Ruby (4 page)

That’ll just be
dangerous.
Diamond laughed and Ruby did as
well.
Tell them not to bother. It’s done.
I’m going to leave here as soon as he’s finished. The only person
I’m really concerned with is Jenna and my patient. If you’ll see
what you can do and Blair makes sure that Jenna doesn’t suffer,
then I’ll feel better. I don’t think…I’m going to stay in town
tonight. I don’t want to face anyone.

She couldn’t afford it. Her bank
account was already overdrawn, or close to it. She’d made a big
payment to the loan company hoping that it would buy her a month or
two until she could find another job. Ruby hoped it was going to be
that easy. But she had a feeling it wasn’t going to be.

No, you won’t feel better.
You love your job.
She was right, but Ruby
didn’t say anything. As soon as her patient was being wheeled out,
Ruby went to scrub down. She was going to be fired and as much as
she knew it, she was still terrified by what was going to
happen.

Jenna didn’t go with her. She said
she’d had enough shit for one day, and after she’d changed she went
home. Ruby was sort of glad for her. She didn’t want the older
woman to see her crying. Ruby wasn’t much of a crier but this, her
being a doctor, had been her whole life’s dream. So after changing
out of her scrubs and gathering her things, she went to the nurse’s
station to get her stuff from her locker that she shared with
Diamond. If she was fired—and it was looking really good—Cochran
was not going to give her enough time to say good-bye either. But
the older man standing there with his hat in his hand made her
pause.

“
You seen a Lilywhite
here?” She asked him what he meant. “My friend. Lilywhite. Not her
name, but she’s white like you and has this head of blonde curls
like that kid from the thirties.”

Ruby had an idea it was her patient.
“I think so. I just operated on a woman who had been brought in.
She’s in recovery now. Someone beat her to shit.”

He nodded and looked around. “I done
called her brother. He’s coming. Should be here sometime tomorrow,
I’m guessing. What’s your name? I gotta tell him who done worked on
her.”

“
Ruby Erickson. But I’m
pretty sure I won’t be here when he shows up.” The man nodded and
looked around again. “You need some money? Anything?”

“
No. Why you think I don’t
have any? I gots me a stash and soon as I’m gone, people will know
it.” He looked around again. “You got any change on you? I sure
could use one of them soft drinks.”

Ruby dug into her jeans and pulled out
all she had. There were some crumbled dollars in the change too,
but she gave it all to him. As he moved past her to the pop
machine, she made her way to the nurse’s station.

It was hard telling them she was
leaving…harder still to convince them to stay. She told them, all
of them there, that if they left, who would care for the patients?
An hour later she was leaving the station just as Cochran came
through the doors to emergency.

“
I see you got lost.” Ruby
didn’t say anything but eyed the two security guards that were with
him. “These fine gentlemen are going to show you out, Miss
Erickson.”

“
It’s Doctor Erickson. I
paid a great deal of money for—”

He cut her off with a sharp bark of
laughter. “Wasted money if you ask me. I’ve never met a stupider,
sloppier doctor in my life.”

The man standing on his right growled
low. He was a pack member and part of the elite team of security
that Blair was putting together. Cochran looked at him. “You have
something to say about this?”

“
She’s about as stupid as
you are smart.” Ruby laughed when Cochran took it as a compliment.
“You really are a dumbass, aren’t you? Well, buddy boy, I’m out
with her.”

Sixteen people moved out of the
hospital when she was escorted out, and two more were standing in
the lot when she was taken to her car. Cochran was standing at the
door waving at them when an ambulance pulled up. She wanted to run
back and take care of the person inside, but she’d be denied.
Instead, she got into her car and drove to the closest cheap hotel
she could find.

Chapter 3

“
I’m looking for my
sister. Her name is Brianna Gamble. My name is Josh Ewing…I’m her
brother.” Diamond looked at the big man and tried to think what he
was talking about. Since the walk-out two days ago, things had been
a little crazy. “A friend of hers said that she was here. Man by
the name of Bart.”

“
I don’t think I have a
Gamble in our system. Let me look.” She pulled up the admissions
chart on the computer and looked twice before looking at the man
again. “I’m sorry. Are you sure it’s this hospital? We have County
just down the street.”

“
It’s this one.” He looked
around and then back at her. She noted that he read her name tag.
“What’s going on here, Nurse Diamond? It looks like…well, it looks
like you guys are closing up business.”

“
We have to sooner or
later.” Diamond looked around before continuing. The man made her
feel like she could speak freely with him for some reason. And she
needed to just talk to someone. “We’ve had some problems with
keeping staff here. Several days ago our last doctor was let
go.”

“
Why?” She only shrugged.
“Listen, this Bart guy said that he talked to a woman named
Erickson. She confirmed to him that my sister was here. He might be
old and homeless, but he seemed to know his stuff.”

“
What does your sister
look like?” Diamond had an idea she knew just who his sister was,
and the poor woman was being shipped out in an hour if Cochran had
anything to do with it. Cochran had it in his head that she was a
homeless degenerate and had no business in his hospital. “Maybe we
have her under a different name.”

The man paled slightly and gripped the
counter tighter. She stood up when he staggered slightly. Diamond
was on the verge of telling him that she knew his sister when he
pulled out his wallet.

“
This is her.” Diamond
took the picture and nodded. “It’s her, isn’t it? The woman you
have that’s under a different name?”

“
I believe so. We have her
as Jane Doe. She was brought in several days ago with massive
injuries. The surgeon who took care of her worked over nine hours
to save her. And she did a good job. While your sister isn’t awake
yet, she will live.”

Relief was evident, not just on his
face but his entire body. Going around to the other side of the
counter that served as a nurse’s station, she led him over to the
line of chairs against the wall. He didn’t sit, but he did look
slightly better than before.

