Don't Look Back (23 page)

Rough hands pulled her away.

Professionals took over.

Her job was done. She’d kept Samantha alive until help arrived.

Jumping back into the action, she explained who she was and what she’d done. Connor hovered, cell phone to his ear as he shouted at someone on the other end.

Dakota probably.

An IV hanging on the pole fed much-needed fluids into Sam’s pale, still body. Efficient hands loaded her onto the gurney, and before Jamie felt like she could blink, Sam was in the ambulance. “Hold on,” Connor called. “I’m riding with her!” His hand gripped hers. “I’m going with Sam. Can you drive my car and meet us there?”

“Yes, yes, go.”

He went.

Jamie grabbed the keys that had been left in the door and bolted for Connor’s car.

Ten minutes later, she followed the ambulance into the emergency room parking lot.

A parking spot yawned right in front of her. She snagged it and raced for the entrance. Dakota stood just inside the door. Slowing her pace a fraction, she went to his side and looked up at him. Words wouldn’t come, she could only stare at him, asking for something, but not sure what it was.

Immediately, his arms came around her and he pulled her into an embrace.

Sobs wracked her and she let the tears fall.

21

Dakota hated hospitals. He knew Jamie wasn’t exactly fond of them either.

She shifted on the hard plastic seat beside him and her head nudged his shoulder. His heart sighed with a love that scared him. Made him wonder if she would ever be able to return it.

Finally losing the battle between worry and exhaustion, she’d drifted off. He wrapped an arm around her and gently pulled her into a more comfortable position against him. Leaning his head back against the wall, he shut his eyes.

God? I haven’t talked to you much lately, but Jamie believes you’re
there. And she’s about got me believing it too. I don’t know why all this
is happening. If you’re so loving, why don’t you do something? But I
guess I can recognize my own limitations. I don’t know your mind or
the way you work. But if you could give Jamie some comfort – and a
whole lot of protection – I’d be grateful. And let Sam be okay, please?
Jamie needs her to be all right. We all do.

He waited to see if he felt different for having prayed.

Nada.

Disappointment swelled within. Did that mean God wasn’t listening? Discouraged, he closed his eyes.

He must have drifted off, one ear tuned to his surroundings, because when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he jumped. His left arm was asleep because of the awkward position, and he felt weighted down in quicksand. Jamie sat up, dislodging his arm and rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands.

She spoke first, “Connor? How is she? Is Sam going to be all right?”

For the first time, Dakota noticed Jamie’s parents sitting in the chairs facing him. Anxious, they had their eyes on Connor, as desperate to hear news about Sam as Jamie.

Connor closed his eyes, then opened them. Tears reddened them and Dakota’s heart dropped to his toes.
Oh God, no.
“Connor?” “She’s uh . . . she’s still alive, hanging in there, but she’s lost a lot of blood.” He looked at Jamie. “You saved her life tonight.”

She blinked and looked away. “If it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t be in this situation,” she whispered. Then she cleared her throat. “Where did all the blood come from, Connor? There was so much of it and I couldn’t see where it was originating? And then the paramedics were there . . .”

Grief clouded Connor’s features and Dakota knew. “She was pregnant, wasn’t she?”

Jamie’s mother gave a soft cry and her father grasped her hand.

A gasp and a whimper from Jamie. “And the baby?”

A nod from Connor. “The baby is still hanging on too. She’s about three months along. Her due date’s around the beginning of December. But the doctors have already said not to hold out hope. Sam’s been too traumatized and the blood loss . . .” He swallowed hard and looked at his hands. “So, I’m trying to prepare myself to prepare her . . .”

“Where’s your faith, man?” Dakota asked.

Connor snapped his head up, sucked in a deep breath, and just stared.

Jamie reached out and grabbed his hand. “Dakota’s right, Connor. We have to have faith. He has a purpose for that little life in there.”

Connor nodded and rose to his feet and hugged his in-laws. “I’m going to go back and check on Sam and give Jenna a call to fill her in. Why don’t you guys go on home?” He looked at Jamie. “It might be best if you stay here at the hospital, actually. I can arrange for that.”

Relief that Samantha was still alive warred with the grief that she might lose a baby Jamie knew she wanted very much. Her parents looked worn and weary, the stress of whatever was going on in their personal lives now compounded by Samantha’s run-in with a serial killer.

Her mother laid a hand on Jamie’s arm. “Come home with us, sweetie. There’s no reason for you to stay here.”

Jamie gave her mother a hug. “If I thought you would be safe, I would. But after what’s happened tonight, I just don’t dare . . .” She bit her lip. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Dakota snapped his phone shut. “It’s arranged. Sam’s condition is considered critical, so she’s going into ICU for the night but will probably be moved to a room tomorrow if everything goes well. With special permission, we can set you up a cot in Sam’s room. Connor said he’d crash in the doctors’ lounge.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded, his eyes soft with concern, compassion. “My guess is, as long as you and Sam are safe, Connor’s going to want to be hunting this guy down.”

Jamie nodded. “All right. Mom, Dad, I’ll stay with Sam and call you immediately if there’s any change.”

“We’ll be praying,” her mother said as she leaned over for one more hug. “Also, when Samantha has recovered, there’s something your father and I need to talk to you about.”

Curiosity and dread hit her. “Something good or bad? Because I don’t think I can handle any more bad.”

When tears filled her mother’s eyes, Jamie’s heart nearly stopped. “What is it, Mom?” Eyes beseeched her dad.

The tall man shifted his lanky frame and cleared his throat. “It’s good, Jamie. It’s all good. It’ll be something happy to save for when Samantha’s ready, okay?”

“Fine.” Something to look forward to. It must be a doozy, though, to induce happy tears in her mother at this tragic time.

