Page 35 of Fighting for Mallory

“Detective Martinelli, when I tell you to, please take a deep breath, then exhale or cough as I remove the breathing tube.”

Luca followed the doctor’s instructions and coughed and gasped when the surgeon pulled the tube from his throat. In a dry, raspy whisper, he said one word. “Mallory.”

River addressed the doctor. “Will you please give us a few minutes alone with Luca?”

“No more than ten minutes, and don’t overexcite my patient.” To Luca he added, “I’ll be back to discuss your surgery with you.”

River poured a cup of water and handed it to Luca. His hand shook as he took several sips. “Mallory,” he repeated. “What happened to her?” His eyes met Tex’s sympathetic gaze. “If you’re here, it can’t be good.” Luca closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Mallory was his heart. It beat because she imbued it with life. She lived in his soul. If she were gone from this world, surely he would feel it. His heart would stop beating and his soul would freeze.

“Luca.” Hutch said his name in a quiet tone of voice.

He opened his eyes. “Mallory isn’t dead, but we’re running out of time. We only have until the next full moon to find her. I don’t have time to explain how I know this. Tex, did we lose her?”

“For the moment.”

“What does that mean?” He grimaced with pain. “Jesus, I hurt all over.”

“You survived a vicious beating and two gunshots,” River answered. “Look, you need to speak to Dr. Stanford and try not to worry?”

Luca’s heart rate spiked and set off the monitor attached to him. Heat rushed into his face. “Don’t tell me what I need, Miguel! What I need is to get out of this damn hospital and find Mallory before it’s too late!”

Within moments Dr. Stanford and two nurses rushed into the room and ordered Luca’s friends to leave. When he realized one of the nurses had injected something into his IV, he protested. “No! Don’t knock me out!”

“It’s a mild sedative to keep you calm, Detective. When you were brought in, you had been shot twice through your right side. The bullets hit your lungs and lodged in your rib cage. Many of your ribs were broken when you were beaten, and you suffered significant blood loss. You also have a severe concussion. The blows to your head were hard enough to kill you. You’re lucky you survived.”

LUCKY? He didn’t feel lucky, especially when the woman he loved had been taken from him. If Mallory died, he wouldn’t want to live in a world without her. Even separated from her by her marriage to Bentley, life was bearable. It would be torturous to face a future alone.

Lethargy stole over him from the sedative, and he grew sleepy. “How long do I have to stay in the hospital?”

“Several days while you heal.”

Like hell I will. Luca couldn’t fight the effect of the sedative and he slept.

After a dreamless day and night of uninterrupted sleep, Luca demanded to be helped to his feet. Sometime while he slept, a nurse unhooked him from the monitors and IV. It took an hour for a physical therapist to meet with Luca. He introduced himself, and they spoke for a few minutes about Luca’s condition before the PT instructed him on how to rise from the bed. He’d rejected pain medication, and the act of swinging his legs over the side of the bed and rising with the PT’s help sent sharp needles spiraling through him. Luca couldn’t suppress a gasp.

“Take your time, Detective.” When Luca straightened up to his full height, the PT asked, “Are you ready to take some steps?”

Hell, he was ready to run a marathon to find Mallory. He gritted his teeth. “Yes.”

Fighting through unbearable pain, Luca forced himself to walk down the corridor. Instead of using a walker, the PT had strapped a belt around his waist which he held onto in case Luca’s legs gave out beneath him or he lost his balance. He bore the humiliation for Mallory’s sake. In his mind he begged her to stay alive, to fight, to hang on until he could get to her.

I’m coming for you, baby. I’m coming for you.

The PT refused to allow Luca to push himself too hard. He eased back into bed and swallowed groans of pain rising in his throat. Shortly afterward, a nurse gave him oxycodone to relieve his discomfort, and he fell asleep.

When Luca awoke several hours later, he saw Tex resting in a chair opposite the bed. None of his other friends were there. “Where is everyone?”

“Hutch, Miguel, and Maverick are with Detective Scope. They’re running leads on the young men who attacked you.”

“Have they learned anything?”

“No. These young guys might be hanging out on campus, but they’re not students. Hutch and Miguel went to the bar and grill and questioned the waitress about them. I ran her description of them through the campus data base, and nothing popped up.”

Luca pressed his hands against his temples. “My head aches.”

“Want something for it?”

“No. I want you to tell me what you’re hiding, Tex. You mentioned you lost track of Mallory for the moment. Have you picked her back up again?”

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