Lost Memories And New Beginnings (The Men 0f Fire Beach Book 2)

by Lorana Hoopes

  “Did you see any of the men? Do you remember anything about them?”

  “Not their faces. When I stepped out of the closet, I looked left. They were on the balcony, but it was dark outside. I couldn’t see their faces, but I felt the icy hatred in their gaze when they saw me. I didn’t think they had followed me at first, but then lights blinded me on the road. I slowed down thinking maybe it was just teenagers out for a joy ride, but when they didn’t pass me, I figured they had followed me after all. Then the truck hit me.”

  Jordan’s face hardened and he exchanged a glance with Brody. “Okay, thank you, Tia. We’ll look into all of this and let you know what we find. Do the two of you need anything else?”

  “I think we’ll be fine.” Brody turned to Tia as the detectives left. “Well, that was some excitement for the day. How about we get you back in bed?”

  “Could we take a walk instead?” Tia asked. “My heart is still pounding, and I feel like I could use some fresh air after this.”

  His lips pulled into a smile. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  * * *

  Brody tried to ignore the sensations that flooded his body when he picked Tia up again. He’d been sure there was no emotional attachment or he’d at least been trying to convince himself there was no attachment, but the near-death experience had blown that out of the water. Holding hands with her in the dark had sent emotions careening through his body that he hadn’t felt since Rachel’s death.

  But he still didn’t know her. Was she the overly ambitious, conniving person of her past? She said she hadn’t had an affair or involvement with drug trafficking. But was that true? Or was she the sweet, kind person that he knew her to be? He had to admit that even though he didn’t completely know her, the things in her past seemed to matter less now. She seemed sincere.

  “Let me get you a robe,” he said as soon as he got her situated back on the bed. He grabbed one from the wardrobe in the room and helped her shrug into it before paging for a wheelchair. Then he looked at her, a million things running through his mind – none of which he could say. “I’ll check your IV.”

  “You’ve taken very good care of me, Brody. Thank you,” Tia said holding his gaze.

  He liked how his name sounded when she said it. And he liked taking care of her. Egad, was he falling for her?

  “Dr. Cavanaugh? Your wheelchair.”

  The sound of the orderly snapped Brody out of his daydream and he flashed Eric a smile. “Thank you. Can you let Valerie know I’m taking a walk?”

  Eric paled. “I will, sir, but you should know they are talking about you. About how much time you’re spending...” he glanced over at Tia, “with patients.”

  “That’s all right, Eric. I can handle it, but thank you for the information.” Brody didn’t like being the subject of gossip, but he hadn’t been exaggerating when he told Nick they gossiped about everything. He wasn’t about to change his behavior just to avoid being their topic.

  “Can we go without the pole?” Tia asked. She had either not caught Eric’s implication or she was simply ignoring it.

  “If you think you can handle no pain meds for a bit, I can cap your plug.”

  “I think I’ll be okay. Honestly, the pain is getting better. Of course, that could be the medicine talking.” She flashed him a crooked smile, “or maybe the adrenaline. But really, I think I’ll be fine for the walk.”

  He pushed up the sleeve of her robe and unhooked the IV, being careful to leave the plug in her arm. Then he wheeled the chair closer to the bed and helped her sit down. Moments later, they were outside breathing in the sunlight and fresh air.

  “You know for a minute, I thought that might be the end,” Tia said as he pushed her down the path. She had suggested they walk this time instead of just sitting, and after the scare, Brody was in need of some exercise to settle his nerves as well. “I realized I don’t want this to be the end of my life. Whether this personality change is because of me or the brain injury, I want to do something with it. I want to apologize to Ava and the other people I have hurt and start walking a different path.”

  “I think that’s a great plan,” Brody said with a smile as he imagined helping her accomplish that goal. But then he remembered she lived in California and he lived here. “Will you go back to California then?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I mean I guess I will have to go back to check the details of my life there, but I might like it here. Or I might when people aren’t trying to kill me.”

