by Doctor Me Up
"Elizabeth," he croaked through dry lips.
"Hi, handsome. You look like shit."
"Thanks. You look beautiful," he said. "I guess this means you get to play doctor with me?"
"You bet. I'll baby you all I can. I plan on talking to the hospital's medical director to see if I can postpone my start date."
"No you don't. You need this. I'll be fine."
"I love you. I'm going to be there to help you recover."
"I love you too, but there wasn't anything major hit except a hairline fracture in my collarbone from what the doctor said. It's more of a flesh wound. It'll heal just fine as long as I don't do too much. I'll have to close the office for a few weeks, but I'm sure my patients will understand."
"You will take it easy, mister. If I have to tie your ass down, I will."
"A bit bossy for a sub aren't you?"
"When I have to be." She frowned before she dropped a quick kiss to his lips. "Seriously, Marcus. You won't be able to do some things around your house. I'll be there to cook and clean."
"You'll do your residency. I won't hear anymore about it."
"Then I'll drive back and forth on my days off. Natalie and Cade will help too. There are plenty of people in Red Rock who will help do things for you, I'm sure. You're a popular guy."
"Don't send the women over. There's only one woman I want waiting on me. You."
"You'll move into my house then."
"You want me to move in with you?"
"Yes…I mean it only make sense to…"
"Okay."
"Okay? No arguments?"
"Nope. I want to be with you even though this isn't the best of circumstances."
"As long as I get to hold you when we sleep, I'll be a happy man," he said softly, drifting off to sleep.
She shifted to remove her hand from his, wanting to let him sleep now that he was on the mend, until his eyes popped open again. "I'm going to let you rest."
"I'll rest better with you by my side."
"I know, but they won't let me sleep here no matter how much clout you think you might have."
"Which is none around here."
"I'll be back when they move you upstairs, okay? I want to give Cade, Natalie and my father a progress update."
"They're all here?"
"Of course they are, Marcus. They care about you."
"Did they catch the guy who shot me?"
"Yes, but we'll talk more about it when you've recovered a bit more."
"All right. I love you, Elizabeth, but I think I'll sleep now for a bit. I'm kind of tired."
"I love you too, Marcus. I'll see you in a little while."
As he drifted off to sleep, she heard a soft snoring sound. Slipping her hand out of his, she went back out into the waiting room to fill everyone in on his progress.
* * * *
Two days later, Elizabeth stood at the side of his bed with her hands on her hips. "You need to get up and move around more, Marcus. You can't be letting these nurses wait on you anymore. I know with your charming disposition, you have to be making it difficult for them to do their job."
"I've been a grump, haven't I?"
"Yes, now let's go for a walk."
"I want out of here."
"Tomorrow," she said, sliding his slippers onto his feet.
"I hate these gowns. Couldn't I have some scrub pants? What about my underwear?"
"I'll ask the nurses, but if you treated them better, they probably would have given you scrub pants to wear, you know."
"Maybe."
"No maybe's about it." She grabbed his hand, tucking it around her waist so she could steady him on his non-injured side. "Easy now."
They stepped out into the hall, walking toward the nurses' station. Several eyebrows shot up as they walked nearby and down the other hallway. The nurses seemed shocked as they walked past. He really hadn't been that bad of a patient, had he?
"So what's the progress on the shooter?" he asked, turning back toward his room.
"He's in jail for attempted murder."
"What about the man who paid him?"
"I wish I'd never told you about that."
"He can't hide forever."
"I've given them all the information I can recall from his offshore accounts to his estates out of the country. They've located him at one of them. Now they have to get extradition papers to have him arrested. I'm sure they'll have him in custody soon."
"I hope so. The man sounds crazy. I don't want him anywhere near you."
"Did you hear what Dad found out about the vial?"
"No."
"It was sodium nitrate concentrated. Enough to kill the whole herd."
"How in the world did it get there and why would one of your dad's own hands want to put him out of business?"
"I'm not sure, but I have a good idea. I didn't tell you about the cell phone I found."
"Cell phone?"
"Yes, in the mud near where the body was. There were all kinds of calls from Ari's number on the phone. Apparently, Ari's been paying the guy to poison my dad's herd ever since our blow up at the airport."
"He must really have loved you." Marcus didn't like the thought of another man touching his woman, much less loving her like he did.
"No, I wasn't anything more than a possession to him. When I walked, he didn't like it."
"Now I know the man is crazy. Any thoughts on why he tried to have me killed?"
"I don't know. I don't think he knew about the two of us, but you never know." When they returned to his room, she helped him get back into the bed, tucking in the covers around him.
"Thanks, Mom."
She blew him raspberries as she continued fussing with the blankets. When she made it around the other side, she gave him a quick, unsatisfying peck on the lips.
"More."
"No."
"Spoilsport. You'll pay for your answer when I can wield the paddle again."
"Promises, promises."
"You're really asking for it now," he threatened good-naturedly.
