In a Heartbeat Page 2

  The sight galvanized Sam into action. “Police! Stop. Take your hands off her.”

  The man backpedaled at her approach. In the close quarters, his feet got tangled in the IV stand. He grabbed the pole for support and then shoved it at Sam. “Fuck you! She’s mine.”

  The IV pole banged into Sam, and the equipment attached to it snagged on her utility belt.

  His hand dove into his suit coat pocket.

  Weapon!

  She struggled to free herself from the IV stand with one hand and reached for her gun with the other.

  Time seemed to almost stand still. Each second ticked by as if it were a minute.

  A small-caliber handgun cleared the man’s coat pocket and zeroed in on the doctor before Sam could raise her weapon.

  In a heartbeat, she was moving. Before even being aware of making the decision, she stepped directly into the line of fire.

  The report of the gun was loud in the small room.

  The doctor screamed.

  A burning sensation spread across Sam’s shoulder and down her arm. Despite the pain, she struggled to bring her weapon up.

  “She’s mine,” he yelled and fired again.

  Searing pain in her leg robbed Sam of breath, and she staggered. She felt herself going down but was powerless to stop it.

  Arms wrapped around her waist from behind, but they weren’t enough to stop her momentum.

  The muzzle of the gun pointing directly at her filled her vision as she crumpled to the floor.

  Pain lanced through her head, darkness following swiftly on its heels.

  * * *

  No! Dear God, please. No. Dr. Riley Connolly threw herself over the body of the downed officer.

  “Police! Drop the weapon!”

  Relief washed over her.

  “She’s mine!” Keith screamed again.

  Boom! Boom! The sound of the shots reverberated in the room.

  Riley flinched, expecting to feel the searing pain of a bullet in her back. When no pain came, she jerked her head up, ears still ringing.

  A few feet away, Keith lay on the floor, half-sprawled against the wall. A lurid red smear trailed down the wall above him.

  A police officer, his weapon still extended at arm’s length, stood frozen in the entrance to the cubicle.

  His gun tracked her movement as Riley eased herself up onto her knees. Shaken, she blurted out the first thing that came into her head. “I’m a doctor.” She slowly raised her trembling hands so that he could see them.

  His gaze slid over her torn scrub shirt, but his gun never wavered. “Don’t move.” He stepped over and checked Keith, then holstered his weapon. “He’s dead,” he said, his voice shaky.

  Bile burned at the back of Riley’s throat. Her professional instincts kicking in, she quickly assessed the location of Keith’s wounds and realized he was undoubtedly correct. Her gaze darted to the fallen officer and the rapidly spreading pool of blood seeping out from under her, then back up to the policewoman’s partner. “Please let me help her.”

  The sound of running feet heralded the arrival of hospital security.

  “Wait. Stay back.” The officer stepped forward and quickly secured Keith’s gun and then his partner’s weapon. Turning an agonized gaze on Riley, he said, “Save her. Please.”

  Riley nodded.

  Two security guards peered into the room.

  Riley raised her voice to be heard over the sound of excited voices in the hall. “Let the medical staff through. We’ve got two people down.”

  She reached for that place inside that allowed her to push away all emotion so that she could do her job. This wasn’t the time to think about what had just happened—what this woman had done for her. She tugged her lab coat closed to cover the remnants of her ruined scrub shirt, the formerly pristine white stained by the officer’s blood. After pulling a pair of gloves from her pocket and donning them, she moved quickly to evaluate the condition of the wounded officer.

  Once she’d made sure her airway was intact, she moved on in her examination. She had seen the officer strike her head on the wall cabinet when she fell, so she checked the woman’s pupils. They were equal and reactive. Good. Riley gave the head laceration a cursory glance. It could wait, and so could her shoulder.

  The officer’s pants were saturated with blood, and Riley hurriedly cut away the material. Blood pulsed from the thigh wound.

  “We need to get her into a trauma room,” she called out to the arriving medical personnel. “Move it, people, I’ve got an arterial bleeder here.”

