In a Heartbeat Read online

  Denny raked his fingers through his hair. “What did Dwayne the Pain and the lawyer want? I saw them lurking outside the OR when they brought the officer out.”

  Riley grimaced. Her interactions with Dr. Dwayne McBain, the interim trauma center medical director, were aggravating on the best of days. After everything she had been through, she was physically and emotionally exhausted. Finding McBain outside the OR waiting to pounce had gotten on her last nerve. Not that she would ever give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

  “You know McBain.” She shrugged. “Nothing makes him happier than the chance to give one of his surgeons a hard time and remind them that he’s in charge. I’ll be so glad when Dr. Lin comes back and resumes his position. Anyway, McBain was ticked off that I operated on the police officer. According to him, I should have let someone else do the surgery.”

  When Denny shuffled his feet and didn’t reply, she narrowed her eyes at him. “You think he was right?”

  “Well…I can kind of see his point.”

  Anger seized Riley and dug its talons deep. “So I should have just hung back and done nothing? And watch the woman who saved me bleed out in front of me?”

  Denny stared at her open-mouthed.

  Riley wasn’t sure who was more surprised by her outburst: she or Denny. Get control of yourself. She took a deep breath and then blew it out.

  “I’m sorry. I know how hard this must be with everything that has happened. I shouldn’t have questioned your judgment.” He glanced away. “I heard about Keith.”

  “Keith made me miserable, and I wanted him out of my life…but not like this.” A vivid flashback of the blood-smeared wall and Keith lying sprawled on the floor slammed into her. She pressed her hands to her stomach as a wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm her.

  Denny wrapped his hands around her upper arms as her knees buckled. “Come on. You need to sit down.” He guided her to a nearby bench, where he pulled her down next to him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  Riley shrugged off his arm and slid down the bench to put some distance between them. Although he meant well, she needed some space—physically and emotionally. “I need to change and get back to work. I have to check on my patient.” She frowned when she realized she didn’t even know her name. Rising to her feet, she pulled her shirt together. “If you’ll excuse me.”

  “Wait.” Denny jumped up. “When you get done, come over to the house. Carol will want to see you. If she wasn’t confined to bed because of the baby—”

  “You didn’t call her, did you?” Carol’s pregnancy was already difficult enough. Riley did not want to be the cause of any additional stress for her.

  “Not yet. I was waiting until I got home,” Denny said. “Thankfully, she’s not the TV type, so I figured it would be safe to wait until I could be there with her.”

  “Don’t tell her. I’m fine. It’s over. Please don’t upset her.”

  “You don’t think she’ll be more upset if I don’t tell her? That’s not the way it works when you love someone.”

  I wouldn’t know. Riley pushed the pointless thought away. “Okay. Whatever you think is best.” She edged away from him. “I really have to go. I need to check on my patient and see if her family has arrived.” She did not relish that prospect at all. How could she face them, knowing she had almost gotten their loved one killed?

  “All right. I’ll go. Come over when you’re done, okay?”

  Although the last thing she wanted was to be around anyone, she didn’t want to argue with him either. “Sure. I’ll try.”

  As soon as he walked away, she headed for her locker, already pulling off the tattered scrub top.

  * * *

  The beeping of equipment, shuffling of feet as the nurses went about their duties, and the soft murmur of voices filled the recovery room.

  Standing next to her patient’s gurney, Riley used the computerized chart in her hands to learn the officer’s name. Samantha Ann McKenna. She traced her finger over the name of the woman who had saved her life. If it weren’t for her, she would be down in the morgue. Riley did not know how to come to terms with that, or if she ever would. Stop it. Don’t think about it. Do your job.

  She methodically checked the monitors, IVs, and finally, Samantha’s dressings. Satisfied that all was as it should be, she entered all her post-op orders into the chart and then turned her attention to the woman herself and gazed down at her slack face.

