Edge of the Heat 2 (Westwood Harbor Corruption)

by Ladew, Lisa

  She threw her arms around Emma’s neck and started sobbing. The tears flowed just as freely down Emma’s cheeks. Emma laughed and sobbed at the same time. She hugged her sister back and cried out 30 years of separation.

  The men looked at them, mouths open. They hadn’t been following the conversation. Not one of them could imagine what the two women were crying and laughing and shrieking about.

  Emma pulled back, grasping her sister’s face. “That’s why we have the same eyes!” At the same time, Vivian put her hands up to Emma’s eyes and said, “I thought you were so lovely and interesting when we met and I so wanted to get to know you better. No wonder!”

  Emma hugged her again. “I was fascinated with you too. We knew, we recognized each other!”

  Jerry interrupted. “Do you two want to tell us what’s going on here?”

  Emma turned to them, her arm slung around Vivian’s shoulders as though she never wanted to stop touching her. “Guys, you are looking at two twin sisters separated at birth, if you can believe it!”

  “But, you guys don’t really look alike, except the eyes,” Hawk said, frowning.

  “Yep, we’re fraternal twins,” Vivian said.

  Emma turned back to Vivian, wanting to hash out what Vivian knew and didn’t know about their parents and their birth, Craig forgotten for the moment. “We should go somewhere. Want to have lunch at the cafeteria?”

  “Yes, OK,” Vivian smiled teasingly, “Sis.”

  Emma threw her head back and laughed. “I have a sister!” she cried, exuberant. The two women walked out, arms around each other, leaving the three men still trying to understand what had happened.

  Chapter 12

  Hawk turned to Craig. “Did you know she had a twin sister?” Craig shook his head no, mouth still open.

  “You?” Hawk asked, turning to Jerry. “Well, yeah, I knew Emma had a twin sister, but I didn’t know that Vivian did. No wonder I was so attracted to her at the library. She must have reminded me of Emma.”

  Craig’s eyes narrowed. “You have a thing for Emma?”

  Jerry put his hand up, laughing. “No man, I love her like a little sister though. I think she’s one of the most amazing women on the planet.”

  Craig nodded, satisfied.

  The door opened and a nurse came in. “Mr. Masterson, since you are doing so well the doctor said you can try eating some solid food,” she sang out in a lilting voice.

  Craig stopped and wondered if he was hungry. Yes, he was a little, but he was more tired than anything. This morning had really zapped his strength.

  He did want to try some solid food though. He couldn’t wait to get all his strength back and get out of this bed. He was incredibly appreciative for the amazing medical care he had received but couldn’t wait till he walked out of the hospital and back into his active life.

  Hawk and Jerry sat down, the three men joking with each other like long-time friends.

  The nurse did her checks, admonished Hawk and Jerry they’d have to leave for some quiet time after Craig ate, told them the food would be coming up shortly, and left the room. Craig rubbed the side of his face over the bandage. His skin itched horribly. Now that he had thought of food, he felt ravenous, almost weak with hunger.

  A knock on the door signaled the arrival of a man pushing a rolling tray into the room, an appetizing smell preceding him. Hawk watched him carefully. He was a small man, no more than about 5 and a half feet tall. He was slim with a pinched face. His gaze jumped from the three men in the room to the walls, the food, anything but the patient in the bed.

  “That smells great,” Craig said.

  The man wiped his mouth and opened it, then closing it. He pushed the tray to the bed and took off all the lids and plastic wrap. He raised his hand to his forehead in a little salute and said “Well, there you go,” and rushed out of the room.

  “That was weird,” Hawk remarked, forehead furrowed.

  “Yeah, he’s a strange one,” Jerry remarked. “He’s never been the same since his time in prison.”

  Hawk’s eyes narrowed fiercely. “You know him?”

  “Know of him. Miller’s the name. I treated him a few times when he was an addict. He went to prison for a bit and I haven’t had to treat him since, but I see him sometimes here in the hospital.”

