"I wasn't leaving."
"Could you... would you mind..." He wasn't sure what he wanted to ask for. He just knew he was suddenly more afraid than he'd ever been in his life.
She took his hand in hers. "Would it help if I hold your hand when I'm here?"
He nodded then instantly regretted it. "Please." She stroked the back of his hand and he felt a little calmer. "Thank you... did you tell me your name?"
"It's Milly. What's yours?"
"Sam."
"I've always liked the name Sam. And your last name?"
He parted his lips to answer but the name didn't come out. Worse than that, no name came to mind. He felt his heart start to race with anxiety. "I... I can't remember."
She squeezed his hand. "That's okay. Nothing to worry about. The pain medicine sometimes makes us forget things. It'll come to you later."
"Is it making me hot too? I feel like the AC's broken."
"Nothing's broken that I know of, but your hand is a little clammy. Of course, you are wrapped in bandages like a mummy. I have some cold Jello, if you feel up to a spoonful or two. That might help, but I'd have to let go of your hand."
"Stomach's queasy, but I think I'm hungry." A moment later he felt a spoon touch his lips and he opened his mouth as far as the bandages allowed. He couldn't tell what flavor it was, only that it was disgustingly sweet, but it did feel cool in his mouth. "More, please."
She fed him another spoonful of the gelatin then asked, "How's the pain today?"
He swallowed a sugary glob. "It only hurts when I breathe." He thought she might laugh at the corny one-liner, but she didn't. "I think I'm too stoned to tell."
"Stoned? Oh. I suggested that you may have been near a building with lots of glass windows when it was bombed but I hadn't considered that the explosion would also cause you to be hit with flying chunks of rock."
She managed to sound completely serious so he played along. "Yeah, I was definitely bombed when it happened." The image of the blonde in the Porsche flashed in his mind and his chest tightened. "The girl... how is she?"
"What girl would that be?"
The question caused his heart to start racing again. "The one I was with... in the car. Is she okay?"
She fed him the last of the Jello then paused for several more seconds before answering. "I'm not sure, but I promise to ask around. What's her name?"
Sam had no idea. The gelatin churned in his stomach as he realized he could be responsible for killing someone and he didn't even know her name.
"Sam, you're hurting my hand."
He immediately relaxed his grip. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was hurt this woman. She was his lifeline at the moment. "Sorry, I..." Whatever he'd been thinking about had disintegrated. "I... forget what we were talking about."
"Nothing important. But I was wondering, which branch of the service were you with?"
He thought that was a peculiar question, but at least an answer came to mind. "Army."
"Division?"
He hadn't thought about that time in years and now he couldn't remember. "I... I'm not sure—"
"How about where you were stationed?"
"Stationed?" The word was wrong. Did she mean where did he work? He hadn't detected an accent but perhaps she wasn't as American as she sounded. "I was at the Fontainebleau but—"
"Oh! I know that area. It's right outside Paris. You were brought in with some soldiers who were injured in Normandy, so we just assumed you were involved in Operation Overlord."
"Operation, what?" The pounding in his head got louder with each of her words. "I... don't... understand..." The building sense of anxiety amped up to panic, which triggered head and neck pain so unbearable, he moaned aloud.
"I think I've pushed you a little too hard for the moment, but you'll feel better in a few seconds. Just try to relax."
Sam was still trying to figure out why Milly's words weren't making sense when he felt the needle enter his arm.
Milly continued to hold Sam's hand until she was sure the morphine had put him back to sleep. She hadn't had a chance to ask all the questions she was supposed to but at least she could tell Norwich this man's first name, that he was in the army, and the area where he'd been wounded. She figured the girl in the car was probably a separate memory that had nothing to do with the bombing. As though thinking the doctor's name held power, he entered the ward accompanied by two armed military police officers and two brawny men, dressed as orderlies, pushing a cot on wheels. She didn't recognize any of them.
"Nurse Fitch," Captain Norwich said, gesturing for her to join him at the far end of the ward.
She hurried only to get out of the way of the other four men heading toward the bed she was standing beside.
"Did you get anything out of him?" Norwich asked in a hushed voice.
She saw the two orderlies carelessly lift Sam and turned to scold them but Norwich grabbed her upper arm and held her close. "Don't interfere. They know what they're doing."
She took one more glance in Sam's direction and saw him being pushed out of the ward on the cot. "What's going on? Why are MPs here?"
His gaze darted toward another nurse talking to a patient a few beds away. "Come with me," he murmured to Milly. Tightening his hold on her arm, he pulled her out of the ward with him. Only when they were a good distance down the hall did he release her.
She didn't expect an apology and he didn't offer one. Because of how oddly he was acting, she not only slouched, she bent her knees a little.
"Did you talk to him?"
"Briefly, yes. He had some water and—"
"What did you learn?"
"His first name is Sam, but he couldn't remember his last. He also couldn't remember his division but he's Army, stationed outside of Paris. He became very agitated with my questions and was still in a lot of pain, so I gave him more morphine. Where are they taking him?"
"Was he at ease with you?" When she didn't answer he asked, "Does he trust you?"
"I believe so. But we only exchanged a few words before the pain got to be more than he could handle."
"You remember how he was stitched up?"
"Of course."
He looked from side to side before murmuring, "There were only three men brought in on the transport the other night, and Sam, if that's really his name, wasn't one of them. Apparently he only turned up with the others after they arrived here, which could explain the lack of a file and dog tags."
Milly frowned and shook her head. "That doesn't seem possible. You saw how badly he was wounded."
"I certainly did. And that means someone else—not one of us—placed him with those soldiers. And you saw how he was patched up. That work wasn't done by any American medic. But there are reports that Hitler has scientists and doctors working on building an army of superior men. It looks like they tried to slip one of them in through a side door."
Her eyes widened. "Are you saying he's a spy?" She watched his gaze move to something behind her and turned to see the two orderlies approaching.
"That's exactly what we think he is, and his supposedly not remembering his last name or which division he was with, goes along with that. At any rate, it's been decided. You're going to help make sure he doesn't get to do whatever he came here to do. These gentlemen will escort you to the private rooms you will be sharing with your patient while you sweetly nurse him back to health so he can stand trial. Of course, if you can entice him into giving away his secrets, including who helped him get in here, there may not be a need for a trial at all."
Milly looked at the two large men and back to the doctor. "This is crazy. I'm a nurse, not a spy."
"As a member of the Army Nurse Corps, you have sworn to save the lives of our boys whenever possible, and at this moment, your patient poses a threat to those lives."
"Captain Norwich, I love my country and I always said I would help however I could, but I have no experience with—"
"Regardless of your experience or
interpretation of your duties, I'm afraid you already know too much to refuse this assignment. The only choice you have now is whether to allow these men to quietly escort you to the secure rooms or be taken to another, less hospitable place... by force."
Milly straightened her knees and spine, pushed back her shoulders and lifted her chin. If this man was going to force her to do something so objectionable, she would do it without slouching.
~
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IT'S ABOUT TIME
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Meet The Author
MARILYN CAMPBELL has been published in the genres of suspense, futuristic, time-travel, paranormal, erotic and lighthearted contemporary romances, non-fiction metaphysical works and has had a screenplay produced. A true thrill-junkie, she has jumped out of an airplane, raced around the Indy 500 track, driven solo throughout the United States and believes a great roller coaster ride can cure whatever ails her. Unfortunately, Marilyn has not yet figured out how to time-travel... except in her stories. She currently resides in Massachusetts with her daughter and their four-legged companion, Sweetie.
Some Time Away (Lovers in Time Series, Book 3): Time Travel Romance Page 27
