Shattered

by Ava Conway

  “Of course it would.” I tugged open the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” I started into my office, but then stopped when I noticed Johnson was following me. “What are you doing?”

  “I have an appointment to talk to you about McKenna.”

  “What? No you don’t.”

  “I sent you the meeting request in Microsoft Outlook this morning. Didn’t you see it?”

  When I didn’t move, he glanced around the hall. “The things I want to discuss are of a private nature.” He motioned to the camera up in the corner of the hall. “And you never know who might be listening.”

  “About Flynn.”

  “What?”

  “The things you want to discuss with me about Flynn are private.”

  “Of course.”

  I hesitated. Something wasn’t right, but if Johnson had something on Flynn, I needed to know what it was. Perhaps I could help him, or at least get him the help he needed.

  “Two minutes, and we keep the door open.” I flicked my wrist and opened the door. “I have a lot of work to do.”

  Johnson followed me into the office as I placed more folders on my desk. Leaning against the corner, I crossed my arms and gave him a level stare. “What do you want, Johns—”

  Before I got the word out, the orderly closed the door and pushed me back against the desk. Air rushed out of my lungs as my back hit the smooth surface, scattering weeks’ worth of work onto the floor. I started to stand, but Johnson’s large frame came down on top of me.

  “What do I want?” he asked. “I thought that much was obvious. I want you, Mia. Only you.”

  EIGHTEEN

  I SQUIRMED beneath Johnson and tried to get away, but he was so heavy. I realized that even if I could get away, I’d never make it across the room and to the door before he caught me again. Panic welled inside my chest as he shoved his lips on mine. He tasted of coffee and cigarettes, an unpleasant aroma that made my stomach churn. He tried to dart his tongue past my lips and I bit it, causing him to howl and jerk back in pain. As soon as my mouth was free I started to scream. Unfortunately I got out only a squeak before his large, meaty hand crashed over my mouth.

  ”Go on, honey. I love a woman who plays hard to get.”

  Tears stung my eyes, and I tried to blink them back. I needed to keep a level head, but it was so difficult with so much panic running through me. I glanced at the door, judging the distance. It was so damn far away.

  “You have spirit, Mia. I like that. It’s probably why Flynn likes it, too. He was always a fighter, that one. He probably likes a good battle in his bed.” He tilted his head to the side. “That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why he likes you. You’re a fighter, too.”

  I couldn’t speak, so I just stared at him with wide eyes.

  “What does he do, slap you around a little? Bite you?” An evil smile spread over his face as he rubbed his growing erection against my leg. “Well, that can be arranged.” He removed his hand from my mouth and grabbed my thigh and raised it, locking me in place.

  “Let me go.” With my hands free, I pushed against his chest, trying to get him to back away. He only laughed and lifted my leg higher. The movement caused him to inch forward and press his chubby shaft up against my sensitive tissues.

  “I have to admit,” he said. “The more I learn about you, the more I like you. I think we were meant to be together.” He rubbed his hips against the apex of my thighs. “Ooh yes, I can see that you want this as much as I do.”

  The man was insane. “No.” I shifted my hands up and clawed at his eyes as he lifted my skirt. “Get away from me.”

  Crack. The connection of his hand against my ass filled the air. Pain vibrated up through my body, shaking me to the core.

  I bit his finger. Johnson yelped and moved his hand from over my mouth.

  “Get off me,” I said.

  “You like that, huh?” Johnson said as he grabbed my wrists.

  “No, you freak. Let me go.”

  “You can talk all you want, but I know the truth. You dumped McKenna because you wanted a real man. Well, I’m here, baby.” He leaned forward, and I tried to push him away. The kiss was rough, meant to bruise more than please, and his hands felt like iron shackles around my legs. Johnson ran his finger under the hem of my panties, causing a wave of nausea to roll up through my body.

  “Get off me.” I doubled my efforts, but the man wouldn’t listen to reason. He had this wild, faraway look in his eyes. I thought of the medication Flynn had slipped to the receptionist and wondered if some patient had been giving Johnson pills illegally, too.

  “Mia, I have the—” Flynn opened the door and stopped, clearly stunned by the scene before him.

  “Flynn, help me,” I begged as I wrestled Johnson’s strong grip.

  Johnson turned his head away from my lips and met Flynn’s gaze. “Get out of here, McKenna. This doesn’t concern you.”

  Flynn dropped a folder, his gaze hardening. “Let her go, Johnson.”

  “I’m warning you.” Johnson eased back from me. “Close that door and walk away.”

  “Or what?”

  I used the distraction to my advantage. I reached down between my legs and grabbed Johnson’s erection, hard. The orderly howled as I dug my nails through his thin cotton uniform and into his tender flesh.

  Flynn seized the opportunity. As Johnson fell away from me, Flynn threw himself at the orderly and knocked him to the floor. I scrambled up onto the desk as Flynn pinned the large man and started raining punches down on his face and neck.

  Oh, my God. It was as if everything were moving in sickeningly slow motion. I tried to process what was going on around me, but my mind froze with fear. The men were so big, and there was no room. Johnson knocked down some shelving and Flynn scattered a stack of papers on my desk.

  Johnson swung again, hitting my ankle. Pain blasted through my leg as I struggled to get my feet under me and huddle into a ball. Flynn countered, giving him a left hook that sent Johnson stumbling back into a second stack of shelving. The metal fell on top of the men, but neither seemed to acknowledge it.

  The sickening sound of something cracking filled the room as Flynn hit Johnson’s nose. The sound was terrible. I tried to look away but felt like a deer in headlights. None of my limbs worked, and I couldn’t find my voice.

  Flynn didn’t seem to slow down. He landed punch after punch, hitting Johnson’s face in rapid succession. “Always picking on damn women because you’re too chicken for a real fight.”

  Johnson tried to say something, but it got swallowed in Flynn’s fist. The orderly raised his hands to protect his head, but Flynn easily pushed them aside.

  This has to stop. I glanced around and noticed that the men were blocking my exit. I couldn’t even go and get help. Instead of trying to intervene, I did the next best thing. Covering my ears, I let out the loudest scream I could manage.

  “What’s going on here?” Elias popped his head into the room. His gaze swept around the small space, taking in the scene before him. Within seconds he was moving. With a quick, fluid motion, he reached for the cell at his hip, pushed a button, and jumped into the fray.

  “Stop it.” Elias tried to grab Flynn’s arms. Flynn jerked out of the large orderly’s grasp and began pummeling Johnson once more.

  Blood was everywhere. On the floor, on my shoes, on the files that had been thrown from my desk.

  Within seconds Everett, Pam and Dr. Polanski arrived. Elias dragged Johnson out into the hall, and Flynn dove after him. Everett jumped into the wrestling match on the floor while Pam got the needle ready. Dr. Polanski started shouting orders. “Stop that this instant!”

  I wanted to tell them not to give Flynn the shot but couldn’t find my voice. My whole body started shaking.

  “How much?” Pam asked as she took the needle out of a small case.

  Dr. Polanski told her. Elias grabbed one arm, while Everett grabbed the other. Flynn fought them with everything he had, but not even a
prizefighter could get away from two orderlies the size of linebackers.

  “No!” My protest sounded more like a croak than a word. I wanted to go to Flynn, but found it difficult to move. I stared, horrified, as the needle got into Flynn’s arm and as my mentor pulled me from the room.

  “Mia.” Dr. Polanski stepped over the bodies and into my office. “Mia.” She shook me gently. “What went on in here?”

  I forced my gaze away from Flynn to meet hers and tried to think of something coherent to say, but my thoughts were a jumbled mess.

  Elias popped his head into the room. “We’re going to need someone to look after Johnson. I think his nose is broken.”

  Dr. Polanski nodded. “Go ahead and call. Did Johnson say anything?”

  Elias glanced at me and then returned his focus to the doctor. “He was mostly incoherent, but it sounded like Flynn barged into Mia’s office and tried to take advantage of her. Johnson was walking by and spotted them. He tried to stop it, and that was when Flynn started whaling on him.”

