Just Evil (37 page)

As Kit pulled the Jeep out of the parking lot, she didn’t
see the big SUV slide in behind her at the light just before the Jeep moved
into traffic on the Coast Highway.

Traffic on the 1 was surprisingly light for a Saturday
night. With the CD player cranked up and Pepper sitting in the back seat, Kit
let her mind drift. Listening to Springsteen wonder what it was like in the
back of a Pink Cadillac, she wondered if Gloria knew about Alana’s marriage to
Frank Geller. The thought of that union had her cringing. She remembered Frank as
a rather creepy kind of guy who always appeared as if he were working on his
next con, a guy with a definite used-car salesman appearance. She was grateful
she hadn’t been around for that marriage.

As traffic got heavier, every once in a while she glanced
out over the water and mentally ticked off the list of things about the dream
she needed to remember to mention to Gloria.

Deep in thought, she didn’t notice the silver SUV come
around the Jeep as if to pass. Instead of flying by, though, the vehicle maintained
the same speed as she did. By the time she saw that the SUV intended to occupy
the same lane as the Jeep, the vehicle had already crossed the dotted line,
bumping the driver’s side, causing her to swerve onto the shoulder.

She had to fight the wheel hard to the left to keep the SUV
from completely running her off the road. The big SUV kept pace. There was no
room for her to maneuver. She battled with the vehicle, trying to keep from
losing control. Thinking that maybe the SUV might simply bump her and go on,
she slowed down enough to give the other car the road. But when she braked to
slow down so did the SUV.

Instead of moving on, the vehicle stayed glued to the side
of the Jeep. Kit managed to look over and saw a familiar face smiling back at
her. Meanwhile, the SUV kept coming, veering farther and farther into her until
there was nothing to do but to try and maintain control of the car.

She did her best until the SUV rammed harder this time,
metal-to-metal into the driver’s side with such force it pushed her off the
shoulder onto the rough terrain. And still the SUV kept coming. When Kit hit
the brakes, the SUV did the same as if anticipating her move. Driving on the
shoulder now, both vehicles where in the dirt next to the edge of the cliffs. The
SUV kept pushing and pushing until finally there was no place left for the Jeep
to go. It plunged off the edge and down the steep cliffs below.

At their favorite watering hole, a Mexican cantina across
from Billing-Pro Software, the three men were on their second round of beers
when Jake’s cell phone rang. A glance at caller ID told him it was Gloria.

Jake answered the phone with all the cheer of a man relaxing
in a bar enjoying a Saturday night round of drinks after a long stress-filled
week. “Hey Gloria, what’s up?”

The minute she started to speak, though, Jake knew something
was wrong; he could sense it in the way her voice cracked. “Jake, oh Jake, I’m
so glad I got you. Kit’s been hurt. She…she had an accident. They’ve taken her
to the emergency room at the Medical Center.”

His world tilted. Hurt? An accident? What the hell? He stood
up from the table and swayed, not so much from the beer and a half he’d
consumed but from knowing that Kit had been injured and he hadn’t been there to
protect her. He threw money on the table about the same time he reached into
his jeans pocket to pull out his car keys.

“What happened?”

“I don’t have all the details. Baylee and I are on our way
there now. Someone arranged for Pepper to be taken to the vet. The person who
called…they said…the person that called said…they had to stabilize her before
they could load her into the ambulance. Someone ran her off the road and…her
Jeep plunged down an embankment. She…” Her voice trailed off and Gloria began
to sob.

“I’m on my way Gloria. I’ll meet you there.” Jake’s pace
picked up as he moved toward the entrance to the restaurant with Reese and
Dylan on his heels. “Kit had a car accident. I’ve got to go.”

At the look on his friend’s face, Dylan grabbed Jake’s arm,
only to have him pull away. Noting the glassy shock in Jake’s eyes, Dylan and
Reese exchanged looks. It was Reese who took Jake’s keys from him and
volunteered, “I’ll drive.”

“I thought you had a date.”

“So, I’ll be a little late.”

Jake knew he was in the right place when he spotted an
anxious Baylee pacing back and forth in front of a semicircular reception desk
with a sleeping Sarah on her shoulder. When Baylee looked up and saw Jake
approaching, she put out the one hand she’d been using to rub the baby’s back
and took Jake’s hand in hers. Softly, so as not to wake the baby, but trying
not to cry, she told him, “She’ll be okay, Jake. She’s tough.”

“I want to see her. Where is she? How bad is it?”

“You will. But right now they’ve taken her down the hall to
do an MRI. Quinn says the doctor’s pretty sure she suffered a concussion, but
they want to see how extensive it is, check for internal bleeding.”

Jake flinched. He didn’t want to think about Kit with a
concussion let alone in the closed scanner. “She’s claustrophobic. She won’t do
well in that closed up space.”

Baylee gave him a sympathetic look. “She’s a little out of
it, Jake, groggy. I don’t think she’ll be aware that she’s in there. Besides,
Quinn’s with her. She isn’t alone. We lucked out having Quinn on duty tonight.”
Baylee made a face. “There were some lacerations…on her face, some bruising.”

Jake winced.

Noticing his grimace, she explained, “From the airbag. Her
head and right shoulder took the worst of the impact, as well as her right leg.
Right leg isn’t broken though. At least that’s what Quinn said. She’s been in
there with her since they brought her in, says Kit will need some stitches on
the side of her head.” With her free hand she pointed to the side of her own
head just above the ear. “When they get her shoulder back in place, she’ll be
good as new.”

To Baylee’s credit she did her best to put a positive spin
on Kit’s injuries, but Jake just wasn’t in the mood to be appeased. He wanted
answers; he wanted to see Kit, see how she was for himself. He looked around
and realized the waiting area looked like any typical ER on any given Saturday
night. The place offered nothing but standing room only. Since there were no
available chairs, and he didn’t feel like sitting anyway, he searched out Dylan
and Reese, only to realize they’d been standing directly behind him the entire
time. A couple of feet away he spotted Gloria for the first time; she looked
upset, tears running down her cheeks.

Dylan poked Jake in the ribs with his elbow. “Aren’t you
going to introduce us to the ladies?”

“Dylan and Reese, you remember Gloria Gandis. And this is
Baylee Scott and her daughter, Sarah.” Baylee nodded in their direction, but it
was Gloria who saw Dylan and Reese through misty eyes and said, “Kit will be so
pleased that you came to see her.”

“Has anyone spoken to the police? Can they tell us what
happened and how the accident happened?”

Baylee looked uncomfortable. “Quinn talked to them earlier.
There were witnesses who said an SUV deliberately ran her off the road, pushed
Kit’s Jeep down the side of a cliff. The SUV took off, didn’t stop.” She
anticipated Jake’s question before he had time to ask. “No one got a license
plate, just a description of the car; late model SUV, silver, big.”

Jake’s knees went weak at the thought of Kit lying in that
car, unconscious, hurt. Just then he looked past Baylee and saw Quinn heading
their way. Dressed in her white coat, the woman didn’t look old enough to be a
doctor.

But Dr. Quinn Tyler was all business, when she nodded in
greeting. “She’s getting stitched up. I wanted to do the honors, but I flipped
Dr. Anson for it and lost.” When she realized her joke hadn’t been well
received, Quinn shifted back to serious. “She’s still in and out of it, but you
guys can see her now, one at a time. Who wants to go first?”

Jake deferred to Gloria, but obviously hoped she’d pick up
on how much he wanted to see Kit. Sure enough, he saw the green light in her
eyes before she nodded and heard her say, “You go on, Jake. I’ll go next, and
then we’ll let Baylee go in and take her turn before she has to leave to put
the baby to bed.”

Jake didn’t wait for a consensus but turned on his heels, followed
Quinn down the corridor, and disappeared.

When he was gone, Dylan stared at the baby, who by now was
wide awake and looking around at all the people. He also noticed how Baylee was
struggling to hold her for such a long time with no place to sit down. He put
his hands in his pocket and leaned closer to where Baylee stood.

He looked into her face and her huge blue—almost turquoise-colored—eyes.
He’d never seen anyone with that particular shade of eyes before. In the way of
most single men, he shot a glance at her left ring finger. There was no ring.

 He took a step closer so he could get a better angle at the
baby’s eyes. But Baylee turned around abruptly. Their eyes met. She
instinctively took a step backward, leery of the close contact. Dylan just
smiled easily and commented, “That’s a good-looking baby you’ve got there. She
has your eyes. And it looks like you might need a place to sit down. Why don’t
I see if one of these nice folks will find their manners and let you have a
seat?”

