Heroes In Uniform (132 page)

Liliana eased her hand beneath Caterina’s. Pressed slightly, causing Caterina to moan from the pressure.

“It could be your spleen. It probably can’t handle all the stress your system is in.”

Liliana walked to the foot of the gurney, bent, and pushed with all her might. The gurney slid against the polished hospital floor and rolled with her guiding it from behind. The ding as they approached the elevator bank was welcome and they were soon on their way up.

Caterina closed her eyes and tried to ignore the assorted aches and pains in her body and the intense heat. When the gurney slowed to a stop, she opened her eyes.

Liliana was at her side with another young Latina in a light blue scrub suit. “This is Dr. Rojas. She’s a fellow doctor and a friend. She can be trusted.”

“Thank you,” Caterina said and the young woman nodded.

Dr. Rojas approached Caterina and held up a syringe connected to a long section of tubing. There was something familiar about it and in the back of her brain, Caterina realized she had seen something similar before while in Wardwell’s care.

“We need to put one needle in each arm. We’ll also be giving you an IV with citrate to avoid coagulation while we’re processing your blood. That may interfere with your clotting for the next twenty-four hours so try to avoid any strenuous activities and watch for excessive bruising.”

Caterina nodded and winced as the woman pierced a vein in her arm with the needle. The young doctor walked around and did the same in the other arm and as she did so she said, “I see you’ve had this done before, and often, so you know this may take about two hours. Close your eyes and get some rest.”

Dr. Rojas patted her arm, the action slightly mechanical and stilted. She slipped some kind of device over Caterina’s finger and a machine a couple of feet away kicked to life.

“Thank you,” Caterina said and did as instructed, knowing rest was essential to rebuilding her strength.

* * *

Liliana approached her friend and clapped her on the back as she turned on the plasmapheresis unit. “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

“Dead people are easier to handle,” Carmen teased while keeping her eye on the equipment to make sure it was working properly and checking her patient’s heart rate and oxygen saturation.

“Easier, but not as rewarding.”

A knock came at the door and Liliana walked over, opened it to admit her brother, who scrutinized Caterina as she lay on the gurney, tubes running out of her arms and wires leading to the pulse oximeter that was keeping track of her heart beat and the oxygen saturation in her blood.

“She’ll be okay, Mick. We’ll be extracting the remnants of the cell lysis and antibodies plus adding some sterile plasma substitutes to help stabilize her,” Liliana said.

Mick glanced at Carmen and held out his hand. “Mick Carrera.”

“Liliana’s brother,” her friend said as she shyly peered up at him. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Liliana.”

As he arched a brow, Carmen quickly confirmed, “All good things.”

“Thanks. I appreciate you helping us,” Mick replied.

Carmen nervously half-glanced at Liliana. “I know Liliana wouldn’t ask unless this was an emergency.”

“It is. You’re helping save her life,” Mick said.

Carmen nodded and faced Liliana. “I need to head back to the lab, but I’ll check back in about an hour.”

Her friend left the room and Mick walked over to Liliana and hugged her. “Thank you
.
”

Liliana returned the embrace, and then went to where Caterina was resting on the gurney. She laid her hand over Caterina’s, waking her.

“How are you feeling?”

Caterina offered up a weak smile. “A little dizzy and my fingertips are numb.”

Liliana squeezed her hand. “That’s normal, but I’m going to check your blood pressure just in case.”

Mick came to Caterina’s side and laced his fingers with hers. The smile Caterina offered him was brighter and there was a look in her eyes that Liliana couldn’t fail to notice.

Caterina was in love with her brother
, she thought as she wheeled over the blood pressure machine. As she wrapped the cuff around Caterina’s arm, she half-looked at her brother as he stood by the gurney.

She couldn’t miss the look in his eyes either.

Mick had feelings for Caterina. She couldn’t say love kinds of feelings because she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her brother truly in love. But she was sure that this was more than a we’re-having-great-sex kind of look.

Which was so not good
, Liliana thought as the blood pressure machine kicked to life, inflating the cuff and then shuddering and deflating to calculate the blood pressure.

“Your pressure is on the low side of normal, which is typical for this treatment. It’ll stabilize in a few hours,” Liliana said, inclined her head, and nodded to get her brother to meet her at the far side of the room.

Mick reluctantly left Caterina and the anxious look on his face only confirmed her earlier observation.

“She’s okay, right?” he whispered.

Okay was not a word she could use considering Caterina’s condition and while she didn’t want to shatter his illusions, he seemed to need a reality check. “She’ll be better. For a little while. Until she’ll need another dose of the inhibitor drug and this starts all over again. And then when you run out of the inhibitor drug, the replication will begin again.”

Mick tensed beside her. “Sounds like you’re warning me off.”

“Just being realistic ‘cause I know you, bro. You’re the kind of guy who brings home strays and likes to save the world, but this is a lose-lose situation.”

A muscle ticked along the hard line of his jaw as he clenched his teeth. “Duly noted. When can I take her home?”

Liliana glanced at her watch. “To be most effective, I’d like to let this run for at least another hour and a half.”

“You’re on duty, right?” he said and she couldn’t fail to grasp his real meaning.

“You want me gone,” she said, wondering if it was because he was angry with her about her comments.

Mick must have sensed her concern because he explained his request. “The less you’re involved here, the better.”

It might be a little too late to curtail her involvement, but Liliana understood his apprehension.

“Call me on the cell if you need me. Otherwise I’ll be back to help you get Caterina ready to go home.”

He hugged her hard and whispered, “Don’t worry about me, Liliana. I know what I’m doing.”

She embraced him and as always, marveled at the sense of safety and strength she felt in his arms. He had always been the protector in the family. Always the hero who had come through for them.

It was why he deserved some happiness in his life.

As she pulled away from him and shot a look at Caterina as she lay on the gurney, she knew there was no happy ending there no matter what happened next.

She only hoped her brother was wise enough to realize it as well before it was too late.

Sins of the Flesh: Chapter Thirty-Three

Mick had managed to get Caterina home with little fanfare.

She now lay tucked in bed, resting. Calls to Ramon and Franklin had yielded little more than the reassurance that nothing was happening. Yet.

He dialed his parents’ number and his mother answered.

“
Hola, mi’jito.
How is your friend?”

“She’s doing fine, mom.” He hesitated, unsure of just how to broach his request, but then plowed ahead. “I need to ask a favor.”

“Of course,
mi’jito
. What can I do? Some nice chicken soup? Or maybe some rice pudding
to sit easy on her stomach,” she offered.

He smiled. His mother always thought the world’s problems could be cured with the right dish of food. “Actually, I need you, dad,
and Tony to close the restaurant for a few days. Maybe take a vacation somewhere. I’ll pay for it.”

“Close the restaurant?” Her disbelief escalated with each word, as if he had just asked her to shut down the Pentagon.

“It’s important or I wouldn’t ask.”

“
Pero, mi’jito
, we can’t just shut down. What about our employees and our customers? What about Tony’s classes?”

“You take vacations, mom. You visited grandma
last year, remember?” he chided, wishing that his mother wasn’t turning a simple request into such a battle because he didn’t want to tell her the real reason for the request.

That would only create more of a problem.

A long silence filled the line before his mother said, “Is it that important,
mi’jo
?”

“It is and don’t ask me why.
Please
. Just close up tomorrow and take a few days off.”

“We’ll do it, but if you need us to do anything, you know we’re here.”

“If I need you, I’ll call,” he finished, eager to have them out of harm’s way.

“Mi’jo
. . .
cuida tu corazon
.”

“Don’t worry about my heart. It’ll be fine,” he said and bid his mother goodbye again.

He leaned back in his chair and considered both his mother’s and Liliana’s warnings. He decided to ignore them. He didn’t know what was happening with Caterina, but he knew he had to see it to its conclusion.

He surged out of the chair and toward the guest room.

Caterina was curled up on her side, seemingly asleep, but as Mick took the first step into the room, she opened her eyes.

He sat on the edge of the chair, his elbows resting on his knees. Fingers laced together as his hands hung loosely before him.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Much better.”

In truth, he probably hadn’t needed to ask. The skin on her face no longer had the flushed fever look and her voice was strong.

“I heard what Liliana said to you. She’s right you know. This is a lose-lose situation.”

Anger rose sharply in him. “You didn’t strike me as a quitter.”

She sat up, holding the sheet against her body to hide her nakedness. “Just being realistic, Mick.”

He leaned forward and cupped her cheek. The skin was smooth, the temperature of it only sleep warm and not feverish. He met her gaze and caressed the line of her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Why don’t you let me decide what’s realistic?”

Caterina laughed harshly and shook her head. “I never liked it when my dad made decisions for me. What makes you think I want you deciding what’s right?”

He surged forward and silenced her with a kiss. Kept on kissing her until she dropped her hold on the sheet and brought her hands up to his shoulders.

By the time they broke apart, they were both breathing heavily.

Mick laid his forehead against hers and said, “That’s what makes me think this is worth a try. This feeling that I can’t just ignore.”

When his gaze met hers, the blue of her eyes was as dark as the ocean at night and shimmering with unshed tears.

“Come to bed. You need to rest,” she said.

He nodded and toed off his shoes, but slipped in beside her fully clothed, unwilling to waste even a moment before he was next to her.

Enveloping her in his arms, he pulled her tight to him until every inch of their bodies was pressed together. Her heart beat against his, strong and steady. Her head was tucked beneath his chin, the silk of her hair soft beneath his cheek. The warmth of her breath spilled against his throat.

A sense of homecoming he had not experienced with any other woman calmed his warrior’s restless soul. Peace filled his heart.

Much as he had battled for country and family, he knew as he held her that he would fight for her.

For them.

And this was one battle he did not intend to lose.

* * *

Caterina woke him with the gentle whisper of her lips against his. Invited him to join with her.

“Are you sure?” Mick asked, his voice husky from sleep.

That he asked confirmed to her just how different a man he was from her father who would have never sought to seek another’s permission for anything.

“I’m sure,” she replied and so that there would be no doubt about it, she grabbed the hem of the t-shirt he wore and made short work of pulling it off his body.

She pressed against him, warm skin against skin. The hard tips of her breasts brushing his smooth chest as they kissed over and over. Beside the soft flatness of her belly, his erection jerked to life and hardened.

Laying her hand over him, she caressed the shape of him beneath the denim and he groaned into her mouth, reached down, and undid his jeans.

The hard length of him sprang forward and she encircled him with one hand, stroking him. Urging him onward as he cupped her breasts and teased her nipples with his hands, drawing a pleased sigh from her.

“Make love to me,” he said and sat up against the headboard. He urged her over him with the gentle grasp of his hips and she needed no further invitation.

She held onto Mick’s shoulders and sank down onto him, gasping as the length and width of him filled her. As the comfort of his arms surrounded her and drew her near until she was tight against his chest.

She couldn’t move, overwhelmed as she was by the sense of unity in his arms. Desire growing with her possession of him along with something else. Something she could no longer deny.

“When I’m with you . . . it’s like my soul is filled with music,” she said as he cradled her face in his hands and tenderly brushed his lips across hers before moving them to her cheeks and then to her forehead.

“It’s special for me, too,” he whispered, the words so soft she thought she might have imagined them until she met his gaze and it confirmed his sentiment.

“Very special,” she responded, earning a smile from him which she kissed, memorizing the feel of it against her lips as a talisman for what would be the hard days to come.

He returned the kiss and then she moved on him, offering herself up to him. Accepting what he offered in return.

As she slowly rocked on him, he bent forward and suckled her breasts, alternating between them while holding them in his hands. Teasing the sensitive tips with his lips and hands, each little tug traveling down to her center to heighten the pleasure growing in her body.