurry. She lifted her head and tried to focus, but everything around her started to spin. Bile rose up and she was sure that she would throw up. Still, she tried to lift herself up, but she fell short of her goal. She tried again, but collapsed once more. It seemed that all her energy drained out of her, as she felt her eyes close. Then everything went black.
Chapter 10
Aeden’s entire body ached as he finished his shift. A three alarm fire at a Fells Point bar had almost taken out an entire block. All because some idiot hadn’t paid attention in the kitchen. The poor bastard was paying dearly for it though, as he had burns on his hands. Thankfully, that was the only major civilian injury. The rest had been treated and released.
On his way out of the firehouse, he saw his brother Emmet, who was on day shift.
“Hey, Aeden. Mom wanted me to talk to you.”
He frowned. “And she couldn’t call?”
“She tried, but you were out on a call.”
He pulled out his phone and saw the missed calls from his mother.
“What’s up?”
“It’s Wendy. She got hurt at work.”
His heart seemed to stop for a second or two, and he felt slightly lightheaded. “What?”
“Jesus, Aeden, take a breath. She’s okay. She fell down the stairs and has a bump on her head. Mom didn’t want to leave a voicemail or text you that info, so she asked me to stop by.”
“Where are they?”
“She’s at home now, at her apartment. Mom and Dad are on her contact list, so they were called in last night when she was hurt.”
He was already on his way to his car.
“Gee, thanks for going out of your way, Emmet,” his brother said sarcastically, but Aeden ignored him.
This was the last straw. She had been attacked at work, and he had been out on a call. What would have happened if someone hadn’t found her? What would have happened if she had been alone somewhere, laying there for hours?
He pushed those thoughts aside and got into his car. The only thing he could think about was getting to Wendy.
* * *
Wendy felt as if someone had hit her upside the head with a two by four. Of course, someone had. Or with something, she didn’t know the exact object.
“Here we are,” Deidre said as she bustled into her room. She held a tray with a cup of tea and some crackers.
“You really didn’t need to do this,” she said.
“Nonsense,” Big Mike said. “You need to be taken care of.”
“Now, your doctor friend said you could sleep, that it was a slight concussion, but you need to be careful about your stomach.”
“Yes, I know.”
Deidre shook her head. “I always forget you are a nurse, but then, those in the medical field are not good at taking care of themselves sometimes.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but the front door slammed open.
“Wendy!” Aeden shouted.
“I didn’t raise him to enter the house like some hooligan,” Deidre said.
“We’re in the bedroom,” his father called out, but Aeden was already stomping through her apartment in that direction.
“What happened?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but his mother intervened. “She fell and has a slight concussion. You need to lower your voice, Aeden Michael.”
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, but he did lower his voice. He came over to the side of her bed and sat down. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I hit my head.”
She had hoped he would smile, but his frown only turned darker as he skimmed the backs of his fingers down her cheek.
“Aeden, may I have a word with you?” his father said.
She could tell he didn’t want to leave, but he nodded and followed his father out.
“You’ll have to excuse him. He doesn’t know how to control his anger when he’s worried about someone he loves.”
“Oh, Deidre, don’t…” She trailed off when his mother shot her a look.
“Are you telling me my son doesn’t love you? I say he does.”
“I’m not saying he doesn’t. I’m saying he hasn’t said anything.”
“Of course he hasn’t. He’s an idiot.”
She snorted. “Yeah, well.”
“Let me guess. You haven’t said anything either?”
“It’s all so new, so different. And then this started happening. We haven’t had time.”
“I love you, Aeden. Look. Just took a few seconds.”
Wendy sighed and plucked at her comforter. “Deidre, you know I’m not good at that side of things. I just want to get this all settled, then Aeden and I can figure each other out. Figure out where we go from here.”
Deidre sighed. “Your parents suck.”
She laughed. “Yeah, they do.”
“Listen, love, you are worth all of his attention and then some. Just make sure you two tell each other before it’s too late.”
“I promise.”
“Good. Now, drink your tea.”
* * *
Aeden followed his father out the door to the hallway.
“I didn’t want to talk about this in there. She kept getting highly agitated when Detective O’Reilly pushed her to remember things.”
“She doesn’t remember anything?”
“Yes. She remembers, but O’Reilly thinks she might be leaving something out. Or maybe the trauma of the attack caused her to forget. I would say if she can’t remember, it’s the latter. Wendy would never lie about something that important.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“She was walking to let off some steam. They had a slow night, and she said she was agitated.”
“Did she say why?”
“She told O’Reilly she’d had a conversation with Dr. Davis that irritated her. They were slow, like I said, so she decided to walk the stairs to let off some steam.”
“She’s not supposed to be alone,” he said.
“First of all, she really wasn’t, not really. Think about it. Hospital stairway, public hospital. What are the chances, and they have cameras in them?”
“Did the cameras show anything?”
“No. Someone cut the lights and hit her with something. She fell down, but thankfully, she was only a couple steps up. She might have been hurt worse, but someone apparently heard her scream and called out. Whoever it was ran off.”
Anger and fear twisted inside of his gut as he tried to control his emotions. She wasn’t seriously hurt, but it was a close call. Too close.
“Your mother was a wreck by the time we got to the hospital. Slight concussion, but…Wendy was really shaken, Aeden. I mean, scared. She’s off for the next few days, and she didn’t even argue. You know how she is.”