  Craig’s stomach rumbled loudly. Hawk turned to watch him. His dinner was chicken smothered in some kind of white gravy, plus green beans in a butter sauce. Craig cut a piece of chicken first with a knife and a fork and tunneled it towards his mouth. Some of the gravy fell off the chicken onto his bare chest. “Ow, hot!” He put the fork down and wiped the gravy off his chest, then picked the fork back up, heading the chicken back towards his mouth.

  A look of terror on his face, Hawk took a big step forward and slapped the fork and the chicken out of Craig’s hand. The fork flew across the room and clattered into the corner.

  “What?” Craig asked, immediately alert.

  Jerry sat up straighter and gaped at them.

  “Look at your chest where the gravy was.”

  Craig looked down. “That dirty son of a bitch,” he snarled.

  “What? What?” Jerry looked too but didn’t know what he was looking at. “Did the gravy leave that brown spot on his skin?”

  “That brown mark was probably caused by a new, industrial type of poison called mollhem. It marks the skin on the outside, but is otherwise almost undetectable, especially if you don’t know what you are looking for. Drug dealers in Europe developed it but it hasn’t gained much of a foothold here in the U.S. yet. It has to go in a watery food, like a drink, gravy, sauce, or soup. It’s totally tasteless and doesn’t make the mouth burn for an hour or two.” Hawk’s voice was tight and mean.

  “What would have happened if he would have eaten that?” Jerry asked.

  “If it’s in all of this food and the drink, this is enough to kill him by stopping his heart in about 45 minutes.”

  Jerry whistled appreciatively. “Good thing you were here.”

  “Good thing you were here Jerry, and good thing Craig spilled his food. I wouldn’t have been suspicious if you hadn’t said Miller had been to prison, and I still might not have stopped him from eating it if I hadn’t seen the mark on his skin.”

  Hawk pulled out his phone and sent a text.

  “Um, Jerry, we’ve got some business to discuss here. Do you think you could …?”

  “Sure, sure, I’ll go check on the girls.” Jerry shook Craig’s hand again. “It sure is good to see you doing good. I thought Emma was going to die of worry.”

  “Thanks man,” Craig said.

  As Jerry was leaving another man came in and handed Hawk some bags. He started bagging up all of Craig’s food. “From now on, you don’t eat anything unless it comes straight from me.”

  “Got it boss. So are we guessing who was behind this? And what are you going to do about that Miller guy?”

  “My guess is on Foster. How about you? Remembered anything yet?”

  Craig shook his head. “Nothing. But I’m betting on Foster too.”

  Hawk nodded. “I’ll get this stuff tested and then arrest that Miller guy myself. Hopefully I get some answers from him. I think we are going to have to move on Foster in the next few days. We can’t wait for more evidence linking him and the Senator. Norman Foster is getting too dangerous.”

  Still hungry, but also tired, Craig felt himself dozing off a little. He fought it and went with it equally. There was so much more to talk about, but he needed to rest. He could feel sleep pulling him, lulling him, taking over …

  ***

  When Craig awoke it was dark and quiet. His room seemed empty. Where was everyone? Where were all his friends now? His mind replayed a dream he had been having. He relaxed into it, and walked that line between awake and asleep gently, without reaching too hard.

  He was walking in the dirt, picking his big boots up over the tangle of blackened, charred branches. Something was poking him me
rcilessly in the lower back. Poke. Jab. He felt confused. Someone was behind him, poking him hard with something and urging him onwards. He had a sense of a large man behind him. A man as tall as he was.

  The man directed him into a forest with the object in his back, like he was turning a rudder on a boat. Something else was wrong. Had the man spoken? Everything felt surreal, strange. The man spoke. Craig didn’t recognize the voice. It was high and reedy. “Where are all your friends now FBI man?” Craig knew this was bad news. The worst news. He calculated his chances of getting away if he ran. Slim to none probably. He was about to take his chances and turn around to fight when the voice said “I wonder how your pretty little paramedic is doing?” Craig froze in mid-step. “Seems to me she she shouldn’t have to spend any more time out in these woods tonight. Didn’t you already save her once?” Craig’s eyes scanned the forest. Was Emma out here? “It would be a shame if she was helpless in one of those buildings and the fire swept through here.” Jab jab. Craig was urged on again with what he was sure was a very large gun in his back.

