Page 8 of Tortured Hearts
She’s facing away from me, curled up on her side like a discarded doll. I can’t tell if she’s breathing, and there’s no time to check. Scooping her limp body into my arms, I stumble back out the way I came. “You can’t die on me, Doc. Hate me for the rest of your life, but don’t you dare fucking make me bury you …please.”
I’ve never uttered the word please in my life, but it’s the only thing on my lips as I stumble through the front door and hit my knees. Out of the corner of my eye, I see paramedics rush toward me. But I strengthen my grip and draw Becca tighter against my chest. Somewhere in the haze, I register Henry calling my name, but I don’t respond.
Fuck him. Fuck all of them.
“Let the paramedics do their job.” Crouching in front of me, he catches my eye. “Johnny, let them help her.”
Hearing my alias snaps me back into reality. He’s right. A media spectacle is the last thing she needs, so I force myself to loosen my hold. I grit my teeth as the paramedics swoop in with an oxygen mask and an IV, then wheel her toward a waiting ambulance while the rest of the fire department fights a losing battle. I’m following their trail of organized chaos when Henry steps in front of me.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I meet his stare. “With her.”
“The hell you are. Don’t you think you’ve called enough attention to yourself?”
I clench my fists. “Get out of my way,Saddler.”
“Sir, I need you to clear the way.”
Henry and I both turn to find the firefighter who tackled me wearing an expression filled with way more irritation than he’s prepared to enforce. For a moment, I consider shooting him. I’ve been itching to fire a bullet since Henry hijackedthe wheel. Unfortunately, I can’t protect Becca if I’m locked up for slaughtering local heroes.
“She needs me,” I snap.
“She needs medical attention,” he counters with a burst of bravado that even has Henry sucking in a breath. “Something she can’t get if you don’t move and let them do their job.”
Any other day, I might respect the balls on this guy. Today is not that day.
“I’m going with her, and you’re wasting time. If she dies because of it, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”
His eyes widen, and he nods.
That’s what I thought.
With that settled, I grip the open door of the ambulance and am about to get inside when Henry stops me again. Something akin to thunder rumbles in my head as I shove him off me. “Hands don’t reattach easily, Saddler. Put yours on me again, and you’ll find out.”
He lowers his arm with an audible swallow. “How did you know the firetrucks were headed to Dr. Brennan’s office?”
“Not now.”
“Gianni, I’m serious. I can’t overlook this.”
I turn my back to him and climb inside. “Then don’t.” I feel Henry’s eyes on me as I brush Becca’s hair from her cheek.
Seconds later, the remaining paramedics close the ambulance and rush us toward the hospital. As I stare at Becca’s beautiful soot-streaked face, I feel the tide turn, the life she breathed into me slowly fading.
It’s time to put Johnny Malone on ice. The man who allowed desire to divulge secrets and lust to bridge trust, re-hardens into the cold, calculating monster he’s always been.
The one he wasborn to be.
The hospital is crawling with badges and agendas. Men who’d love nothing more than to shove me behind steel bars and throw away the key. If I had half a brain, I’d get as far away from Providence as humanly possible. Then again, my common sense went AWOL the moment Becca chucked a half-eaten apple at my head. It’s the only explanation I have for pacing the halls outside her room, trying to figure out a way to con my way inside.
I notice I’m getting more than a few lingering stares, so I pause a few doors down from Becca’s room and pretend to scroll through texts. Eventually, the herd thickens enough for me to slip through it without being noticed. The moment I’m inside, I freeze.
The blonde hair she always kept in a smart low ponytail is strewn across her white pillow like seaweed. My stomach turns at the tubes and wires crisscrossing over the dark bruises on her pale face. Closing the door behind me, I sink into the chair by her bed and take her hand. This may be my last chance to touch her. I won’t let it slip away.
“I’m so sorry for dragging you into this mess, Doc. I know my promises mean nothing to you now, but I swear I’ll make the man who did this to you pay with his life.” I brush the back of my other hand across her cheek. “No one will ever hurt you again.”
“You shouldn’t be here.”
