Doctor's Orders (Complete Series)

by Lilian Monroe

  I know I’m losing. I can feel my head pounding and my limbs starting to feel heavy. I struggle to maintain control over my consciousness, watching as the world gets darker around the edges of my vision.

  Jess screams my name and I feel a surge of strength pass through me. I heave my body over so that I’m on top of my mother, pinning her down with my body. She bucks and flips me back over, reaching for the gun.

  I see her hand a second too late. Her fingers grasp the pistol grip and I lunge for it, trying to keep her arm down. Suddenly we’re straining with our arms locked together, trying to gain control over the pistol. She’s flailing her arms back and forth and it’s all I can do to hang on and try to keep it pointed away from Jess and Dave. My world is spinning and I’m not even sure where they are.

  The blood is pumping through my veins and all I can hear is the roar of my heartbeat in my ears and the heavy panting of my breath. I can taste coppery blood on my tongue as we thrash on the ground.

  She’s just a little bit stronger than I am, a little bit faster, a little bit more agile. Her arms swing upwards and I struggle to resist. She has the gun in her hands now, pointed at the sky. I try to push it back down, away from the people I love, away from me. I can see the deadness in her eyes. She wouldn’t hesitate to use it. In this instant I know that we are locked in a struggle of life and death.

  I try to push her arms back down but she resists. She pulls the trigger and the sound is almost deafening, sending another wave of pain through my skull. I recoil back as the sound echoes in the woods around us. Birds flap their wings to fly away as I fall backward. My mother regains her footing and stumbles to her feet, pointing the trembling gun straight at me.

  I lie back, breathing heavily, as I stare down the barrel of the gun. She starts grinning and then starts laughing maniacally. Dave is on the ground nearby, arms and legs tied with the man standing over him. The two of them look at each other and then back to us, laughing.

  “My darling daughter,” Vera says, looking at me. She glances over to the forest and nods her head at Jess. The man jogs toward her and I hear Jess sob and whimper as he approaches. My heart breaks in half at the sound and I try to scan the forest. I should have waited for Detective Jenkins. I shouldn’t have been so brash, but when I saw her hit Dave it was like a switch flipped inside me and before I knew it, I was running toward them.

  What a load of good that did for me. Dave looks over at me. His face is red and bruised and his skin around his wrists is bleeding. I feel my heart break again.

  “Now, before we get too excited again, you’re going to tell me exactly how it is that Dave Langley came to give you a hundred thousand dollars.”

  My mother’s eyes are boring into me. She has a dark smile playing on her lips and she’s keeping the gun pointed straight at my chest. I gulp.

  “It was a business arrangement.”

  Her eyebrows shoot up. “Looks like a bit more than business if you ask me,” she says with a dry laugh.

  “How did you know he gave me money?”

  “Oh, Izzy,” she says almost with pity. “You are so incredibly predictable. You really should change your password from the one that we set up when you were a kid.”

  I bristle and curse myself. I’ve had the same bank account my whole life, I never even thought that she would have access to it. She laughs as she watches my face as I realize how naive I’ve been.

  “Up until now you haven’t really had anything worth coming back for. But when I saw that big deposit, well, I had to take my cut.”

  “You cut? Your cut for what? For beating the shit out of me and killing my best friend?”

  She snarls and brings her leg back to kick me in the side. I grunt and cough as the pain radiates from my head to my side and back. My vision is starting to fade again and I can feel my pulse start to weaken.

  I don’t know if I’m seeing things or if there really is someone behind her, just beyond the line of the trees. I squint and try to focus but my eyes are getting weaker. The blackness around the edges is creeping further and further inwards. It must be a vision. It can’t be a real person — real people. I’m seeing double. They’re getting closer now, but everything is blurry. I can’t make out the trees or the bushes, and I don’t know if it’s movement or if it’s just my head spinning.

  It might be a voice I’m hearing but it sounds like it’s shouting at me underwater. Everything goes dark and I’m gone.

  48

  Dave

  “Police! Freeze!”

  My head spins around to see officers streaming out of the woods. The distraction of the fight must have allowed them to get so close while staying unnoticed. I look at Izzy in amazement. She must have planned the whole thing. How did she know where we were?

  But when I turn my head, I see her collapsed on the ground, eyes closed. She’s completely unconscious.

  “Izzy,” I yell, trying to get to her as I momentarily forget that my arms and legs are bound. I struggle on the ground for a moment while the officers get closer.

  “Not another step or I blow her brains out!” Vera cries out, her voice shrill and panicked as she stares at the police officers coming toward her. They stop walking and she keeps the gun pointed at Izzy’s unconscious chest. My own heart is pounding. I want to do nothing more than attack that woman for all the hurt she’s caused Izzy and Jess. For all the hurt she’s caused me.

  Vera’s hands are shaking as she holds the gun and watches the officers. I glance at Mark and see he’s got his hands up. There are at least three officers with their weapons pointed at him. I feel a glimmer of hope and relief ignite inside me as I realize he’s not armed, even though the tension is thick in the air. They’re outnumbered.

  A man steps forward with his hands up. He’s wearing plain clothes and talks like he’s in charge.

  “Mrs. Daniels, put the gun down. It’s over.” His voice is like a soothing balm. He’s used to dealing with tense situations. I glance at Vera. She’s still shaking, and she hasn’t moved an inch. The gun is pointed at Izzy who’s still sprawled on the ground. I wish it were pointed at me.

  “Get away!” she shrieks.

  “Mrs. Daniels, Vera. Can I call you Vera?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “Vera, we are here to help you. We just want to make sure that everyone is safe.”

  “What kind of help is it to have a dozen police with their guns pointed at me?”

  “Put the gun down, Vera. It’s over.”

  I can see the battle that’s going on inside her. She glances from Izzy to the officer to Mark to Jess and finally back to the officer. Her whole body is shaking like a leaf, the barrel of the gun moving up and down in her hand. She takes a long, slow breath but doesn’t move.

  “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she finally says. Her voice is breaking and she’s staring at the police officer. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were just going to take the money and run. I wasn’t going to take Jess at all but when I saw them Izzy told me to get out and—”

  “It’s over now, Vera, it’s all over now.” His voice interrupts her and he takes a step closer. He motions to Mark to get down on the ground. Mark glances at Vera and then at the police officers slowly walking toward us. Finally he cracks and lowers himself to his knees, putting his hands behind his head. Vera glances at him and makes a gurgling sound as she sobs, her whole body still shaking.

  Two police officers rush forward and put handcuffs around his wrists, pushing him onto his stomach on the ground. Vera spins her head around and watches. For a brief instant she looks at me and our eyes lock. The panic and uncertainty in her eyes turn to anger. Her mouth contorts into an ugly snarl and her eyes start burning at me.

  “This is all your fault,” she yells, making a move toward me. I see the unadulterated rage in her eyes and strain against the ropes at my wrists. In this instant I know she wants to kill me. She lunges forward and her face turns from hatred to surprise as she starts to fall. Izzy’s leg shoots up to
trip her as she runs for me, sending her sprawling.

  Faster than I can blink, Izzy is on top of her, wrenching the gun free and flinging it off to the side. Vera jostles under her but within seconds there are two police officers holding her down. She lets out a gargled scream and I see the wild hatred in her eyes again. She thrashes for a few seconds until the police officers put handcuffs on her and pull Izzy off to the side.

  I watch in amazement. It all happened so fast, in an instant Izzy saved me from her mother’s wrath.

  I feel someone cut the ropes around my wrists and a wave of relief washes over me. I bring my hands in front of me and am surprised to see them covered in blood.

  “Thanks,” I say to the police officer who freed me. She cuts the ropes at my feet and nods. I stand up unsteadily and try to make it to Izzy. She looks like she’s in and out of consciousness, two police officers trying to get her to answer questions as her head hangs against her chest.

  I fall to my knees beside her and take her face in my hands. Her eyes struggle to focus but finally I see some clarity in them and she smiles.

  “Dave,” she says. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to the hospital.”

  “Oh stop,” I say, laughing through my tears. “Stop.”

  I feel a small hand on my shoulder and suddenly Jess is beside us. She drops down to her knees and puts an arm around me and another around Izzy. The three of us wrap our arms around each other and hold on tight, sobbing together for a few long minutes. Izzy’s grip feels weak, and she can hardly lift herself up off the ground.

  Finally we break apart and the plainclothes officer approaches.

  “Mr. Langley,” he starts. “I’d like to offer my apologies. We would never have kept you so long if we’d have known…”

  I shake my head. “You were just doing your job. I just wish she’d used that gun on herself,” I spit, watching as Vera struggles with the officers as they lead her through the forest.

  “No,” Izzy says gently. I look down on her and she smiles sadly. “I used to think that too, but it’s wrong. No matter what she is or how evil she is, she doesn’t deserve to end up like that.”

  I slip my hand into hers as Jess rubs Izzy’s head. “You’ve always been a better person that I have,” I say.

  “That’s not true,” she replies. She pauses for a second and her eyes soften. “I love you,” she whispers.

  My heart floods with joy as she says it and suddenly the tears are streaming out of my eyes again. “I love you too,” I reply. It’s never felt so good to say it to anyone. I grip her hand tighter and say it again: “I love you too.”

  Izzy smiles as two paramedics appear through the trees carrying a stretcher. They load her up and I grab Jess’s hand. We follow behind the stretcher in silence. Finally Jess squeezes my hand and I look down at her. Her eyes have finally returned to their normal size, but she looks completely exhausted.

  “Thank you,” Jess says with a shy smile. I smile back before leaning down and picking her up. She’s light, and she wraps her little arms around my neck, falling asleep almost instantly. I carry her all the way to the parking lot and lay her gently in one of the police cars. I feel a flood of emotion fill me as I look at Jess sleeping and Izzy being loaded into the waiting ambulance.

  Ten years ago I lost my family, and yesterday I lost my grandfather, but today I gained a wife and a daughter and I know that for that, I’m the luckiest man alive.

  Epilogue

  Izzy

  Three months later…

  “For someone who gave away a family heirloom to a disgruntled taxi driver, you sure do have a lot of sentimental junk,” Dave exclaims in mock exasperation.

  “Says the man with a framed teddy bear in his bedroom,” I shoot back, eyebrows raised.

  He laughs and points to the wall hanging. “Apologize to Mr. Binkie, Izzy. His feelings are very hurt.”

  I turn to his sister’s old teddy bear, the only thing of hers that he kept after she died. “I’m sorry Mr. Binkie. You’re not junk.” I turn to Dave. “And neither is any of this.”

  “I know it isn’t,” he concedes with a grin. “The place looks better with your stuff in it anyway.”

  He takes a step closer to me and wraps his arms around my waist. I put my hands on his chest and look up at his face. He’s smiling happily, and his eyes betray a deep contentment. I glance down at my left hand.

  “At least the disgruntled taxi driver gave it back.” I smile as I remember his sheepish face as he approached the stretcher while I was being loaded into the ambulance. He apologized to me and we exchanged the phone for the ring. I remember smiling at him and slipping the ring back onto my finger, feeling the familiar comfort of the metal on my skin.

  Dave’s arms squeeze me a little bit tighter and he grins. His eyes are shining and I can feel the love emanating from him.

  “First you steal from a man who’s unconscious in the hospital, then you give away your wedding ring, then you attack your own mother. What have I gotten myself into by marrying you?”

  “First of all, I paid him back when I got back to the hospital. And I only did the other stuff to save you,” I retort. He laughs and pulls me in tighter. His chin dips down. He lays a soft kiss on my lips and they part to accept it. His tongue slips in between and his kiss becomes more passionate.

