Don’t leave me, Kat. Don’t die. Keep fighting, he silently urged her. I’ll do anything if you just stay with me.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Why is it taking so long?” Darkness cradled his bleeding fist, ignoring the hole he’d just put in one wall.
Fury sighed. “Do you feel better? Allow Paul to bandage that. You’re going to slip on your own blood.”
Darkness refused to stop pacing. “They’ve had her for ten hours.”
“It takes time,” Fury reminded him. “You insisted on them giving her the healing drugs. They had to put her in deep sedation and stabilize her heart before they operated to stop the internal bleeding. No news is good news. It means she’s still alive.”
He halted. “Maybe they are afraid to tell me.”
Trey sipped his coffee. “I would be.”
“You’re not helping,” Ellie muttered.
“Would you want to tell him? He’s scary when he’s pacing and randomly striking out at walls.” Trey arched his eyebrows. “They’d tell you though. I was trying to lighten the mood. She’s hanging in there.”
“Why are you even here?” Darkness glared at the human.
“I want to know how your girlfriend is. I’m rooting for her.”
“Shouldn’t you be at the task force meeting?”
Trey hesitated. “I wasn’t invited. I’m suspended for a few days.”
“Tim suspended you?” Darkness growled. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Easy there,” Trey murmured. “You want someone to pulverize but it had nothing to do with you or what we did on scene last night.”
“Why are you suspended?” Fury frowned. “I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“It’s between Tim and me. I broke a rule of his. He’s pissed but he’ll get over it. I’m not saying anything more.” Trey grew quiet.
Darkness resumed pacing. Justice entered Medical and Darkness glared at him. “Do you have something to say to me?”
Justice glanced at Fury.
“No word yet.” Fury looked at the clock. “She’s a fighter.”
“For a human?” Darkness snarled. “Is that what you meant?”
Fury lifted his palms. “Stop. You are looking for a fight and I’m not giving it to you.”
“Don’t look at me.” Justice shook his head. “I read the reports and I don’t have a problem with anything your team did. We returned the paramedic to her home. She’ll have a good story to tell and was very understanding of the stressful situation. There won’t be any problems with the human authorities. I did want you to know that the police recovered a body from Katrina’s home. It’s Robert Mason.”
That saved Darkness the trouble of hunting the male down and killing him.
“Are they sure?” Fury looked skeptical. “I saw some of the news coverage. There wasn’t much left of that house.”
“They had positive identification. He was a priority since he’s FBI and because of the association to the NSO. They pulled dental records and immediately compared them at the coroner’s office. Jessie’s father put pressure on them too. It’s him. There’s no doubt. His body was heavily damaged but enough was left for them to make other distinctions as well.” Justice walked over to the pot of coffee and poured a cup. He turned, studying Darkness. “We’re getting heavy inquiries from the press about what went down last night but it’s being handled. Her family is in communication with Missy. We won’t allow them access to Homeland but Missy assured them everything was being done for Katrina.”
Darkness scowled. He didn’t know much about Kat’s family. He hadn’t asked. “They wish to see her?”
Justice nodded. “They have to fly in. They are living in other states. She had Missy listed as her medical contact at the FBI. That was lucky for us since the female is here and hasn’t protested anything our medical staff has done.”
“She probably doesn’t realize how dangerous that healing drug is,” Fury rasped.
Darkness glared at him.
“I’m not saying you did wrong by demanding she be given it,” Fury quickly stated. “I’d have made the same decision.” He shot a meaningful look at Ellie. “I just hope her friend is kept unaware of the side effects.”
“What are they?” Ellie inched closer to her mate.
Fury took her hand. “It was tested on Species but when they tried it on humans it caused heart attacks and massive strokes. It was too powerful for them to withstand.”
