He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “So, I kept the secret, both out of fear of what she would do, shame over feeling that fear, shame over what had happened. I always felt like I would never have been able to say anything, because how would I prove it?”
“So she showed up at your apartment because she was trying to exert influence? Still?”
Blue nodded. “She’s wildly jealous of you, of Magda. We still haven’t gotten to the reason why she suddenly dropped her bid for more of Dad’s fortune.”
Romy stood up and paced, her sorrow now turning to anger. “That fucking bitch.” She stopped and turned to Blue. “And I’ll bet all the money in the world Gaius knew she was going to do it.”
Blue looked surprised. “How?”
“He picked me up that night, outside your apartment. He said he was coming to talk with you. I was so intent in getting away that I didn’t question it, but …”
“Fucker. Conniving motherfucker.” Blue was angry now too but Romy put her arms around him.
“Tonight is not the time for retribution. Tonight we’re talking, remember. Just you and me.”
Blue stared down at her. “I’ve never told anyone about what Hilary did to me. Not one person. I was stupid to think I could keep it from you, especially after you trusted me enough to tell me about Mortimer.”
“There are bad, bad people in the world,” Romy said quietly. “And they all have their reasons, however fucked up, to want to hurt us. It’s up to us to make sure they can’t.”
Blue stroked the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “You’re right.”
Romy leaned into his touch. “Blue … we’re going to get through this, I swear we will.” She took his hand and led him to their bedroom. “Let’s go to bed, baby. In the morning, we’ll talk more, and we’ll make a plan where to go from here.”
Blue kissed her tenderly. “You got it, beautiful.”
It seemed only a few moments after they closed their eyes that the call came, and they knew it was about to be one of the worst days of their lives.
Chapter 17
So much blood. The floors of the emergency room were covered with it, making the rushing staff slip and slide in it as they tried to cope with the influx of seriously injured and dying patients.
A high-speed train had missed a stop signal, plowing into another passenger train at the station. Hundreds were injured, dozens dead, and worst of all, as Mac told Romy as they hurriedly changed into scrubs, there were a lot of families.
“There are kids,” he said, dead-eyed, and Romy felt sick.
It was worse than she’d expected. Blue, some of his fellow attendings, and Beau Quinto, were all down in the ER or in the operating rooms desperately trying to save people with horrific injuries. The first few hours saw so many people brought in dead that Romy lost count.
The ER was overrun, a warzone, and she yelled out to Mac, “Why aren’t the other hospitals taking in emergencies?”
Mac gave a steady look. “They are …”
“Jesus.” Romy could not fathom the scope of the accident. On Christmas night too.
Warren, the orderly she vaguely knew, helped out, arranging places for the treated to go, and she threw him a grateful glance. “You’re the best, Warren.”
He nodded shyly. Romy caught sight of Blue, his face pale and stressed. He nodded to her and mouthed, “You okay?”
She nodded. If she let her feelings take over, she would scream.
Beau came over. “Romy, we’re sending a team into the field. You, Mac, Blue, and myself will go to begin with. Get some supplies together, as many as we can spare, and let’s go.”
As they rode in the ambulance down to the King Street Station, Beau briefed them. “The station building itself is undamaged so there’s a triage area that has been set up inside. Look, there are a lot of dead and a lot of injured, as you know, but we still have people trapped who might need surgery in situ. It’s going to be upsetting and dangerous, but I trust all of you. Stay safe.”
Even Beau’s words could not have prepared them for the horror of what they found in the mangled wreckage. Romy felt her composure slip when she saw the dead bodies of two children, rendered unrecognizable by their injuries, being lifted from the train, and she turned away, taking in deep breaths. People need you. Get a grip.
The doctors went to work with the same efficiency they had employed in their own emergency room. Romy worked closely with the first responders both on the track and in the train’s vast waiting area.
Hours passed, night turned into day turned into night again. Drooping from exhaustion, the medical staff nevertheless kept up their treatment, dispatching as many patients as they could to hospitals in the area. The less injured were ferried down as far as Portland to get beds.
Blue came to find Romy as the second night drew on and they grabbed a couple of private moments together.
“You okay, bub?”
She nodded, but she could tell he wasn’t convinced. “First major incident?”
She half laughed. “Yep, having a lot of ‘firsts’ this year.”
He hugged her tightly. “Beau says another hour and he’ll call it.”
“Okay. I’m just going to do another sweep of the place.”
“Okay, I’ll take the other end of the station. See you in a few.”
Romy clambered back down onto the tracks, careful to avoid the third rail even though they had been assured the power had been switched off. She scooted behind the pile of wreckage and searched around in the dark. Her foot slipped on some blood and she wobbled, falling backwards—but thankfully, was caught by two strong arms.
“Thanks,” she said breathlessly, turning to face her savior but before she could see who it was, he grabbed her head and slammed it hard against the steel of the wreckage. Romy didn’t even have time to cry out as he attacked her, hitting her head repeatedly against the steel until she was almost unconscious. Blood was pouring from her forehead into her eyes and she could feel herself weakening.
“Hello, my darling,” a familiar, horrifying voice growled in her ear as she blacked out. “How ironic that your life should end here, Rome, as you do your Florence Nightingale thing.”
No … no … it couldn’t be, this wasn’t how it ended. Romy found she couldn’t move her arms to fight him off and as he slipped his hands around her throat, all she could think of was Blue.
God, Blue, I’m sorry, I love you …
“Romy!”
The pressure on her throat stopped and she heard Dacre’s muffled. “Fuck!” Suddenly she knew she was alone and that her would-be killer had gone, but now the darkness was beginning to cloud her vision and the last thing she remembered was Blue’s anguished cry.
Part Four
Chapter 18
Beau’s handsome face was set and grim as he faced the television cameras. “As you know by now, we have confirmed seventy-eight deaths, one hundred and fifty-three seriously injured, and forty-seven minor injuries in the King Street Station Rail crash. I and my team were on hand to help the first responders, and I would like to thank them for their exceptional service. My team, both with me at the station and here at Rainier Hope, has worked tirelessly for over forty-eight hours since the accident, and I applaud every one of them.”
He looked down for a moment, trying to rein in his anger. “Unfortunately, shockingly, during the operation to save the lives of as many victims as possible, one of our doctors, Dr. Romy Sasse, was attacked and seriously injured by an unknown assailant. Dr. Sasse is currently being treated at Rainer Hope for head injuries. We ask anyone who was in the vicinity of the King Street Station on the twenty-sixth of December to come forward with any information they may have.” Quinto looked directly into the camera. “Whoever you are, you should know. No one attacks my staff and gets away with it. Whoever you are, you will be brought to justice.”
Blue clicked off the television, grateful for his boss’s support. In the bed next to him, Romy opened her eyes as she’d be
en doing intermittently for a while, but this time her eyes focused on him. “Blue?”
He let out a shaky breath. “Thank God … baby, I was so scared. How do you feel?”
“A little woozy.”
“Do you remember what happened?” Blue asked, leaning down to stroke her hair gently.
Romy nodded, then winced.
“Dacre was choking me until he heard you call my name. You saved me, baby.”
“I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off of you,” he said, his eyes sorrowful.
“You can’t watch me twenty-four seven, and we had a job to do. Who knew Dacre was psycho enough to do that? Come to think of it … how the hell did he know I was down there? And why would he risk trying to kill me there with the police all around? He’s insane.”
“Well, we knew that. Anyway, don’t think of that, just get well. That’s all I care about right now.”
Romy leaned back further into the pillows. “I honestly feel okay, which surprises me. He really did a number on my head.”
“They gave you a CT scan before anything. No brain bleeds, thank God, but you’ll be concussed for a few days.”
