Page 44 of Waiting for Devon
“You’ve got to be shittin’ me!” one exclaimed.
The other dropped Devon. “Quick! Out the back!”
They disappeared into an alley and hightailed it for their old truck. Wanting to find out what happened to their prize, they hung around to watch.
Reed followed theambulance to Dallas General Hospital. When he realized Devon wasn’t with Inez, he approached Antonio Gennaro and demanded in a rough voice, “Where’s Doc?”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Reed Barrington. Tell me where the fuck Devon is.” He glared at Gennaro.
“She stayed behind at the clinic. She…” Before he could explain further, Reed bolted for the ER exit.
As he drove toward the clinic, he cursed himself for being a stubborn, proud fool. Though she’d denied it, Reed knew Devon was ill, and he’d left her alone. Bursting through the unlocked front door of the clinic, he shouted, “Devon!”
No answer.
And then he saw her lying in a heap in a hallway. “Devon!” Reed knelt next to her and felt her forehead. She burned with fever. Unable to rouse her, he lifted her into his arms and rushed toward his truck. He could get her to the hospital faster than an ambulance.
A few minutes later he screeched to a halt in the ambulance bay at Dallas General Hospital. Reed carried Devon into the ER and yelled, “Help! I’ve got Dr. Devon Brooks, and she’s burning with fever!”
A doctor who turned toward the commotion when he heard Devon’s name hurried to meet Reed. “I’m Dr. Bailey, a colleague of Dr. Brooks. Follow me.”
Reed followed Dr. Bailey into a cubicle. The physician took Devon’s vitals and frowned in concern. He lifted her eyelids to check her pupils and listened to her heart and lungs. He turned to a nurse who’d joined them. “Let’s get her started on fluids. We’ve got to bring her fever down. It’s one hundred five degrees. Get a blood panel, too. I want to know what we’re dealing with.”
Feeling helpless, Reed stood to the side as Dr. Bailey tended to Devon. How would he explain this to his brother? Hell, would Shane even care that his fiancée had collapsed?
When Devon had been stabilized, Dr. Bailey approached Reed and asked pointblank, “Do you know how Dr. Brooks sustained these bruises on her arms?”
Reed looked down at her, and his gut clenched. Dark bruises marred her skin. “No, Dr. Bailey. I have no idea. Perhaps it happened when she fainted at the clinic.”
“I don’t think so, Mr. Barrington. It looks like someone grabbed her arms.”
“I was careful when I brought her in.”
“Well, perhaps she can explain when she regains consciousness.”
For four daysDevon drifted in a black void while fever and chills ravaged her weak body. When she floated near the surface, she heard voices murmuring around her, and she felt a strong hand holding hers. Though she fought against it, a pinpoint of light penetrated the darkness and grew brighter until Devon could no longer resist it. Her eyes fluttered open, and she blinked several times as they adjusted to the glare of the florescent lights illuminating her hospital room.
“Devon!” Blair exclaimed in relief. “Thank God, you’re awake. We’ve been so worried about you.”
“What happened? How did I get here?” she asked in a raspy voice.
“Don’t you remember? You collapsed after delivering Inez’s baby.”
Fear gripped Devon’s heart, and she grabbed Blair’s hand. “The baby! How’s the baby? Did I infect it?”
Blair squeezed Devon’s hand. “Mother and son are just fine. They were released within a day.”
“A day? How long have I been hospitalized?”
“It’s Wednesday evening,” Blair informed her in a comforting tone of voice.
“Wednesday,” Devon repeated in a daze. “Four days. Oh, lord, Blair, what about the clinic? Who’s taking care of the clinic?”
“Don’t worry about the clinic. I found someone to cover for you for a few days.”
“A few days? No, I’m leaving tonight.” Devon struggled to sit up but a wave of dizziness washed over her.
