Authors: Randi Cardoza
Chapter 17
Shawn could still feel the evil emanating from the man in his dream. Sweat poured from his body as something in his mind suddenly snapped and his heavy eyelids began to flutter. Every muscle in his body was twitching and he ached to scream out at the injustice of the nightmare he was caught in.
As if caught in the throws of a seizure his body bucked on the bed and suddenly he threw himself forward and was aware of his surroundings. Kenzi slept on a fold out recliner next to his bed, her left arm hanging over the side from when she fell asleep holding his hand.
His shoulder burned and thousands of beeps and alarms were going off, each one pounding at his brain. A heavy-set nurse with reddish-brown hair ran into the room to check out the noise.
“Ah, I see you decided to wake up. Might want to let that little lady know, she’s been here all night without food or drink,” said the nurse as she checked the monitors Shawn was hooked up to.
Shawn looked over at Kenzi again and smiled. Her hair hung over her face in a silken wave and Shawn reached over to gently move the hair away from her eyes.
“Kenzi. Kenzi, wake up,” Shawn whispered brushing her hair back behind her ear.
Kenzi’s eyelids fluttered open and her mouth formed an “O” in shock. Tears formed in her aqua eyes and she very nearly flung herself at him.
“Shawn Michael Douglass! Don’t you ever scare me that way again! Do you hear me? I thought you were dead! I thought I lost you!” Kenzi screamed at him and did not hear the chuckle coming from the doorway.
“Well, I guess I don’t have to yell at him after all. Kenzi’s doing all the yelling for me,” Megan said with a smug smile as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“When you’re right, you’re right, Meggie,” Gabe replied laughing at Shawn’s helpless expression as Kenzi’s face turned from its natural shade to a bright angry red in a matter of moments.
“Kenzi, honey, I’m okay. It’s only a little shoulder wound, that’s all,” Shawn said scooting further back into the bed, away from Kenzi so she wouldn’t be tempted to hit him.
“Listen, hon, three’s a crowd and five is an even bigger crowd. I’m getting out of here while the getting’s good. Press this button if you need anything,” said the nurse as she handed him the remote for the bed, television, and call button.
“Thank you, Brenda. He
will
need you when I get done with him,” Kenzi said and her cheeks flushed when she saw Gabe and Megan standing in the doorway.
Megan walked into the room and looked down at Shawn with that look only a mother can get. Shawn could feel the “
What am I going to do with you
” vibe coming from her as she stood over his bed.
“Hi, mom. I’m okay, I promise. Where are Tommy, Isaac, and Mia?” Shawn asked suddenly not sure if he should trust his mom not to hit him or Kenzi.
“They are staying with your grandparents. Don’t you know how much we worry about you? Couldn’t you try avoiding bullets instead of stepping into them?” Megan asked her mom voice coming to the forefront.
“Now, Meggie, you were a cop once and you know that risk is part of the job,” Gabe said playing the devil’s, or in this case Shawn’s, advocate.
“Don’t you defend him, Douglass! He is our oldest child and he should know better than to enter a room when he’s not sure where the suspect is in there,” Megan said turning her angry glare at Gabe then back at Shawn.
Kenzi couldn’t help but smirk because she felt the same way that Megan did. Shawn had taken an unnecessary risk and had almost paid for it with his life.
“You and Kenzi just got back together and you pull a stupid stunt like this! What would Kenzi do without you, huh?” Megan asked acknowledging Kenzi’s nod of agreement.
Shawn tried to say something in response but between his mom and Kenzi he couldn’t get a word in edge-wise. Finally, he just gave up and flipped the TV on and hit the mute button so they wouldn’t hear it.
Gabe sat down next to him to watch wrestling, while ignoring Kenzi and Megan's mounting grievances against him.
“I know you are not listening to me Shawn Michael Douglass and if you don’t turn that television off this instant you will sorely regret it,” Kenzi threatened leaning over him to wag a finger in his face.
“Okay, okay. I know it was stupid, and I won’t do it again, okay?” Shawn asked hoping that would appease the two angry women staring at him.
Kenzi rolled her eyes and looked at Megan who was shaking her head at how insensitive Shawn was being to their feelings.
“Ah, I see you have guests Mr. Douglass,” said an older man as he came into the room holding a clipboard. “I am Dr. Peterson. We’re going to begin physical therapy today on that shoulder and you should continue for at least one to two months.”
“How do you know I would be able to do physical therapy today?” Shawn snapped at him, the one and obviously only cheerful person in the room.
“Nurse Brenda told me you woke up about a half hour or so ago. We would have begun physical therapy if you were still in the coma, it would have helped your progress greatly,” the doctor replied making notes on the chart as he spoke.
“Why was our son in the coma?” Gabe asked.
“It was a precautionary measure. There was some head trauma and we need to do another CT scan before we can be sure the swelling didn't cause any minor damage. Obviously, there is no major damage if you are awake and functioning.”
“So he’s going to be okay? When can he go home?” Megan asked as she reached out to hold onto Gabe’s hand.
“Everything looks okay but we won’t know for sure until we get the CT scan results back. We recommend that he stay in this area to receive the physical therapy, it might be too stressful on his wound and the added pressure of flying with a concussion is not a good thing, either.”
“We’ll get an apartment here until he’s released to go home, then,” Kenzi said as she ran her right hand through his hair.
“That’s a good idea, Mrs. Douglass. The CT scan is scheduled for this morning at ten. If you have any questions let me know,” said Dr. Peterson as he replaced Shawn’s chart at the foot of the bed and left quickly.
Shawn returned to the room around noon and was asleep. He was exhausted and ready to willingly die for a couple more hours of sleep.
Kenzi scribbled him a quick note and was leaving when she met Agent Stern at the door.
“Miss Fromier?” Agent Stern asked.
“Yes. I’m guessing you’re Agent Stern. You look just like Shawn described you,” Kenzi replied shaking his hand.
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not. I was bringing the girl’s family here to meet Agent Douglass,” Stern replied and gestured down the hall.
Kenzi could see the little girl, her hair was cut short almost in a buzz but when she turned around her gray eyes were haunting. Kenzi could tell she was still terrified and wasn’t sure if she could trust her parents or not yet.
“She looks so lonely. I know what she went through and her parents too,” Kenzi said, not realizing she’d said it out loud.
“The last four years of her life have been pure hell. I was told that you and Agent Douglass have a daughter that was kidnapped, so I’m sure you know how this feels. Would you like to meet them before I take them in to meet Shawn?”
Kenzi nodded and followed him over to the family. Introductions were made but the girl shied away from Kenzi despite the urgings of her mother.
“She’s very shy now. I wish there was something I could do for her,” her mother told Kenzi.
Kenzi nodded and sat down next to the girl. “Hello, Maddie, I’m Kenzi. You are a very special little girl, you know. You managed to get back to people who love you very much despite how long you’d been gone.”
Maddie just looked at her for a minute and then nodded slowly.
“Mr. and Mrs. Johnston, would you care to follow me? Mr. Douglass is awake now and you can see him,” Agent Stern said motioning for them to follow him.
Kenzi watched them disappear into Shawn’s room, and then grabbed a newspaper to look for available apartments on her way to a store where she could buy some more appropriate clothes for the hot weather.
Kenzi was walking around the mall the cab driver had dropped her at. She bought clothes for Shawn and herself and was heading towards the exit when she saw someone she thought she knew.
Kenzi rushed through the crowd and accidentally knocked a short, balding man over trying to catch up to the couple.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I thought I saw someone I knew. Can I help you?” Kenzi asked the man as she gathered his and her own packages while he got to his feet.
“I think you’ve done enough,” the man said with a snort as he grabbed the packages Kenzi was holding out to him, and pushed past her.
Kenzi hurried in the direction she’d last seen them turn and almost ran smack into them.
“I thought I saw you here,” Kenzi said her breath coming in a pant.
“We heard about what happened to Shawn and decided to come down and see you guys.”
“Yeah, we decided to spend our
honeymoon
checking up on you and Shawn.”
“Your
honeymoon
? When did this happen and why didn’t you tell me?” Kenzi squealed jumping up and down.
Chapter 18
“Well, we eloped over the weekend. I thought my mom would’ve told you we had left together.”
“No, your mom didn’t tell me but I’ve been kinda busy with work so she probably just didn’t get the chance. Why would she know and not everyone else?” Kenzi asked looking at the couple in front of her.
“Well, Mimi and I decided we didn’t want a big fuss about it and went to Vegas over the weekend,” Ryder replied wrapping an arm around Mimi’s shoulders. Ryder was her older brother, Brady's best friend and had tortured Kenzi and Mimi as kids.
“I didn’t even know you were together. When did this happen? Let me see that ring!” Kenzi said grabbing Mimi’s left hand.
Mimi laughed and held out her hand to Kenzi. She was quieter than normal and Kenzi looked at her skeptically.
“We got together right after you got back from your vacation in Florida. You left right after that for an assignment so I didn’t get to tell you and we were gone when you got back,” Mimi said as she put an arm around Ryder’s waist.
“Why are you here now?” Kenzi asked looking quizzically at both of them.
“Megan posted that Shawn was in the hospital and you were here so we decided to take our honeymoon on a detour to visit here and then go on our cruise to the Caribbean,” Ryder replied with a smile.
“Wait until Shawn hears the news! He will be so happy for the both of you. We were worried that you would never get over Danielle, Ryder, especially after she went to Juliard with Brady,” Kenzi said hugging both of them.
“Well, for a long time I didn’t think I would get over her but as I started spending more time with Meems I realized that what I feel for her surpasses what I felt for Danielle by light-years,” Ryder replied kissing Mimi and pulling her close.
“You wouldn’t believe the mess we went through trying to work all of this out. I was so shocked when Ryder told me he loved me that I couldn’t do anything but cry,” Mimi said to Kenzi as they started walking towards a restaurant in the food court.
“Why exactly are you here, Kenzi? Are you and Shawn back together?” Ryder asked as he caught Mimi’s hand and pulled her over to a table with him.
Kenzi sat across from them and just looked at them for a minute before she started to laugh.
Mimi looked at her like she was crazy and Ryder just started laughing.
“I know, I know. In high school I wouldn’t have thought about dating Mimi let alone marrying her but what can I say, she’s reformed me,” Ryder said kissing Mimi’s right hand and then kissing her lips.
“I’m sorry it’s just that you are such an unlikely couple. I wouldn’t have thought it. Do you want to go see Shawn now? Visiting hours are over at 6pm but we have about five hours or so before that,” Kenzi asked as she looked at her watch.
“Well, I wouldn’t mind but if Mimi wants to stay here with you and finish shopping, I’ll meet you there later,” Ryder replied.
They ate a quick lunch and Ryder left Kenzi and Mimi to shop. Kenzi noticed the man from earlier that she had knocked down and tried to go over to him and apologize but he seemed to disappear.
“I feel so bad. I knocked him over trying to get to you and Ryder and now I can’t find him to apologize,” Kenzi told Mimi as they walked into
Lerner’s
.
“Maybe we can catch him before we go. How are we
going
by the way?”
“Oh, I didn’t think about it. We’ll have to take a cab because I don’t have a car. I didn’t think to get a rental because I wanted to get to the hospital ASAP after I got off the plane,” Kenzi explained as she grabbed a wrap around skirt in a bright orange and a lighter orange tank top to match the trim.
By the time they were finished Kenzi was $500 poorer and she still needed to buy shoes, socks, and underwear. She made Mimi go into
an upscale lingerie shop
to get her a wedding present. Kenzi went to the
big
anchor department store to buy her personal items and a few things for Shawn, too.
“We better get going, Kenzi. We’ll only have a couple hours left to visit and I’m sure Ryder is getting worried,” Mimi urged as they exited the store.
“You’re right, we should go. I’m sure Shawn has tired of listening to his mom’s tirade about him getting shot. Besides, I promised him I’d be back in no time,” Kenzi said as they hailed a cab that had just dropped off an elderly woman.
They didn’t see a man step out from behind the bushes nearby after the cab left.
I can see her with that long blond hair and that curly-haired slut she’s with and they don’t even know it. They think they are so above everyone. I’ll show her a thing or two.
Wait until she receives my little surprise. She probably didn’t even notice her driver’s license was gone, stupid tourist. She actually tried to apologize to me after she ran into me, the stupid bitch.
She tried to walk over me like I was dirt or something. Miss Kenzi Fromier will wish she’d never been born. She is beautiful though, too bad I have to get rid of her for being the oppressing bitch she is
.
Shawn was beginning to worry and Ryder’s pacing was making him even more nervous about Kenzi and Mimi’s whereabouts. She’d promised she’d be right back but that was almost three hours ago.
“Where in the hell would they go?” Ryder groused flopping down into a chair.
“I don’t know but I’d beat Kenzi’s tush if I were better able. You can bet she’s going to get a severe lecture when she gets back, like she did to me this morning,” Shawn said adjusting the position of the hospital bed.
Kenzi and Mimi walked into the room as Ryder picked up the phone to call Mimi’s cell. Both were giggling and came bearing food from the coffee shop.
“Should we forgive them since they brought us food?” Ryder asked looking at Shawn with an evil grin.
“Nah, but I expect to hear Mimi has been severely punished the next time I see you,” Shawn said as Kenzi sat down next to him. “But Kenzi on the other hand has some explaining to do.”
“I don’t think so. You know how Mimi and I are when we go shopping. If you were really so worried you could have called my cell and found out everything was perfectly fine,” Kenzi replied as a new nurse, Rita, brought a tray of food in for Shawn.
“I don’t know Shawn. What should Mimi’s punishment be? I could cut off her credit cards for a week but I’m sure she’d just try and weedle money out of me,” Ryder said as soon as Rita left the room.
“I can tell you what your punishment will be if you try anything with me, husband dear. I can just imagine you sleeping on the couch for a month without parole,” Mimi said smiling sweetly at Ryder.
“A
month
?” Ryder asked his voice edging towards panic.
“Now if you behave yourself, I’ll let you share the bed with me,” Mimi said patting Ryder on the cheek.
Shawn glared at Ryder and muttered, “Traitor. She mentions cutting off sex and you give in just like that.”
“Hey, man. Sex is a big part of our relationship!” Ryder teased as he pulled Mimi into his lap to nuzzle her neck.
Kenzi just laughed and then suggested that Ryder and Mimi use her hotel room since she’d been sleeping at the hospital.
“Are you sure? You might want to get away from him after a little while?” Ryder teased as Kenzi handed him and Mimi the key while they walked to the door about an hour or so later.
“Nah, I lived with him for four years of marriage I think I can handle him for a couple nights more. Besides, I have to go apartment hunting because the doctor doesn’t want Shawn to try flying home yet,” Kenzi said as she hugged both of them.
“Well, if you insist we’ll stay there. Why don’t we go apartment hunting with you before we leave?” Mimi said squeezing Kenzi’s hand.
“Alright, I’d love the company. I called a few places and set up appointments for tomorrow starting at ten. Want to meet me here? Preferably with a car?” Kenzi asked looking at Ryder suggestively.
“Oh, alright. Mimi can have the car but I’m going to get you a rental car before we leave for our cruise,” Ryder said hugging her again and then he and Mimi left.
Kenzi went back into Shawn’s room and sat next to him in silence for a few moments.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call, Shawn. I got so caught up in shopping with Mimi and talking about her and Ryder getting together that I forgot.”
“I’m not mad about it Kenzi,” he replied with a smile. “So did you get anything particularly
interesting
while you were gone?”
“Well, now that you mention it and I know you can’t jump on me since you’re injured, I’ll tell you,” Kenzi said as she fluttered her eyelashes teasingly at him. “I bought a wedding present for Mimi and a present for you, too, but you can’t
open
it until you get better.”
Kenzi handed Shawn a plain white box with no label on it. He looked at it for a minute with a raised eyebrow and then pulled the cover off of it.
“Why, Kenzi Fromier! You are a very naughty girl teasing a man in my condition like this,” Shawn said with a groan as he pulled out a lacy lilac corset and matching thong.
“Just so you know what you’re in for when you get better,” Kenzi quipped kissing him on the lips and stealing the box away to put back with the rest of her packages.
They watched television for a while and Shawn fell to sleep at close to eleven pm. Kenzi folded out the chair and covered up with the light blanket she’d purchased while at the mall that day.
Shawn dreamt of a man following Kenzi through a maze of hallways. The man kept flashing back to Kenzi running into him and knocking him over.
He caught a quick flash of Mimi and Ryder with Kenzi and then Kenzi and Mimi were shopping buying all kinds of clothes and lingerie.
The man kept glancing at a photograph and thinking he knew where she lived. Shawn could see him follow Kenzi and Mimi all over, listening to their conversations and vowing revenge on Kenzi.
Fear for Kenzi’s safety made Shawn wake up in a cold sweat. It seemed like his dreams were becoming more and more realistic and they had been portraying Kenzi as being in danger.