“Pretty beat up, a big bump on her head, and the EMTs think she has a broken wrist. They didn’t say anything about rape and I didn’t ask. She’s not very coherent.”
“I’m only five minutes from the hospital, I’ll meet you there.”
“Right, we’re only a few minutes away ourselves. Oh, and Daniel, she did it. We found nearly seventy women. They were being held in dog cages.”
Daniel swallowed hard. “Jesus Christ.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
* * *
Daniel pulled into the emergency room parking lot and mad-dashed for the automatic double doors. He had privileges here and fully intended to throw his weight around. The place buzzed with activity, unusual for this time of night. Especially with no full moon. Apparently, they’d already been informed of the incoming injured. The chief trauma nurse barked orders for additional personnel and demanded patients with minor complaints vacate the beds. Pure mayhem.
Grabbing a set of scrubs from the supply closet, he apprised the staff of what he expected when his patient arrived. The first in the parade of ambulances appeared. But no Alyx. He waited, anticipation overwhelming him. How badly was she hurt? How traumatized would she be? His gut wrenched at what she could have suffered at the hands of the slavers.
Jack’s voice called out to him and he darted toward the emergency room doors. Scarborough trotted behind him, along with Matt. Daniel sprinted down the ramp toward them. He glared at Rob Scarborough. How could he have screwed this up so badly? But he’d take that up with him at a later date. First, he had to know how Alyx was.
Daniel squinted, squeezed his fists. “Tell me, Jack, what happened?”
“Alyx fought them off so Lisa could get away. She called me. They knew they were at the old Grumman place.”
“What about Alyx?”
Rob Scarborough interjected, “We found her suspended from the ceiling in their version of a playroom for customers to sample the clientele. We’re guessing she kicked the guy with her stilettos. He lost an eyeball and hit his head on the metal footing of a restraining bench.”
“Dead in less than a minute, I figure,” Matt added. “Fitting end, if you ask me. Although, I might have liked to torture the bastard myself a bit before I killed him.”
Daniel seconded that thought.
Scarborough continued, “We found her unconscious, hanging from the ceiling, no clothing. He’d caned her, but we think that’s as far as he got.”
Daniel closed his eyes and tugged on his hair, pulling it painfully for the second time tonight. “Shit. Caned?”
Jack put his hand on Daniel’s back and gave a rub. “Yeah, sorry, bud.”
Another ambulance screeched closer and Daniel followed it with his eyes as it rolled into the lot. “This is her,” Matt said, heading toward the flashing vehicle.
Chapter 9
Sunday
Darkness engulfed her. Or were her eyes still closed? She couldn’t be sure. Every bone in her body ached. Her muscles felt like she’d spent hours being tortured by terrorists in some godforsaken foreign land. A punishing rhythm pounded in her head. Her lips stuck together. Maybe she was dead. Although, how could death be this painful?
Her mouth, so dry, she couldn’t get enough saliva together to swallow. Staring at the ceiling she tried to piece together her surroundings and figure out where she was. Beeping noises echoed in the small space. Dizziness swarmed her. Was that her own moans, or—Jesus, her neck hurt. Neon green numbers ran across a monitor. She squinted, trying to focus on the readout.
“Hey, baby,” she heard a man say. Haltingly, she turned her head in his direction. Vertigo rattled her stomach. She heaved. He rolled her quickly onto her side and pushed a plastic bowl under her chin. She gagged and spit into the bowl. She retched, over and over, but only bile came up.
He held her nape in his firm grip until the horrible nausea passed and she regained control. Gently rolling her onto her back, he placed the bowl on the bedside table and wiped her chin with a tissue.
“Fuck,” she said. The room illuminated. Painful light. She closed her eyes.
“You know, after ‘fine’ I think that other f-word’s your favorite. It’s the first thing you say when you wake up in the morning.”
Alyx opened her eyes and feasted them on Daniel’s handsome face. She muttered, “It is not, get the fuck out.” He smiled his beautiful smile and she felt a little better. She’d never seen him in his doctor’s uniform before.