"Yes, Sir." She grabbed her purse. "I really need to get back to Dad's. I need to pack since my Master insists I come back here in a few days to start my residency."
"Yes, he does. You'll be great."
"Thanks." She kissed him again. "I love you."
"I love you too. Be careful driving home."
"I will. You have your cell so I'll call you when I get there."
"All right."
Quiet surrounded him the moment she left. He leaned back in the bed and smiled. She belonged to him. Thank God!
Chapter Fourteen
Elizabeth sang to the country tunes on the radio as she pulled into her dad's driveway. A car she didn't recognize sat pulled up to the porch with a rental tag. That's weird. I wonder who is visiting.
After she grabbed her purse, she slid out of her car, walking by the sedan. A briefcase and overcoat sat on the front seat. Who wears an overcoat in Montana in the middle of summer?
"Dad?" she called, walking through the door. "I'm home.”
"Welcome home, Elizabeth."
The hair stood up on her arms. "Ari. What are you doing here?"
"I came to retrieve my fiancé."
"You never asked me to marry you."
"No, but you assumed I would so now I've come to rectify the situation."
"I'm not going anywhere with you." She glanced around to see her father sitting in one of wing chairs. His gaze shifted from her to Ari and back.
"He's fine. For now…"
"Why do you insist on this? You don't love me. I've realized I don't love you."
"Oh, but I always get what I want. You walked out on me. No one walks out on Armand Listolini."
"You can have whomever you want. Any of the women you've fucked while you were with me would love to be with you, I'm sure. Take one of them."
He sighed, shifted and pointed the gun she hadn't noticed before, at her father. "I'll kill him and your boyf
riend. You see, no one fucks me over."
"You cheated on me, but it's not right if someone doesn't play by your rules anymore? You're crazy, Ari."
Before she could blink, he lifted his left hand and slapped her hard across the cheek. Finding herself on the floor by the end table, she touched where the ring on his finger cut her face.
Her father started to move, but sat back down when Ari lifted the gun in his direction.
"I would stay put if I were you. What I do with my fiancé isn't any of your business, old man."
"The hell it's not, you fucking bastard," her father growled. "I may be thirty years older than you, you son of a bitch, but if I get the chance, I'll beat the hell out of you."
"You won't get the chance."
The butt of her father's .45 stuck out from under the end table. She inched her hand closer, trying desperately to reach the gun without Ari seeing her. One thing her father had taught her and her siblings…how to shoot.
Her cell phone jingled a saucy tune from her purse. She wasn't about to retrieve it, but she knew by the ringtone who was on the other end. Marcus. He would have expected her to call already. Once her cell phone quit ringing, the home phone started. All three of them stared at each other until the answering machine picked up.
"Elizabeth, sweetheart, are you there?"
"How touching," Ari grumbled.
"Honey, pick up the phone." A long pause accompanied the silence. "I called your cell but you didn't answer and you've got me worried. You should be home by now."
"I need to pick it up, Ari. If I don't he’ll send the law out here."
"Fine, grab the phone, but no funny business. Just tell lover boy you're fine and he can go about his business."
She grabbed the phone. "Hello?"
"Baby, where were you?"
"I'm sorry, Marcus. I didn't hear the cell and I was talking to my dad. I wasn't going to call you because I didn't want to disturb you."
"Something's wrong."
"No, it's fine. I'm fine, really. We're waiting on the results from the vial. That's all."
"He's there, isn't he?"
"Yes, I know you want to know the results, but the lab is supposed to call the sheriff with them."
"I'll call them the moment we hang up. Be safe, honey. Help is on the way. I wish I could be there."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
She hung up the phone. Ari made a gagging sound as he waved the gun around. His eyes looked wild. Sanity dimmed in his gaze the longer she looked. He'd really lost his grip on reality.
"You'll never see him again."
"Listen Ari, I'll go with you if you leave Marcus and my father alone. They haven't done anything to you. You want me. I get it. Let's go away, just the two of us. We'll leave this mess behind."
"You'd leave with me?"
"Of course. I don't want my family hurt."
Sirens could be heard faintly in the distance. She cussed under her breath. Surely they weren't stupid enough to come up to the house with sirens blaring. Her hope died as they came closer.
"You called the cops?"
"How could I have called them, Ari? They're probably going next door."
He jumped up and glanced out the front windows as the sheriff pulled up in front of the house. With his back turned to her, but still able to keep her father in his sights, he didn't realize she had the .45 in her hands until she pulled it out.
"Put the gun down, Ari so we can let the police handle this."
"No!" he screamed, swinging around to point the gun at her. "If I can't have you, no one will. You're mine!"
The gun exploded with a loud pop.
* * * *
Expecting her life to flash before her eyes, she wasn't prepared to open them and see a large stain of red spreading across Ari's chest. She shot him? With her eyes closed? Her dad always told her to keep them open when she shot at targets as a kid.
His eyes were wide as he looked down at his chest, dropped his gun, and then slid to the floor.
Her hands started to shake, causing her to drop the gun on the floor beside her. The quake spread to her whole body. She started to fight when strong arms pulled her in.