He sighed. “Yeah.”
“So, I’ve already talked to your brothers. We will work around your shift so she isn’t alone. You’re off tonight and tomorrow night, right?”
He nodded.
“Hopefully, they’ll narrow it down by then, but I’ll talk to others again and make sure we have her covered.”
“You don’t think she’s safe in her own home?”
“I don’t think whoever it is would try anything if they thought we were around at least.”
Aeden nodded. “I appreciate it. I’d make her go stay with you all if I thought she would do it.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t.”
“And knowing her, she wouldn’t want to put your mother at risk.”
That was true enough.
“Just understand that she doesn’t need you yelling at her right at the moment.”
“What makes you think I would do that?” Aeden asked.
His father shrugged. “First, it was the look on your face when you stomped into the bedroom, but second,” he said, trudging on ignoring Aeden, who had opened his mouth to respond, “you’re a Fitzpatrick. We tend to yell when we’re scared.”
“Who says I’m scared?”
“The woman you love was attacked. If you aren’t at least a little scared of losing her, then you’re an idiot, and I refuse to claim you as my son.”
For a long second he said nothing, then Aeden smiled. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to do that.”
“Good.”
The door opened and his mother stepped out. She was wearing her coat and had her purse. “Time to go. We have some errands to run, and I think Wendy just wants to rest.”
“You’re leaving when someone has been injured?” he asked.
“Well, she has you. That’s all she should need right now.” She motioned for him to bend down, and she grabbed and twisted his earlobe.
“Ow.”
She smiled, then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Be nice or there is more where that came from. Your brother is going to bring some soup over later for her.”
He watched his parents walk off, one unit. As always, he couldn’t see the two of them separate from each other. They had always been this couple, strong, resilient. He knew being the spouse of a fireman wasn’t easy. There was always the chance of injury or death every day they went to work. But, as a kid, he never saw it. His mother wouldn’t let him see it, although he knew she worried.
Now that the initial adrenaline of fear had been forced through his body, the aches and pains from work came back. He needed a good hot shower and then rest.
Wendy was lying in bed with her eyes closed, but he knew she wasn’t sleeping.
“I’m going to take a quick shower.”
“Okay.”
“Do you need anything before I do?”
She opened her eyes and scowled at him. “That’s my line.”
He walked over to the bed and sat next to her. He’d had so many relationships before Wendy, but no one tugged at his heart like her. The main reason was because she was so damned independent. She didn’t want to depend on any other living thing, but that was going to change.
“You need to rest.”
She made a sound of disgust. “Oh, really? Like I don’t know when to rest. I know when to rest.”
At that moment, Aeden heard it. Fear. It tinged her tone and, knowing the woman in question, he understood it embarrassed her.
“Hey,” he said taking her hand. “Let me take care of you. For me,” he added after she opened her mouth to argue.
“For you?”
“When Emmet showed up and told me what happened, I lost it. Just let me take care of you right now, today. It will make me feel better.”
He saw the struggle on her face, the need to insist she could handle whatever came her way. But, the need to help him won out, like he knew it would.
“All right, but don’t think I’m going to be laying around in bed all day.”
“Of course not. Do you need anything?”
“No. Your mother left tea, and I took my pain meds.”
Which told him she was really hurting if she had done that.
Aeden lifted her hand and brushed his mouth over her knuckles. “Be out
in just a few minutes.
He left her there, and rushed through his shower. By the time he was done, though, she was sleeping. Her eyes were closed again, but her even breathing alone told Aeden she was no longer awake.
As fast as he could, he cleaned up. Even though he showered earlier, she could still smell smoke, so he showered quickly. When he was done, he found her right where he left her.
He stood there and stared for a few long moments trying to reassure himself she was safe. Her face was pale and drawn, even while she slept. She had a bandage on her temple where she had been struck, and the dark circles under her eyes made her appear even more fragile.
“What am I going to do about you, woman?” he murmured. He needed to be able to take care of her, but she didn’t want to be taken care of. It left him irritated and beyond frustrated.
She shifted on the bed trying to get more comfortable and then sucked in a breath. He knew she wasn’t even really awake, but she had hurt something by moving. He walked over to her bed and slid in beside her. Gently, he pulled her into his arms, trying to make sure he didn’t cause any pain. In seconds, she was snuggled against him, her breath against his neck.
He held onto her knowing at this point, there was no turning around, no detour he wanted to take. Now he had to convince her. That was almost scarier than the prospect of losing her. He knew there would be no way to figure out a solution right at this moment, so he pushed those thoughts aside and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 11
After a long nap and some delicious soup from Declan, Wendy started to feel normal later in the day. That is, if she ignored the dull throb in her head. Or if she ignored the idiot she was in love with.
“Are you sure you can’t remember anything?” he asked, as he finished cleaning up their soup bowls.
“I told you just as I told Detective O’Reilly. It’s not that I forgot. It’s that I didn’t see anything.”
He dried his hands on the towel, then leaned against the counter to stare at her. “I don’t understand why you didn’t see anything.”
She didn’t roll her eyes, but it was a close thing. “Whoever it was turned off the stairwell light. I had just gotten my flashlight from my phone on when the person rushed me.”
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