After her parents left to check on when they would be able to see Samantha, she turned to Dakota and whispered, “We have to stop him.”

He tugged her into his arms. She went willingly, grateful for his strength to lean on if only for a few minutes. Then he set her back from him. “What do you need from your house?”

She looked down at her bloody clothing. Sam’s blood. “Another change of clothes would be nice, since I didn’t pack enough. I wasn’t planning on . . . this.”

“I’ll get Jessica to go in and get you some.”

“She’ll need the alarm code.”

“I’ll give it to her.”

“And the bag in my bathroom. Tell her just to throw everything she sees on the counter into it.”

“Got it.”

Jamie watched him make the call while her mind churned. As soon as Samantha was awake, she’d be inundated with questions about what had happened at her house.

Closing her eyes, she leaned against the wall and waited on Dakota to finish his conversation.
God, I want to pray, but I don’t
even know what to say. I know this isn’t of you. I don’t want to blame
you. I stopped blaming you for all the bad stuff that happened to me
a long time ago. I guess I’m just upset because I don’t understand. I
don’t get how you could let this happen to Sam. But,
she hauled in a breath,
I refuse to doubt you. I will believe that you know best. I
made that decision a long time ago. Your character hasn’t changed just
because of this situation.

“You’re doing it again.”

Praying ceased and she jerked her eyes open to blink up at Dakota.

“You’re praying, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I could tell.”

“I’m still not sure I understand exactly what you mean.”

“And I don’t know if I can explain it. But it’s like . . .” He waved a hand, “something happens on your face.”

She shot him a perturbed look. “Okay.”

“Ah, man, I’m just saying that while you looked disturbed and maybe almost angry when you were praying, you also had this relaxed, peaceful . . . um . . . countenance? I guess that’s the right word. It’s really odd. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

An idea of what he meant softened her. “I think I understand, but don’t ask me to explain it either. It’s just God, I guess.”

“I prayed.”

That stilled her. “You did?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think anyone would have accused me of changing physically during my prayer.”

“That doesn’t mean God didn’t hear it.”

“Hmm.”

The double doors whooshed open and Connor stepped through. “They’re taking Sam up to ICU. A crime scene unit is going over my house and officers are interviewing neighbors. Hopefully someone will remember something that will give us a heads-up on this guy.”

“Great. I’ll go with you. Do you have an officer on Sam’s room?”

“She’ll be here shortly.”

“Has Samantha woken up yet?” Jamie wanted to know.

Eyes clouded as he nodded. “Yes.”

“Does she know about the baby?”

“Her first question.”

“Did she say anything about what happened?”

Connor clenched his jaw. “Not yet. The doctor didn’t want me pressing her.”

Jamie paced away three steps, then back. “She’s a cop. She’s thinking about everything, processing it. She’ll tell you soon.”

“I know.” He blew out a breath. “All right, let’s go see if she’s ready.”

The trio made their way up to Samantha’s room. Jamie pushed the door open and had to bite her tongue on a gasp. Samantha looked awful. Pale and wan, bruised and battered.

If only Jamie hadn’t stopped at the lab. They would have gotten there in time. Regret kicked her and she took in a shaky breath.

Eyes closed, Samantha breathed deep, even breaths. Peaceful, narcotic-induced sleep. Questions would have to wait.

A cot graced the opposite wall near the bathroom. “Connor, if you need to stay here, I can check into a hotel.”

He just looked at her. She gave up. Not that she couldn’t be stubborn when the occasion called for it, but right now didn’t seem to be the time.

Dakota handed her a cell phone. “I got this for you. An officer delivered it while you were sleeping on my arm.”

Wide-eyed, she reached for it. Her fingers brushed his and she shivered at the contact. A good shiver. She was almost getting used to the feelings he induced in her. A fact that thrilled her and scared her all at the same time. “Thanks.”

Connor’s phone rang and he snatched it up. “Wolfe here.”

Jamie tucked the phone into her pocket and walked over to Samantha’s side as Connor talked. Then Dakota’s phone buzzed and the soft chatter filled her ears.

Focused on her sister, she took in every detail. Her heart hurt.

“Oh Sam, please get better fast. I need your constant nagging and overprotectiveness more than I ever thought I would.”

“Thanks a lot, sis,” came the whispered response.

For a moment, Jamie wasn’t sure she’d heard it, but a quick glance up confirmed Samantha’s eyes were open. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Like I ran into a knife.”

Jamie grimaced and Samantha squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

“He got you under your rib but missed almost everything vital – including your uterus.”

“The baby’s still okay, right?”

“Yeah. He’s fine.”

“He?”

“Uh-huh.” Jamie forced a grin. “Too many girls in our family. We need a little boy around to shake things up.”

Samantha laughed, then gasped. “Please don’t make me laugh. It hurts. You don’t think things are exciting enough already?”

Jamie grimaced. “I meant a different kind of excitement.”

The guys quit talking and joined Jamie around the bed.

The door opened and they all turned as one.

The nurse narrowed her dark eyes on the lot of them. “What do you think you’re all doing in here? This is an ICU room.”

Between badge flashes and explanations, she quieted her protests and left. But not without shooting them all a dark look and the promise of “I’ll be back.”

“Don’t leave me here with Nurse Arnold,” Sam begged in a whisper.

Jamie choked on a surprised laugh and the guys exchanged smirks. Then seriousness descended. “Sam, do you feel like talking about what happened?”

Samantha grimaced and Connor stroked her hair, his fingers lingering on a bruised cheek. “You don’t have to right now if you don’t feel up to it.”

“No, I need to. You need to get this guy.” She licked her lips and Jamie handed her the cup of water from the tray. Sam took a sip and said, “I was asleep on the couch. Something woke me up and he was standing there watching me.”