  “Yeah, that could prevent someone from liking a place,” Brody chuckled.

  “You know, you never answered my question.”

  “What question?” In all the commotion of her memory coming back and the rescue, he had forgotten what she had asked.

  “Do you think you’ll ever marry again?”

  Brody was glad he was behind her and she couldn’t see his facial expressions because he had no idea what emotion might be playing on his face right now. “I don’t know. When Rachel died, I was pretty sure that was it. I threw myself into work and convinced myself it would be enough, but now I’m not so sure. I suppose I’d like a companion again. If I could find the right woman.”

  She smiled up at him, and Brody felt the ice around his heart melt a little more. Though he hadn’t expected it to happen, she had managed to capture a piece of his heart. “Well, I hope you do then. You seem like you would make a great husband.”

  Brody didn’t know what to say to that, so they continued on in silence. They walked around the entire hospital enjoying the sun and fresh air.

  “Oh, I never thanked you,” she said as they reached the entrance again.

  “For what?” he asked.

  “For reassigning Valerie. The new nurse is much nicer though I feel like she might need more training. She forgot the clipboard when she came in to check me.”

  Brody felt a tendril of fear reach around his heart and begin to squeeze. “Tia, I didn’t assign a new nurse to your room.”

  She turned to face him, panic in her eyes. “Then who is the nurse who was in my room yesterday?”

  “I don’t know, but we better find out.” Brody’s shoulders, having just relaxed, tensed again, and he pulled out his cell phone to dial Jordan once more as he wheeled Tia back inside.

  Chapter 11

  Tia flipped on the television to pass the time before Brody’s return. Her heart still thudded faster than normal in her chest. When they had returned to the room, Brody and Jordan had gone in search of the nurse she had seen yesterday. Jordan had left strict instructions with the security guard outside that no one was allowed in her room except Sophie, but that thought didn’t make her feel much safer. What if the security guard fell asleep or was overpowered or went to the bathroom for goodness sake?

  She wished Brody had stayed with her. It wasn’t even evening yet, but the day had been more eventful than most. More eventful than she thought her life back home ever was. In fact, though she still didn’t remember everything, when she thought of her life back home, she only felt loneliness. Did she really want to go back to that?

  “Reflecting on your poor choices?”

  Tia’s eyes flicked to the doorway and she sucked in her breath. A man she did not recognize stood in the doorway dressed in an orderly uniform. Except for the ice flowing out of his gaze and the hard lines of his face, he might have been any orderly in the hospital, but she knew he was not. Fear raced through her. “How did you get in here?” she asked as she inched her finger toward the call button.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He let go of the door and lunged toward her with a vicious scowl. The door shut behind him, and the movement caused Tia to jump and her hand slipped away from the call button. “You want to know how I got past your security guard?”

  Tia nodded, fear constricting her voice.

  He flashed a cold, predatory smile. “I just gave him a little something to help him sleep. The same thing I’m going to do to you. See,
Rico’s wife came in guns blazing, the idiot, but I’m smarter than that. I think things through. I gather all the information, and I don’t make mistakes.”

  “Who are you and why are you doing this?” Tia asked hoping to stall him. “I didn’t hear the conversation and wouldn’t have remembered it if I had. And I never saw your face. Until now. You could have just let it go. Let me go.”

  He shook his head as his lips pulled into a chilling smile. “Who I am is unimportant. At least to you. But you? You’re a loose end. I don’t like loose ends.” He pulled a syringe from his pocket. “Do you know what this is?”

  “No, but I bet you’re going to tell me.” Tia’s eyes darted to the door hoping for someone, anyone to walk in. Brody had no reason to return so soon, but maybe Valerie? As much as she didn’t like the nurse, she would welcome her presence right now.

  “It’s insulin.” He took another step toward her. “Do you know what happens when you get injected with insulin too quickly and you’re not diabetic?”

  “I’m sure nothing good.” Tia’s heart pounded in her chest. Should she scream? Would anyone hear her through the closed door? Maybe she could try for the button again, but she wasn’t sure this man didn’t have another weapon. Would he just pull out a gun and shoot her if she tried?

  “First, it will make you groggy and confused before you pass out completely. The damage to your organs will be done before they even know what happened, and the best part is that insulin is already in the body, so nobody will think twice if they find it. They’ll probably assume you just had a delayed traumatic reaction to today’s events.”

  Panic squeezed on her heart, but she forced herself to keep him talking. “Did you have something to do with the code silver?”

  Something akin to pride filled his face. “I may have helped a patient secure a scalpel and then prodded them in the right direction. It would have been the perfect time to silence you, especially since your security guard was tasked to help, but I wasn’t counting on your doctor being in the room.” Anger replaced the pride for a moment and transformed his face into an expression of rage.

  “I thought you didn’t make mistakes.” What was wrong with her? Why was she goading him on? Did she really think she was buying enough time for someone to come to her rescue?

  “Hmm,” he chuckled, but it was a cold, calculating laugh. “See? I knew you listened, and now it’s time to rectify that mistake.”

  As he lunged toward her, Tia did the only thing she could. She opened her mouth and screamed.

  * * *

  As the dark-haired nurse caught sight of them, she ran. Jordan bolted after her, turning his head just long enough to order Brody back to Tia’s room. Then, he disappeared around the corner as well.

  Brody hurried back to the ICU floor. He had just reached the center desk when he heard the noise. He wasn’t sure it was a scream, but the sound of it sent the hairs on the back of his neck standing at attention. He glanced around at the few nurses who were in the ICU with him. “What was that?” Then his eyes darted to Tia’s room. Her door was shut which was unusual, and the security guard was slumped in the chair outside. “Call security,” he hollered as he raced across the floor to her room.

  He checked the pulse of the security guard first. Weak, but still there. He didn’t know for how long. “Someone get this man some help,” he ordered, and then, without a second thought to his own safety, he burst through the door in time to see an orderly inject something into her IV. “What are you doing?”

  The man looked up at him, and the expression chilled Brody to the bone. His eyes were hard and cruel as if chiseled from stone, and there was not a shred of remorse or decency in them. “You don’t work here. Get away from her.” Brody glanced to Tia whose eyes were beginning to close. What had he injected her with? He had to find out soon or he might not be able to counter it.

  “Gladly,” the man said, “my job here is done anyway.” He began to skirt around the bed, but Brody had no intentions of letting him get out of the room. For every step he made, Brody countered. “Out of my way,” the man snarled.

  Brody had taken some self-defense classes in college and he had done some kickboxing. But fighting someone was an experience he had never had before. “I don’t think so. The police are on their way. I think you’ll be staying here until they arrive.” He stepped into the fighter’s stance his muscles remembered - left foot forward, hands at the ready by his chin.

  The man chuckled. “You want to fight me?”

  “If that’s what it takes to see you arrested, I will.”

  “You’re no match for me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife.

  Brody had never fought anyone with a knife and images of previous stab victims bleeding out on his ER tables flashed through his mind, but he wasn’t going to give up. Surely, he could last until security or Jordan arrived.

  The man lunged for him and Brody stepped to the side and threw a left hook. He missed the man’s chin, but his fist hit the man’s face with enough force to cause him to stumble forward. Brody took the opportunity to deliver a low kick to the back of the man’s knee and he went sprawling. The knife skidded away. With an angry roar, the man lunged at Brody and threw him into the wall. Brody hit the sharp corner where the bathroom jutted out and felt the pain race down his left side, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it long before the man was on top of him. His powerful hands closed on Brody’s throat, and the world began to go dark.

  And then there was air. Brody opened his eyes to see security hauling the man out of the room, but his head was still spinning from the momentary lack of oxygen.

  “Are you okay?” Valerie’s face appeared above him.

  “Tia,” he croaked and coughed. “He injected her with something. Probably insulin. Get her some Glycogen. The security guard outside too.”

  Valerie looked as if she wanted to argue, but she nodded and raced over to the bed. Brody reached a hand up to massage his neck. He’d been lucky, and he knew it. When he could take a solid breath, he pushed himself to a sitting position and then stood, pausing only long enough to make sure the world wasn’t spinning before racing to Tia’s side.

  Valerie stepped back from the IV and then hurried out of the room to administer one to the security guard. Brody stared down at Tia. Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open and she blinked. Then her gaze locked on Brody, and she gripped his arm. “Did he escape?” Fear threaded Tia’s voice and her eyes shifted to the doorway.

  “No, security got him.”

  “But not before he got Dr. Cavanaugh,” Valerie said pointedly as she re-entered the room. “You need to get checked out yourself.”

  “I will,” Brody said. In addition to a pounding in his head, he could feel the left side of his body stiffening. “But not until I talk to Detective Graves.”

  Chapter 12

  Tia found it nearly impossible to relax even with Brody sitting beside her. Every sound made her jump and look to the doorway.

  “It’s going to be all right,” Brody said as he held out a hand. She was grateful for his touch, but even that didn’t calm her racing heart. In just a few days, she’d been in an automobile accident, had a gun pulled on her, been locked in a bathroom due to a code silver, and been injected with Insulin. She wasn’t sure her heart would ever return to its normal rhythm.

  “How are you two doing?”

  Tia looked up to see Detective Graves in the doorway.

  “Did you get the guy?” Brody asked. “Who was he?”

  Detective Graves nodded. “We did. His name is Adrian Petrov. He’s the leader of one of the bigger gangs out of Chicago and the head of a drug organization. He isn’t saying much right now, but Stone will take care of that. We did manage to ascertain his address.” He turned to Tia and a slight smile pulled at his lips, “Where we found a black Ford truck, and though he tried to have it fixed, we are almost certain it was the same truck that hit you. It’s over, Tia.”

  “That’s wonder
ful.” Brody turned to Tia, and a broad grin graced his features.

  Tia forced a smile in return, but her worry wasn’t entirely eased. She didn’t know why, but the situation still bothered her. “Wait, what about the nurse?”

  “We got her too. Susanna Petrov, his wife. She’s not talking either, but from what we can gather, they obtained uniforms when they saw on the news that you were in ICU. We’re not sure whether she was merely keeping him informed or if she was a backup plan, but we do know that she’s the one who bought the flowers. We showed pictures to the clerk at the gift shop, and he was able to ID her.”

  So that was it. It was over, except…. “What about Rico?” Where did he fit into all of this? Why hadn’t he come after her?

  Jordan’s jaw clenched and his eyes shifted just slightly. “He’s in the wind. We think he’s in Chicago hiding out and trying to clean up this mess, but I promise you we’re still looking for him.”

  It should make her feel better, but it didn’t. “Thank you, Detective Graves.”

  “Call me Jordan,” he said as he held her gaze.

  “Yes, thank you, Jordan,” Brody said clapping a hand on Jordan’s shoulder before turning back to Tia. “We need to monitor you to be sure the insulin didn’t damage anything, but if all goes well, and as long as your fever is still gone, you might be able to leave the hospital tomorrow.”

  She should be glad. No one wanted to live in a hospital, but Tia didn’t know what life held for her now. Did she go back to writing? She wasn’t sure her stories would be the same after everything that had happened, and she didn’t want to chance falling into the person she had been before. But, if she didn’t write, what would she do?

  As if sensing her unease, Detective Graves stepped forward. “I know this is a lot to deal with, Tia. If you’d like to stay in town a little longer, I can find you a temporary place and set you up with a counselor who might be able to work through some of the trauma with you.”