Page 44 of Devoted

"Whoa, Captain." Silvana presses his hand against his chest. "Thought you might be thedoctor."

Clark turns to me and seems to be assessing how I'm feeling with a noticeably scrutinizing gaze. "So, no news yet?" he asks. The second he finishes the question, the door opens and the surgeon, Dr. Rodriguez, walks in. His surgical mask is hanging down below his chin. He's one of those distinguished looking, fifty-plus men, tall with ramrod straight posture and gray threads in his black hair. He nods at Captain Clark and motions for us to sitdown.

I'm so nervous the act of sitting takes some effort. I instantly cross my arms, a defense that I ridiculously hope will shield me from bad news. I'm scrutinizing the distinguished looking surgeon's face just as Clark did to me seconds earlier. If he hadn't become a surgeon he might have looked good on the big screen as a leading man. I push the stupid thought from my mind. I haven't slept in twenty-four hours and I'mlightheaded.

"James is resting now. Not comfortably, unfortunately. We managed to set the compound fracture of his femur, but his right clavicle and his left wrist will need titaniumplates."

I press my fingers against my mouth to stifle a sound. I'm blinking a million times a minute to hold back thetears.

The doctor grins faintly at me before continuing. "We'll wait for his overall condition to improve before we call in the hand and shoulder specialists. Three of his ribs are broken and he has a punctured lung. It's still early and other complications canarise."

Silvana reaches over and pats my arm forsupport.

"Fortunately, he's young and strong," Dr. Rodriguezcontinues.

"When can we see him?" Iask.

"Let's wait until we get his pain a little more under control. Possibly tomorrow. In the meantime, you should go home and get some rest." Dr. Rodriguez gets up toleave.

Clark follows him out, apparently deciding his few questions were better asked out in the hall. I look atSilvana.

Clarkreturns.

"What was the secret conversation about?" I ask. It seems paranoia is seeping into my sleepless brain but I can't stop it. "Is he keeping something fromus?"

"No, Tennyson, I was just thanking him for looking after our boy." Clark's unexpected sob makes me crumble into tears. Clark and I hug. Silvana attaches himself to the outside of theembrace.

It takes a few minutes to compose ourselves. Clark's eyes are watery. It's always hard on a captain to see one of his officers hurt. Even though they clash heads a lot, I know that Clark has a special fondness forMaddox.

Clark takes a tissue from his pocket and blows his nose. "We need to stop worrying about that kid. He's a goddamn rock, that one. He'll be up and around and irritating the hell out of me before the trees start changing to fall colors." He takes a steadying breath and pushes the tissue back into his pocket. "I came to talk to Tennyson. And it's urgent." He glances atSilvana.

"You can say whatever it is in front of Sil." Silvana has now fully solidified his friendship with both Maddox and me forgood.

"Yes, fine," Clark says. "I've just received word from the Tulane Division up north. They managed to corner Freestone but he's taken a hostage, a young woman. He says he'll surrender peacefully if he can talk to Detective Angie Tennyson. In person," headds.

After the stressful, long night I'm struggling to make sense of what Clark is telling me. "They caught him? I can't believeit."

Clark snorts. "Thanks for the vote of confidence in lawenforcement."

"Yes, well Kane is not your average on the runcriminal."

"Look, Angie, we don't have much time. Freestone is holding a woman hostage. The officers can't get near him without risking the woman's life. He wants to see you. I've got a plane on standby. It's about a forty-five minute flight to Frisco. From there, they'll helicopter us toRedmonton."

My eyes are burning from lack of sleep. I rub them. "Did you sayRedmonton?"

Clark nods. "Yes, it seems he went back home to the place where his father killed eight women. The officer I talked to, Officer Greene, said it was almost as if he wanted to get caught. But when they closed in on him on the bridge, he found a woman and decided to use her as a humanshield."

I'm still trying to clear my drowsy head and get the facts straight. "Did you say bridge? He's on the DeltaBridge?"

"Isn't that the bridge his dad used to dump the bodies?" Silvanaasks.

"It doesn't make sense. Why would he go there?" Iask.

Clark takes hold of my arm. "What shall I tell them, Tennyson? There's no telling how much time we have before he snaps and does something to thehostage."

"No, that doesn't seem possible. That's not like him." My thoughts are scrambled. I scrub my face to wake myself up. "Let's go. I can talk to him. I need to talk to him." I turn to Silvana. "Call if you hearanything."

"Yep and, Ten, becareful."

---