  I’ll never get sick of kissing him. Every time we touch, I still feel a spark on my skin and a warmth in my chest. When he asked me to move in with him, I didn’t even need to think about it, I said yes immediately. I still remember him telling me that he wanted to come home to both Jess and me every night, and wake up next to me every morning.

  I pull away from him and look up at his eyes, wrapping my arms around his neck.

  “Are you still happy that we’re both moving in? It won’t be too crowded for you?”

  His eyes soften and I see something in them that I’d never noticed before. He looks completely peaceful. When he speaks his voice is steady and low.

  “I want you here with me, Izzy. I love you, and Jess too. You’re my family.”

  You’re my family. His words echo through me and I feel happiness tingling through my body. Ever since my mother got locked up, it’s like a weight has been lifted off me. I never realized how much I’d been looking over one shoulder my whole life, worried about when she’d reappear and turn everything upside down. Now I have Dave and Jess and we’re going to be together, like a real family.

  Well, that’s what I’m hoping. I’ve applied to become Jess’s legal guardian. The investigation and kidnapping brought so much attention down on our family that my father had to come back and explain why I’ve been the one taking care of Jess. It was Dave who suggested we adopt my little sister, and now we’re just waiting to hear the outcome.

  He leans down and rubs his nose against mine ever so gently. I close my eyes and smile, tilting my head up for a kiss.

  His hand moves down my spine as he pulls me in close. Our bodies fuse together and I know deep in my heart that they were made for each other. How else would we fit so perfectly together?

  His lips touch mine and I feel a warmth spreading from my core through my whole body. He squeezes me in tight and a shiver travels down my spine. I tangle my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and breathe in deeply, inhaling his spicy scent. His hands feel like heaven on my body, roaming from my lower back down to my ass and back up again.

  A sound rings out from the bed beside us. I recognize my phone’s email notification sound. I jump back from Dave, eyes wide. His eyebrows shoot up.

  “You think that’s the lawyer?”

  “She did say she would email today,” I reply, turning to look at my phone. It’s sitting on the bed, taunting me. I pull myself away from Dave and pick it up gently, cradling the black screen in my hand.

  I glance up at Dave and he nods at me, smiling encouragingly.

  “Let’s find out,” he says. The deep baritone notes of his voice sooth my nerves enough for m
e to unlock the phone.

  My heart is pounding in my chest as I click to the email and scan the first couple lines. Suddenly my heart is beating harder and a smile is breaking my face open as I jump up and down.

  “It went through. We’re approved! Oh, Dave! She’ll be able to stay with us forever.” I’m hopping up and down in excitement and Dave starts laughing with joy. He picks me up and spins me around the room, dropping me back down gently and wrapping his arms around me once again.

  “I knew it would work out,” he says with a smile. He pauses and opens his mouth as if he’s about to say something.

  “What?” I ask, slightly anxiously.

  “My own lawyer contacted me yesterday. About your money.”

  I frown for a second until I remember the other $100,000 of our marriage agreement.

  “Oh, okay,” I reply, not knowing what to say. I feel awkward.

  “Now, you can say no, the money is yours and you can do what you want with it. But I started a college fund for Jess with the money that would pay out when she graduates high school. I added a little bit more to it, so there should be enough for her to go wherever she wants to study without having to worry about money.” He pauses, frowning. He looks nervous.

  “Look, Iz, I know it was presumptuous of me but my financial advisor has access to really good investment funds that just wouldn’t be available to you with a smaller down payment. If you want the money in your own account just tell me and I’ll transfer it over.” His face contorts again. “I hope that’s okay.”

  A smile spreads across my face and I jump into his arms wrapping my legs around his waist. “Dave. That’s the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever done for us. Of course that’s okay. It’s exactly what I wanted the money for anyway.”

  I laugh as his face relaxes and he flashes that brilliant smile at me. He takes a few steps toward the bed and drops me down onto it, pressing his body over mine. He lays a gentle kiss on my lips and I feel the weight of his chest over mine.