  As they lifted the officer onto a gurney and rushed toward the trauma bay, Riley kept pressure on the damaged artery to tamponade the vessel.

  The ER was in a state of pandemonium.

  Riley remained the calm at the center of the storm, aware of nothing but the injured officer. Even as she worked to stop the bleeding, she was issuing orders for lab work, IVs, and blood.

  The ER staff moved around her as if in a choreographed dance. The officer was quickly stripped of her gear and clothing. A nurse called out her vital signs. IVs were inserted, blood drawn, and she was attached to a monitor.

  There it is! Riley slid a vascular clamp onto the damaged artery and temporarily occluded the blood vessel. “That’s it. Let’s get her to the OR.” She grabbed the gurney and pulled it out of the room.

  Chapter 4

  As Jess McKenna neared the nurses’ station, she frowned at the sight of Karen and Terrell, two of her residents, huddled together over the screen of his phone. She strode over. “Back to work.”

  The duo jumped at the sound of her voice.

  “You both know there’s no use of personal phones during working hours.”

  “I’m sorry, Dr. McKenna,” Terrell said, his hand clenched tightly around the phone. “I was walking through the waiting room and saw a news flash on the TV that a police officer had been shot. I was trying to find out where in the city it happened.”

  Jess’s stomach sank. Don’t let it be his brother. She gave his shoulder a brief squeeze. “Go ahead and see what you can find out.”

  Though he was trying to hide it, she knew Terrell must be terrified. If the shooting had been in San Diego instead of LA, she would have been too. She sent up a prayer for her sister. Stay safe, Sam.

  Terrell let out a whoop. “Thank God.”

  “What?” Jess asked.

  “It couldn’t have been Jerome. The shooting wasn’t even in LA.”

  “What shooting?” Kim asked as she walked up to stand next to Jess.

  Jess smiled at her wife. My wife! She still couldn’t believe it. They had been back at work only three days, and she already wished they could go back to the beach in Hawaii where they had spent their honeymoon.

  “Terrell saw a news bulletin about a police officer being shot, but it didn’t happen in LA.”

  Terrell shut off his phone and stuck it in his pocket. “I know I shouldn’t be happy, because it means someone else is going to get bad news, but I can’t help it.”

  “That’s perfectly understandable,” Kim said. Her brow furrowed. “Was the shooting in California?”

  “Yeah, San Diego.”

  Jess’s insides turned to ice. No. He’s wrong. It was someplace else. She reached for Kim’s hand.

  Scared blue eyes gazed back at her.

  The phone on the counter began to trill stridently.

  Penny answered. Her gaze flickered over to Jess, and her eyes went wide.

  A dark premonition shrouded Jess’s soul. God, no! Please, not Sam. She tightened her grip on Kim’s hand as if it was her lifeline.

  Penny held out the phone. Jess knew what she was going to say before she spoke. “Dr. McKenna, it’s the police. They say it’s an emergency.”

  * * *

  Kim held Jess’s hand in a crushing grip and refused to let go. This couldn’t be happening. Everything around her faded into the background. It was just her and Jess and the phone call that could change their lives
forever.

  With her free hand, Jess touched Kim’s face for just a moment. Swallowing heavily, Kim released Jess’s hand.

  Jess walked to the counter as if approaching the gallows and took the phone from Penny. “This is Dr. McKenna.”

  Kim clenched her hands so tightly that her nails bit into her palms.

  Jess listened for a moment, then her knees buckled and she grasped the counter for support.

  Kim rushed to her side, but Jess waved her off and quickly regained her composure. Pain stabbed Kim’s heart at the rejection. I thought we were past this. She immediately berated herself. This isn’t about you and Jess. God. Sam. A tear trailed down her face.

  “Yes. I understand. Thank you,” Jess said. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

  The flat, emotionless tone of Jess’s voice worried Kim, adding to the burning sensation in her stomach. Please, God, just let her be alive. We can deal with anything else.

