Getting the Edge: Betrayed Book 1 (6 page)

He could afford neither.

“All right, then. And you are?”

“Her husband,” he lied smoothly. “We’re on our honeymoon.” It was a quick lie, but not one easily verified quickly. It was the only way he could think of quickly to be assured information.

“I won’t ask you to wait in the lounge, but you need to stay out of our way,” she said sternly.

Brandon gave her a smile. “Of course. I just want her taken care of. She means the world to me.” There was a ring of truth to his words that—again—he’d worry about later.

The nurse nodded and Brandon followed her into the small cubicle. Another nurse was already putting Amanda into a gown and attaching leads to her chest. Mandy was still unconscious.

“Where’s the doctor?” Brandon asked.

“He’s with another patient. He’ll be with her in just a few moments. We need to get her settled first.”

That didn’t seem right to Brandon, but he let it go. If the doctor wasn’t in there within those few moments, though, he’d go find one himself. He watched as the nurse drew blood and rechecked the IV.

Just when he decided to go look for a doctor himself, the curtain on the cubicle opened and a tall man with white hair and a tired face walked in. “What have we got, Inez?” he asked in a serious tone.

Inez turned to him. “Radial artery injury—accidental by all reports. EMTs transported due to loss of consciousness, Dr. Brooks.”

The doctor moved to the side of the bed and started to carefully unwrap the dressing on Amanda’s arm. “Get me a suture kit, will you?”

Brandon watched as the doctor worked silently on Mandy’s arm, becoming more and more alarmed as she slept through the injection of the numbing medication and the suturing of her wrist. Finally, he could stay silent no longer. “Why isn’t she waking up?”

The doctor turned to him and smiled. “I think she’s just tuning out for a bit. Her vitals are normalizing, and her blood loss isn’t as severe as it could have been. Her blood tests show us that. She doesn’t need a transfusion. If she doesn’t wake up, though, we’ll order a head CT to be sure she didn’t injure herself when she fainted. Some people don’t deal with seeing blood well.”

Brandon frowned. “She’s been out over half an hour now.”

The doctor’s head came up. “That long?” He looked at Inez. “Order that head CT, Inez. Let’s just be sure.”

Inez nodded and left the small cubicle.

“So, what happened?” the doctor asked smoothly.

Brandon didn’t groan, but he wanted to. “She was in the bedroom in the cabin we’d rented. Apparently, the window as stuck and she hit it trying to get it open. I went in and found it broken.”

“Did she talk to you?”

Brandon nodded. “She didn’t pass out immediately. She tried to go to the other room and just fell over. I carried her to the couch.”

Well, it was mostly the truth.

The doctor frowned. “And you don’t believe this was a suicide attempt? Are you absolutely sure she hasn’t taken anything?”

God, Brandon hadn’t even thought of that. Was it possible she’d found something and taken it as a means of escape? He just couldn’t be sure, but he had watched her as she’d packed. “No, I don’t think so. We’re on our honeymoon. She’s not suicidal.”
I hope.

“Can you tell me what she might have had access to anyway?”

Brandon grabbed Mandy’s purse. Inside were the normal things one would find in a female’s purse—but absolutely nothing in the way of medication—and he knew there was nothing at the cabin. “Nothing.”

“Well, let’s hold off worrying about any medications until we have the CT,” the doctor decided.

Brandon looked at the pale woman lying on the white sheets.
Why wasn’t she waking up?
“All right. Do you have any idea why she isn’t waking up, though?”

“Honestly, it concerns me,” he admitted. “She shouldn’t be unconscious. The blood level came back quickly; the other tests will take a bit longer.”

Brandon felt a stab of guilt, and tried to push it back, but couldn’t. He’d done this to her. He’d taken her from her school and likely terrified her.

Yes, he wanted and needed answers, and it was because of Amanda that he’d lost everything—but he damn well hadn’t wanted to see her hurt. “We’ve been on the road for several days. We’d just rented a cabin last night. She hasn’t been sleeping well for quite some time.”

That was the truth, if the dark circles under her eyes were any indicator. She hadn’t really looked well to him even when he’d been watching her at the college.

“Exhaustion might be partially to blame, but I’d like to keep her overnight when she rouses and run a few tests,” the doctor decided.

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” The last thing he needed was for her to be here where she might turn him in for illegal detention, but he wasn’t heartless enough to risk her health. He’d just be sure he was with her until she was released.

A groan from the bed turned both his and the doctor’s attention to the bed.

“Hey, Mandy,” he said gently. “Open those eyes for me.”

He watched her lids flutter and felt a surge of relief. When her eyes opened, the confusion was clear in them. “You’re at the hospital, Mandy. You fainted from blood loss.”

Mandy’s eyes darted from him to the doctor. “I’m fine,” she insisted. “I’d like to leave now.”

The doctor shook his head. “I think we need to keep you here overnight in observation. You were unconscious for too long. We need to run a few tests.”

Mandy got a mutinous look on her face and Brandon almost smiled. The good doctor had no idea what that look meant, but he did. She was going to refuse to stay.

He was torn between being grateful for that, and concern over her health. He told himself that it was only because he needed answers once more, but even as he had the thought, he knew he was lying to himself.

“Amanda, you need to listen to the doctor. I don’t want you fainting on me again,” he said, his voice hard.

“I’m not staying. I’m fine.” To prove it, she sat up and then fell back with a groan when a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her. “I just need to rest a few more minutes.”

The doctor shook his head. “I’m ordering a Cat Scan and more labs. Your blood loss from the accident doesn’t account for the time you were unconscious. No one likes to be in hospitals, but your man here and I will feel better if we know you’re healthy.”

Mandy closed her eyes. “Fine,” she ground out.

Brandon gave a fleeting smile, but it was gone before Mandy opened her eyes. Damn, but she was a stubborn woman. How had he forgotten that? “Good girl,” he said, taunting her. He knew she hated to be called a girl like that. The little devil inside him couldn’t resist.

She glared at him, and turned to the doctor. “I’m sure I’m just worn out. We’ve been traveling for a bit, and I haven’t been sleeping too well.”

“Let’s hope that’s all it is. I’m going to go order those tests. A nurse will be in to get you settled,” the doctor stated, then left the cubicle.

Once they were alone, Mandy glared at Brandon. “Why did you bring me here?” she hissed.

Brandon crossed his arms over his chest. “Why do you think? You were unconscious and lying on the ground. You didn’t stir when the medics came, and we’ve been here for quite a while. You somehow did a number on yourself, and I need to be sure you’ve healthy.”

“What do you care?” she said. “It’s not like you care.”

Brandon didn’t respond to the latter. “I need answers, and to get them, you need to be healthy. I’m not a bastard. Human decency requires me to be sure you are okay.”

“I’ve told you over and over again. I have nothing to tell you. Look, just let me go. I won’t report you for kidnapping. I just want to go back.”

Brandon tilted his head and studied her. “I’m not letting you out of my sight, Amanda. Just behave and let the doctor figure out what’s wrong with you so we can get out of here.”

“You’re wrong you know,” she said.

“And what am I wrong about?”

“You said you weren’t a bastard. You’re wrong.”

“Why? Because I won’t let you do something incredibly stupid?” he snapped, irritation clearly showing on his face. He studied her for a long moment, then suddenly smiled. “No, it’s not because of that, is it? It’s because you know I’m right,” he said smugly.

Mandy narrowed her eyes. “You think so?”

He grinned. “Yeah, I think.” There was something fun about baiting her. There wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it, and obviously she didn’t like it.
Too damn bad.
He didn’t much care if she liked it or not.

Slowly, the grin left his face. For just a moment, he’d almost forgotten what she’d done to him. He couldn’t afford to forget what she’d done—and what she was capable of doing—for even one second. “Just give it up, Amanda. We will leave here when the doctor decides you are okay.”

Amanda just continued to glare up at him. “Aren’t you worried about being found? Isn’t there some rule that says you had to stay back home?”

Oh, wouldn’t she like that, he thought grimly. Of course he was not supposed to be here—not that he cared. He’d served his full sentence. He wasn’t on parole. He’d been released. He’d waived his parole hearing on purpose. He didn’t want to be locked into that type of supervision. It had been worth the extra year. Still, he was sure that there would be some form of an OOP—order of protection—that would prevent him from contacting her. There had been at some point, as he’d been served with it—in prison. “Oh, I don’t know—is there? Does anyone back home even know where you are?”

He watched as her eyes hooded.
Hmm, so she hadn’t gotten a protection order? That surprised him. Why?
“Does anyone know where you are?” he repeated when she remained silent.

“Of course,” she said.

Amanda prayed that he’d believe her. Somehow, she had to make him leave. He was in danger, and she couldn’t even tell him. If they found out…she shuddered inwardly. She didn’t even want to think about what they would do to him if they knew he was here.

Of course, she’d been careful, but obviously not careful enough if he’d managed to find her so quickly. She sighed. If she was honest with herself, part of her had wanted him to find her. She was so tired of being alone.

Before she could say more, the doctor came back into the room with a nurse. She was looking at Brandon, and didn’t notice the nurse inject something into her IV. She felt a warm flush, then light headed.
Oh God, they’ve given me pain medication!
That could be bad, very bad. She had absolutely no tolerance for medication.

Just as quickly as she had that thought, she giggled. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

Brandon gave Mandy a quizzical look. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

The doctor answered before Amanda could. “It’s the pain medication. It’s making her a bit giddy. Perfectly normal, I assure you.”

Brandon nodded and found himself grinning. He should have remembered; once she’d been given something at the dentist, and she’d been a virtual talkaholic for hours. “Feeling better?”

“Uh huh,” she said and giggled again.

“We’re going to get you settled into a room soon.”

“Don’t like hospitals,” she mumbled with a pout.

“Tough,” Brandon said good naturedly. “We’ve had this discussion already.”

“Don’t think I like you either,” she muttered under her breath.

“That’s okay, too,” he replied. Hell would freeze over before he admitted that he felt a sting at those words. He didn’t give one good damn what she thought of him. He wouldn’t allow himself to.

The doctor chuckled. “The tech will be here in just a bit. Keep her company.”

“I plan on it,” he agreed readily.

Her eyes started to droop, and Brandon knew she’d be asleep in a few moments. When they were alone, he sat next to her and studied her. God, she really did look awful. Her eyes had circles beneath them, and she was deathly pale. He wondered what she’d done with herself. He’d spent the time in a cell and didn’t look as pale as she did.

“Go ahead and sleep, Amanda. You’re safe,” he said very quietly.

“Not safe,” she muttered, her eyes closing. “I had to do it. Had to protect Brandon.”

Brandon’s head snapped up.
What the hell?
He opened his mouth to demand she tell him what she’d meant by that, but realized by her even breathing that she was sound asleep.

Well, hell
. It was going to be a very long night.

Chapter Eight

By the time the nurse got Amanda settled in her room, she was snoring lightly, which made Brandon smile against his will. She’d snored when she’d had pain medication before, he remembered, and he’d teased her about it.

As he sat next to her, his mind kept returning to their first meeting. It seemed like it had been years ago now, instead of a short two and a half years. He’d fallen hard—and had believed she’d felt the same. Obviously, he’d been wrong.

The remnants of the smile left his face. No, he wasn’t going to fall for any more of her lies. It was time for the truth. Even as he had the thought, though, he wondered once more what she’d meant when she said she did it to protect him.