Her Undercover Defender

by Debra Webb

  “Barnhart.”

  A cold feeling settled in his gut. Keller had attacked. “Show me.” He pulled out his phone to warn Terri away from the problem just as she walked into the real-time view of the camera.

  Too late, he tapped the icon to call her. She swiped her card and the doors swung open. Given a choice between elevator and stairs, David opted for the stairwell. He would’ve lost his mind waiting for an elevator to show up.

  He reached the fifth floor slightly winded and his quads burning. Cautious, he opened the stairwell door and peered into the hallway. The pervasive silence alarmed him. No murmur of voices, not a squeak of a shoe sole.

  David looked right, where the double doors for the research wing were now closed. Terri and the patient were back there. The guard was gone. The bad feeling twisting David’s stomach worsened.

  He rolled his shoulders back and marched toward the closed doors. He swiped the one card that granted him access everywhere and waited for the light to turn green. It didn’t. Before he could try again, he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun slide. The first bullet blew the security panel to hell and the second—or was it the third—plowed through his upper thigh as he ran for cover.

  Where had the shooter come from? The feed had been live, and yet no one had spotted an armed man loitering on a secure floor? Had to be a setup, but who and why would have to wait.

  David made it to the nurses station outside the lab, hoping to draw more attention away from Terri and Dr. Palmer on the other side of that door. As he reached for the security alarm under the desk, he took a blow to the back of the head. He shook it off, hit the alarm. He hoped Casey understood that the lights and siren were the signal. David swiveled, bracing his hips on the counter, and kicked his attacker in the stomach. No one he recognized.

  The man came at him with a nasty black knife, and David groped for anything to use defensively. He came up with a keyboard. It worked, deflecting the man’s aggressive attacks. The secure doors parted and someone shouted a command. Gunfire followed.

  David knocked the man into the spray of bullets and threw himself over the high desk, more than happy to let the bad guys take each other out.

  Alarms sounded and the lights in the corridor flashed in alternating red and white bursts. Stepping over the fallen man, David ignored the pain in his leg in an effort to get back to the secure door. His only thought was to help Terri.

  The doors parted again and two more men emerged, shouting as they kept their guns trained on Terri. She was oblivious, her attention focused on a wounded man on the gurney. David struggled to breathe as his body slid down the wall. He had to protect her and the research patient. He moved—or thought he did—but the kidnappers were nearly to the end of the corridor. His vision blurred as blood dripped over his eye. He stared at his hand when it didn’t do the expected thing and wipe the blood clear.

  His other hand worked better and he cleaned his face. He had to get up. He looked toward the lights in the ceiling, telling himself it was like a dive that went a few minutes too long. Panic only made things worse. He slowed his breathing and reached for something to haul himself upright.

  Terri needed him. Casey was counting on him. The woman, the research, the job all prodded him, but it wasn’t enough to ward off the immediate injuries. He swore as the world went dark around him.

  * * *

  MINUTES OR HOURS LATER, he fought weakly against hands and winced at the bright lights as his vision returned. “Where am I?” he demanded through parched lips. “How long...”

  “You’re at MUSC. What day is it?”

  “Friday. Right?”

  “Right. That’s a good sign.”

  He hissed as the man in the ER uniform pressed something cold to his forehead. “You took a nasty blow.”

  “I’m fine,” David said. “Ryan,” he added, squinting at the name embroidered over the pocket. “How long have I been out?”

  “Hard to say. You’ve been shot,” Ryan said. “Hold still.”

  “I know. Slap a bandage on my leg and let me up.”

  “You need—”

  “To save Terri and Palmer,” David said, cutting him off again. “I’m good. Help me up.”

  Ryan ignored him. “A doctor should look at this.”

  “Later.” He had to pick up the trail or... He couldn’t even think about the consequences for Terri, Palmer, the project or himself if he failed.

  “Leave the heroics to someone else,” Ryan said. “We’ve called the police.”

  “I am the someone else,” David argued. He sucked in a breath as Ryan poured something over the gash in his leg. “What do you know about the situation?”

  “Yours or in general?”

  “Come on, man.”

  “All I know is bad guys and guns showed up in the hospital, killed a patient and kidnapped a nurse and doctor. And nearly killed you. Security is trying to figure out how weapons got in here at all.”

  “I have to go after them.” He coughed, tasting the copper tang of blood in his mouth. “Have to find the trail.”

  “That would be against any logical medical advice.” Ryan stood and offered David his hand.

  He hated the assist, but it was better than making a fool of himself. For a second it was like those first hours on a ship with the deck swaying underfoot, and then his senses stabilized. He didn’t have time for injuries; Terri needed him now. If he lost her, if he failed the case... Well, there was no point in wasting time thinking negatively.

  No game, no dive, no operation was over until he’d won. This would not be the exception. He’d come too far with Terri, as well as the case.

  He stalked into the secure ward and joined the others gathered around the violent remains of a fight and Dr. Palmer’s dead research patient. “Do we know anything about the attackers?”

  “Domestic terrorist is the theory, but that’s about it.”

  David bit back the curse. He couldn’t waste any more time. Turning on his heel, he moved as fast as his injuries allowed, following the trail of blood on the hospital floor.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Terri struggled to maintain pressure on Franklin’s wound as the kidnappers shoved them into the back of an ambulance. Images, disjointed and nonsensical, flashed through her mind. Blood on the linens and floor. Blood on the wheels of the gurney. The sharp blast of gunfire and the burning smell in the air afterward. Matt limp in the bed. David fighting in the corridor only to fall, bleeding, against the window in the hallway. What had he been doing there?

  Her one regret as she worked on Franklin was not telling David her real feelings. She loved him. Would she soon die with all that wonderful and scary emotion bottled up inside her? It hardly mattered if David was already dead.

  Had she called his name? She’d stayed with Franklin, had to as the terrorists made dire threats and her hands were all that had stemmed the flow of blood. But she’d wanted to help David. Had he reached for her? She couldn’t remember. Too strange. She pushed the terrible unknowns away and gave Franklin her full attention.

  “If he dies, you die,” the man said, slamming the ambulance doors shut. She shivered. In Matt’s room, the others had called the man Joe and treated him like the leader. His eyes were colder than his brutal words and she had no doubt this was the man Trey blamed for his injury. She shuddered with disgust and fear. Neither she nor Franklin would live long after these men got what they were after.

  The siren blared and the ambulance swayed side to side as the driver swerved in and out of traffic. She didn’t know where they were going, only that she had to keep pressure on Franklin’s wound. What had happened to Trey? She added another layer of gauze to the stack covering the ragged bullet hole just above Franklin’s hipbone. She kept her eyes open. Closing them brought back the images of David collapsing.

  She hoped her brother had done the right thing and called the police. He’d been reluctant, but at this rate, she couldn’t see how things could get any worse. Franklin ne
eded more medical attention than she could give. Her mind raced through an anatomy diagram and she tried to stay calm as she assessed the amount of blood loss. One step at a time.

  “I can stabilize you,” she said with more conviction than she felt. Her emotions would wait. Worry had no place during the triage process. Stop the bleeding. Prevent shock. Start an IV. Administer pain meds. She’d heard it all, assisted many a doctor through the process. This wasn’t a lost cause—she wouldn’t let it be—but more hands would help. She pressed Franklin’s hand over the gauze. “Hold this.”

  Franklin shook his head. “Forget me,” he rasped, pain contorting his features. “Escape.”

  Terri shook her head. “Not without you.”

  “It’s too late for me. The work... It’s over. My research is done.”

  She heard what he left unsaid. The last of his family was gone. Murdered. Why was life so cruel? She clenched her jaw, her heart breaking for her friend. She’d known this raw, wrenching loss. First his daughter and now his son-in-law killed by horrible, selfish men. Only men who didn’t value life could believe death was a fair price for advancing a cause. Franklin’s world would never be the same, but she wouldn’t let him give up. They still had each other.

  “The good guys need you,” she murmured at his ear. “Don’t you dare let these bastards win.”

  “Shut up!” Joe bellowed from the front seat.

  Terri sent him a fuming glare as a fiery determination blazed to life inside her. If Franklin had to hang on, so would she. She refused to become an easy target. “Speaking to a patient is helpful,” she said in the authoritative voice she used in the ER with panicked patients or families. “You can help or you can stay out of it.”

  The creep shook his head and swore at her, but he faced forward.

  “Go.” Franklin weakly pushed at her shoulder. “Save yourself.”

  “Stop it.” Terri would never be able to bear it if she left him alone to die with these monsters. “To hell with work or research. I need you.”

  Her brother had betrayed her trust one too many times. She’d always love him, but his warped, selfish view of the world meant she had to keep her distance. Besides whatever she and David might have, Franklin was the only person she had left. He’d been father and friend, a good listener and a compassionate, generous employer.

  “David—” Franklin coughed. “David will find me.”

  Her stomach clutched and icy fingers danced down her spine. She trembled. “Of course,” she lied, grieving over Franklin’s obvious confusion. It didn’t make sense to her that Franklin expected help from David, but if the image gave him comfort, she wouldn’t tell Franklin she’d left David injured, possibly dead, in a hospital hallway. She wouldn’t steal his hope that way.

  “Then he’ll find us,” she agreed. Her heart fluttered as if Franklin’s hope had kindled her own. She ignored it, getting back to practical matters. “Stop wasting energy arguing with me. You know I’m right.”

  His only reply was another weak cough.

  She reached for the emergency supplies she would need. The ambulance barreled around a corner, and the back end bounced as the tires went over the curb. “Take it easy,” she shouted. “I’m trying to save a man’s life here.”

  “Shut up!”

  With the bastards up front focused on fleeing, she tucked anything sharp she could get her hands on into her pockets, as well as Franklin’s. She intended to make the most of any possible opportunity to impede the kidnappers.

  By the time the ambulance came to a stop, she had the needle in Franklin’s vein and had started the IV. She added morphine, far less than he needed, but she’d never get him out of here if he was incapacitated. Neither man in the front seat moved.

  The back doors suddenly opened. Her brother stood there, looking as dumbstruck as she felt. “Trey?”

  He turned to the man behind him. “Let her go.”

  “Not my call.” He pushed Trey hard enough to send him sprawling into the ambulance.

  “Move!” Joe said from the front seat. “Our ride won’t wait forever.”

  “What’s going on?” she demanded when Trey and the third man were squeezed into the space.

  Trey shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

  Now she got a real apology? “Oh, you will be,” she vowed. With the guard’s eyes watching her every move, she tended to Franklin, refusing to make eye contact with her brother or the guard.

  “I can get you out.”

  The guard snorted, and she felt herself agreeing with the stranger over her brother. “Don’t grow a conscience on my account,” she grumbled. “It’s likely to get you hurt worse, and I have my hands full as it is keeping Franklin alive.”

  “You just stay put,” the guard said to Trey. “Don’t let that man die,” he told Terri, nodding to Franklin.

  Her patience snapped. “You do realize his best chance of survival is a trauma center? I’m partial to MUSC, of course.”

  “What do you need?”

  She gawked at the guard. “A staffed operating room.” She let the tears well in her eyes. If he underestimated her, maybe it would give her a chance. “This gauze and IV are stopgaps at best.” With a sniffle, she checked Franklin’s vitals. “Not that it matters.”

  “It matters,” Trey said. The guard drove the butt of his gun into Trey’s side, stealing his air.

  “I suggest you get creative,” the guard said. “Joe doesn’t cope well with disappointment.”

