Surrender My Love (30 page)

Brad’s temples pounded
. His head felt like it was going to burst open. “Yes, but she wouldn’t go to him.”

Monty sighed on the other end. “Listen, there’s more.”

He took a deep breath, pinching his nose between his thumb and index finger. Swallowing hard, he desperately tried to buffer the acid burning fear and dread through his stomach.

“The police found her cell phone in a trash bin. It looks like she took off. Did she say anything to you?”

A harsh curse spewed from his throat, his world teetering on its axis. He didn’t know what to think. Did something happen to her? Did she run? He used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat that drenched his brow.

“No,” he croaked.

“This is not good, Brad. It just makes her look guilty. Do you know where she might have gone?”

Brad sighed. Other than her mother’s, he couldn’t think of any other place Chloe would be.
He knew she’d had a loathsome experience with the police last week, but he never thought she’d try to avoid arrest. He shook his head slowly, imagining Chloe running, alone, and scared, or worse. The thought of her on her own and unprotected was terrifying. Someone was already trying to make her look guilty for the deaths in the hospital and had had access to her apartment. What if she hadn’t run? What if some harm had come to her?
Fuck!

“Monty, we have to find her!
” he almost yelled into his phone. His vision darkened with spots of pure panic.

“There’s an APB out on her now. Don’t
worry, the police will bring her in.”

Brad buried his face in his hands, his world spinning out of control and his heart spinning into
desolate blackness.

Brad’s surgical case w
as scheduled to begin at seven the following morning, and he was known to be a stickler about starting on time. The patient had been prepped, the operating room was staffed and ready, and the anesthesiologist had induced a deep and dreamless unconsciousness. Brad was in the anteroom scrubbing, lathering his arms and each finger with special antibacterial soap, trying not to splash his blue surgical scrubs. He held his wet hands up in front of his face and stared hard. No tremors. He’d taken his medication this morning and was perfectly steady. But he knew his tremors were all inside, trying to shake up his equilibrium and knock around his resolve. They’d already ravaged him all night long, energized and fueled by his morbid fear. But now he wouldn’t let them.

There’d been no
word of Chloe since he’d spoken to Monty yesterday afternoon. He’d called her cell several times, even knowing that no one would answer. He’d gone to her mother’s and spoken to Maria. Aside from asking Maria to do extra shifts, Chloe had mentioned nothing else during her conversation with the aide. He deduced that Chloe had called her right after getting off the phone with him. Maria had told him the same thing she’d told the police, and he’d asked her not to mention to anyone that he’d been by. At least now he knew Chloe hadn’t been taken against her will, although, he still felt she was in just as much danger. His body sang with the intuition of it, and it was driving him out of his mind not knowing where she was. He and Rose had shared a bowl of ice cream, and he found himself rambling on about her amazing daughter. Although Rose had no clue what was going on in Chloe’s life, he’d looked into her amber eyes and promised to find her and bring her home.

“Are you okay, Dr.
Markson?” The voice came from behind him and Brad turned to face Maggie, the OR nursing director.

Despite his inner turbulence, he managed a crooked smile
and held up his hands for inspection.

“All clean!” he annou
nced. The staff called her the Germ Nazi and it had taken him a while to get used to her quirkiness, but they’d grown to have a mutual respect for each other. She was one of the few nurses not intimidated by him.

Maggie waved his hand
s down, but he noticed her gaze survey the water line to make sure he’d scrubbed to his elbows. Her blue eyes grew serious.

“There was a nurse who stopped by here for you last week.” She tilted her
blonde head and studied him. “Nurse Chloe Bennett.”

“Oh?”

“She’d said it was urgent.”

“I’ve since spoken with her, but th
ank you for letting me know.” He thinned his lips and turned to walk away when her voice stopped him. Just the mention of Chloe’s name had his blood sizzling.

“I don’t believe what they’re saying about her. Just wanted you to know that.”

Word had spread like wild fire. The entire hospital knew of the notorious nurse from Four West. There had been a report on the six o’ clock news yesterday about the missing suspect who was to face charges for two mysterious deaths at WMH. The reporter had thankfully not mentioned Chloe’s name, but Brad was certain that everyone at the hospital knew her identity. The reporter had intimated that there may be even more charges as the case unfolded.

Brad
scanned Maggie’s face, wondering if she was simply looking for fodder for gossip. He saw sincerity in her eyes and he relaxed, forcing himself to take a deep breath.

“Good. Don’
t.”

“I’ve joined the search party.”

He frowned, confused as to her meaning.

“The nurses are all worried about her, worried that something might have happened to her. Some of them have for
med a search party. We’ll be taking turns on our days off to look for her. ”

Brad was so moved he didn’t know how to respond. The fact that her colleagues would
use their free time to search for her confirmed what an amazing person Chloe was.

“It was started by Dr. Connolly and Susan, a nurse from her ward.”

He grimaced.
Was that the nurse he’d yelled at?
“I think it’s great that they would do something like that.”

“Yeah, we
’ll each take a different route around the city. We’ll start at her apartment, then go to her mother’s, then hit local stores and coffee shops…that sort of thing.”

“Well, I support it one hundred percent.”

He shot her a slight smile, thinking there was a lot more to Maggie Masters than met the eye. He’d heard a rumor that she was married to an ex-SEAL—definitely wouldn’t want to piss her off! He smiled again, then turned with his hands still raised, and walked through the doors to the OR, focusing his mind and his thoughts on the patient laying on the table. She was the one who needed him now.

Chloe pulled her hoodie over
her head and joined the crowd gathering by the door of the subway car. The packed train rumbled to a stop, complained with a loud, whiny squeak, then jerked the passengers about roughly, like an angry beast. She held on to an overhead metal loop, knowing that if she didn’t, she’d end up crumpled on top of another rider.

She’d been o
n and off the subway now for three days, trying to catch some sleep when she could. Her diet consisted mostly of coffee, donuts and sandwiches from kiosks. She didn’t trust going into a restaurant for fear that she’d be recognized, but with her troubled stomach tied in knots, it wasn’t as though she had much of an appetite.

Adjusting the backpack on her shoulders, she exited the train onto the platform. It was early morning rush hour and she flowed with the sea of bodies commuting to work. Dour faces and stiff bodies headed toward the stairs. Head down, Chloe surreptitiously scanned the area. Her eyes caught a milling figure in dark blue and her feet came to an abrupt halt. There was a police officer straight ahead. He was leaning on a post, his scanning gaze taking in the commuters.

Chloe quickly turned, inadvertently bumping into a woman rushing towards the stairs. The woman elbowed her and spouted a harsh rebuke, but Chloe didn’t stay
long enough to listen. Heart banging in her bosom, she took off in the opposite direction, her sneakered feet thudding rapidly against the platform. She didn’t dare look back. She quickly took the stairs on the other end and exited into the cool morning air, walking at a clip pace down the busy avenue.

She
tried not to think of her predicament or the magnitude of shit she was in. After getting the phone call from Brad three days ago, she’d freaked out. The one thing she knew was there was no way in hell she could be locked up; she couldn’t face that horrid detective again, couldn’t endure the derision, and couldn’t be away from her mother. Brad had been right. Someone was making it look like she’d killed those patients. That someone was Omega. Mr. Phillips had tested the Memoram on hospitalized patients and things had gone wrong. Now, they were trying to blame her. She had to get proof.

She
urgently needed to speak to Gordon Shaw, because the only thing that could exonerate her was the information on Memoram, especially the drug formula. At least then she’d have something she could take to the police. Dr. Shaw had said that Memoram had a long half-life, which meant it stayed in the blood stream for a long time. If Mr. Kaplan had had an autopsy, and especially if they suspected that he’d not died of natural causes, his blood samples would be kept for further examination. This meant it could still be checked for the presence of Memoram, or maybe traces of the drug could be found in body tissues. But first, the medical examiner would need to know what to look for.

She pulled her hoodie further over her head, obscuring her face from the morning light.
She thought of Brad and a knot braided in her chest, tight and constricting. He was probably pissed at her for running away. He’d been so kind and supportive, a source of strength she’d never expected. He didn’t need to do any of the things he did to help her. She blinked back the tears moistening her eyes, and coughed away the emotion foaming in her throat.

She’
d never in her life known anyone like him, someone who cared so much that he, despite her resistance, was relentless and passionate about coming to her aid. It was hard to believe that a man like him could have feelings for her, but was it possible? He’d taken residence in her heart, lived in the rich blood that pumped through her vessels, nourishing her. He deserved at least to know that she was okay. He could get her in touch with Gordon Shaw. She was loath, though, to ask him for more help. She didn’t want him embroiled in her mess.

Chloe turned into the park across from the Corinth, the building Brad had told her he lived in
the night at Silo. It was a small park with tall verdant trees and a cobbled path lined with empty benches. Pedestrians passed her at a brisk pace, using the park as a conduit to the parallel street, and a few nannies were already out propelling strollers and chatting exuberantly on their cell phones. She mounted a grassy knoll and braced her back against a wide tree trunk, scanning the front of the elegant building across the street.

Brad should be leaving for the hospital any
time now. He usually started rounds around seven in the morning, and the hospital was only ten minutes away. She tried to drown the anxiety that surfaced with the thought of seeing him. What if he’d washed his hands of her? She dashed the unbidden thought away with memories of his warm dimpled smile and passionate eyes. She scanned her surroundings, always worried and vigilant about being discovered, and slid her arms around her torso, cradling her mounting nervousness. Her gaze lobbed back to the building’s entrance and that’s when she saw him. Tall. Imposing. Magnificent. His very sight kidnapped the air from her lungs and shivering joy and relief rolled over her. Everything would be okay. Looking around, she went to take a step towards him, tears already forming in her eyes.

That’s when she saw her. The tall, dark haired woman who’d been wrapped around him the night at the club. The beautiful woman who had thrown her arms around him in ownership. The image that she’d locked stubbornly away crashed into her brain and she cursed herself for her stupidity. The two were talking now. From this distance she couldn’t hear them, but she could tell it was a heated exchange. A lover’s quarrel perhaps. She hadn’t seen them come out of the building, but they were walking together, probably beginning their day after a night of passion.

A sob boiled up from her throat and
, shaking violently, she turned away. She was bone weary and the past few days had whittled away her strength. She wasn’t aware of the tears until she felt them soaking her chin and neck, dashing her hopes and submerging her in deep, floundering despair. Her stomach plummeted with what felt like boulders pitching around like marbles, and a ribbon of nausea curled deep in her belly. How could she be so stupid to think he might really care, that he might be worried for her well-fare? He had indeed washed his hands of her. Why would someone like him be truly interested in her for anything meaningful? He’d already warned her that wasn’t his intention.

Repulsive, Chloe…

Contacting him had been a horrible idea.
What had she been thinking? She was nothing but trouble and would only bring shame and scandal. He obviously hadn’t given her a second thought. With her mind twisting in chaos, she started running aimlessly. Blind with tears, she disappeared into the thickening morning crowd.

“Go away, Diane. It’s over.”