  The ghostly pallor of her skin almost matched the color of the pillowcase she rested on. A dark bruise was already forming at her temple. Sutures stood out starkly on her scalp where her short black hair had been shaved off.

  With trembling fingers, Riley touched the unblemished side of Samantha’s face. Why did you do it? That question had been running through her mind incessantly. It had not been an accident. Riley could see it in her mind’s eye as if it were happening again—Samantha had stepped purposely into the line of fire. Why? I’m nobody to you.

  “Dr. Connolly.”

  She started and glanced up to find Holly, one of the recovery room nurses, standing at the foot of the gurney with a curious look. Riley flushed when she realized she had the side of Samantha’s face cupped in her hand, softly stroking her cheek with her thumb. She jerked her hand away as if burned.

  “Yes. What is it?” she asked, her tone crisp and professional.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you’d want to know that Officer McKenna’s family is here.”

  “Thank you for letting me know.”

  Holly puttered with the equipment but kept glancing at Riley. Her lips were pressed together in a firm line. “Dr. McBain went out to talk to them,” she finally blurted.

  What? How dare he? In retrospect, Riley realized she should have figured he would do something like that. When he confronted her outside the OR, he had been furious about her doing the surgery and worried about the repercussions. Apparently, he had decided that she shouldn’t have any contact with the family. She stared down at Samantha for a moment. Regardless of what McBain wanted, she had done the surgery and the woman was her patient. She could almost hear her uncle’s voice. Don’t react. Act.

  “Thanks, Holly. Once Officer McKenna is ready to be released to the SICU, please make sure she’s sent to radiology for her head CT before she’s taken to the unit.” After one last glance at Samantha, she spun on her heel and headed for the surgical waiting room to face the officer’s family.

  Chapter 6

  Riley strode toward the double doors that restricted access to the ORs and recovery rooms.

  This is just like meeting with any other patient’s family. Be clear, concise, and keep things in layman’s terms.

  Normally, she didn’t have to think twice about what to say to her patients’ families. Then again, she had never before been the cause of the patient’s injuries. Her mind on the meeting with the family, she reached blindly for the wall plate to open the swinging doors. Movement caught her eyes through the large windows inset in the doors, and she stopped just shy of pressing the door release. The normally quiet hallway on the other side of the doors was filled with people. What were so many people doing outside the OR?

  A closer look provided the answer. Quite a number of the people were wearing press credentials.

  Great. Just want I need. Not! One of the reporters spotted her and motioned for her to open the doors. Ignoring the gesture, she turned and took an alternate route to the fourth-floor waiting room that had been set aside for the police officers. While it could often get busy, the whole area was teeming with more people than usual. Was every reporter in the state there? She kept her head down as she approached the door to the waiting room.

  When she found her way blocked by a pair of legs encased in dark blue trousers, she looked up. “Excuse me,” she said as she tried to step past the police officer.

  The stern-faced officer did not budge from his post in front of the doorway. “Can I help you?”

  Gl
ancing past him, Riley tried to spot McBain. The room was filled with police officers, but her boss was nowhere in sight. Had he taken the family into the patient conference room?

  “Ma’am?”

  “Never mind.” She turned to walk away.

  “Wait.” He took hold of her arm.

  Riley flinched, and he immediately let go.

  He glanced at her chest, then met her eyes. “Sorry, Dr. Connolly. Do you know anything about Sam, the officer who was shot? I mean Officer McKenna. There was another doctor here a little while ago. He told Sam’s sister to come with him but didn’t say anything about Sam’s condition, so we were all wondering…”

  Riley ground her teeth. McBain must have scared the family witless. The first words out of her mouth would have been, “She’s in the recovery room.” She gazed up into worried brown eyes. While she could not give him any details about Samantha’s condition, she could at least ease his fears. “She’s out of surgery and in the recovery room.”

  The officer let out a whoop. “Thank you.” He turned and rushed into the waiting room.

  A cheer erupted from the gathered police.