  Craig was pushed towards the entrance of a hunter’s shack. His eyes searched the inside in the meager light. He didn’t see anything. Was Emma really out here? “What do you want from me?” he asked the man behind him.

  “Oh nothing, just your soul.” The voice laughed and the night exploded. Craig was knocked over onto the dirt floor of the open shack by the force of a bullet slamming into his back. He knew the vest had caught it, but it still felt like it shattered some ribs. He clawed the ground, trying to get up and get around behind him but immediately the night exploded again. This time he was down. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t even think. Dimly he was aware of heat and smoke and pressure on top of him. He felt cold, then searing hot, then colder than he’d ever been in his life. His muscles would not obey his commands. It became hard to think. He floated. He thought of Emma. Sweet, sweet Emma. She was safe, she had to be. He couldn’t save her if she wasn’t.

  Craig drifted off to sleep again, thinking in his mind that he needed to talk to Hawk, and to Emma.

  Chapter 13

  “It’s midnight Emma, we’ve been here for hours.”

  Emma and Vivian were lounging on the couches in the lobby, having long ago abandoned the cafeteria as uncomfortable.

  “I know Viv, do you feel tired?”

  Vivan shook her head no, and then sucked in her breath. Emma followed her line of sight. Hawk was approaching them from the other end of the wide corridor. His heavy work boots slammed into the thin carpet with every step he took. Emma looked at her sister curiously. She was openly staring and biting on her thumbnail. Was she taken with Hawk? Emma looked back at Hawk. Sure he was handsome, in a dark and dangerous sort of way. His dark hair was cropped close to his skull in a neat, military haircut. His eyes flashed and took in everything around him. He was scowling slightly, like he was about to scold them, the scowl accentuating his strong jaw. His T-shirt and jeans clung to him tightly, showing off his strong chest and legs like tree trunks. Where Craig was fair, Hawk was dark, but equally handsome.

  When he reached the couch he said “Emma, you are going to stay in the hospital, right?”

  “Yep.” She gave him a smile and looked at her sister. She was looking at the ground.

  “Good. When are you heading back up to Craig’s room?”

  Craig! Emma jumped to her feet. “Is he OK?”

  “Yes, he’s sleeping, he has been for hours.”

  “Oh thank goodness. I’m not sure when we’ll be done here. We have a lot to catch up on, don’t we Viv?”

  Her sister mumbled something but still looked at the floor. Hawk gave Vivian a hard glance and nodded at Emma. “I’m heading down to get some shut-eye. Message me if you need me.”

  Emma nodded. When he was gone, she sat back down and asked her sister “What was that about?”

  Vivian giggled uncharacteristically, or so Emma thought. She didn’t know her sister well enough yet to know what was characteristic or not.

  “I don’t know. He makes me feel like I’m 12 and late for gym class or something.” Vivian breathed.

  “Yeah, he’s a commanding figure for sure. Are you sure you don’t, you know, like him or something?”

  “No, don’t be silly. I don’t even know him. He is handsome though.”

  Emma fell silent for a moment. “So whatever happened with you and Jerry?”

  “Oh I don’t know. He’s not totally my type, but I said I would go out with him because he seemed so sweet and genuine. And I was lonely here. But the same thing always happens. I like cops and firefighters - really manly men, you know? But they don’t like me for very long. I think I intimidate them or something. I don’t mean to and I don’t try to. I just do. I’m not sure if it’s because I have a lot of money so they think I’m spoiled, or if my job title makes them think I’m super smart and looking down on them. Which I’m not.” She frowned and played with a thread on the couch, sounding miserable.

  “But I’m glad I met Jerry, he’s such a sweetie, and he’s your partner. It’s such a huge, wonderful coincidence.” She smiled at Emma and tugged at her hand laughing. “I still can’t believe we found each other.”

  Emma smiled. “I know, me neither. So why are you in town? Why were you at the library?”

  “Oh, Vivian’s face darkened. I actually am here looking up our family tree, or trying to. I have a disease.”

  “No!” Emma tightened her hold on Vivian’s hand. “What kind of a disease?”