He peeled open her eyelids and flashed more light into her eyes. She tried to squeeze them closed. “The IV will help with the nausea, you’re on some heavy pain meds. They’re probably wreaking havoc on your stomach.”
“I hope it’s not codeine, codeine makes me crazy.”
“Great, you’re crazy enough, we don’t need to add any boosters to that shit.”
Alyx chuckled. Her ribs protested. “Ow. Don’t make me laugh, it hurts too much.” She attempted to lift her head but Daniel pushed her back onto the pillow.
“Easy, you’ve taken a pretty good beating. Let your body rest for a while.”
Daniel felt her forehead, just like her father used to do when he thought she was coming down with something, which seemed odd, her temp was probably blinking on the monitor. “Well,” she said, “that bastard must be hurting pretty badly himself. I gave as good as I got. I just wish we’d found the women.”
“That’s right. You don’t know?”
Her puzzled expression answered his question.
“They found nearly seventy women in one of the hangars. Kept in dog kennels.”
“You’re kidding me? That’s great, that’s everything. At least this entire week wasn’t a waste of time.” Alyx mind-walked through her time with Daniel, deciphering her feelings. It hadn’t been a waste. It’d been crazy, wild, and fun, well until she’d found out he had a fiancée. But she needed to forget about her week with Daniel. Move on.
“The story is all over the news, luckily they’ve kept your name out of it. So far.” Daniel grabbed the TV remote from the bedside strap and switched to channel 12. The anchor reported the story in images: the hangar where countless women wrapped in blankets were carried to safety by a battalion of FBI agents and police officers. The reporter stated that the FBI raid had rescued sixty-nine women who’d nearly been sold into slavery, and over twenty employees of the 6X Enterprise were under arrest.
“What shape were the women in?” Alyx inquired.
“I can’t say they were in great shape, most of them had been regularly abused. However, since the slavers wanted them in good condition to be sold, they’d been left alone in the past week. We only have about half of them here, the others were sent to Brookhaven Hospital.”
A sense of pride overwhelmed her, endorphins flooded her brain. These women would have a chance to reunite with their families and eventually get their lives back. She averted her eyes from the images and asked Daniel to switch off the TV. “I’m so tired.”
Daniel placed a spoon at her parched lips. “Here, open.” The ice chips melted in her mouth, the cool liquid soothing her swollen flesh.
“How bad are my injuries?” she said, trying to move all her limbs for reassurance. “Anything permanent?”
“No, you’ll mend with a little rest and rehab. Your wrist is broken. The swelling wasn’t too bad so we casted it. You’ve got a serious concussion, which is adding to your nausea. Some minor cuts and bruises. The welts on your back should heal without leaving any permanent scaring provided we keep tending them.” Daniel hesitated a moment, “I take it there was no rape, am I right?”
“No rape.”
“Good, because if we had to do a rape kit—” His eyes widened in silent alarm. “We both know whose semen will show up.”
“Yeah, that would’ve been awkward,” Alyx said, heaving a sigh. “What time is it?”
“Nearly eight, at night. You’ve been out for almost thirteen hours.”
“Seriously? It�
��s Sunday night?”
“Yes.” Daniel stroked Alyx’s cheek with the back of his knuckles. “You scared the living shit of out me, Alyx. This is the second time.”
“Sorry. But just so we’re even, after that intervention you staged the other night to get me in touch with my feelings, well, you’ll be pleased to know it worked. I was pretty much terrified the whole time.” Alyx flashed him a nasty look and Daniel grimaced.
“I did worry maybe that hadn’t been such a great idea and your former fearless self would have been better equipped to handle your situation.”
“For a minute there, it seemed like all those horrible things you warned me about were coming true.”
“Thankfully not all of them.” Daniel rubbed her hand tenderly. “I’m livid that you were caned. Goddamnit, if you hadn’t killed the guy, I would have.”
Alyx gasped. “I killed him?”
“Yes. Those stilettos are multi-purpose it seems. Who knew? They brought his body here.”
