She leaned back with a wide smile. “I love you.”
“Me too.”
He watched her walk down the corridor before he turned to the nurses’ station. Renee was scrubbing in with him and probably going to page him again if he didn’t get moving.
“I’m heading into surgery, Jordan. Can you page the ER and Nurse Renee and let them know I’m on my way?” he asked the newest member of the hospital’s staff. Barely out of nursing school, she approached every task as though it was the absolute best opportunity of her life. Josh tried to remember when he’d last felt that kind of youth—that zest.
“Of course, Dr. Parker,” Jordan replied, picking up the phone. He smiled, figured that would give him enough time to grab an apple. His surgery wasn’t a long one, two to three hours if everything went fine. It would tide him over until he got home. To Alessa.
He headed toward the surgical wing, was about to make a quick detour into the doctor’s lounge where there was always a steady supply of fruit and other on-the-go snacks, when he saw David headed his way with two uniformed officers. With his hand already on the door, he stopped and waited until they approached. David’s face was creased, his eyes narrowed, and he walked in long strides toward Josh. The one officer had brown hair that looked almost black, and judging from how it was plastered to his scalp, Josh figured the rain was really picking up. The other officer was a heavier set man who looked like he didn’t know how to hurry. He was a couple paces behind David and the first officer. They stopped when David did.
“Is everything okay, David?”
“This is Dr. Parker,” David said to the officers, his voice hard and disapproving.
Josh’s stomach cramped. He made himself stay in the present. The erratic pace of his heart helped him to do that—he wondered how it kept from leaping out of his chest. Alessa is fine. It was standard for police to follow up with patients who had been abused.
“Dr. Parker. I’m Officer Steel, and this is my partner, Officer Radmore. Dr. Rhoades informed us you were the attending surgeon the night that,” he opened a black note pad and read from it, “Alessandra Matthews was brought in?”
Josh wasn’t sure if his tone conveyed his feelings, but he was certain the icy glare he gave David made it clear a heads up would have been nice. He pushed open the door to the lounge, checked it for occupants and, when he found it empty, asked the officers to come in.
“I was,” he said simply. He picked up an apple, avoided squeezing it hard enough to break the skin only by taking a large, noisy bite.
“We would like to speak with her regarding that evening. You were also the doctor who discharged her? Can you tell us about her injuries?” Officer Steel asked. Officer Radmore helped himself to a slightly overripe pear, leaned against the couch that separated the eating area from the resting area. They’re doing their job. Just do yours.
“The patient was brought in at the end of my shift with severe physical trauma to her face and upper torso. She was badly beaten.”
“Has she had any visitors?”
“No.”
“When did you discharge her?”
“Yesterday. Are you looking for the person who did this to her?”
“It’s a little difficult to do that without speaking to the patient and running on a good Samaritan’s call. He found her in an alley behind his restaurant, down on Fifth. He was taking out his garbage and saw her.”
The thought of Alessa in a back alley, left for dead, made him toss the rest of the apple in the garbage and hope he could keep what he’d already eaten down.
“She has no memory.”
The officer nodded and jotted down another note. “Any lasting trauma?”
“Other than fear, headaches, broken ribs, stitches, and a case of retrograde amnesia, no,” Josh snapped. His pager went off, and he saw they were waiting on him for surgery.
“I can start your surgery, Dr. Parker,” David stated.
“I can start my own surgery.”
“Retrograde?” Officer Radmore questioned, tossing his finished pear in the trash.
“She can remember certain things. Her name, that she likes coffee. But she can’t remember specific events before being brought in. She doesn’t know who did this to her.”
“Did she leave a number where she could be reached?” The heavy set man chose another pear, this one greener than the last, tossed it in the air a couple times then took a bite.
Josh looked at David, not wanting to confirm his friend’s suspicions. “She can be reached at my house. She is staying with me.” Josh’s gaze locked on David’s. He caught the way David’s jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed. The officers, however, seemed unconcerned with this detail.
“Well, we need to speak with her. Is it possible to do that? You’re tied up in surgery. We could swing by your place. Ask a few questions. We want to catch the man responsible for this.”
In surgery, decisions had to be made in a split second. The surgeon often had to make a call based on gut instinct as much as medical knowledge. It was the times in his life he hadn’t gone with his gut instinct that his world had fallen apart around him. He eyed the officers, looked at David.
“Actually, she won’t be there. She’s probably gone already. I called a women’s shelter and asked them to pick her up. She had no place to stay last night, and it was too late to make the arrangements. I was able to do it this morning though.”
The look that passed over David’s face could be only described as relief. A small smile hovered on his lips, and he nodded at Josh.
“All right. Well, we’ll need the name of the women’s shelter please.” Officer Steel shifted his weight and glanced at his partner, who tossed his second finished pear in the trash.
“Of course.” Josh pulled a hospital business card from his pocket. He quickly scribbled the name of a shelter on the outskirts of town. One that was in the process of closing last time he had checked.
“Thanks for your help, Doc.” Officer Steel smiled, reached out a hand and shook it. Officer Radmore reached out to do the same. Saying they would see themselves out, they left the doctor’s lounge. Josh pulled out his phone, looked at David, who was smiling.
“Thank God. I thought you’d lost your mind. She could have stayed here another night while you waited for the shelter to pick her up.” He laughed. He went to the small fridge and pulled out a water, twisted the cap off, and took several gulps.
Josh texted in the message to Nurse Renee before he looked up at David. “You need to cover my surgery. I have to go.”
David sputtered, wiped his mouth and glared at Josh. “What?”
“Something isn’t right. I have to go home. I have to make sure Alessa is okay.”
David slammed the water bottle onto the counter and stalked over to Josh. “You said she’s at a shelter.”
“I lied. She’s at my house. Did you ask those two for ID?”
“What? Were you confused by the uniforms? What is wrong with you? Are you trying to wreck your career?”
Josh started for the door, grabbed the handle, and then forced himself to take a deep breath. He turned and looked at David. “I don’t want to, no. I’m trying to put my life back together. This is the first time I’ve felt like that might be a possibility. I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels right, even if it does wreck my career. I’m sorry, David.”
With that, he left the room and headed for his car as quickly as he could without actually running down the halls of the hospital.
Like what you read?
Get the full book here
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Born and raised in the small town of Mexico, New York, Kara Leigh Miller was an only child who was forced to find ways to entertain herself. Playing make believe with her Barbie dolls and stuffed animals was her first real taste of storytelling before she became old enough to develop a love affair with the written word.
She began her venture into the publishing world as a wet-behind-the-ears
author back in 2010. Since then, she’s navigated the rough waters through some high times and some really low times, but she's never once given up. And she doesn't intend to anytime soon.
Being an avid reader of all genres and categories, Kara has a soft spot for books that will knock her legs out from under her and gut punch her with emotion. She strives to evoke that sort of emotion with her own books. With an addictive personality and obsessions that run deep, she will champion for the things she loves—books, the freedom to write what she wants and when she wants, her husband and five kids, and pit bulls. Oh, and cats. She really likes cats. Especially fluffy, white ones.
www.karaleighmiller.com
www.twitter.com/KaraLeighMille1
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKaraLeighMiller
Jody Holford lives in British Columbia with her family. She's a huge fan of Rainbow Rowell, Nora Roberts, Jill Shalvis, Rachel Gibson, and Sophia Kinsella. She's unintentionally funny and rarely on time for anything. She is a multi-published author across genres.
@1prncs on Twitter
www.jodyholford.weebly.com
https://www.facebook.com/Authorjodyholford
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends