When he was finally able to pull himself together, Mac pressed a kiss to her temple. It was only then he realized the depth of his feelings for her. He loved her. He loved her with all his heart and it wouldn’t end with her death. He’d given Rennie a part of himself that he had never shared before and in this lifetime, he would never love that way again. He hadn’t been able to tell her while she was alive, but he told her now.
Mac pulled her close, resting his cheek against hers. He told her how much he loved her, that he would always love her, and how much he was going to miss her. He talked about their time together and how he’d barely been able to make it through work each day because he was so anxious to be with her again.
He told her how incredible it had felt to make love to her and that he’d found it almost impossible to keep from touching her. And he told her about the horrible void that would be left in his life because she wouldn’t be there to fill it. He didn’t know how long he sat there, but by the time he finally went silent, his skin was almost as cold as hers.
He rose slowly and carried her across the room, gently lowering her onto the gurney. He brushed the soft curls from her face, then leaned down and lightly kissed her lips. All the life had been sucked out of him and he knew it would be a very long time before the pain began to ease. Mac picked up the sheet and covered her body but couldn’t seem to make himself cover her beautiful face.
“I love you, Rennie,” he said softly, then reluctantly turned away from her and headed for the door.
He reached for the handle, drawing his hand back when he heard the soft rustle of material. Hope surged in his heart. He whirled around, half expecting to see her sitting up and smiling at him but it had only been the sheet falling to the floor. Mac’s spirits plummeted as he went back and placed it over her once more.
This time, he’d only taken a few steps when the sheet fluttered to the floor again. He shivered, thinking that somehow she was reaching from beyond the grave to communicate with him. He stooped to pick the sheet up and draped it carefully over her once more. Mac waited and watched.
Almost imperceptivity the sheet began to slip off her body, but this time, he saw what had caused it to move. Rennie’s fingers were slowly working it off, inching it away from her. She was dead, he knew it, the coroner had verified it, yet incredibly he could see her fingers moving. Mac moved closer, peering down at the fingers working to pull the sheet away and nearly jumped out of his skin when his gaze shifted to her face.
Rennie’s eyes were open, blue as a clear summer sky, and she was looking right at him.
The next few hours were a whirlwind of activity. Mac scooped her up and all but ran down the two halls to the elevator. He shifted her weight and pressed the button but the wait seemed endless and he was impatient to get her back upstairs into the warmth of the hospital. She was still as limp and colorless as she had been when he first found her, but her eyes never left his face and a soft smile curved her lips. Mac glanced around, spotted the exit sign and hurried into the stairway leading up.
“You’re going to be okay, honey. I won’t leave you, not for one second, just…just keep looking at me, Rennie, keep breathing. Oh, thank God, thank God.”
He bounded up the stairs and barreled through the door leading to the first floor then stopped abruptly. His eyes narrowed in rage when he saw Ryan just down the hall, surrounded by reporters; vultures that had obviously discovered Rennie had been murdered and were eager for a story.
Ryan was facing him and for a moment their eyes locked before Mac turned away and carried her in the opposite direction. Let them think she was dead. She would be safer if Dalton thought the same way, and all those people who had been calling her that day would stop hounding her as well.
Doctors, nurses, and visitors eyed him curiously as he rushed past, but no one tried to stop him. Perhaps it was the expression on his face or simply his size that deterred them but they all parted like the Red Sea, making his progress through the halls easier. When he finally came to a nurse’s station, he stepped up to the counter.
“I need you to page Dr. Switzer right away.”
The nurse glanced at Rennie. “I can get another doctor to look at her right now if…”
“No,” he said firmly, “it has to be Switzer.”
She picked up the phone and did as he asked, although his strange behavior obviously made her nervous. “He’s making rounds, but he should be here in a few minutes.”
“I need you to page someone else, Ryan Stone, but have him go to the nearest nurse’s station and call here. Don’t mention anything except the extension he needs to dial, understand?”
“Sir, I’m not really supposed to…”
“I’m a homicide detective,” Mac interrupted, “and this has to do with a murder investigation.” The startled look on her face when she looked at Rennie sent an expected wave of emotion surging through him. “She is not dead,” he said with such vehemence the nurse visibly recoiled. An apology would have gone a long way in convincing the poor woman he hadn’t lost his mind, given that Rennie was obviously alive, but Mac never got the chance.
Dr. Henry Switzer arrived at that precise moment, took one quick glance at Rennie, and told Mac to follow him to someplace more private. Once they were inside the small room, the doctor closed the door and motioned towards the examination table. He waited until Mac lowered Rennie onto the table before asking any questions.
“What’s going on, Detective?”
“I brought her in about an hour ago,” he said, checking his watch. “Make that an hour and a half. Before that, she was pronounced dead by the Coroner.”
Dr. Switzer arched a brow. “Obviously a misdiagnosis. What made him think she was dead?”
“Oh, I don’t know. It could have been the fact she was cold as ice, her pupils were dilated, she wasn’t breathing, or perhaps it was because she had no pulse.”
The doctor smiled down at Rennie. “I believe the detective has been nipping at the bottle, what do you think?”
Mac’s heart melted when she smiled back. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “Listen Doc, I need it kept quiet that she’s alive. The fewer people who know about it, the better.”
“Well then, this calls for a special nurse. Give me a minute and I’ll be right back.”
As soon as the doctor left the room, Mac leaned down to give her a soft kiss. “Hey, sweetheart, you really gave me a scare.”
Rennie struggled to speak but was so numbed with cold she wasn’t even sure her mouth was open. She kept her eyes locked on Mac’s face, his words warming her from the inside out, and wished she could reach out and touch him. He pressed his cheek to hers and kissed her again just as the doctor came back in the room with a nurse.
“This beautiful woman is Nurse Switzer, who also happens to be my wife of thirty years.”
“Thirty-two years,” she corrected as she took the hand full of warm blankets she was carrying and began covering Rennie with them.
She worked quickly and efficiently, taking Rennie’s temperature, checking her pulse, and then rubbing her hands and arms to get some warmth back.
“She should have been admitted,” Nurse Switzer said briskly, shooting a reproving glance at her husband. “Why is she here instead of I.C.U. where I can tend to her properly?”
“It’s imperative that no one find out she’s alive,” Mac answered for him. “I’ll keep her here as long as possible but it would be safer if she wasn’t in such a public place.”
She turned back to Rennie and patted her hand. “You’re going to be just fine, honey, I’ll make sure of it.” Nurse Switzer faced the men with a look that reminded Mac of his mother when she was in no mood to take any back talk. “I don’t know what all the secrecy is about and I don’t particularly care. This young woman’s core temperature is dangerously low and she is not to leave here until it returns to normal.” She gave Mac a sweeping glance as if he might somehow be responsible. “How did she get like this anyway?”
“I’m not sure. I found her on the living room floor and I thought…” Even now it was hard to say he’d thought she was dead. The pain was still too raw. “I really don’t have a clue,” he finished lamely.
Doctor Switzer put his hand on his wife’s back and guided her towards the door. “It doesn’t really matter at this point, now does it, dear? I’d like you to keep an eye on her while I finish my rounds.” He opened the door and shuffled her out. “I should be back in about an hour.” Less than a minute later though, he poked his head back inside the room. “You have a phone call; I’m having the nurse transfer it in here.”
Mac was already reaching for the receiver when the phone rang, demanding to know if the reporters were gone before Ryan had a chance to speak.
"For the most part, but I’m sure a few stragglers are lurking about,” Ryan said. “What the hell is going on, Mac? Have you lost your mind? I know you’re hurting but you can’t just take her body out of here. You’ve probably destroyed crucial evidence…”
“I’ll explain everything shortly. Make sure you’re not followed by any of the media hounds and meet me at the nurse’s station at the south entrance.”
Mac waited until Nurse Switzer returned before telling Rennie he had to leave. “I need to talk to Ryan but I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He leaned down to kiss her, recalling the desolation that had crept into his heart when he thought he would never be able to do that again, and silently vowed to never miss any opportunity that arose. He left her reluctantly and stepped into the hallway, nearly mowing over his partner.
Ryan looked at him with a mixture of shock and compassion. “Where is she?”
Mac nodded towards the room he’d just exited. “She’s in there.”
“I’ll help you get her back downstairs,” Ryan told him, clearly thinking his partner had lost it. “No one has to know what happened…”
Mac held up his hand. “Before you say anything else, I want you to see something.”
He entered the room and stepped aside, shutting the door after Ryan joined him. The nurse was standing beside Rennie, blocking their view, so he knew there was no way Ryan could possibly know Rennie was alive.
Mac chose the blunt approach. “She’s not dead.”
Ryan eyed his friend with sympathy. “You have to accept it, Mac. We both saw her, and the Coroner examined her, so you know it’s true.”
“I don’t claim to know how it’s possible, but I’m telling you…” He stopped abruptly when Ryan’s face suddenly drained of all color. Mac turned around, knowing full well what had brought on the stunned look and ghostly pallor. With Nurse Switzer’s help, Rennie managed to sit up.
“Mac,” she said in a hoarse whisper, holding her arms out.
Behind him, Ryan could only gape at the woman who had been pronounced dead at the scene over three hours earlier. But Mac wasted no time in going to her and hugging Rennie as if he would never let go.
“You’re going to be okay,” he said, although he wasn’t quite certain whether it was meant to assure her or himself.
“I don’t understand.” Ryan shook his head, looking puzzled. “How is this possible?”
“If I had to venture a guess, I’d say it was some form of catalepsy,” Nurse Switzer replied. “It’s a condition where the muscles suddenly grow rigid and the individual loses consciousness.”
Mac wasn’t buying it. “That doesn’t explain why she wasn’t breathing or why no one could detect a heartbeat. And her eyes…” He shuddered, remembering how lifeless they had been. “Her pupils were fixed and dilated.”
Rennie was clinging to Mac as if her very life depended on it. She knew what had happened and that she hadn’t really died, but she couldn’t form a straight thought at the moment and wouldn’t have had the strength to explain it even if she tried. The two men bounced ideas back and forth with the nurse, but Rennie wasn’t really listening. She was too overcome with the joy of feeling Mac’s arms around her and the knowledge that if he hadn’t talked her back, she might have been lost in the darkness forever.
When there was a lull in the conversation, Nurse Switzer produced an electronic thermometer from her pocket and shooed Mac away so she could take Rennie’s temperature.
“You’re temperature is coming up fast.” She tucked the thermometer back in her pocket, turning her eyes to Mac. “Keep sharing your body warmth, it’s working much better than the blankets. I’d say another hour and you can take her with you. I’ll be back to check on her in thirty minutes or so.”
Ryan waited until she was gone to speak, still looking at Rennie as if she was a figment of his imagination. “Catalepsy? Do you think she’s right?”
Rennie shook her head. “No, and I wasn’t dead, but I would have been if Mac hadn’t led me back to my body.”
Mac looked a little startled. “I did what?”
“It’s a long story and I’ll tell you everything when I’ve had some time to rest, but basically, I left my body and couldn’t find my way back. It was the sound of your voice that did it. I could hear you talking to me and I followed it until I was able to see the light.”
Mac frowned. “Wait a minute…I thought you weren’t supposed to go into the light.”
“I had to, Mac.” Rennie smiled up at him. “You see, you were the light.”
Chapter 9
Rennie didn’t remember falling asleep. She didn’t remember Mac taking her out of the hospital or how they got to his car either, so she was a little disoriented to open her eyes and discover they were driving down a long stretch of highway. Her head was resting against Mac’s shoulder and she could feel the warmth of his hand on her thigh. She smiled to herself, elated to be sitting next to him.
“We’re almost there,” Mac said softly
Rennie lifted her head. “How did you know I was awake?”
“Your breathing changed.”
“Was I snoring?” She asked, mortified by the thought.
Mac chuckled. “No, sweetheart, you weren’t snoring. After scaring the hell out of me tonight, I found a great deal of comfort in listening to you breathe.”
“I’m glad I could accommodate you on that score. So, where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see in a few minutes. You’ll be safe there and I think you’ll like it.”
“It doesn’t matter where I go as long as you’re with me.”
Mac was quiet for a moment. None of this would have happened if he only he had been with her tonight. “I’m sorry, Rennie, for not being there for you.”
The pain in his voice made her want to cry. How could he possibly shoulder any of the blame for what happened? “You couldn’t have prevented it, Mac. You could have been standing right next to me and you still would have been just as helpless as I was.”
“Was it Dalton?”
“Yes,” she answered simply.
Mac’s jaw flexed. He’d known it, of course, but assumed it had been a real physical attack. What horrors had he shown Rennie to put her in such a state? And how could Dalton have dragged her so far from her own consciousness that she couldn’t find her way back? He thought about what she’d said; that it was the sound of his voice that brought her out of the darkness.
Fear clawed at his chest. What if he hadn’t stayed with her? What if he hadn’t held her and talked to her down in the morgue? My God, they would have performed an autopsy and the whole time Rennie would still have been alive! Mac pushed the horror of that thought aside as he turned off the highway onto a private road leading to the beach and came to a stop in front of a two story house. There would be time to talk about it later. Right now, he just wanted to put it behind them and spend some alone with her.
“This is it, honey.”
“Oh, Mac, it’s beautiful!” Rennie peered up at the house while she waited for him to help her out, excited by the prospect of spending the night there. “Is it a rental? I love it, but it must have cost a month’s salary! I insist on paying you back,
so don’t even think of …”
Mac cut off her rambling with a hungry kiss, effectively derailing her train of thought. The bottom fell out of her stomach and a whirlwind of emotions left her light-headed and standing on two very wobbly legs.
Mac drew his head back with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, honey, I should have realized you would still be weak. Come on, let's get inside so you can rest.”
She let him lead her up the stairs, breathing in the ocean air while he unlocked the door. In the distance, the sound of waves washing over the beach lent a serene atmosphere to the place. It calmed her, and Rennie knew without a doubt that she could be at peace here. She’d been unhappy about the possibility of selling her house and relocating, but living on the beach in a place this spectacular would certainly take the sting out of it. The money she received from her house would make a sizable down payment, assuming she could convince the owner to sell. She was even more thrilled by the idea of living here when Mac flipped on the light and she stepped inside.
“Would you like a quick tour or would you rather rest for a while?”
She was dying to explore the house, but there were more urgent needs that demanded attention, like finishing what they had started outside. Rennie looked up at him, the heat already beginning to build inside of her. She smiled softly, invitingly.
“Can we start with the bedroom?”
***
For the second time that day Rennie had an out of body experience, except this time she was catapulted into the stratosphere instead of the depths of hell. Mac’s love making had been fierce and possessive, and she climaxed so fast she was shuddering beneath him in a matter of seconds. Mac hadn’t held out much longer, rolling onto his back afterwards with a groan.
WHISPERS TO THE HEART Page 11