“Think massive amounts of amphetamines,” Trey added. “I learned about it when they put True’s mate on it after she was shot. It accelerates the healing process but it can also raise the heart rate too high, causing severe arrhythmia and heart attack. The patient can also stroke out because their blood pressure goes through the roof.” He stared at Darkness. “You had to take the risk. I’m sure she’s still here because of the drugs. It’s given her a real chance at survival if they can just keep her stabilized. It’s got to be a fine line between keeping her vitals high enough to keep her alive but low enough to combat the side effect of the drugs.”
“Well, Jeanie is great now.” Ellie smiled. “The drugs saved her. We just need positive thinking. They’ll save Katrina.”
“Kat,” Darkness growled. “She likes to be called that.”
“Don’t,” Fury growled back. “You want to pick a fight? Not with my female.”
“I’m frustrated.” Darkness calmed. “Sorry, Ellie.”
“It’s okay.” She kept her smile in place. “You wouldn’t be the only Species to ever get testy with me.”
The door across the room swung open and Doc Alli came out. She’d changed from her scrubs to a shirt and shorts set. Her sandals were quiet on the floor as she approached. Her expression masked her emotions but she locked gazes with Darkness, walking directly up to him. She stopped.
“That’s one tough lady you have in there, Darkness. I didn’t want to come out to give you news until I was sure she was going to make it, barring unforeseen circumstances.”
He let the words sink in.
Doc Alli grinned. “It was touch and go. I won’t lie. We had a hell of a time figuring out what dosage she could withstand but giving her enough to help her. The paramedics on scene were wrong. Her lung was bruised but it hadn’t collapsed. She had hairline fractures along her rib cage on that side but they’ve mended. We also didn’t find any internal bleeding so we didn’t have to operate. She just got bruised to hell, has a severe concussion and needed stitches in three places. She lost a lot of blood from those sites, which explains her scary vitals when she came in. She was suffering from extreme shock. She’s Trisha’s blood type. That was lucky. Treadmont insists on keeping all mate blood types on hand just in case one of us ever needs it.”
“May I see Kat?” He was afraid to believe her.
“Yes. I’ll take you back. We have her hooked to a lot of monitors. I want you to be prepared for that. Treadmont and Trisha are staying with her. She’s healing so fast we already had to remove the stitches so you won’t see those. Next time we’ll just use staples if we ever have to use the healing drugs on one of us. We’re keeping her sedated to manage her heart rate and blood pressure. We brought her around once to make sure she…”
“She what?” Darkness didn’t like the way her grin faded and worry flashed in her eyes.
“She took a severe blow to the head. We had to put her down fast when her heart rate rose too high but we wanted to make certain she was okay. The scans we did when she arrived showed some swelling but it’s gone now.” Doc Alli reached out and placed her hand on his chest. “We were worried about damage.”
“She’s fine though, right?” He felt sick.
“It was a closed head injury. You got her to us fast and we immediately began the drugs. We think we caught it in time before she suffered permanent injuries. The scans look great now. There’s no bleeding. We’ve been running scans every hour to watch her. The last thing we wanted to do was open her up. We don’t h
ave a neurosurgeon at Homeland but we had one on standby from one of the nearby trauma centers in case he was needed.”
“What if there is damage?”
Doc Alli chewed on her bottom lip.
“Just tell me.”
“We have been consulting with the neurology department. If there was damage and it’s mild, she might not remember what happened to her. Short-term amnesia is a possibility. It could cause some personality changes. Irritability. Mood swings. Depression.” She paused. “There could be some mild physical issues. Blurry vision, headaches and some weakness to her limbs. We’ll watch for verbal clues too. Slurred speech or trouble identifying words, spoken or heard.”
Darkness closed his eyes. It hurt. It’s my fault. He couldn’t stop repeating that thought in his head. He should have kept Kat at Homeland, handcuffed to his bed, instead of pushing her away. She’d wanted him to meet her halfway but he’d refused to even try.
“Darkness?” Doc Alli patted his chest. “She’s tough.”
He opened his eyes. “You said you brought her around once. Did she seem fine?”
