Authors: Sarina Wilde
Jill had a few minutes to spare after arriving at the
hospital, so she stopped by the employees’ lounge and logged on to the
computer. Her email showed there was still no response from Adam.
That didn’t make sense. By this time he should have gotten
her message. Uneasiness gnawed at the pit of her stomach. She pulled out her
cell phone and dialed the general number. She needed to talk to a warm body.
“Detective Younger.”
Good, somebody she knew. “Hey, Andy. It’s Jill Ramsey. I’ve
been trying to reach Kevin, but I think his phone must be dead, ‘cause it keeps
throwing me into voicemail. You wouldn’t happen to have Hell’s number would
you?”
“Sure thing, Jill.” He rattled off the number and she let
out a relieved breath.
“Thanks, Andy. I owe you one.” As soon as she’d
disconnected, she dialed Adam’s cell phone then cursed under her breath as she
was thrown once more into voicemail. She shoved her phone in her scrubs pocket
with a shaky hand, her heart pounding. What were the odds that both of them
would be out and unreachable by cell?
She needed to report to the ER or she’d be late. Jill hurried
along the corridor, already making up her mind to find the attending physician
right away. She needed a few minutes to make one more phone call to the
sergeant. It might make Kevin and Adam angry, but if she didn’t talk to
someone, she’d never be able to concentrate on work.
* * * * *
As he stared into Adam’s pistol bore, Kevin’s heart nearly
stopped, but he did what his partner ordered without question. An instant
later, a bullet whined over his head from behind him, slamming into the sedan
not more than a foot wide of where Adam was. Gun in hand, Kevin rolled over,
fighting back the nausea the movement caused, and watched as Grady Shelby
dropped his pistol and collapsed to the ground, a hole in the middle of his
forehead.
Shelby was dead. There was nothing more to be done for him,
but he could help Hell. Slowly, painfully, Kevin hauled himself to his feet.
Swaying, he stuck his hand out and used the house to balance before staggering
the few yards it took him to reach Adam. His partner’s pallor alarmed him. The
cloth he’d used to cover his leg wound was already saturated with blood.
Shock glazed Adam’s gaze, but his grip was still firm. “Is
he…?”
“Dead. You saved my ass—twice. I’m getting the first-aid kit
so we’ll get some clean pads and more pressure on your wound.”
“Help’s coming.”
“Lie still.”
Kevin’s head and chest pulsed with pain, sending sharp
tentacles throughout his entire body. Best-case scenario, he figured he had a
concussion and bruised ribs, but Adam worried him. He’d lost a lot of blood—most
of it from trying to save them both from Shelby. He dropped the first aid kit
on the ground, carelessly hauling pads out and slapping them on top of what
Hell had already put on.
“Put your hand over it tightly. Can you do that?”
Hell blinked in acknowledgement. Kevin grabbed the mic,
radioing in to let them know they’d taken out Shelby.
“The scene’s secure. We need an ambulance in here. Quickly!”
“Find Addy,” Hell muttered when Kevin turned back to him.
“No. It can wait until everyone gets here. I’m not leaving
you, damn it.” Kevin blinked, trying to clear his vision enough so he could get
the knot out of Adam’s tie. “I’m getting fresh stuff on here. Keep the pressure
on while I get a dressing ready.”
“Not dying. Find her.”
Kevin leaned his shoulder against the sedan’s door, fighting
dizziness and a heaving stomach as he slid his hand behind Hell’s neck. “I
can’t leave, Hell, even if I were willing. I can barely stand. Let me do what I
can.” He shifted Hell’s hand and applied clean pads to the wound. “Put the
pressure back on.”
Hell pressed, wincing with his own pain, while Kevin pulled
his belt free and jacked it tight around Adam’s thigh above the wound. That
would hold. Fingers still shaking, he wrapped gauze around his leg to hold the
pads in place. At last, from down the road, he heard the whine of multiple
sirens. “They’ll be here in a minute.”
Hell grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Ride with me. Hate
fucking hospitals. Such a pussy.”
Kevin brought Adam’s bloodstained hand to his mouth,
pressing against it before he said, “You’re so far from being a pussy it’s not
even funny. Shut up, Hell. I’ll go with you. They’ll make me.”
Too dizzy and nauseous to remain crouched next to him, Kevin
flopped onto his butt, wincing at the jarring it sent through his chest and
head. Tires sprayed gravel, sirens cut off and police and medical personal
swarmed around the area. Stretchers appeared. Kevin tried to wave them away
from him, but Sarge appeared and cut off his protests.
“You’re both going on stretchers in ambulances. Hell’s bled
like a stuck pig and if you don’t have some cracked ribs after taking a slug to
the vest, I’ll kiss your ass on Main Street and invite the chief to watch.”
Kevin’s eyes kept going to where they were working on Hell.
“He’s okay, right?”
“You worry about you. I came over to let you know we
backtracked Shelby’s blood trail and found a door inside the barn leading to an
underground holding area.”
Kevin turned his head, groaning when pain pumped through his
skull. “Addy?”
“They’re bringing her out now…under her own power. You did
good, Ramsey. You and Hell saved her.”
Kevin sagged back against the stretcher, still straining to
catch at least one glimpse of the teenager. At last he saw her. Her eyes were
wide and she looked shaky and overwhelmed. But she was alive.
She was aliv
e.
Kevin shut his eyes, not even trying to hide the tears trickling down his
cheeks.
* * * * *
Two nurses and docs were in a huddle when Jill neared the
work area in the center of the treatment rooms. As soon as Beth saw Jill, her
friend touched the arm of the primary attending physician. All it took was one
look at his expression and she knew. She had good reason for her uneasiness.
Jill shook her head and took a step back.
“No.”
Ty Radcliffe hurried over, pulling her into his lean frame.
Kevin. Adam. Both?
“Are they dead?” It hurt to utter those three words, but she
didn’t want it sugarcoated or couched in any polite phrases. Her heart thumped,
while she waited for the news she never wanted to hear.
“Not dead. Both officers are alive.” Her knees started to
give out on her in relief. “Sit, Jill,” Radcliffe ordered.
As she did, what he’d said dawned on her. Adam. “Both
officers? A car accident?”
“No. Shooting. I don’t know exact injuries yet. The
paramedics made the connection and radioed in case you were working. A suspect
opened fire on them, had them pinned down.”
Gunshot wounds. Oh God. Kevin didn’t always wear his vest.
If they weren’t suspecting… “What’s their ETA?”
“Fifteen minutes. They were on a farm north of town. A third
ambulance is bringing in the missing girl, Addy Brown.”
Jill stared at Dr. Radcliffe. “Alive?”
“We’re getting more information on injuries,” Beth called
over to them.
Jill took a deep breath and joined them. The triage nurse
had already coordinated treatment for the incoming patients. They would need a
surgical team for a gunshot wound to the thigh, X-rays for a possible
concussion and chest trauma. It looked as though they wanted the girl treated
as a rape victim.
“What’s the chest trauma?” Jill asked.
“Bruising, possible rib fractures. That’s Kevin, Jill,” the
triage nurse informed her. “He had a vest on. He was lucky.”
She sat down hard in a nearby chair, fighting to maintain
her composure—and her consciousness—while her head swam with dizziness. Someone
had shot him in the chest. His vest had absorbed the impact, changing what
would likely have been a life-threatening bullet into bruised or cracked ribs.
“You know his partner?” Beth asked.
Jill nodded, remembering him stroking her hair off her face
after he made love to her. “He’s—we’re very close.”
“Pull Jill,” Radcliffe said. “She needs to be with Kevin and
Detective Heller.”
Jill took a deep breath. “Thanks. How—how serious is Adam’s
leg?”
“He’s lost a lot of blood. The bullet’s lodged.” The nurse
looked at Jill and swallowed. “They’re stabilizing him.”
Jill pictured Adam, lean and laughing as he’d played with
her and Kevin in the shower, and later, the way he’d held her close. Her heart
tightened. She recalled his expression when she’d accused him of having an
ongoing relationship with Kevin. She’d seen it then. He already loved her
husband and she was pretty sure he was more than willing to open his heart to
her. He’d shown her that too. Her throat tightened. There was room in her heart
for both men—Kevin and Adam. She’d never planned on adding another man to her
life and it certainly did not mean she and Kevin lacked anything in their
relationship. Adam was simply an addition taking them to a new level.
She took a deep breath and looked Radcliffe in the eye. “I
need to help get ready. Yeah, I want to be with Kevin and Adam when they get
here, but right now, I need to keep busy.”
She occupied herself with the tasks that were the fabric of
her everyday work life, keeping one ear on the information coming in from the
ambulances and one eye on the emergency entrance. When the ambulances arrived,
one right after the other, Jill froze. Adam was the first one off. His clothing
had already been cut off, a blanket covered him and an IV had been attached.
His left leg was immobilized and his face was pale.
Jill gritted her teeth. As though somehow aware of her
presence, his eyes opened while the paramedics were locking everything in place
on the stretcher.
“Jilly.” His voice was just a croak. “He’s okay.”
Tears spurted from her eyes. God! Hurt as he was, he still
thought of Kevin—and her, trying to reassure her. She grabbed his hand. “Oh,
Adam, I’m just as worried about you. I’ll be right back, just as soon as I
check on Kevin.”
He closed his eyes and smiled. “‘Sokay.”
She hated to turn him loose, sensed the same reluctance in
his own grasp. With one more soft squeeze, she released him and hurried to the
second ambulance. When she saw Kevin’s head had been immobilized, her heart
skipped a beat.
“Kevin?” Her throat was tight, her voice barely a whisper,
but he heard her and his blue, blue eyes snapped open. She reached him,
grabbing the hand he raised and hanging on for dear life. Her gaze skated over
him. A laceration at his hairline had been cleaned, but bruising had already
formed around it. Concussion. She looked at his chest, seeing the bruising
there. “You had your vest on.”
“Yes. I’m okay, Jilly. Adam saved me.”
“Take him to X-ray.” The triage nurse was there directing
the paramedics.
“Adam?” Kevin rasped.
“He’s being prepped for surgery,” Jill told him. He squeezed
her hand tighter.
“Stay with him. I promised I would. You have to do it for
me.”
Something about the look in Kevin’s eyes told her it went a
whole lot further than whatever feelings the two men shared.
“What do you mean he saved your life?”
“We need to get him in to x-ray his head and chest, Jill,”
the nurse reminded her.
She stepped back, releasing Kevin’s hand. “We’ll talk
later.”
Kevin blinked. “I love you.”
She smiled at him, her hand fisted over her heart. “I know.”
She left him, hurrying to the area where Adam was being
prepped. Even with the warm blankets covering him, he shivered so hard his
teeth chattered. Jill paused in mid-step. The truth slammed into her. He was
frightened. Her pace increased. She took his hand and used her other to smooth
over his short hair.
“It’s okay, Adam.”
His eyes, darkened by pain and fear, slid away. “Hate this.”
She pulled a chair and sat next to him, her face close to
his. “I’ll stay right here with you until they take you into surgery. Thompson,
the trauma surgeon, is the best.”
His gaze returned to her. “I have this phobia…”
She touched his cheek. “A lot of people do. You’re safe.
Kevin wanted to be here, but he’s getting x-rayed right now.”
“You…with him.”
She shook her head, leaned down and kissed his cheek.
“Here’s where I need to be because Kevin asked…and because I want to be here.”
The nurse anesthetist entered the room and Jill nodded. Adam’s fears were about
to get some chemical relief. “Mike’s going to give you something to relax you.
It will all be done before you know it.”
His shivering increased, so she tucked the warm blankets
around him.
“Stay,” he gritted out between clenched teeth.
“Not going anywhere, Adam.” She swallowed, continuing to
hold his hand. Kevin said Adam had saved his life, but so much more came into
play—the way her heart beat as if she were a teenager when he was near, the way
he looked at her and Kevin, the way he loved them—so no way would she leave his
side until she had to. As the drugs relaxed him, his shivering eased and the
tension left his lean body. By the time they came in to wheel him along the
hall to the OR, Adam’s eyelids were drooping. Jill held his hand until the
surgery doors opened with a whoosh. She caught the surgeon’s eye. He nodded and
gave her a thumbs-up.
“I’ll see you in a few minutes,” she told Adam. “Kevin and I
will be there when you wake.”
His body shook again and he nodded, but didn’t say anything.
Once the doors shut behind him, Jill sprinted back to find Kevin. She didn’t
know what had happened. The details would come out, but she knew what mattered
to her right now. They were both alive and would stay that way.
* * * * *
They’d put him in a room, the lighting subdued. Just turning
his head for the X-rays had left him feeling nauseous and his chest hurt like a
bitch. Injuries aside, he kept looking at the door. Where was she? How long did
it take to get someone ready for surgery? Had something gone wrong? Was Adam
all right?