“
I would like to see her.”
Diamond nodded. Even though she was on her way out, she would take
him to his family. There was no way she’d leave him like this. As
they made their way down the hall, Diamond had a few thoughts as to
what Cochran might say when he found out that his Jane Doe wasn’t a
homeless person and, better yet, she might be worth more than he
was.

“
We were just about to
transfer her out.” He looked at her sharply. “I’m not a person who
lies at all, Mr. Ewing, so I’ll be honest with you. We’re not
closing now but having a shut down. The head of operations has
either fired every doctor we have—and some of them were really the
best because of their inability to turn a patient away no matter
their income—or has forced them out. Including the doctor that
saved your sister.”

“
He’s dumping.” Diamond
nodded as Josh continued. “And my sister? She’s being dumped
because she had no identification, so they assumed she was, what? A
person sucking the tit of the system? Without means to pay her
bills? Not my opinion, but his I’m assuming.”

“
Pretty much.” They were
near the ICU when she turned to him. “The surgeon only saw that she
was going to die if she was transported to another hospital. Your
sister coded on the way to surgery, and had the doctor not been
with her, her life would have ended then. Even after being brought
here, your sister is only alive because of the greatness of her
doctor and her team. The surgeon knew that as soon as she took the
woman, your sister, into the OR that her job was finished. But she
did it anyway. Now not only is she out of work, but her staff is
too. Along with nineteen of my nurses. They left when she was
fired. And no one, not a single one of them, will be back if things
don’t change, and soon. This county needs this hospital if for no
other reason than to keep the people safe.”

“
And this pillar of
kindness, the man who is dumping patients for his own personal
reasons? Where is he?” His tone made Diamond take a step back. She
knew that he’d never hurt her for some reason, but her wolf was
kind of nervous. “I won’t take my anger out on you, Miss Diamond.
But the man who thinks to do this? I’m a man with means, and I plan
to use them quite harshly too.”

“
He just left for the
day.” Josh looked at his watch and cocked a brow at her. “I know.
He was late getting out today. Usually he’s out of here by lunch.
But then he did have a late start this morning. He didn’t get here
until after ten.”

“
I can see him when he
comes in.” She nodded. “And the surgeon? You said she was
terminated when she saved my sister. Do you know where I might find
her?”

“
Of course. She’s my
sister.” He grinned at her as they stood in front of the room Jane
Doe, now Brianna Gamble, was in. “Mr. Ewing, there are some things
you need to know before going in. When Brianna was brought in, she
had GSW’s to the chest and abdomen. She also had a head injury
that, while bad, wasn’t nearly as bad as we first thought. Also,
someone had cut her badly with a bottle, and that had to be removed
before the damage could be repaired. She’s very lucky that someone
came across her body before too much time passed.”

“
Bri was in an accident
several years ago. She was crushed in an automobile that took the
life of her unborn child, as well as her husband. I…I wasn’t there
for her then either.” Diamond had an overwhelming urge to hug the
man. “I don’t know what to do. She’s all I have in the world. I
can’t lose her now.”

“
Be there for her. And
even though there are no doctors on staff, she really needs to stay
put if she has any chance of living. She’s doing very well, better
than we expected, as I’ve said, but moving her will cost her.” Josh
nodded. “Mr. Ewing, are you ready?”

“
It’s Josh, and yes.” He
took a deep breath, then nodded to her. Diamond moved to open the
door in front of him and was surprised to see an elderly gentleman
sitting in the chair next to the bed. He stood when Josh came into
the room.

“‘
Bout time, damn it.” He
pulled Josh into his arms and patted him on the back as he held
him. Diamond could see that Josh was confused, but when he pulled
from the man, they could both see that he was crying. “Damned if I
thought nobody cared about her. Been about to call out a search
party on you too. Damn boy, she needed you.”

“
Bart?” The man nodded at
Josh. “I drove straight through. I had…I had a couple of
difficulties in a small town west of here. I’m so grateful for you
staying with her for me.”

“
She’s done enough for us
all that I had no choice in the matter. But you should know they
don’t know her name. Been calling her Doe. Like she was some deer
or something. ‘Course, I don’t know her real name. I done always
called her Lilywhite.”

“
I’ll make sure that I
have her records changed.” Diamond looked at the two men. “Am I to
assume you’ll be staying here? I can have blankets brought to you
and some pillows.”

“
I’m not going anywhere
now that I’m here.” Josh looked at Bart. “And if possible, I’d like
to have Bart stay as well. But before you go, could you please tell
me where to find your sister? I’d very much like to thank her for
saving Bri.”

“
I’m sorry, Josh, but
she’s doing job interviews in another state. I’m thinking she’ll be
snapped up before we can make arrangements for her to stay with us.
She wants to start fresh and she seems to think that she won’t get
to do that here. I think she might be right.” He nodded and looked
at his sister, who he had yet to go to. “She’s going to be fine
now. I just know it.”

“
In the morning, what time
does this asshole come in?” He never took his eyes off the bed when
he spoke. “I want to make sure he comes to see my sister first
thing. I have a few…well, I want to teach him what happens when you
judge someone by their clothing.”

“
I’ll be here at seven. He
shows up at around nine.” Josh laughed. “My sister will be glad
that you’re here for your sister. She was really worried when she
left here. Ruby thought that he might dump her too
soon.”

“
You’ve kept her here
then, for your sister.” Diamond nodded. “Yes, you bring that prick
to me. But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell him we’re here. I’d
like to see his face when he finds out.”

Diamond made arrangements to have them
a meal brought up as well. Once she mentioned who they were and
also who they were there to see, the staff nearly fell over
themselves getting something ready. She also made sure that
blankets as well as a couple of pillows were taken to them. On her
way home she reached for her sister.