  Jess turned, her face a blank mask. As if she had heard Kim’s prayer, she said, “She’s alive.”

  Kim burst into tears. “Thank God.” She threw herself into Jess’s arms and clung to her. “Thank you, God.”

  Jess patted her back for a moment and then pulled away. Her eyes were dry. “We need to get to San Diego as quickly as we can.”

  “I’ll call psych and get someone to cover for me. Give me five minutes.” Hang on, Sam. We’ll be there soon.

  * * *

  “Come on. Move already!” Jess glared through the windshield at the sea of cars. Traffic had slowed to a crawl as the heavy afternoon commute reached its peak. “Anything new?” She glanced at Kim.

  “Nothing new since they released Sam’s name and academy picture half an hour ago. Local and national stations keep repeating the same information,” Kim huffed out a frustrated breath, “over and over again. She’s still in surgery.”

  You’re just torturing yourself, and Kim. As the head of the ER, Jess knew that neither the police nor the hospital would release any information about Sam’s condition until the family arrived. But this was her sister. Even though she knew it was pointless, she couldn’t help checking, in case even a speck of information was released. At the same time, a part of her dreaded what she might hear. Sam could be dead and they would still say she was in surgery. The icy hand of fear clutched her heart. Don’t even think that. Sam is alive. She has to be!

  “Should I try to reach Frank and Cheryl again?”

  Jess’s fear morphed into anger. “Why can’t they just answer their fucking phones!” She slammed her hand against the steering wheel, causing the SUV to swerve. Quickly, she righted it and clenched the wheel with a white-knuckled grip. Why the hell did Frank have to pick now to go on vacation?

  “Hey. Easy. We know they’re hiking in Yosemite. They’re probably still in an area with no cell service.” Kim put her hand on Jess’s shoulder.

  Jess jerked away, then immediately regretted the reaction. She risked a look at Kim and wanted to smack herself in the head. Idiot. “I’m sorry.” She gently took Kim’s hand and placed it on her thigh, then laid her hand on top. “I don’t mean to take it out on you. I know this is hard on you too. I’m just so…”

  “I know, love.” Kim pulled her hand from under Jess’s and leaned across the console. She slid her hand into Jess’s hair at the nape of her neck and softly stroked her neck. “We’re doing everything we can. Aunt Edna is dealing with the cruise ship lines to contact your folks. The rangers are looking for your brother and Cheryl.”

  “I know. But what if…” Jess clenched her teeth so tightly her jaw ached. “I screwed up. I should’ve gotten a contact number when they called me at the hospital. I should have the phone numbers of Sam’s police friends. I should’ve—”

  “Jess. Stop this. Right now!”

  Jess whipped her head to the side to stare at Kim. She had never heard her use such a commanding tone. Blue eyes that seemed to glow from within met her gaze, and she quickly turned her attention back to the road to escape the piercing look.

  “Enough,” Kim said, her tone much calmer. “We’ll drive ourselves crazy with what-ifs and should haves.” She squeezed Jess’s thigh. “I’m scared too.” She held up her phone and set it on the dash. “And this isn’t helping. I could check every ten seconds, and it wouldn’t change a thing. We need to have faith that Sam will be all right. That’s what we need to focus on.”

  As usual, she was right. Consciously relaxing the tense set of her shoulders, Jess took a cleansing breath and then another. It took some time, but eventually some of the tension drained from her body. Smiling, she looked over at Kim, this time unafraid to meet her gaze. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Jess. And we’re going to get through this, like we always do—together.”

  * * *

  Kim eyed the press people and their cameras as she and Jess rushed into the lobby of Grandview Medical Center. Jess had a firm grip on her hand but still wore the blank, emotionless look she had donned the second they stepped out of their SUV.

  Jess tugged on her hand. “There’s the information desk.”

  As Jess headed in that direction at a fast clip, Kim spotted a man wearing a press pass lurking near the info desk.