“Shit.” Alyx inspected the cast on her arm. “My right hand? That’s gonna suck.” Annoyance fueled her simmering mood. It would be extraordinarily difficult to execute her daily tasks one-handed. She brushed her thumb over Daniel’s knuckles, startling when she felt the abrasions.
“What happened?”
Daniel hesitated before answering. “Which time?”
“What do you mean, which time?”
Daniel smirked. “I punched your boss at the club when he told me he lost you and then when I examined you I saw the bite mark on your breast and… well, I lost it. I punched a wall.”
“You punched Rob?”
“Yep. Right in the face. He went down like a ton of bricks.” Daniel grinned, apparently proud of himself.
“Geez,” Alyx said. Scowling, “Not too bright for a surgeon. You could have damaged your hand.”
“Stupid me. It was worth it the first time, but the second time it garnered too much attention from the staff.”
A nurse walked into the room and Alyx tried to extricate her hand from Daniel’s grasp. She didn’t think doctors usually held their patients’ hands quite the way Daniel did now. He tightened his grip, keeping her hand prisoner inside his.
“Dr. Taylor, I didn’t realize you were still here,” the nurse said before turning to Alyx. “Glad to see you’re awake, Agent Cameron. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a freight train, thank you.” Alyx tried to smile, but her swollen bottom lip nixed that.
The nurse checked her IV bag, then disconnected her from the beeping monitor. She fluffed her pillows and smoothed out the bed covers, her smile comforting. “As soon as Dr. Taylor rewrites your orders I’ll get you something to eat and drink. Is there anything you need right now?”
“I really need to pee. Can you help me to the bathroom?”
“Of course,” the kindly nurse said.
“I’ll take her,” Daniel said. Alyx clenched her jaw. This familiarity needed to end. Their ridiculous relationship would be something she’d never forget, but now they were nothing but… what exactly? She’d vowed to Daniel she would consider him a friend after this whole craziness had finished. Now she couldn’t envision that happening. Lacey wouldn’t want Daniel anywhere near her, and if she were Daniel’s fiancée she’d feel exactly the same.
The nurse cast a furtive look at their clasped hands, seeming perplexed. She said, “I can handle this, doctor.”
“I said, I’ll do it,” Daniel insisted, his tone filled with ice. But before the ridiculousness could escalate into a three-way argument, a figure appeared in the doorway, immediately silencing them. Daniel’s face darkened. “Lacey, what are you doing here?” He dropped Alyx’s hand. The nurse performed a vanishing act.
“You didn’t show for dinner at my parents’ house.” Lacey glared at Alyx, then turned toward Daniel.
He said, “How did you know where to find me?”
“I tracked your cell phone.”
“What the hell? That’s way out of line, Lacey. You have no business keeping tabs on me like that.”
“I thought you might be with your little tramp, but when I realized you were at the hospital I figured I’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. Apparently not.” Her constant glare gave Alyx a chill.
“Watch your mouth, Lacey, you have no idea what you’re talking about.” Daniel pivoted toward Alyx. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed his hands down his face but it couldn’t erase the anger lines seared into his forehead.
Just like last time, Alyx had no desire to get in between the two of them and so she kept her mouth shut.
“I’ll be right back,” he said to Alyx. He walked toward Lacey, grabbed her by her upper arm and dragged her out into the hallway. Alyx could hear their angry exchange but couldn’t quite make out the words. She closed her eyes and wished she could disappear like the nurse did. Her eyes filled with water. When had everything gotten so messed up?
Her stomach clenched, not from nausea, but from the total revulsion over the drastic life changes in less than ten days. She needed to escape. From her apartment, her job. But mostly, from Daniel.
He wouldn’t return tonight. She could feel it. The bastard had made his choice. Now Alyx had to make hers.
Monday
The morning found Alyx greatly improved and she’d even managed to eat some cereal. She needed to call Matt, but had no idea what happened to her cell phone and wasn’t sure she could recall his number. He could flash his FBI credentials at her apartment complex and bring a few things so she could make a break for it.
She was done with Daniel, he was back with Lacey and Alyx needed to get her life back.