  The noise attracted the attention of the press people lurking farther down the hall. Several of them made a beeline for the waiting room.

  Using the commotion to her advantage, Riley made her exit.

  Outside the patient conference room, she paused for a moment to compose herself. This wasn’t about McBain. Focus on the family. She stepped into the room and quietly closed the door behind her. Her gaze swept the room.

  Dr. McBain was sitting at the head of the table. Two women sat next to each other with their backs to her, one dark-haired, the other blond.

  “That’s no answer.” The dark-haired woman rose from her chair like a tsunami rising from the ocean to loom over McBain. “You either know or you don’t. Did you even do the surgery?” Her voice was flat, devoid of inflection. The only thing that gave away her true emotional state was the white-knuckled grip she had on the edge of the conference table.

  The blonde stood and placed a comforting hand on her back.

  “Now see here, young woman,” McBain said.

  Riley hated it when he used that pompous tone. “I performed the surgery on Officer McKenna,” she said from her spot near the door. “I’ll answer any questions you have.”

  At the sound of her voice, the woman who had questioned McBain spun around to face her. “Who are you?” Her silvery-blue eyes pinned Riley in place.

  Riley tried hard not to stare. The woman’s resemblance to her patient was uncanny. Was she Samantha’s twin? It took her a second to find her voice.

  McBain intervened before she could introduce herself. “I’ve got this under control. Return to your duties.”

  Riley froze for a moment. Her first instinct was to back down, but she forced herself to ignore that impulse and strode over to the table. Acting as if she had not heard him, she offered her hand to the woman who had to be Samantha’s sister. “I’m Dr. Connolly.”

  “Dr. Jess McKenna. I’m Sam’s sister.” She released Riley’s hand, and the blonde offered hers in its place. “This is my spouse, Dr. Kim Donovan.”

  Were they medical doctors? Plenty of PhDs used their title whenever possible. She shot a glance at McBain but couldn’t get a clue from his expression other than that he was thoroughly pissed at her.

  As if she had heard the question, Dr. McKenna said, “I’m chairman of the ER at L.A. Metro. My spouse is the ER psych attending at the same hospital.”

  That made things easier. Knowing how stressed both women must be, Riley got right to the point. “When I left your sister in the recovery room, she was in serious but stable condition. She has two gun—”

  “Dr. Connolly.” McBain stood. “I—”

  “Quiet.” Dr. McKenna glared at McBain. “If you can’t be quiet, feel free to leave.” She gripped the back of her chair so hard her knuckles blanched. “On second thought, I think it would be best if you did leave. Dr. Connolly will fill us in since she’s the one who actually performed the surgery.”

  Riley kept her expression carefully neutral, although inside, she was smiling. It wasn’t often McBain got put in his place. It served him right for coming in here and making them think he did the surgery.

  McBain huffed, for a moment looking as if he was going to argue. Then his expression changed to what Riley thought of as his “politician face.” “I’ll leave you in Dr. Connolly’s competent hands. I’m needed downstairs to make the press announcement. I’m sure you understand.” He reached to clasp Dr. McKenna’s hands, then seemed to think better of it. “If there is anything you need, just let the staff know. I just wanted to come by and assure you that your sister is receiving the highest quality care.”

  Riley bit the inside of her cheek to keep from reacting. She glanced over at Dr. McKenna just in time to see her expression darken.

  McBain must have seen the look as well. Without another word, he made a hasty retreat.

  Some of the tension left the room with him.

  “I’m sorry you had to deal with him.” Riley resisted the urge to sigh. “If you’ll please have a seat, I’ll go over everything I did and bring you up to date on Samantha’s condition.”

  * * *

  Kim kept a tight grip on Jess’s hand as Dr. Connolly detailed the extent of Sam’s injuries and what she had done to repair them. My God. Twice. She was shot twice.

  “When can we see her?” Jess asked as soon as the doctor finished.

  Dr. Connolly glanced at her watch. “She’s probably still in radiology, getting her head CT. Let me call and check on her status.”

