Flirting with Disaster (44 page)

She kept talking to him, even though his responses grew more sparse. Her fingers ached from pressing them so hard against his wound, but she wasn’t going to let up. Not for one second. With the blood he was losing even with the pressure, she couldn’t imagine what it would be like if she let go.

So she wasn’t letting go.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m okay,” he said with a weak smile. “Just thinking about tequila shots.”

So was she. That and every other moment of the past few days that had brought them so close together. After everything that had happened between them, the very idea that she could lose him now was inconceivable.

As the minutes ticked by, Dave’s respirations grew faster and more shallow and his eyes began to glaze over. Looking down, Lisa saw blood covering the floor beneath his seat, and she had to fight the ache of hopelessness that began to eat away at her.

Then she saw it. Far on the horizon, Brownsville was coming into view.

“Dave! We’re almost there. Hold on, okay? We’re almost there.”

He nodded almost imperceptibly, slowly blinking his eyes.

She was losing him.

“Hey, Dave,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. “What do you suppose Arnold and Bruce and Sylvester would do in a situation like this? They’d probably think it was no big deal. I mean, this is a piece of cake compared to hanging off helicopters and getting hit by an explosion at the top of a skyscraper, right?”

“Yeah,” he said weakly. Then he rolled his head around to look at her. “But the difference is that they go home at the end of the day . . .” He took a breath. “No matter how many times they’ve been shot.”

“So will you.”

There was a long silence.

“Maybe,” he said.

Looking over, she saw his eyes growing heavy, and his face was deathly pale.

“No,” she said suddenly. “Not maybe. Don’t you
dare
say maybe. I can see Brownsville. We’ll be down in just a few minutes. I know you can hold on for a few more minutes.”

He sighed weakly. “Lisa?”

“Don’t talk, Dave. Save your strength. We’ll be on the ground in no time.”

“If things go wrong, tell Ashley I love her. And my family, too.”

“Dave, stop it!” she said. “You’re going to make it. You can tell them yourself!”

“Promise me.”

“Dave—”

“Promise.”

She swallowed hard, fighting the sobs that choked her throat. “I promise.”

“Something else.”

“Yes?”

“Promise me that no matter what happens, you won’t blame yourself for this.”

She clenched her teeth, willing herself not to cry. Of course she was going to blame herself. Now and through the rest of eternity.

“Lisa. Promise me.”

She blinked hard to keep the tears away. “I promise.”

He nodded a little. “You know what?”

“What?”

“This morning,” he said, his voice fading, “when we were talking, I don’t think I ever got around to what I was really trying to say.”

“What’s that?”

He said the words softly, almost inaudibly. “I love you.” Lisa felt a rush of pure joy at the same time her heart was breaking. After all this time, to hear him say those words . . .

Then his eyes drifted closed.

“Dave?”

He didn’t respond.

“Dave!”

Tears filled her eyes, clouding her vision.
No.
She had to see to land. She had to see clearly so she could bring this damned thing down in a perfect three-point landing, because that was all she could do for him now. Give him a soft landing and get him into that ambulance.

She made contact with the tower again, and they told her an ambulance was ready and waiting on the runway. She swung around for her final approach, then brought the plane down as gently as she could. Off to one side she could see an ambulance shifting into gear to meet her.

She brought the plane to a halt, killed the engine, then turned to Dave again, continuing to put pressure against his wound until the paramedics could arrive. She put her other hand against his bloodstained cheek, then dropped it down to his shoulder. Sliding it down his arm, she took his hand in hers.

“I love you, too,” she whispered. She knew he couldn’t hear her. But she had to say it anyway, just in case.

Just in case she never got another chance.

The ambulance screeched to a halt. Two paramedics got out and rolled a stretcher up to the plane. They climbed up on the wing and opened the door.

“There’s a bullet wound in his thigh,” Lisa said. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”

“How long has he been unconscious?”

“Only a few minutes.”

“Head wound, too?”

“Just a laceration,” Lisa said.

“Okay. Let’s get him out of here.”

Soon they had Dave out of the plane and strapped to a gurney. They wheeled him quickly back to the ambulance and loaded him on board. Lisa circled the ambulance to get into the passenger seat.

“Hey!”

She turned back to see two men approaching, flashing badges. “Are you Lisa Merrick?”

“Yes?”

“Where’s our drug counterfeiter?”

They were customs agents. She’d forgotten all about Robert. She lobbed her keys to one of them. “The cargo compartment. He’s all yours.”

She got into the vehicle and slammed the door behind her, then turned around to look through a small window into the back of the ambulance. A paramedic was already hooking Dave up to needles and tubes and God knew what else. His eyes were still closed. He wasn’t moving. And he was pale. So pale.

She’d done all she could. She only prayed it was enough.

For Lisa, the next hour was hell on earth.

They arrived at the emergency room, and the paramedics took Dave inside. All she knew at that point was that he was alive. Nothing else.

She paced the floor, then sat down in a waiting room chair for exactly three minutes before getting up to pace some more. If only somebody would
tell
her something.

The emergency room was a busy place, but she felt strangely disconnected from all of it. Nurses and staff bustled around the area. A mother patted a coughing baby on the back. Children tussled with each other over a Happy Meal toy. An old lady read a tabloid newspaper. It seemed so surreal that life could be going on normally out here while Dave might be in there dying.

I love you.

She couldn’t forget the elation she’d felt when she heard him say those three words. Still, it was something that was almost impossible for her to accept. So she wasn’t going to accept it. Not yet. Not until everything was back to normal. It was even possible that he might not remember saying those words to her.

Or her saying those words to him.

“Lisa Merrick?”

Lisa spun around and came to her feet. “Yes?”

A man approached her wearing hospital scrubs. A doctor. She couldn’t read his face, but she could tell he had news, and her stomach tightened with anticipation.

“How is he?” she said.

“It was touch and go there for a while, but we got him stabilized. They’re taking him up for surgery to remove the bullet and repair the damage.”

Lisa put her hand against her chest. “Then he’s going to be all right?”

“Yes. Depending on how much damage the bullet did, he could have a bit of a recovery period. But otherwise, he’s going to be just fine.”

Every one of Lisa’s muscles went weak, and suddenly she felt light-headed. Her knees buckled a little, and the doctor caught her by the shoulders and lowered her to a chair.

“Are you all right?”

Lord, she was falling apart. But finally it was the good kind of falling apart, the kind that occurs when something wonderful happens, like winning a $10 million lottery.

Or finding out that the man you love is going to live.

“Yes,” she said. “Oh, yes. I’m okay. Believe me. I’m just a little overwhelmed.”

“Would you like some water?”

“No. I’m fine. Really. Can I see him?”

“I’m sorry, but they’ve already taken him up. When you’re feeling better, you can go up to the waiting room on the third floor. They’ll let you know when he’s out of surgery.”

“Thank you.”

The doctor rose to leave, then turned back. “Oh. I almost forgot. He wanted me to tell you something.”

“Yes?”

“He said, ‘The movie’s never over until the hero gets the girl.’ Do you know what he means by that?”

“Yes,” she said with a smile. “I know.”

Four hours later, Dave slowly opened his eyes, blinking until his sight cleared. He felt groggy, and it was a moment before he realized where he was. In a hospital room. Hooked up to an IV. And enough pain was shooting through his leg to remind him of the surgery he’d had.

Between then and now, all he remembered was a few lucid moments in the recovery room before the pain medication had knocked him out all over again. He remembered looking up to see Lisa standing next to his bed, the worry on her face finally replaced with relief, looking more beautiful than he’d ever seen her before. She’d held his hand, stroked his arm, and in minutes he’d fallen asleep again.

He turned over a little, wincing at the pain in his leg, and what he saw replaced his frown with a smile. Lisa sat in a chair beside his bed, her elbow on the arm, her chin resting in her hand, asleep. As if she sensed him watching her, her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up slowly.

“Hi there,” he said. “Taking a little nap?”

She smiled, her eyes droopy. “More like a big nap.”

“How long have you been there?”

She stretched a little, then checked her watch. “I don’t know. I’ve lost track. Four hours? Five?”

He held out his hand. She rose from her chair, came to the bed, and sat down next to him.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Alive. Not much else matters.”

“I was so worried about you.”

“I know. But everything’s okay now.”

She brushed the hair off his forehead, then trailed her fingertips along his cheek before letting her hand rest in her lap again. Her face fell into a frown. “I’m sorry,” she said on a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry this happened.”

“No apologies. It’s over now.”

“If you hadn’t made it . . .” She bowed her head, and he could see her trying not to cry.

“Come here, baby.” He tugged on her hand, coaxing her to lie down next to him.

She sniffed a little. “No, Dave. Your leg—”

“It’s okay. My bad leg’s on the other side, along with all those tubes and things.”

“But this is a hospital.”

“Do you see any signs posted? You know—a man and a woman in a hospital bed, with a big red slash through them?”

She smiled a little, and he eased her down next to him, wrapping his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he sighed with satisfaction. “That’s much better.”

“Yes,” she said, relaxing against him. “Much, much better.”

“Okay. Here’s another place to add to the balcony and the shower. A hospital bed.”

“You’re in no condition for hot sex.”

“You’re right. I’m incapacitated. I’d be totally at your mercy.”

“Are you trying to turn me on?”

“Is it working?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m trying.”

Suddenly the door opened and a quick glance told Dave that the DeMarco contingent had arrived. Lisa instantly leapt up and moved away from him to sit on the edge of the bed. Too late. Judging from the looks on his brothers’ faces, they’d both gotten an eyeful.

Alex strode into the room first, walking right up to Dave’s bed, looking, as usual, as if he was ready to take command of any situation that needed commanding.

“We were stuck at Love Field,” he said. “They had a fucking security lockdown thirty minutes before our flight was supposed to leave. We called ahead to the hospital, and all some idiot here could tell us was that you were in surgery.”

“Nice to see you, too, Alex.”

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“Thanks, big brother. I appreciate that. Got flowers for me, too?”

“Leg wound?”

“Thigh. The bullet’s out. I’m okay.”

“Hell of a lot of blood vessels there. Christ, you could be dead right now. Any permanent damage?”

“The doctors say no.”

Alex let out a harsh breath. “Good
God
, you had us worried. For a while there we had no idea what was going on.”

“Will you lighten up? I told you I’m fine.”

“I talked to the customs agents in Brownsville. They’ve got the guy locked up. What the hell happened down there?”