  When he caught sight of Jess, he did a double take and moved within hearing range of the clerk manning the desk.

  “Wait, Jess.”

  “What?” Jess slowed but didn’t stop.

  “Come with me.” Kim pulled on her hand, trying to lead her away from the desk. For a moment, she did not think Jess would come.

  Jess stopped. She glanced at the desk as if drawn to it, then back at Kim. After blowing out a breath, she allowed herself to be led away. “What’s wrong?” she asked as soon as they stopped.

  “There are reporters everywhere. See that one standing right in front of the info desk?”

  Jess glanced over and nodded.

  “You know what the press is like. If they hear you ask about Sam and say you’re her sister, all hell will break loose.”

  “I don’t care.” Jess’s expression hardened. “We have to find out where Sam is.”

  Kim heard what Jess didn’t say. And how Sam is. She was as anxious to get to Sam as Jess was. The question was how to do that without alerting the ghouls from the press. Her gaze swept the lobby again. Standing off to the side, near the information desk, was a uniformed San Diego police officer, keeping a close eye on the desk, probably waiting for them.

  Chapter 5

  Bright overhead lights reflected off the white tile of the surgeons’ locker room, making Riley’s tired eyes sting. A glance around confirmed she was alone. After finding her boss and a hospital lawyer waiting for her outside the OR, she wasn’t in the mood to face anyone else. She stretched her aching back as she trudged over to her locker.

  After stripping off her outer surgical gown, she froze and started to tremble when her ruined scrub shirt came into view. Memories of Keith’s hands tearing at her clothes ambushed her. She again felt his body pinning her forcefully against the wall, his intent blatantly apparent against her belly. The soiled gown dropped from her suddenly nerveless fingers. She slid down the front of her locker and buried her face against her upraised knees. Unwanted tears dampened the fabric of her scrub pants.

  The sound of the outer door opening made her lift her head and rub frantically at her tear-streaked face. She scrambled to her feet and spun toward her locker before anyone could witness her tears.

  “Riley!” Denny called.

  Not about to embarrass herself in front of her friend and fellow trauma surgeon, she fought back renewed tears.

  Rapid footsteps sounded behind her.

  Riley took a deep breath and turned to face him. His dark, bushy hair stood on end as if he had run his hands through it countless times. Worried brown eyes gazed at her. Before she could stop him, he pulled her into his arms. She stiffened, then forced herself to relax in his embrace. After a moment, she gently pushed him away. />
  “Are you all right? The nurses downstairs said you weren’t hurt, but I needed to be sure.”

  With long practice, she pushed her emotions down and put a calm expression on her face. “I’m fine.”

  His gaze dropped to her scrub shirt, and his eyes widened. “He didn’t…?”

  Tugging her torn shirt back together, Riley said, “No.”

  “What happened, Riley? I thought you broke it off with Keith months ago. Why would he do something like this now?”

  She really did not want to get into this with him. What was done was done. But she knew Denny wouldn’t let it go.

  “There’s not much to tell. Keith wanted to keep dating. It wasn’t bad at first. He kept asking me out, sending me flowers, that kind of thing, but then six weeks ago, things changed.” Riley had no intention of telling Denny what had happened that set Keith off. “He followed me a few times, started calling at all hours, and vandalized my car.”

  “Damn it, Riley. Why didn’t you say something?” Denny looked as if he wanted to shake her.

  When he reached toward her, unexpected fear chased down Riley’s spine. She took a hasty step backward and banged into her locker. Her hands clutched the front of her scrub shirt closed.

  Denny held up his hands in a placating gesture and moved back.

  “Sorry.” This was Denny. He would never hurt her. “I guess I’m just kind of jumpy after…everything.”

  “I didn’t mean to scare you. I should have realized.” He jammed his hands into his lab coat pockets. “I wish you had told me Keith was bothering you. Maybe I could have helped.”

  She had learned early on to handle things on her own, so asking for help had never occurred to her. She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged.