Forty minutes later Tom strode back into the hospital, the figurine in a plastic zip lock bag. He headed for the waiting room, hoping that Bettina and John would still be there. He stopped abruptly when he found it was full of people, but not the couple he wanted.
Damn, why hadn’t he just stopped at the triage desk and asked for the doctor instead of going off half-cocked into the waiting room thinking that was the most logical thing to do. He also had no idea which cubicle Amberley was in. She’d been whisked away on arrival and he and her parents were shown to the waiting room. Her dad had broken land speed records to keep up with ambulance so that they arrived at the hospital at the same time.
Backtracking he stopped at the desk. “I’m looking for Amberley Price, can you tell me where she is please?”
The nurse looked up at him. “Are you a relative?” she asked.
If he said no, he wouldn’t be allowed up, he could lie and say he was her husband but he didn’t want to do that either.
“Not technically. I’m her boyfriend and I was here with her parents earlier, but I had to go back to the house to get something. I need to see her or her parents or Dr. Branston. It’s really important. It could help them work out what’s wrong with her.”
“I can vouch for him.” Tom turned to see a paramedic who’d attended Amberley. “he rode the ambulance with us.”
The nurse raised her eyebrow and looked between him and the paramedic. “Fine. She’s been transferred up to ICU on the sixth floor.”
Tom could’ve leaned over the counter and kissed her, but he controlled himself. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” He turned to man standing at his side and gave him a chin lift in thanks.
Seconds later he was in an elevator heading up to the ICU. Every second it took him to get close to her could be a second off her life. The doors whooshed open and the atmosphere in the area pressed down on him. It was incredibly quiet, like everyone was afraid to speak. It made sense though because the people on this floor were fighting for their lives. The woman he loved was among them. He gripped the plastic bag a little tighter.
Tom couldn’t understand why he hadn’t collapsed as well. He’d touched the figurine, too, although his contact had only been brief and at the base of the object. Had Amberley absorbed whatever had been put on the small trinket? Is that why it hadn’t affected him? Or when she cut her finger, had that increased her absorption rate of whatever substance had covered it? He was making an assumption that some sort of toxin had been smeared over the metal figure. It was the only thing that made sense to him.
God there were so many scenarios and he could spend time analyzing the whys and wherefores later. The most important thing he had to do was to find the doctor and tell him his suspicions.
He turned the corner and to his right was another reception area, not as large as the one in the emergency room, and only manned by one person instead of three. Taking a deep breath he approached. The woman looked up and smiled at him.
“Can I help you?”
Tom placed the zip lock bag on the counter top. “I need to see Dr. Branston. It’s important, and has to do with his patient Amberley Price.”
“Dr. Branston is an ER physician. You would need to go to the ER to speak to him. Once a person is transferred to the ICU another doctor is appointed as the primary physician.”
“Right, well then I need to see that doctor. It’s extremely important. I may have information on what is causing Ms. Price to be ill.” Tom surprised himself at how calm and in control he sounded. His heart was racing and what he really wanted to do was march down the hallways, looking in every room until he found Amberley. Being away from her was killing him. He needed to touch her, to see her chest rising and falling. See her beautiful green eyes sparkle with laughter and desire. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if anything happened to her.
“I’m sorry, sir, unless you’re immediate family I can’t give you any information. You are welcome to wait in the ICU waiting room.” She pointed to the hallway on her left.
Well aware that she was only doing her job, Tom couldn’t help but get frustrated with her blocking him. As much as he hadn’t wanted to go down this route downstairs, right now he would if it meant saving Amberley. Saying a quick, mental apology for the lie he was about to tell he took a deep breath before speaking. “Look I couldn’t have got up here if someone downstairs didn’t vouch for me. I think the reason she’s sick is because of this.” He pointed to the bag. “Please tell me where she is and where I can find her doctor.”
The nurse eyed him suspiciously, her gaze flicked between him and the bag. “Fine. She’s in cubicle six, down that corridor.” She pointed to her right this time.
Tom could’ve leaned over and kissed her, too, but didn’t want to press his luck. “Thank you.”
Scooping up the bag, he marched down the corridor to the right of the desk. Amberley was in the third room on the left. All around him he heard the rhythmic beep of heart monitors, a reassuring sound to everyone visiting loved ones. As he reached Amberley’s room, he paused, composing himself, preparing for the sight of Amberley lying on a bed, tubes coming out of her. It was a vision he didn’t want to see.
Pulling open the curtain he noticed that John and Bettina were seated by the bed. A nurse fiddled with the IV at the top of the bed, by Amberley’s head. His beautiful girl’s eyes were shut and her skin color was still as pale as it had been downstairs. He had hoped that whatever fluids they pumped through her would’ve given her cheeks a slight pink hue.
“Thomas, what do you have in your hand?”
Tom redirected his attention off Amberley and to her mother. He lifted the bag. “This is the figurine that was delivered to Amberley last night. After she opened it this morning, she ran her fingers all over it, tracing it’s shape. When she got to the notepad the figure is holding she cut her finger. Not long after that she collapsed. I think whoever sent this covered it in some sort of toxin or poison.”