Romy pushed the covers on the bed back and swung her legs over the side. Blue was up in an instant.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are you going?”
“A concussion, I can deal with at home, Blue,” Romy said, frowning as he caught her and made her sit again. “I’m taking up a bed when I don’t need it.”
Blue sighed. “You’re not going anywhere, Romy. Beau wanted to keep you in for observation and he’s the boss.”
“You need the beds for the train victims.”
He shook his head. “Honey … the less seriously injured were taken to hospitals out of the city in anticipation that we would need more beds.” His voice was gravelly. “We didn’t need as many beds as we hoped we would.”
“Oh God,” Romy groaned. “How many?”
“Seventy-eight dead, over one-fifty serious, and more than a third of those critical. It was a bad smash, baby.”
“Merry fucking Christmas.”
“Indeed.” He stroked her face and she leaned into his hand. “You might not feel it now because you still have morphine in your system, but honey, you’re going to have one hell of a headache when it wears off. So, bed rest. I’m going to be here the whole time.”
Romy sighed and got back into bed, reaching up to feel the pattern of butterfly stitches on her head. “Will I at least have some awesome scars?”
Blue chuckled softly. “No, you bled a lot, but the wounds in themselves weren’t too serious. The bruising is the main thing.”
“Can I see?”
Blue looked at her askance then nodded. He went into the en-suite bathroom to fetch a mirror. “You were one of those kids who bragged when you skinned your knees, right?”
“Hell, yes.” She took the mirror from him. “Whoa.” Her entire forehead was an angry thundercloud of purple, black, and red, crisscrossed by the white of the stitches. “Yup, this is the look.”
“You kind of look like that chick from that film with the road race.”
“Penelope Pitstop?”
Blue laughed. “No, the Charlize Theron character from Mad Max.”
Romy looked impressed. “Furiosa. Yeah, baby.” She pulled Blue over to kiss him. “Now that’s some roleplay I could get into.”
“Ahem.”
They both looked up to see a tired-looking but smiling Beau at the door. “Am I interrupting?”
“Not at all.” Romy smiled at him. He came into the room, winking at Blue before checking Romy’s vitals.
“Good. That’s all good.”
“So, I can go home?” Romy looked hopeful as Blue rolled his eyes.
Beau grinned. “Not on your life. At least overnight, Dr. Sasse, your chief’s orders. Listen,” his smile faded and he pulled up a chair, “the police will want to talk to you. I’ve spoken to the hospital board; we’re going to be intensifying the security around here. There will more scrutiny on visitors, on staff. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about the attack.”
“Thanks, boss.”
Beau left them alone a little while later and Blue kissed Romy’s hand. “When they let you out, we’re going away for a few days. I’ve cleared it with Beau.”
Romy sank back onto the pillows. Her head was beginning to pound painfully now. “Okay.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then let out a distressed gasp. “God, Mom. You didn’t call her, did you?”
“It was on the news; I had to call Stuart. He told me he would break it to her gently.”
“I don’t want them coming back and ruining their honeymoon.”
Blue stroked her sore head. “I think I persuaded them not to.”
“Thank God.” Romy leaned into Blue’s touch. “I think I need to sleep now.”
“You go right ahead. Do you want some painkillers?”
Romy nodded, wincing, and when Blue came back with the tablets, she swallowed them gratefully, draining her water glass. She felt exhausted, drained, and now that the adrenaline had left her system, the shock of the attack was getting to her. She closed her eyes before they could fill with tears and fell into an uneasy sleep.
Gaius was beside himself with rage. “You damn fool! Do you know how many cops were at the accident? You tried and kill her there?”
Dacre waited until Gaius had ranted himself out, then narrowed his eyes at the other man. “I didn’t intend to kill Romy, just scare the crap out of her. I promise you, it worked.”
“But you could have been seen; all the work we’ve done to get you close to her could have been undone.”