  The ambulance stopped short, and this time both the driver and Joe leaped from the front seat. When the back doors opened, she realized they’d reached the city marina. The guard and Trey were tasked with moving Franklin’s stretcher. Terri had her hands full carrying all the gear she could manage. She wasn’t about to leave behind anything valuable as a weapon or helpful to Franklin.

  “Why didn’t the police follow us?” she wondered aloud. Charleston was small enough, and the hospital was close to the harbor. All the driving they’d done made no sense.

  “They sent out a decoy at the same time,” Trey explained.

  “Shut up!” Joe bellowed as they moved down the dock.

  “You’re drawing attention to yourself,” she said in the calm voice that seemed to annoy him. If she could force him to make another mistake or outburst, surely someone out here would report a disturbance. Barring that, she had to find a way to leave behind something that would get reported. Joe and the driver were ahead of her. Trey and the third guard were behind her. What could she spare that wouldn’t get lost or noticed?

  She wrestled with her stethoscope and knocked loose a few pads of bloody gauze at the same time. It was a paltry attempt and it would likely fail, but it was her only option. Anything else would surely be noticed.

  Joe led the way onto a large cabin cruiser and ordered Terri, Trey and Franklin down below and out of sight.

  When they were alone, she checked Franklin’s blood pressure and pulse. He didn’t have much longer.

  “Will he make it?” Trey asked.

  Didn’t he understand anything? She turned her back on Franklin and shot her brother a dark look. Her voice was upbeat when she replied, “Of course.”

  Trey shuffled his feet, crossing and uncrossing his arms, then rubbing his hands together. “I need to do something,” Trey whispered.

  “Make it the right something this time,” she snapped. “Adding to your mistakes won’t help any of us.”

  She opened the bag of supplies and started to clean the gore from her friend’s hands. It seemed they’d stemmed the worst of the bleeding, but they needed to get that bullet out of his hip.

  “We have to do something,” Trey said, peering out of the porthole.

  “We will.” Terri wanted to scream at Trey’s impatience. Understanding carried her only so far. If he didn’t man up and show some sign of responsible behavior in this crisis, she might knock him out just for her own peace of mind. “What were you thinking, falling in with Joe and his fri
ends?”

  Trey’s mouth flatlined in defiance for a moment. Then his shoulders fell and he slumped onto the nearest bunk. “I didn’t mean to drop out of college,” he confessed. “It did start with an interest rally on campus.”

  “Terrorism 101?”

  Trey shook his head. “It was a health and wholeness thing. It was a time suck, but I felt good in the sessions. Strong,” he said, raising his head and meeting her gaze.

  The sorrow almost undid her. She wanted to go to him, to wrap her arms around him and tell him it would be fine, but she’d done that before. This time he’d have to find his own way out.

  A deep rumble rattled through the boat. “Oh, crap,” Trey said. “The engines.”

  Terri’s heart sank as their options dwindled. “Where would Joe take us?”

  “How should I know?”

  She wanted to throttle him. “Think, Trey. This team sucked you in to get to Franklin. Where would they take a doctor researching biotech devices?”

  “Biotech?”

  He sounded surprised. Too surprised. She studied him like a virus under a microscope. He might’ve been getting tan and fit in the desert, but those few months couldn’t erase a lifetime of habits. She stepped away from Franklin, weaving a bit as the boat gained speed. “What do you know?”

  “Nothing, Terri. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “You’re lying,” she stated baldly. “We’re on a boat with at least one terrorist and the man who helped me fund your college tuition is dying.” She flung an arm in Franklin’s direction.

  “I’ll get us out of this,” Trey said. “I just need a few minutes with Joe.”

  “And you’ll bargain with what? Franklin’s life?”

  “I won’t let you get hurt.” He grabbed her shoulders. “I swear you were never supposed to be this close to the action.”

  She knocked his arms away and rushed back to Franklin’s side. “If you had any sway over your friends, you wouldn’t be locked in here with me.”

  “I’m locked up with you because they know I turned them in.”