“She opened her eyes, looked confused, but then her heart rate climbed too high. We put her back under. She never spoke. It was too fast. Sedatives are hard to shake off and we just didn’t have enough time to allow her to become coherent.” She dropped her hand. “Do you want to see her?”
“I do.”
“Follow me.” She spun and quickly walked away.
Darkness stayed on her heels. They had two operating rooms and that’s where she took him. Doc Trisha and Treadmont were in the large room, both sitting on chairs. They looked worn out and had changed clothes as well. Doc Trisha smiled at him. It looked forced. Doc Treadmont just dropped his head, watching something on a laptop.
Kat lay still on a padded gurney. They had the rails up on each side of her. She wore a hospital gown. A thick blanket covered her to mid chest. Her finger was covered with a plastic clip and a green thing was taped to her upper arm near her elbow. It pumped fluids and drugs into her system. The leads of a heart monitor ran under the top of her gown to her chest. She breathed on her own but still looked too pale.
He stood at her bedside. Her other arm was bandaged where he knew she’d suffered a deep gash. It was wrapped loosely around her arm. He frowned.
“It’s healing,” Doc Alli informed him. “We keep peeking at it so it’s best not to tape it to her skin. Do you want to see her other injuries?”
He jerked his head in agreement.
Doc Alli lifted the blanket and Darkness growled. Kat had been on her side when he’d found her and too many bodies had been in the way when the paramedics had strapped her to a backboard. They’d covered her with blankets to keep her warm against the affects of shock. He realized her hip and thigh were damaged.
The wounds looked as if she’d been cut by a thick blade. The skin was marred by multicolored bruises, a natural progression of the healing process. It was in the advanced stages. They’d already started to become yellow.
“I don’t know if it was from flying debris from the blast or if she landed on something,” Doc Alli explained. “She got nailed on both sides, either way. Her left side was cut up like this but she sustained the worst damage on her right side. Her arm, her head and the ribs.”
Darkness leaned over, noticing how his hands shook when he carefully gripped the top of Kat’s gown and peeked under it. Circular pads attached the monitor leads above her breasts and more lines ran to her lower ribs. There was bruising under her right breast. He let go and straightened.
“It looked a lot worse when she was brought in.” Doc Trisha moved to the other side of the bed. “The minor cuts and scratches on her have already healed. Not even bruises remain.” She met his gaze. “We have a decision to make. I’m going to go talk to her friend.”
“What decision?” She had all of Darkness’ attention.
“To keep her on the drugs until she’s fully healed or not. At this rate that will be complete by tomorrow night. The other option is to take her off them and allow her to heal naturally the rest of the way. If that’s the decision, we’ll flush out her system to remove the healing drugs.”
“How is she handling being on them?”
Doc Trisha shrugged. “Good, considering she’s almost in a coma.” She glanced at Doc Alli.
“I told him. We’re all worried about the closed head injury.” Doc Alli took a breath. “We’re anxious to wake her up and see how she is.”
“She’s not critical anymore,” Doc Trisha informed him. “It would be safe. Her worst enemy was shock from the blood loss she suffered and the trauma of her injures. We’ve battled both those and won. We’re going to talk to Missy and let her decide.”
Darkness shook his head. “Keep her on them. Kat would hate being contained in Medical. Let her fully heal.”
“It’s not up to you,” Dr. Treadmont stated.
Darkness whipped around to glower at the male.
“It isn’t. They are guests at Homeland and her best friend is listed as her next of kin. Her records were forwarded to us.”
He backed away from the bed and advanced on Treadmont. “You’ll do as I say. Keep her on the drugs.”
Doc Alli grabbed his arm. He stopped, not wanting to drag her. She stepped around him, putting her small body between him and the male.
“We’ll keep her on them but if she starts to show signs that the drug is too much of a strain, we’ll stop them. I think that’s a reasonable compromise.”
He growled low, glared at the male doctor, but calmed. “That’s fine.”
He shook off her hand and returned to the bed, watching Kat sleep. He didn’t plan to leave. He didn’t trust Treadmont anymore. It angered him that the male would disregard his wishes when it came to Kat. He’d put her in danger but he’d also make sure she fully healed before they allowed her to wake.
“We’re going to keep her in here while she’s on the drugs.” Trisha caught his eye. “Okay? We’ll move her to a room once we’re ready to wake her up.”
“Yes.”
Kat would want to know Mason was dead. Her next question would probably be about her friend. He reached out, taking Kat’s hand.
“How is Missy?”
“She’s fine,” Doc Alli assured him. “Some bruises and cuts but nothing serious. She just needed a few bandages and ice packs. We have her in one of the rooms.”
“They have pets.” He remembered that. “Where are they?”
“Book took them home. I checked them over. I’m not a vet but they seemed fine.” Trisha moved away. “He’s going to keep them at the men’s dorm until Missy and Kat are ready to leave Homeland.”
Darkness lowered his voice in case Kat could somehow hear him. “They don’t have anywhere to go. Their house was destroyed.”
“I’m sure the NSO will help them find a new place.” Alli reached over and patted his arm. “She’s going to be okay, Darkness. Why don’t you try to get some sleep? You’ve been up all night. We’re going to bring a few cots in here and take shifts napping. I’ll have one brought in for you too.”
“No.”
“Darkness?”
He looked down at Obsidian’s mate. She peered back at him with a determined look. “I’m used to dealing with growly, stubborn guys. You don’t frighten me. You want to stay here? You take a nap. That’s not up for debate. We’ll wake you if anything goes wrong. Kat is sleeping. Get the rest while you can.”
He understood the logic of it and caved, nodding.
She stepped back. “Good.”
* * * * *
“What a mess,” Justice said and sighed, taking a seat in the waiting area.
“It could have been much worse.” Fury pulled Ellie closer. “He’s still in denial but he has strong feelings for that female.”
“You think that’s denial?” Ellie didn’t look convinced. “I was afraid he’d go insane if she died. I had Paul put a tranquilizer gun on the other side of the
counter in case we needed to knock him out.”
“Darkness is stubborn. We may be brothers but I’m the smarter one.” Fury turned his head and placed a kiss on Ellie’s forehead. “I stopped fighting my feelings for you.”
“It’s a circus outside the gates.” Justice reached up and rubbed his forehead. “Reporters, police detectives and FBI all want to interview Darkness and the team. I told them they are at Medical. I let them assume everyone needed to be treated for injuries.”
“I’m at Medical and so is Darkness.” Trey stretched his arms, adjusting in the chair. “So it wasn’t exactly a lie. Do you want me to do the bullshit verbal dance? Just tell me what you want them to know.”
Justice seemed to consider it. “Is that before or after you give some human female a tour of Homeland?”
Trey cringed. “Sorry about that. I can explain.”
“Save it. Jinx already did. It was smart. She didn’t contact the police or press charges. We’re sending her a basket of NSO merchandise and arrangements have been made for her to visit Homeland next weekend. We’ll have to explain that she can’t take photos unless we approve them but I’ll have Flame or Smiley escort her around. They can stop at the bar and have lunch. It’s a small price to pay for not reading headlines stating ‘NSO team carjacks lone woman’. You know some journalist would imply we were kidnapping females to bring to Homeland.”
Fury snorted.
Justice dropped his hand and focused on Trey. “Tim is pissed at you. Do you want to tell me why?”
“Nope. It’s personal.”
Justice appeared guarded, studying Trey. “We can’t tell anyone about the call that came in from Katrina’s home. They’d want a transcript of it. Book assured me Katrina was only planning on sneaking into Homeland as a tactic to stall the male until help could arrive. I agree. I’d rather not have to explain that to the press. They tend to twist the truth.”
“No shit,” Trey muttered. “They’d think the FBI was plotting to overtake Homeland instead of it only being one crooked agent who partnered up with his brother-in-law to get money off the backs of incarcerated Species.”
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