Strictly Business (22 page)

She
turned to see Sally still standing behind her. Her arms were folded across her chest and her nostrils flared ominously. Nina walked back to her.

“I need to run a quick errand.
It shouldn’t take long.”

“Isn’t that the woman Wade’s sleeping with?
The talk show host, Marie Deluse?”

“Wade sent her to deliver a message.” Nina pointedly ignored Sally’s question. When her friend showed no sign of relenting, Nina sighed and said, “Listen, I promise I’ll explain everything at the end of our shift. We’ll go out for breakfast
, and I swear to you I’ll tell you what’s going on.”

Her promise seemed to appease Sally to some degree. With a final threatening glance in Marie’s direction, she
allowed Nina to shoo her away. Nina scanned the ER for Dr. Tanno, and finding him hunched over several charts, approached him. She explained that she needed to run a quick errand and asked her friend if he could cover her patients for a short while. The chaos that had started their shift had been somewhat contained. There were only a few stragglers from McFadden’s in the triage area.

Dr. Tanno’s white brows drew together as he pondered the unorthodox request. Nina cringed, hoping he didn’t think she was shirking her responsibilities. He looked beyond her shoulders to Marie Deluse shuffling impatiently.

“Is everything ok?”
he asked, concern creasing his forehead.

Nina managed a convincing smile. “Yeah, I just need to talk to a friend for a minute.”

Dr. Tanno returned her smile, then waved her away with a quick flick of his wrist. “Don’t worry about it. Take your time. Besides, I have Dr. Charles and a few others here to help if I’m in need.”

Her gaze flitted to Dr. Charles’ figure lounging in the nurse’s station. He was talking to Sally. She swallowed nervously. He’d avoided her every since she’d refused his request for a date. She would occasionally catch his eyes boring into her when he thought she wasn’t looking. The act always caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. She’d attributed her disquiet to the fact that she was suspicious of everything of late. She blanched when she saw Dr. Reynolds approach Dr. Charles and usurp his attention from Sally. The two doctors stepped away to confer quietly, and Nina couldn’t help but wonder about the subject of their conversation. She mentally stored the observation and turned her thoughts to Wade.

Nina followed Marie’s impatient form out of the emergency room. Marie made no attempt to be amicable or the least bit civil. She walked a few paces ahead of Nina, exaggerating the
fluid sway of her hips and keeping her straight nose pointed forward. She only stopped when Nina questioned why they weren’t headed for the main exit. Instead they were making their way through a section of the building that she wasn’t familiar with.

“
You want the whole hospital to know that you are colluding with Wade Connolly?”

Nina could plainly hear the ‘duh’ at the end of that question, but the animosity radiating from the other woman was causing her step
s to slow suspiciously. “He doesn’t want anyone here to see you two together. We’re going out the back,” Marie elaborated.

Nina fumed inwardly.
She was going to kill Wade for subjecting her to this offensive woman. They walked a few more minutes then turned another corner and were heading through a narrow corridor when her senses started to crackle in alarm. The series of florescent lights above and the hollow clicking of their shoes against the shiny linoleum were making her acutely aware of the fact that she hadn’t seen another soul since they left the ER. Apprehension caused a sudden pounding in her bosom and she stopped abruptly, causing Marie to whirl around in contempt.

“What’s going on
, Marie?”

“We’re almost there.”

“Wade isn’t meeting me outside is he?” Nina asked with a confidence she didn’t feel.

Marie looked like she was about to refute the claim,
instead her red lips spread into a hostile grin. Nina instinctively took a step back, her mind chaotic with grim possibilities.

Marie
mirrored her steps, her fists planted at her hips.

“Where’s the film, bitch?”

Nina gasped. Her mind readily recalling the last time she’d heard that question. Her only thought was to flee. Marie lunged for her, but she skillfully skirted the clawing red nails. Anger and fear caused adrenaline to pump through her veins. With a strength born of survival instinct, she curled up a fist and connected it with Marie’s jaw, sending her skating flat unto her butt in awkward shock.

Nina didn’t wait to see the other woman struggle to her feet. She whirled and started running back the way she’d come
. She was so focused on her escape that she didn’t see the tall figure step out to occlude her path. It was only when a large arm circled her chest and pinned her tight against him that she realized what was happening. The nauseating stench of cigarette smoke and rancid onions caused a fresh bolt of panic racing along her spine. She knew that smell, she’d felt sick with terror the last time it’d cloaked her.

She struggled wildly against the iron embrace. She felt the imprint of a gun digging into her abdomen, and with a determined twist of her body raised a knee and smashed it into her attacker’s groin. She felt the air leave his lungs as he doubled over, allowing her enough slack to break free. She flung off her clogs, and her legs churned down the empty hall.

The rushing
in her head was loud and insistent. The air filtering through her lungs was dry as she labored to catch a breath and gather her bearings enough to figure out a direction. The sound of approaching footsteps spurred her feet into motion again, causing her to race through a dimly lit hallway. She saw a figure ahead, and like a beacon she ran towards him with relief, grateful to see the familiar face. She slowed, arms outstretched, rivulets of sweat running into her eyes.

“Oh my God,
there’s…there’s a man, and Marie, he has a gun…he’s chasing me. We need to get out of here.” Nina panted hastily, swinging her head behind her, trying to see into the corridor she’d just bolted through.

Eagerly she pulled on the
sleeve of the lab coat, trying to propel the figure along with her. She was afraid she’d endanger them both.

It was the utter stillness of his body that alerted her that something was wrong.
Nina’s hand dropped from his sleeve and tears were already brimming on her lids when she looked into Dr. Tanno’s familiar visage. As she continued to stare in disbelief, she didn’t recognize the harsh contours of the face or the deadly eyes that had always regarded her with kindness and affection.

“Where’re the films
, Nina?”

CHAPTER   ELEVEN

Wade tossed the cabby a bill and ran through the large double doors of the emergency room. He skidded to a halt and took a moment to scan the enormous room, hoping to find Nina attending a patient somewhere. There were nurses and orderlies scurrying about, but the large room was eerily quiet. Only the hum of a monitor occasionally challenged the silence. He spotted a nurse standing in the hall and immediately recognized her from the pictures he’d seen in Nina’s apartment. With a deep breath of relief he strode over to her, trying to pluck her name from his memory.

“Sally
, right?”

“Yeah.”
The nurse turned at the sound of her name. Her face initially registered surprise, but then her eyes sharpened into points of unambiguous contempt.

He
deflected the acrimony and pressed on; his primary concern was finding Nina. Since he’d walked in to the ER his radar had been screaming in alarm, and the fear that gripped him seemed to tighten its strangling hold.

“I need to find Nina...Dr. Henley. Do you know where she is?”

The brown eyes narrowed at him angrily and Sally hissed, “Haven’t you done enough?”

He
was again taken aback, but hadn’t the time or inclination for a lengthy discussion. He needed answers and he needed them now. “Look, Sally, I need to see Nina right now! It’s important.”

“I’m not telling you a damn thing. You
’ve already caused her enough pain. Leave her alone.”

Sally turned to leave
, but desperate, Wade grabbed her arm and halted her escape. The guilt he was already feeling over Nina’s involvement in the case was chewing away at him; having her remind him that it was his fault she was in danger was a fist hammering his conscience.

“Sally, please…”

Her lips pursed in defiance, but she must have seen something in his eyes that caused her expression to soften a fraction. She was about to speak when a firm hand clapped his shoulder and Wade turned, his stare colliding with a hard questioning face.

“Is everything ok over
here?” Dr. Charles asked, his voice a dark even threat.

Sally harrumph
ed, her lips pulled into a distasteful line. “This is Mr. Connolly, he’s looking for Dr. Henley. He’s been…
harassing
her?”

Wade’s anger notched even higher. He could sense the other man’s eyes assessing him, attempting to
measure his relationship with Nina and decipher Sally’s meaning. Wade thought he saw emotion flash in his eyes.

“I think you should leave. You’re not supposed to be in here.” Dr. Charles
applied threatening pressure with the hand on his shoulder. Wade had to give the guy credit. With his size it wasn’t often he was challenged by another male.

“You’ve got a nerve sending one of your girlfriends to deliver your messages!” Sally spat out.

Wade shrugged off the
grasping paw on his shoulder and took a step back. His brows drew together in puzzled alarm.

“
I didn’t send anyone to deliver a message. I love Nina and I believe she might be in serious danger. I need you to tell me where she is
right now
?”

His
deadly tone brooked no refusal. At his words even Dr. Charles turned to Sally for an explanation. She stammered fearfully, but relayed what little she’d overheard between Marie and Nina. Smothering the dread in his heart, Wade raced off in the direction she pointed, pulling his cell phone from his pocket.

“Can’t you two do anything right?”

Nina watched, her mind still reeling in disbelief that her trusted friend and mentor could be the dark threat hovering over her. She tested the bonds on her wrist. Dr. Tanno’s fowl smelling accomplice had reclaimed her and dragged her down the hall to an empty porter’s room. He’d then shoved her into a chair and hastily tied her wrists behind her with a length of duct tape he drew from his jacket. A naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling illuminated the features of everyone in the room in stark relief, while the tall brooms and cleaning equipment clung to the shadows like ghostly spectators.

She watched as Dr. Tanno glared at Marie and his accomplice. The heavy thud of her heart almost drowned out his angry words.

“You two almost bungled this again! She almost got away! Must I do everything myself?”

Marie squared her shoulders and peered down her nose at the man lounging against a wall beside her. Nina didn’t think it was possible, but Marie seemed to shower him with more disdain than she did her. “We wouldn’t even be in this mess if he’d taken care of her when he was supposed to. Instead he shot that damn detective! Idiot!” Marie spat, then turned back to Dr. Tanno.

The man scowled.
“You’re just jealous because the lawyer’s poking her and not you. So much for your attempts to get close to him. He wouldn’t even answer your calls—you social climbing bimbo!”

“Enough!”

Dr. Tanno’s voice exploded into a series of threats that Nina barely heard. She almost sobbed as she realized that the bullet had been meant for her and not Ben. She’d been so wrong about her trusted friend, her mentor and advisor. He’d been a model for everything she esteemed about the medical profession and at times as endeared as her own father. Her shattered thoughts crystallized and fragmented over and over again. How could she have been so wrong? Suddenly she looked up, her green eyes assuming a new clarity.

“Oh my God! It’s not Ethan Reynolds, Medical Doctor. It’s Emergency Room Medical Director.
You
. You’re the one printing out the films,” Nina whispered hoarsely.

Dr.
Tanno turned to her, a sickening sneer marring his crinkled face. She marveled at how much stronger and solid he seemed now. He’d always appeared so mild and gentle. Had that all been part of his act?

“I
always thought you were smart, knew it wouldn’t take you too long to figure out. Who else knows?” Dr. Tanno took a steady step towards her, his eyes boring into hers. “You’re going to tell me were those damn films are.”

“I—I have no
i—” Nina barely got the words out before her head was snapped sideways by the violent slap of Dr. Tanno’s palm against her cheek. She felt the flesh on her face sting as pain flooded her fiery skin. Hot tears sprang to her eyes, making her vision murky. She refused to let them spill as his cruel hand landed again and again. She could barely see past him to Marie’s gloating smile.

“Perhaps now you’l
l know I mean business.” The deadly voice intoned very close to her ear as his fingers clawed roughly into her hair. An icy chill climbed down her spine and pain exploded in her scalp.

She
didn’t know where she summoned the courage to speak, but her physical pain combined with her repugnance towards her captor, created an emotional volcano that erupted. “You disgust me! I’m not telling you anything! You’re a physician…I trusted you. Patients trusted you! You betrayed your oath...your pledge to your profession!”

Dr.
Tanno raised his steely eyes to hers and snickered loudly, a nefarious chuckle erupted from his throat. “My…my…you really are naïve. Reynolds was right. You think patients care about an oath? You think they’re loyal? They run to the first two-bit lawyer whenever the opportunity for a coin presents itself. And if there’s no real opportunity, they manufacture one! No, my girl. It’s every man for himself! Take what you can while you can!”

“You
and Reynolds will never get away with this,” she mumbled weakly.

Dr.
Tanno’s jerked back scornfully. “That pompous ass has no idea what the potential is! He’s busy kissing up to his high society patients, happy with their leavings. How long do you think that’ll last? He’s never had the balls to think bigger. He’s a fool just like you. He had high hopes for you until you took up with Connolly. That really pissed him off.”

Dr.
Tanno’s beeper chirped noisily from the pocket of his lab coat. Nina’s gaze instantly darted to the object, hope edging into her despondent heart. They must be needed in the ER. Surely someone would come looking for them. She’d tried not to think of Wade, of how he’d been right about so many things. Now she wished he was there to comfort and protect her.

She realized now that there’d never been a relationship with Marie. She wished she’d trusted him and hadn’t succumbed to her petty jealously. Instead, she’d defied him and left anger and distrust between them. She’d fallen in love with him despite her efforts not to, and her heart ached miserably. She’d never get to tell him. Thinking of him made hot tears of regret slide down her cheeks.

Dr.
Tanno checked his beeper then sighed heavily, his thick white brows twisting together. He released his grasp from her hair, causing her head to jerk limply. She caught sight of a gun jutting from Dr. Tanno’s waist beneath his lab coat. She wondered fleetingly if he’d use it to end her life. Instead, he turned to the man lounging carelessly in the shadows.

“I’m needed back.” His scornful stare bore down
on Nina, and his frigid tone was monotonously lethal. “Get the information I need, then kill her. Make it look like an accident. Don’t let me say what will happen if my orders are not followed to specificity.”

Marie took a
bold step forward. Her face contorted angrily. “I’m not doing a damn thing more until I get the money I was promised!”

Nina watched as Dr.
Tanno silently crossed the small room to face Marie. She gasped when his fingers shot out to wrap around the width of Marie’s slim throat, causing her eyes to bulge in alarm.

“You are in no position to make demands. You’ve yet to fulfill your promise to get into that lawyer’s apartment. I’d say you’re dispensable at this point.”

Nina shivered as she heard the gurgled plea bubble from Marie’s throat. In the dim light she could glean the distended veins pop from the woman’s forehead as florid color washed over her countenance. Just as quickly as Dr. Tanno had grabbed Marie’s neck he dropped his hand and stepped back calmly, causing her to spin away in a fit of weak coughs.

“So, as I said. Make sure my directions are followed. Soon you’ll both
get your money.”

Nina witnessed the scene before her
, and every word caused another layer of fear to seep through her skin and settle inside her. Her body was wracked with fine tremors, and her face and fingers were numbed beyond feeling. The tangy taste of blood seeped into her mouth, and her face throbbed. She watched Dr. Tanno leave the room, and the fear that filled her overflowed as the two people left behind started towards her. Ironically at that same moment her beeper started to chime as if alerting her that she would never practice medicine again.

Wade turned down another hallway and
grated a curse. This section of the hospital appeared to be a giant labyrinth of halls. Hope and dread had surged through him moments ago when he’d discovered a pair of clogs scattered in the hallway, but now as more precious moments ticked by it was only the dread that reigned. Nina could be anywhere by now. He was forced to admit the likelihood that she was no longer in the building.

He
covered his face with his palms and strove to restrain his mounting despair. The thought of losing her was unbearable. He had to unravel the erratic thoughts muddling his mind and think logically. It was then that he heard a faint beeping noise coming from down the hall and without thought, he jetted towards the sound.

R
elief rang through him when he pushed a small door open, and his gaze alighted on Nina’s drooped frame coiled awkwardly into a chair. Her eyes grew wide with warning at seeing him, and she seemed to work her mouth open to say something. At the same moment his gaze caught a figure unfolding from the dark shadows in the room.

“Wade! Thank God you’re here!” Marie rushed towards him, her arms outstretched.

His only thought was to get to Nina, but Marie’s distraction had cost him. Shoving her away, he pivoted to see a larger figure coming at him. The fist that connected with his jaw sent him staggering back. It was more the surprise of the impact than the pain that stunned him momentarily. He was able to deflect the second blow and land a solid punch into his attacker’s midsection, causing him to double over with a loud grunt. Wade’s thoughts were on the woman in the chair just a few feet away from them. He had no idea what condition Nina was in. He knew she was alive, but didn’t like the way her body sat crumpled in the seat.

Siphoning strength from his
fear, he deflected another blow, served a few of his own, and sent his assailant flying back. The man was visibly weakening; his battered face was an ugly bruised canvas. Wade took a step towards him but halted when he pulled a gun and leveled it directly at his chest. His ugly countenance divided with a smug grin as he started towards Wade.

Wade
barely heard Nina’s cry of alarm before her foot shot out in front of her. The gunman went sprawling across the floor, his arms outstretched in front of him. Wade acted quickly, hammering his heavy heel against the man’s wrist, dislodging the gun from his grip and shattering his bones in the process. The man howled in pain as he tried to right himself and Wade followed through with a violent kick to his head that sent his unconscious body back to the floor.