Baylee drew in a quick breath. The man looked like a surfer
with sun-toned skin and blond hair pulled into a neat ponytail. He stared at
her through calm blue eyes; there was an easy demeanor about him.

She immediately went on red alert. She had no business
thinking about any man. She’d been fooled into trusting the wrong one once
before. She knew a gentle manner could be deceiving. But when Sarah reached out
to touch Dylan’s nose, Baylee caved in a little and said, “Thank you, but what
I really need is a place to…to feed her. Coming to the hospital is throwing her
off her routine and she’s getting...hungry. I’ll just head outside to the car
and…”

Dylan thought he understood. The woman needed a place to
nurse. He looked around the room. It was overflowing with people. “Wait here,”
he said as he went over to the reception desk, talked with a nurse for a few
minutes, and then came back to Baylee. “There’s a family restroom down the hall
for mothers with children. There’s a place to sit and room to feed her. I’ll
show you where it is. Where’s your bag?”

Baylee pointed over to where Gloria stood guarding an
oversized, overstuffed olive green bag. He calmly walked over, took it from
Gloria, and turned to Baylee. “It’s just down the hall to the left, this way.”
He nodded his head for her to follow.

Reluctant, Baylee just stood there but then felt silly. It
was a public place. He was just being helpful. When Sarah began to fuss, Baylee
tagged after Dylan, who had hefted Sarah’s diaper bag over his shoulder as if
it were an everyday occurrence, and both of them set off down the corridor.

Quinn took the time to prepare Jake for the scene behind the
curtain. “She’s a little banged up.” And that was putting it mildly, thought
Quinn. But she didn’t want the man to go nuts when he saw what she looked like.
“Bruises are starting to form, turn purple, so don’t be shocked by what you
see. She did, after all, just go one-on-one with a 6,000 pound car and an
airbag. And I don’t want you passing out on me. You aren’t queasy around
needles, are you?”

“No,” was Jake’s quick reply. But as he stood, just this
side of some flimsy curtain barely separating the too-small space from another patient;
he thought he might not be as comfortable around needles after all. And to top
it off, as if it were possible, the man stitching Kit up looked even younger than
Quinn.

Kit rested on the bed with a goose egg-sized knot and a
purple bruise on the right side of her forehead. Her right shoulder was wrapped
in some kind of a sling and her normally golden skin had turned a pasty white.
Blood loss, he knew, would account for the paleness. Her right leg was under
the sheet so he couldn’t assess the damage to it.

Thinking about her childhood and how many times she’d been
hurt with no one to care for her, seeing her like this, so vulnerable, broke
Jake’s heart.

But the doctor was talking in an upbeat kind of way as he
worked, and he had some sort of an accent. “Look here now, lass, it seems you
have a visitor. Kit is a fine-looking lady and she’ll not be the worse for wear
when I’m done with her. As I was telling your girl here, I got excellent marks
in school for my stitches.”

He winked at Kit for effect and went on cheerfully, “We’ll
have her fixed up here in no time and resting in her own room. She’ll be good
as new; won’t you, now?” He motioned at Jake with a nod of his head and said,
“You can hold her hand if you like.”

Jake stepped forward, wanting to touch, but half-afraid he’d
hurt her more if he did. She looked so fragile. When he placed his hand in
hers, found it cold, he wrapped both of his hands around her smaller one and
held on like a lifeline. “I’m here, Kit. I should never have left you alone.
Don’t try to move. I’ll just hold onto you while the doctor makes you better.”

When she didn’t answer, the doctor told him, “She’s a little
muddled right now, but she knows you’re here, that she’s not alone, don’t you
lass?”

Undeterred, Jake leaned down to her, whispering words of
comfort in her ear until he heard the doctor snap off his gloves and announce
he was finished.

“We’ll be moving her now to her own room. You can follow her
up if you like.” And with that, the doctor left them alone.

Jake sat down on the bed by her side. “I was so worried,
Kit.” His knees were still shaking. “Are you in pain?”

Weakly, barely above a whisper, she asked, “Pepper? What
about Pepper?”