Page 34 of Forbidden Passion

She kept fighting him, but he would hit her wherever he could reach. When he started to pull her to the floor, her efforts doubled, and she started kicking. Things on the shelves started to fall to the floor. He had her pants over her hips, and then the closet door opened suddenly.

“Oh, my God! We need security. A nurse is getting attacked!”

Several people came into the room and dragged Pierce off of her. She was still fighting and trying to scream until a woman knelt beside her.

“Hey, you’re from Pediatrics,” she said. “I’m here to help you. It’s okay now. The guy is down. I’m going to take the tape off, okay?”

Tessa nodded. She felt like she was being smothered because of the snot from her crying, clogging her nostrils. She took in a huge breath when the nurse pulled it off. She lay still on the floor, trying to calm her heart rate as the woman cut off the tape from her hands.

“We’ve got a stretcher here for you. We’re going to take you to the ER.”

Tessa shook her head and then grimaced.

“You have blood on your temple, and your lip is split. There might be more wrong we can’t see.”

Tessa reluctantly nodded. “Can you call Peds and tell them what happened? I’ve got several patients today.”

“Yes. Let’s get you on the gurney first.”

Tessa was helped by two nurses and taken to the gurney.She heard a ruckus and looked down the hall to see Pierce being dragged down the hallway and several cops with the security guys.

“When you talk to the nurses on my floor have one of them call my guy.”

“Sure. Let’s get you in a cubicle first,” the nurse said. “It’s finally dying down, so you’ll be able to see the doctor quickly.”

“What about the child I was supposed to take up?” Tessa asked.

“Another nurse from the ER is taking her up now.”

Tessa sighed and relaxed. She’d done everything she could for the moment and just wanted to rest.

She must have fallen asleep because when she opened her eyes, Michelle was standing by her side, tears running down her cheeks.

“Oh, God. I about had a heart attack when they told me what happened.”

“Who’s up on our floor?”

“Don’t worry about that. Nicole is calling in a few nurses early. I called Dominik, and he’s on his way.”

Tessa nodded. The bright light made her head feel like it was splitting apart. Someone put a warm blanket over her.

“Hello, I see you’re a nurse here. I’m new, so we haven’t met yet. I’m Doctor Tremont.”

“Hi,” Tessa said.

“You’re in shock, which is normal. The nurse is starting an IV. Let’s take a look at your head.”

Tessa held still and then flinched when he touched the spot that Pierce had hit repeatedly. She was vaguely aware of the needle going into the back of her hand, but the pain in her head overshadowed it.

“Do you feel nauseous?” the doctor asked.

“No.”

“Let’s check your pupils.”

Tessa bit down on her lip when the pain soared through her. She grimaced again when she realized her lip was hurt.

“I don’t think you have a concussion, and if you do, it’s a mild one, but I’d like to take a CAT scan just to make sure.”

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