  It’s called a desmoid tumor, and it’s in my abdomen. It’s a kind of cancer. It’s pretty harmless right now, but my doctor and I are trying to develop a treatment plan for it. I need to know my family history to know the best way to treat it. Since I am adopted, I don’t know anything about either side of my family. I came here to Westwood Harbor to try to uncover them.”

  She smiled. “And now I have a sister.”

  Fear gripped Emma. Cancer? Was she going to lose someone else so quickly?

  Vivian peered in her face, noting her concern. “Don’t worry sweetie, it’s not spreading and it’s not doing anything to me right now. My doctor gave me a 95% chance of beating it completely within the next 5 years, but we aren’t even going to start treating it until it spreads a little.” She leaned in close. “I’m OK sis.”

  Emma nodded, close to tears. She wiped her eyes. “So have you discovered anything? I don’t even know our mom’s name. It was just Jane Doe on the birth certificate when I went to the records office to check. I don’t know how truthful the state records guy was with me when I went to see the original though, he just read it off to me. He wouldn’t let me see it.”

  “I saw mine. It says Jane Doe.” Vivian said.

  Emma nodded sadly. “How do you even start looking for family members when you don’t even know your mom’s name?”

  “I bet your FBI friend could help us.” Vivian whispered, looking longingly down the corridor where Hawk had disappeared.

  Emma hadn’t even thought of this. “I bet he could! When this is all over we’ll have to ask him.”

  Vivian beamed. “Yes!”

  ***

  Craig opened his eyes wide and looked around, disoriented. The clock said 8 a.m. Light was streaming in the windows. He felt good. Strong. And something else was different. He looked to his right. Emma was sleeping above the covers on the bed next to him, fully clothed. Emma. He remembered. He remembered everything. He had forgiven her fully. The emotions flooded him. He wanted to take her in his arms and seal everything with a kiss, and then more kisses, down her neck, down her body. Uh Oh. Craig rearranged his sheets so if a nurse came in she couldn’t see the physical sign of his thoughts about Emma.

  He got up and used the bathroom, pulling his heart monitor and IV bag along with him on the pole. His head didn’t hurt anymore, at least not much. He wondered if he was strong enough for that kind of physical exertion. Emma’s sleeping form called to him, her hips rounded and feminine on t
he bed as she lay on her side.

  When he came out of the bathroom she was there, standing outside of the door.

  “Craig, are you OK, do you need help?” Her hair deliciously mussed, large blue eyes peering at him worriedly. She looked more lovely than he had ever seen her. He reached out with the arm that didn’t have an IV in it and tucked an unruly piece of hair behind her ear.

  Her eyes widened and a soft “oh” escaped her lips. He hadn’t touched her purposely since he had come out of the coma. He needed to make up for that. He smiled and ran his hand through her hair, softly taking a large handful and pulling her to him. She melted in his embrace. He lowered his head to hers. “Emma, how could I have forgotten that I am falling in love with you? You are so very lovable,” he whispered into her parted lips. She sighed and searched his lips out with hers, closing his eyes. He saw a tear roll down her right cheek before he lost himself in the moment.

  When he finally, reluctantly, pulled back she opened her eyes. “You remember.”

  “I do.” He smiled at her again, drinking in everything about her face.

  “Do you remember who shot you?”

  “Well, he was very careful, so no, I don’t.”

  “Did he say anything?” She was distracting him, running her fingers through his hair and pressing her body against his.

  “Yes, but I think he had some sort of a voice changer. His voice sounded strange. It didn’t sound like Norman if that’s what you’re wondering. I’ll tell you the full story when Hawk gets up here. Maybe he can come up with something.”

  The door opened with a whoosh. A nurse came in and eyed them accusingly. “You seem to be feeling better Mr. Masterson?”

  “Way better,” he said with a chuckle. Emma giggled into his neck.

  “Well I need to check your bandages, so if you could?” The nurse motioned to the bed.

  Craig reluctantly pulled away from Emma and headed over, being very careful to hold his gown together and away from his body. The nurse was already irritated enough, she didn’t need a look at the evidence of his arousal. She’d probably faint.