Alyx slowly made her way to the bathroom mirror. Her reflection startled her. The bruises on her face, her fat lip. She’d seen this face before, too many times, on the victims of abuse. The bags under her eyes and the gray tinted complexion had replaced the healthy glow she’d achieved while sunning herself at the Hampton Shores beach.
She managed to brush her teeth left handed, but barely.
Padding her way back to the bed, she slipped under the covers and reached for the bedside telephone, dialing 411. A nurse entered with a vase of long-stemmed roses—a deep, deep crimson—wrapped in cellophane.
Alyx promptly hung up the phone. “You must have the wrong room.”
“Nope. These are addressed to you. They arrived last night but, unfortunately, were sitting at the fourth-floor nurses’ station. I’m so sorry.” The nurse put the vase on the bedside table then handed the card to Alyx, her name clearly printed on the envelope along with the wrong room number. “How are you feeling this morning? Can I get you anything?” The nurse’s warm fingers instinctively wrapped around Alyx’s good wrist and her eyes fell to her watch. “You seem much better.” Her caring smile appeared so genuine, and Alyx briefly considered how dedicated the good nurses were to their charges.
“I kept my breakfast down, that’s a start.” Alyx attempted to return the nurse’s smile, yet her lips felt like they’d break into tiny raw cracks if she continued. Actually, weird, her entire body felt like her skin was too small for her.
“Excellent,” the nurse said, “Dr. Taylor usually makes rounds early on Monday before he heads into his practice in the city.”
“Oh,” Alyx said. She’d fully intended to be gone before he got here. In fact, she thought she’d never see him again.
Focusing on the envelope, the nurse gave a mischievous grin. “Boyfriend?”
“Ah, no.” Alyx couldn’t imagine who’d sent them. Her pulse accelerated and she was glad the nurse had finished checking it. It couldn’t be. She dared not hope.
Slipping a finger through the flap she opened it and removed the card.
I love you, Alyx
I’m bringing you home to take care of you.
I won’t take no for an answer.
Always,
Daniel
Alyx looked up. The nurse had vanished.
Before
she could catch her breath and absorb the words written on the card, Daniel strode into the room like he owned the place. Her heart-rate spiked. Damn him, but gosh, he looked fine, like he’d stepped onto a Parisian runway for men’s fashion week. He wore a fitted black suit that easily cost several grand. His crisp white shirt featured French cuffs, and gleaming silver cufflinks emblazoned with the letters DT peeked out from his sleeves. A red-and-white striped silk tie and matching pocket scarf completed the effect with stunning flair. Glistening gel kept his hair in place and the stubble she’d gotten so used to seeing, and feeling, had been shaved clean.
“I see you got my message,” he said, beaming.
“Daniel,” Alyx began. “What is going on?”
“I’m not buying any of that bullshit about how we were both pretending, acting. I wasn’t, and I don’t believe for one minute that you were either. I told Lacey the truth last night, that I was in love with you.”
“But, but, Daniel…”
“I. Love. You. Irrevocably and unequivocally. You’re stuck with me. Stop arguing.”
“Look, we can talk in a few days. I need to go home and figure things out.”
“Absolutely not. You can’t take care of yourself and you’ll do as you’re told.”
“You’re not in charge of me anymore, Daniel. Don’t pull that Dom crap on me.”
“First of all, I’m insulted by that and secondly this is Doc crap, not Dom crap.”
“Well, then I’m signing myself out against doctor’s orders. I need to go home and try and regain some semblance of sanity.”
Daniel walked over and faced her. “Do you love me, Alyx?”
Silence. More silence. “Maybe,” she murmured, dropping her head, focusing on her fidgeting fingers that still held his note.
Daniel gently placed his knuckle under her chin and forced it up. “I can wait.”
Alyx struggled to make sense of what he said. He couldn’t really mean that. “Daniel, I’m flattered. And to be perfectly honest, I think I do love you. But I’ll never be someone’s wife or mother. I don’t want that life. Doctor’s wife. Raising spoiled children. Tennis at the club, lunching with the ladies.”
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