“You mean like if someone had tried to split them up before we got to finish what we set out to do? Like your slut mother?” Dacre enjoyed the dark rage in Gaius’ face.
“Believe me, my mother and I are going to have a serious talk. God.” Gaius’ express was pure disgust. “How could she have slept with that Italian son of a bitch?”
Dacre said nothing, just smirked. Gaius stared at him in dislike. “Yeah. You laugh, but it’s Romy’s mouth wrapped around his cock now.”
Dacre growled and Gaius smirked. “Yeah, that sticks in your craw, doesn’t it?”
“Not for much longer.”
“Well, this time, stick to what we planned and we’ll get everything we ever wanted.”
Dacre nodded, but said nothing. Gaius had been useful up to now, but there was no way Dacre would tell him what his real plan was. Something that would make Romy’s last moments on Earth a living hell.
Chapter 19
After three days, Beau discharged Romy, and Blue immediately whisked her onto his private jet and flew them both to Italy. As she stepped out into the mild Italian winter and felt the sun on her skin, Romy sighed happily. “Yeah, this is what I needed.” She smiled at Blue, who was loading their cases into the big hire car. She loved that rich as he was, Blue preferred to do things himself rather than hire a staff.
He drove them through the Tuscan countryside, past olive groves, vineyards and avenues of cypress trees until he pointed out a large villa on top of a hill. “There it is.”
Romy saw a terracotta-colored stone villa nestled into the hill and as they approached she sighed. “God, it’s beautiful.”
“And ours,” Blue grinned at her surprise. “Merry Christmas, baby.”
Romy gaped at him. “You bought this place?”
Blue laughed. “Almost … I wanted you to have a say, so I’m holding off until you give the final say as to whether I sign the papers. But yeah. I wanted to surprise you.”
“You certainly did that.”
At the villa, Blue dumped their cases in the lobby. Then, taking Romy’s hand, he walked her through the villa. Exposed brick, billowing white drapes, bookcases, hand-turned wooden furniture—the whole place was a romantic dream. Romy went from room to room, open-mouthed. “God, Blue, I thought these types of places only existed in the movies.”
“You
like?”
“I love.”
Blue laughed, delighted. “Good. I’m glad you think so. Come see the kitchen.”
The kitchen was a vast open-plan room with an open fire as well as a state-of-the-art stove and range, and a huge wooden table, marked from years of use. Dried herbs hung from the walls, and there were three comfy couches at one end. “This is the heart of the house,” Romy said, “you can just tell this is where the people congregate, eat, drink, love. God, can you imagine our family here? Everyone bustling around, Mom taking over the cooking, Juno flopped on the one of the couches.”
“Our kids running around.” Blue smiled as she looked up at him.
“Someday, hopefully.”
He kissed her softly, then as she responded, the kiss became fiercer before he broke away, breathless, studying her. “Do you feel okay?”
Romy nodded. In truth, the injury was still giving her headaches, but she wanted Blue so badly, she pushed aside any doubts. She pressed her body against him. “Take me to bed, Allende.”
Blue swept her into his arms and strode through the villa, grinning down at her. “I’m going to kiss every inch of you, pretty girl.”
Blue made love to her tenderly, a little hesitantly, conscious that she wasn’t fully recovered. The bruises on her lovely face were a daily reminder of how close he had been to losing her and it gnawed away at his gut. Who attacked a doctor at the scene of an accident? Why the hell would Dacre Mortimer risk so much?
Fucker.
When Romy fell asleep, Blue lay awake, his mind whirling with anger and love and confusion. He’d hired the security team—even, here, in Italy, they weren’t far away. He hadn’t wanted Romy to feel trapped so he’d kept that information to himself, but it reassured him that no one could get to them here. He could relax and Romy could heal.
He eventually fell asleep and was awoken by soft kisses from Romy. He smiled without opening his eyes. “You taste so sweet, baby.”
The Naughty One Page 11