  Dr. Polanski turned to me. “Was that what happened? Did Flynn try to force himself on you?”

  I started to speak, but then whimpered as Everett dragged Flynn onto his feet. Elias moved to help, and Everett shifted until each of them supported one of Flynn’s arms. God, he looks so helpless. The man was so drugged that he couldn’t even hold his head up.

  “Mia?” Dr. Polanski asked as the orderlies shifted Flynn’s weight. “What happened?”

  Flynn turned his head and met my gaze. For one long moment we stared at each other as he worked his lips and tried to speak.

  “Mia,” he finally said in a slurred voice, “are you okay?”

  “Don’t answer him,” Everett said.

  “Mia?” Dr. Polanski asked. She waited until my gaze met hers. “Did Flynn have sex with you?”

  I turned back to Flynn as tears filled my eyes. I hugged my knees tighter and hoped that this was just a bad dream. Any moment now, I was going to wake up in my apartment holding Freckles, and everything would be okay.

  “Get him out of here,” Dr. Polanski ordered.

  “Mia, I’m so sorry,” Elias said. “I had no idea . . .” He pressed his lips together, as if overcome by some strong emotion.

  Everett kicked Flynn in the leg. “Asshole.”

  “That’s enough,” my mentor ordered. “Get him down to confinement. We’ll deal with him later.” When they were gone, Dr. Polanski turned to me.

  “Did he . . .” She glanced down at the spot between my legs. “Did he succeed?”

  I shook my head.

  “Do you feel like you need to see a doctor?”

  I shook my head again and forced myself to loosen my grip on my knees.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  I slowly slid off the desk. “I—I think I just want to go home.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Tears filled my eyes as memories of Flynn punching Johnson rose to the surface.

  “Okay.” She patted my shoulder as three doctors rushed down to Johnson’s side. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? We can talk about this more tomorrow morning, okay?”

  I nodded, because I wasn’t sure what else to do. Dr. Polanski left me and returned to Johnson’s side. The doctors huddled around the orderly and spoke to one another in a code that seemed both familiar and strange.

  After a few moments, Dr. Polanski glanced at me over her shoulder. “Go home, Mia. Don’t worry, we’ll handle Flynn. He won’t bother you anymore.”

  I picked up my briefcase and purse with numb fingers. Flynn? I widened my eyes as I realized that they thought it was Flynn who had assaulted me. “But—”

  “We need to get him downstairs,” one of the doctors said.

  “Clear the way.” The second stood and ushered me outside.

  “Relax, Mia,” Dr. Polanski said. “I’ll make certain Flynn won’t be able to touch you again. Go home and take it easy.”

  “But—”

  Two more doctors showed up with a stretcher, and Johnson groaned as they moved him on top.

  “Okay.” My voice came out at barely more than a whisper as they wheeled Johnson past me. He groaned and swore as they hurried him down the hall, Dr. Polanski hurrying after them.

  Not knowing what else to do, I left the office and walked in the opposite direction, toward reception, in a haze. As I moved, staff hurried all around me, ushering patients into their rooms and getting whatever supplies were needed to fix the fiasco in my office. Someone had called the cleaning staff, and a small Asian man in a bright white suit hurried by me in the opposite direction, pushing a cart.

  It felt as if I were outside of myself, as if I were watching a movie but not actively taking part.

  I moved past the security desk to the elevator and hit the control panel, my fingers still numb. As the door closed and I descended to the first floor, the fog in my mind began to clear, and I began to process what had happened.

  Johnson had known that Flynn and I had sex in my office and assumed that meant that I wanted to have sex with him, too. He had watched and waited until Flynn and I had broken up, probably because he didn’t want anyone standing in his way. Then, once he knew Flynn was out of the picture, he made his move. He used my relationship with Flynn as emotional blackmail and tried to rape me.

  But it didn’t work. Flynn had come in and rescued me. Just thinking about what might have happened if Flynn hadn’t opened the door made me shudder. Thank goodness he was there to get Johnson away from me. It was tough to admit, but part of me was glad that Flynn had taught him a lesson. If not stopped, people like Johnson would use others again and again. He and his buddy Everett had no respect for human life. They called the patients at Newton Heights animals, but they were the real animals.

  Flynn had saved me from Johnson’s attack. He was the true hero in this situation. Unfortunately, thanks to me, he was being treated more like an animal than a human.

  I don’t know why I hadn’t corrected Dr. Polanski. I think I was in too much shock. One thing was for certain, if I didn’t go back up there and correct her, Flynn was going to get a heck of a lot more than an armful of sedatives and a night in confinement. People who are believed to be potential rapists are treated differently than others. Flynn would be kept isolated and have to undergo more intensive therapy. Because I didn’t speak up, Flynn’s stay at Newton Heights was about to become much more difficult.

  The elevator doors opened, and I walked toward the exit. Each step felt like a chore, as if I were pushing my way through mud. I slowed my steps as I walked by the beautiful lost-and-found woman. Her hair was worn up in a twist today, her makeup expertly applied and her clothes accenting her curvy figure. Her cheerfulness radiated through the large reception area and made me feel dirty inside.

  I walked past the man at the information desk. He raised his large mug and lifted his brows in silent question. I quickly looked away, realizing that my emotions must be on my face. I hurried outside and to my car. Slipping behind the wheel, I fumbled for my keys in my purse. Tears stung my eyes as I sifted through the receipts, half-used tubes of lipstick, sunglasses and pens. Where were my fucking keys?

  My chest tightened as I realized that Flynn was in confinement because of me. He was being punished because I didn’t stick up for him. The nurses pumped him full of sedatives, and I did nothing to stop it.

  “Shit.” I tossed my purse into the passenger seat and leaned back on the leather headrest. Now what? If I went back in there and told Dr. Polanski what happened, she’d want to know the whole story. I’d be forced to tell her why Johnson thought it was okay to have sex with me, and then everyone would know that I had sex with Flynn—a patient in my care.

  It wasn’t going to end well. Fornicating with patients was cause for termination. It didn’t matter that the sex was consensual. The hospital had strict rules about romantic entanglements between patients and staff. I’d lose my internship for sure, and quite possib
ly force my professor to give me a failing grade. It was pretty safe to assume that I wouldn’t be able to get another internship—at least not working directly with patients. If Flynn was feeling particularly vindictive, he could even sue the hospital, who would turn around and sue me.

  “Fuck.” I put my head in my hands as tears fell down my cheeks. What was I going to do? I couldn’t leave Flynn and let him be punished for a crime he didn’t commit, but talking to Dr. Polanski would result in my losing everything I had worked so hard to gain. There were no easy answers and no clean way out of this disaster.

  Life is messy. Flynn’s words floated through my head as I remembered our time together on the roof. He was so gentle and understanding. All he was doing was trying to help me, and I repaid him by turning my back on him. It wasn’t right, and my new realization made me feel even guiltier than before.

  Wiping my eyes, I grabbed my purse and headed back inside the hospital. Flynn deserved more than he got from me. I just hoped that I could make it to him in time.

  NINETEEN

  I IGNORED the curious looks from the staff as I made my way through the first floor, entered the elevator and hit the control panel for the long-term-care ward. As the elevator started to move up, I felt good about my decision. I probably couldn’t save Flynn from all of his punishment—he did attack Johnson—but perhaps I could spare him from the worst of it.

  The elevator doors opened and I hurried to the reception area. A nurse was there whom I didn’t recognize.

  “Where did they take him?” I asked.

  “Take who?”

  “Flynn McKenna.”

  “Confinement, second floor.”

  “Thanks.” I tapped the desk and turned back to the elevator.

  “Mia, wait.”

  I turned to see Nesto hurrying toward me.

  “I don’t have time to talk right now, Nesto.”

  “I know, just—hold up a second, will you?”

  “Walk with me.” The sooner I got down to confinement, the sooner I could get Flynn out of this mess. I grabbed Nesto’s arm and nodded to the reception desk. “We’ll be right back.”