Bettina gasped and grabbed her husband’s hand. “You can’t be serious. Who would do such a thing?”
Suddenly the steady beeping from the heart monitor changed pace and became more erratic. Tom’s heart leaped to this throat. A silent cry of No echoed around his mind.
“I need you all to leave now.” The nurse demanded as she depressed a button on the console above Amberley’s head. She looked at Tom. “Leave that bag on the end of the bed. I heard what you said and will let the doctor know.”
Tom did what the nurse said and placed the bag by Amberley’s blanket covered feet. “Come on Mr. and Mrs. Price we need to let the staff do what they’re trained for.”
He said the words as gently as possible, when he wanted to rail at the staff for not being able to fix the woman he loved. Bettina looked like she was going to dig her heels in and not leave, but John whispered in her ear and she nodded. It killed Tom to walk out of the room, but knowing that the doctor would be walking in soon and the nurse would relay the information he’d provided, comforted him a little.
“Let’s go to the waiting room.” He suggested and headed in that direction, hoping Amberley’s parents followed.
Like the room downstairs, the area was furnished with rows of plastic chairs lining the walls. Unlike downstairs, a couple of couches were situated in the middle of the room. In one corner was a fridge which contained bottled water and sodas. There was also a sideboard which had a coffee machine and a plastic case containing various pastries. Food was the last thing on his mind. Anything he ate would probably come straight back up or sit in his stomach like a rock.
“Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” he asked the couple once they’d seated themselves on one of the couches.
“No, thank you.” They both said in unison. Another indicator of how in tune the couple were. If only the gossip magazines who’d declared the Price’s marriage wasn’t a love match anymore could see them now. Both were leaning on each other for support. Their relationship was the type his parents had
, and the type he wanted. And what he wanted with Amberley.
His back pocket vibrated and he pulled out his phone, seeing Robot’s name flash on the screen.
Fuck, he hoped they weren’t about to be called back on a mission. If they were he wouldn’t go. For the first time in his career, he didn’t want to be called away. The team would have to make other arrangements. Maybe they could call in one of the guys who’d taken Joker’s place when he’d been recovering from his gunshot wound. No way was he going to leave Amberley’s side. Not while she was so sick. He’d take whatever punishment was dished out to him.
Thoughts of declining the call flitted across his mind, but he banished them quickly. Sure, he may not want to leave, but he wasn’t going ignore his team lead.
Connecting the call he strode to the corner of the room. “Now’s not a good time, Robot.”
“What’s going on, Red?”
Tom scrubbed a hand down his face. “Are you calling to tell me we have to go on a mission or are you calling to chat? Because if it’s the former, I’m not going with the team. If it’s the latter, as I said, it’s not a good time.”
“We’re not going on a mission. I’m standing at your front door, and you’re not here. So where are you and what’s going on?”
Tom sighed, relieved that he wouldn’t have to face the Commander and explain why he refused to go on a mission. “I’m in LA, and I’m in a hospital.”
“Fuck, man, what the hell happened?” Robot yelled and Tom held the phone away from his ear. “Are you all right? I can be on the next flight out if you need me to be.”
“I’m fine. Amberley’s in the hospital. Shit, Robot, she fucking collapsed in my arms. One minute she was talking to me, the next I was catching her as she crashed to the floor.”
“I didn’t realize you were visiting Amberley.” His team lead’s words were innocuous but there was a ton of speculation in them as well. No time like the present to let Robot know the last man standing on the team had fallen. He had no issues falling either, he only hoped Amberley was feeling the same way. He’d ask her when, not if she woke up, but definitely when.
“Yeah, I needed to see her. I caught the first flight out following our debriefing of the last mission.”
“You know if you need us we’ll be there.” Robot said, clearly understanding the situation and what his words meant.
While he and Jenny had a close relationship as siblings, it wasn’t like the relationship he had with his teammates. He’d dropped everything when Cowboy had needed him not that long ago, in fact the whole team had. And as much as he wanted the guys with him, they deserved to be with their families.
“Nah, I know everyone needs to be where they are right now. But thanks.” Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A doctor was standing in the doorway and the way John and Bettina jumped off the couch, this must be the attending physician on Amberley’s case. “Look the doc’s here. I gotta go. Thanks for the call.”
He disconnected the call before Robot could say anything else. In a few strides he was standing beside Amberley’s parents. He held out his hand to the man. “Hi, I’m Tom Grant, I was with Amberley when she collapsed. I also brought the figurine in, were you able to find out anything?”
“Dr. Wortham,” he grasped Tom’s hand briefly then released it. “At the moment, Amberley has stabilized, but is still unconscious. I’ve sent the statue to toxicology for them to run some tests on it. I’ve requested the tests be a top priority so that we can get the results and start treating her.”
“How long before you know anything, doctor?” John asked.
“I’m hoping we hear something within the hour. We’ve taken a sample of Amberley’s skin from the area around the cut on her finger. I’m aware you washed the wound, but I’m hopeful, with the severity of her reaction, that we can get some insight as well.”