Her father whispered, "It's all right, now. Everything is over with. He can't hurt anyone again."
"Daddy?"
"It's me, sweetheart."
"I shot him."
"No, you didn't. The sheriff did when he came in the room behind Armand. You didn't shoot anyone."
"Thank God. I couldn't live with myself if I'd taken a life."
He pushed her back and looked into her eyes. "You would have done what had to be done to protect your family. You didn't have to though."
She grabbed his arms and hung on tight. "Help me outside, Dad. I need the air on my face."
"Sure, honey."
Together, they made their way toward the door.
"I'll need statements," the sheriff said.
"We aren't going anywhere. Just outside."
"Okay."
She couldn't look—didn't want to look at the body sprawled out on their living room floor. That could have been her or her father. Why did Ari have to go to this? Why was he so insistent? Nothing made sense. Crazy doesn't make sense.
"I need to call Marcus. He'll be worried sick or on his way home to find out what's going on."
"Here is my cell phone."
"You had it in your pocket?"
"Yes, but I couldn't get to it without alerting Ari."
"I know, Dad. Thanks for being there."
"I didn't do anything, sweetheart. I wish I would have been able to protect you."
"You couldn't with a gun on you." She took the cell phone and punch in Marcus' number with shaking hands.
"Hello? Mitchell?"
"It's Elizabeth."
"Oh thank God. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Ari is dead. The sheriff shot him before I had to."
A heavy sigh reached her ear. "You're safe. Everything else can be worked out."
"I'm a little shaky. I wish you were here to hold me."
"I'm getting dressed right now."
"You can't leave the hospital, Marcus. You need to stay there."
"No, you need me. I'm taking a cab from here."
"It's a two hour cab ride."
"I don't care, baby. I need to be there with you."
"All right, you stubborn man."
"You know it. I'll be there in a few hours. Until then, remember, I love you."
"I love you too. See you soon." She clicked the phone shut and handed it back to her father. "He's leaving the hospital and coming home."
"Why am I not surprised."
"He shouldn't be, Dad. He should stay there."
"He's a man in love, sweetie. He needs to reassure himself that you're all right."
They sat in the rockers on the porch. She took several large breathes to remove the smell of gunpowder and blood from her nose. Blood shouldn't bother her. After all, she's a physician, but she had to fight with her need to help Ari or let him die like the dog he was.
"You couldn't have helped him. The sheriff's bullet killed him instantly."
"Thanks, Dad. How did you know I had a conflict going on inside of me?"
"I'm your father. I know you well. I know you want to fix things. It's why you became a doctor. Even if the sheriff hadn't killed him, I think the man was beyond help, except for psychiatric help."
"The look in his eyes…" She shivered again. "I'll never forget the look. He truly had lost his grasp on reality."
The sheriff came out onto the porch. "We'll remove the body when the coroner gets here. I need to ask you two a few questions."
For the next hour, they went over step-by-step how things went down. She gave detail after detail of her relationship with Ari, how his phone number showed up on the cell phone belonging to the cowboy, what his expressions and words were during the time he held the two of them at gunpoint and his demands.
"We won't have to do any kind of investigation since you didn't shoot him. Your bullet went wide and hit the wall. I shot him."
"Thank you for helping us."
"Make sure you thank Doctor Melton. Without his call from the hospital in Billings, we wouldn't have known to be out here."
"I plan to."
The coroner's van pulled up. Within several moments they removed the body.
"You two are free to go back inside if you like."
"Thank you. I need to get the blood out of the carpet before it dries," she said, thankful for having something to keep her mind occupied until Marcus arrived.
"You don't have to clean up, Elizabeth."
"I need to, Dad."
She grabbed a bucket and filled it with cleaning solution and water. The carpet he landed on was a throw rug so they could get rid of it if the blood wouldn't come out. She wanted the rug clean though. It was one of her mother's favorite woven Indian rugs. No way would she let the crazy man ruin something so dear to her mother. Pass after pass with the brush, little by little the blood slowly came out. She didn't realize tears streamed down her cheeks until someone took her arm and lifted her to her feet.
"It's okay, darlin'."
"Marcus. Oh God, Marcus," she sobbed into his uninjured shoulder.
"It's okay. It's over. You're safe. Your father is safe and he can't hurt anyone again."
"I should have protected Dad. I had the gun. I closed my eyes. If the sheriff hadn't shot him, he would have killed me or Dad."
"You aren't a killer, Elizabeth. You're a healer."
"But it's my fault."
"It's not your fault. He was crazy. Stop blaming yourself."
"I…I can't. If I would have never got involved…"
"Come with me." He took her hand and led her to her bedroom. "Across my knees."
"What? You can't be serious."
"I said across my knees, sub. What do you say to me?"
"Yes, Sir." She dropped her pants and underwear to her ankles before lay across his knees, balancing herself on her hands so her ass pointed in the air.
"I can't hold you down so you'll leave your hands on the floor until I'm done."