  Once she was busy on the phone, Kim turned in her seat, took Jess’s face in her hands, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “She’s going to be okay. Sam’s strong.”

  “She is.” Jess put her hands over Kim’s and smiled half-heartedly. “But I’ll feel better after we’ve seen her.”

  “Me too.”

  They separated when Dr. Connolly approached the table. Jess gave Kim’s hand one last squeeze.

  “Good news,” Dr. Connolly said. “Her head CT was clear. She’s on her way to the SICU. It will take them a while to get her settled, then you can see her. I’ll show you where the SICU waiting room is.”

  “Jess, we should let Marina and the rest of her fellow officers know she’s out of surgery before we head to the SICU,” Kim said.

  Jess’s brow furrowed. She glanced toward the door and then back at Kim, clearly torn.

  Kim didn’t blame her; she needed to see Sam too, but they had an obligation to the officers gathered in support of Sam.

  Dr. Connolly cleared her throat. “I hope you don’t mind, but when I stopped by the waiting room, looking for you, one of the officers asked, and I let them know that Samantha was out of surgery.” She stuck her hands in her lab coat pockets. “I didn’t give any details of her condition, just let them know that she was in recovery.”

  Kim smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Yes. Thank you,” Jess said.

  “All right, then,” Dr. Connolly said. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to the SICU waiting room.”

  * * *

  Jess reached for Kim’s hand as they neared Sam’s room. Through the glass wall that fronted the room, she could just make out her sister’s form in the bed, surrounded by equipment. The normal sights and sounds of the hospital that were part of Jess’s daily life were suddenly foreign and threatening. No matter how much she tried to view this situation with a physician’s eye, she couldn’t.

  She halted at the foot of the bed. God. Sam. Her normally strong, vibrant sister looked so pale, small, and helpless.

  Kim sniffed.

  Jess turned to see a tear track down her face. She pulled Kim close, and together they moved to stand near the head of the bed.

  Jess took Sam’s cold, limp hand and chafed it between her own much warmer ones. She leaned down and placed a kiss on Sam’s forehead. “Wha
t have you done to yourself, kiddo?”

  Kim laid her hand on top of Jess’s. Tears ran freely down her face. “We’re here. We love you.”

  Jess swallowed hard and shot a glance at Dr. Connolly, who had her gaze glued to Sam’s chart, giving them at least the semblance of privacy.

  To distract herself from the gut-wrenching emotions evoked by seeing Sam like this, Jess turned her attention to the equipment that surrounded her sister. She scanned the monitor readout, then the IV bags. Her stomach churned when she spotted the unit of blood hanging among the IV fluids. “How many units of blood has she had?”

  Dr. Connolly looked up. “That’s the second unit. I’ve ordered her hematocrit checked every hour for the next six hours, then I’ll reevaluate the need for further transfusions.”

  “I’d like to see her chart,” Jess said as she stepped away from the bed.

  After hesitating for a moment, Dr. Connolly handed over the tablet and moved to stand next to Jess as she went over the chart.

  * * *

  Kim took Jess’s place at the head of the bed and winced at the sight of the darkening bruises and sutures above her ear. She stroked Sam’s cheek and then touched her hair, grimacing. “Why did they scalp her like that?”

  “Excuse me?” Dr. Connolly frowned.

  “Why did they cut all her hair off like that?”

  Dr. Connolly stepped up next to Kim and peered down at Sam. She gently touched the bare area surrounding the sutures. “They needed to shave the area to be able to suture her scalp wound.”

  “I realize that,” Kim said. “But why did they cut the rest of her hair so close to her scalp?” Of course, Sam had much bigger problems than her hair, but it raised Kim’s ire, as it seemed an unnecessary indignity.

  The conversation drew Jess’s attention away from the chart. She moved to the opposite side of the bed. Scowling, she ran her fingers through Sam’s hair. “They didn’t need to do this for a scalp wound.”