“Can we go back into the room?” Bettina asked. Gone was the A-list Hollywood actress. A mother stood in front of the doctor, begging to see her daughter. Any animosity he felt toward the other woman and her matchmaking schemes disappeared in a second. How could he dislike a woman who clearly loved her daughter this much?
He couldn’t and when Amberley was on the road to recovery he’d tell her all about how much of a mother her mom had been in the crisis.
“I think it’s best if we keep the visitors to a minimum. One at a time and only for short intervals until we know exactly what we’re dealing with.”
Tom wanted to be the one to go into her room and sit by her bedside. Only he knew that, as much as he was softening toward Bettina, he didn’t think she was totally on board with him being with her daughter regardless of the fact that he’d gotten her to the hospital as quickly as possible and had maybe found what was causing Amberley’s illness.
“I’ll wait here,” he said. “I know the doctor only said one at a time, but I don’t think he’ll have too much of an issue if you both go in at the same time.”
He took a step back from the couple, when he wanted to do the exact opposite.
“Thank you, Thomas.” Bettina’s mom came over to him. When her arms enclosed him in a hug he reflexively returned the embrace. “I underestimated you and your feelings for my daughter. We won’t be long and then you can sit with her.”
A few minutes later he had the room to himself and his thoughts. He closed his eyes and raised his head toward the ceiling. “Please let her be all right,” he whispered.
Chapter Eleven
Awareness seeped into Amberley. Her body ached and opening her eyelids seemed impossible. A constant beep beep beep sounded around the room, and seemed in time with the beating of her heart.
Her mouth was dry, as if she’d been walking in Death Valley without any water for hours. She swiped her tongue over her cracked lips but that didn’t seem to make any difference. The only way to find out what was going on was to open her eyes, no matter how difficult it proved to be.
The first thing that greeted her was a ceiling that didn’t look like the one in her bedroom. Was she in a hotel? Had she gone on a bender the night before and gotten so drunk she passed out?
Being in a hotel wouldn’t explain the constant beeping. Swiveling her head to the left she spied a bank of machines.
Hospital.
She was in hospital.
Amberley closed her eyes again, willing her mind to remember what she’d done that could’ve led her to ending up in a hospital bed. Her mind drew a blank and the longer she tried to think the more it began to throb.
The possibility that she’d gotten drunk and needed hospital care seemed unlikely. She’d never let herself get that wasted.
Opening her eyes again she looked to her right and spied someone slumped in a chair. His legs were crossed out in front of him and one arm hung to the side, as if it had been resting on the bed but when he’d fallen asleep it had slipped off.
Her vision was improving the longer she kept her eyes open and his facial features became recognizable to her.
“Tom?” With her throat so dry it was like she’d just mouthed his name instead of speaking it.
She tried again. “Tom.” Barely a whisper but his eyes popped open and connected with hers.
“Ambs?” He got up and leaned over her, touching something above her head. She heard a faint buzz. “You’re awake?”
Close up she could see the scruff on his face, as if he hadn’t shaved in a few days. “What happened?”
“How much to do remember?” he asked and she didn’t like that he was avoiding answering in her question.
“I don’t remember much which is why I asked you what happened.” The more she talked the stronger her voice became, but her throat was still really dry. “Can I have some water please?”
“Shit, sorry. Yeah, hang on.” He walked over to the sliding table and grabbed the jug, pouring water into the glass. His movements were smooth and she admired the way his t-shirt molded his shoulders. It was crumpled and creased a
s if he’d slept in it for days.
“Here you go.” Tom placed the straw against her mouth and she sucked down some of the cool liquid. She wanted more but he pulled it away from her. “You shouldn’t drink too much.”
Her instinct was to grumble about it, but he was probably right. She had no idea how much time had passed or why she was in hospital. “Now will you tell me what happened? How long have I been here?”
Tom settled himself back in the chair he was resting in when she woke up, bringing it closer to the bed. “You’ve been unconscious for three days,” he said as he grabbed her hand. “You were poisoned.”
Amberley had no idea what she’d been expecting, but to hear she’d been out for three days and had been poisoned wasn’t it. She closed her eyes, willing her mind to give her a hint of what she’d done and what had happened before waking up in hospital.
In slow motion images coalesced behind her eyes. Her and Tom laughing in her kitchen. Them eating breakfast together. Then she was grabbing a box from him, opening it and pulling out the small statue of a woman writing. Her eyes flicked open. “The figurine?” she asked.
“Yeah. Whoever sent it to you covered it in poison. I guess they knew you’d run your fingers over it. They put a liberal amount on the notepad and pen.. You may not have had such a rapid reaction as you did if you hadn’t cut your finger. It allowed the poison to travel through your system a lot faster.”
Her mind whirled with all the information Tom was giving her. None of it really made sense to her. “Someone poisoned me? Who would do that?”
“That’s the question we all want the answer to. I have so many question. I want to find and hurt the fucker who did this to you. But I won’t because you just woke up.”
Tom’s demeanor had switched from concerned boyfriend to deadly Navy Seal. He was correct. At the moment her brain was way too fuzzy to be answering questions as to who may have done this to her. “What type of poison reacts so quickly with a simple touch?”
Guarding Amberley Page 10
