Stowaway (28 page)

Keri watched in horror as Nick stepped closer to Don, facing Jack more squarely. He didn’t reach for his own gun or contradict Don’s accusation. A look flashed between him and Jack. Her brother stood between the coffee table and the sofa with his back to her. She couldn’t read his expression.

“Listen, Merritt,” said Nick in the same reasonable tone Don had used. “Why don’t you lower your weapon until we get this situation resolved? None of us want Keri to get caught in crossfire.”

No! No! No!
she strained to scream at him but the only made a whimpering sound.
Please, Nick! Trust me, trust my brother!

Chapter Eighteen

After another long, pulse-pounding pause, Jack agreed. “Okay, you’re right. I don’t want Keri hurt.”

“Just put your weapon on the table,” continued Nick, his head dipping in the direction he wanted Jack to move. “Lock the safety and lower it to the table.”

She heard the click of Jack’s safety, and then her brother slowly bent to place the gun on the coffee table. In doing so, he shifted his body fully in front of her, effectively becoming a human shield.

At the same instant, Nick lunged for Don’s gun hand, catching the other man off-guard. A wild bullet slammed into the wall over her head before Nick was able to knock him to the floor. The two of them wrestled briefly before Jack stomped on Don’s hand and retrieved the pistol. Then he and Nick subdued a screaming, flailing crazy man.

“You stupid sonofabitch!” Don yelled at Nick. “You don’t know what you’re doing! You’re letting your feelings for a woman screw with your thinking? What kind of man are you? What kind of friend?”

“Shut up, Monroe,” yelled Jack as they rolled him onto his stomach and slapped handcuffs around his wrists. To Nick, he added, “I’ll take care of him. Get Keri to the hospital. I’ll call the ER and let ’em know you’re on the way. This bastard poisoned her with something.”

Nick came to her quickly and gathered her in his arms. “It’s okay, baby,” he whispered gruffly.

Even hot, sweaty and breathless, he looked better to her than any man she’d ever known. She wanted to thank him for trusting Jack instead of Don. She had so much to say to him, but she couldn’t even lift her arms around his neck. Tears filled her eyes and overflowed. Nick brushed them away with soft kisses as he carried her from the room.

“Take the cruiser. Keys are in it,” Jack called to them. “I’ll get some backup here as soon as possible.”

Don had quit yelling at Nick and started cursing the Merritts and local government. The hatred in his voice shocked her when he raged against every race and religion besides his own. He sounded totally demented. Keri had no sympathy for his mental illness. She never wanted to see him again.

With some juggling, Nick managed to get her into the passenger side of the cruiser and fasten her seat belt. He ran back into the house and returned with her iced tea glass. Then he jumped behind the wheel, turned on the ignition, lights and siren before racing her to the hospital.

The trauma team met them a few minutes later at the entrance to the emergency room. They lifted her onto a gurney. She looked up at the familiar faces and wondered at the weirdness of being the victim rather than the nurse. The familiar walls and hallways looked strange from this angle, with blinding overhead lights and steady movement as they wheeled her to an exam room.

Nick explained the situation and the unknown cause of her paralysis. Jamie Tolman, the resident on duty, came to the same conclusion she had. She’d often teased him about being arrogant, but she welcomed his confidence now.

“It must be some sort of nerve drug, otherwise she’d be struggling to breathe. I’ve heard rumors about experimental testing, but there’s no data on treatment or long-term effects. Her heart and lungs would have shutdown by now if he’d used a neuromuscular drug.”

Nick handed him a glass. “I don’t know if there’s any residue in here, but I brought it just in case.”

Edie Morgan, a veteran trauma nurse who often got paired with the young resident, took the glass and handed it to a nurse tech. “Get this to the lab and tell them it needs priority processing.”

To the others, the buxom redhead added, “Even if they can identify the contents, it might take days.”

Keri didn’t care much for Edie’s bedside manner. She made it sound like anything they learned would be too late to help.

“Tell ’em to put a rush on it!” snapped Nick as he picked up her left hand and held it in both his hands. She couldn’t feel his touch, but it soothed her to have him close. When he looked into her eyes, she tried to let him see how much it meant to her.

“I’m sorry, sir, you’ll have to leave,” said Tolman. “Only immediate family is allowed in this area.”

“The hell,” said Nick.

Tolman puffed up like a banty rooster. He always wanted to be the big man in charge, so he got defensive. “It’s the rule.”

“I’m her husband.”

The two men stared at each other for a long, charged moment. Tolman looked surprised and then suspicious. He glanced at their hands for rings and then demanded, “Prove it.”

“Disprove it,” countered Nick in his macho cop tone. “I’m not leaving. Somebody she trusted already drugged her and shot at her. I don’t trust anybody, and I’m not letting her out of my sight.”

During their little testosterone battle, Keri watched Edie start filling out a chart while Joy Rice took her vitals. Joy came to them through a temp service and filled in for sick or vacationing staff. Though mousy and introverted, she was also hard-working and competent. The regular staff didn’t know her well but generally liked her.

She stuck a thermometer in Keri’s ear and then wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm. As she got numbers, she repeated them for Edie and Tolman. He quit arguing with Nick and placed the end of his stethoscope against Keri’s chest. After listening intently, he gave her an encouraging smile.

“Lungs sound fine. Fever’s a little elevated and your blood pressure is low, but that’s to be expected. I’ll have Joy start you on a saline drip and see if we can flush the toxin out of your system. Until we know exactly what we’re dealing with, I don’t want to take chances. There’s not much more we can do safely right now.”

His decision eased her worries. They’d had their share of professional disagreements, but she respected his knowledge and skill. She didn’t want to risk worsening her condition or making it permanent.

A few seconds later, they heard the familiar sound of the emergency squad’s sirens. Everyone listened intently until the electronic doors whirred and another gurney shoved through the entrance. The paramedic’s voice could be heard throughout the small trauma area.

“Car crash victim. Had to use the jaws to free him. Lost him a couple times in route,” he said. “The other passenger was dead at the scene.”

Tolman and Edie hurried toward the new arrival.

Nick cringed when the younger nurse drove a needle into Keri’s right hand, and none-to-gently. He hated needles and hoped she couldn’t feel the sting. She’d had enough trauma for one day. For a lifetime. Part of it was due to the terrorist situation, but most of it could be blamed on him. He gotten her more tangled in the web of deceit.

When everyone had left the exam room, Nick brought Keri’s left hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss on the palm. Her skin felt cool and lifeless, making his heart ache. He stared into her eyes with apology in his.

“I’m sorry you got caught up in this mess. And so sorry you’re the one who’s suffering.”

Her eyes, her beautiful, bright eyes returned his steady gaze. She didn’t look at him in anger or pain but steady, unfaltering trust. He didn’t know if her eyes mirrored her feelings, but he hoped so. Her faith in him melted his heart.

“You were right,” he whispered. “I should have trusted your instincts about your dad and Jack. I still don’t know how Don fits into the bigger picture, but we’ll have answers soon.”

Keri’s fingers twitched slightly and he brought her hand to his lips again. Had he imagined the movement or was the drug wearing off.

“Are you getting sensation back?”

She made a sound. Just a small puff of air, but it sent excitement racing through him. He swooped closer and dropped a kiss on her lips. His lips lingered, and he kissed her harder, needing the contact as much as his next breath.

“You’ll be fine. Whatever he gave you, it’ll wear off soon and you’ll be able to yell all you want. I know you have lots of questions and you probably feel like throwing things, but that’s okay.”

The next huff she made sounded like a demand, so Nick figured she wanted answers. He caught her up to date on the conspiracy and investigation. He told her about the team coming to Thornsbury and how they’d trapped the militia. About the terrorist’s agenda and how it had been curtailed.

“We avoided a firefight and the bomb took out two of the terrorists from Miami. Knifer McDowell at the wheel, but no identity on the other one yet. The agents closest to the blast got blown off the road. They’ll probably have some nerve damage in their ears. Hopefully no loss of hearing.

“Your friend Russ was in that final crash out near the mountain road. He slammed into some trees at a high rate of speed and then rolled the jeep. I don’t know if he died on the scene or if he’s here in the ER, but it sounds like the place is filling up with agents.”

She continued to search his face with a steady gaze, and he gave her a smile. “I brought your SUV home without a scratch,” he teased. “You can thank Uncle Sam for the airline transfer.”

Keri made another demanding sound.

“Oh, you worried about your dad?” This time she blinked her eyelids. His smile widened. The stuff had to be wearing off. It couldn’t happen soon enough to please him. “He and Jack are handling the local arrests.”

The younger of the two nurses, her nametag read J. Rice, returned to the room and stepped close to the bed. She drew a syringe out of her pocket, flipped of the cap and started to put the needle to Keri’s IV tubing.

“This will help speed your recovery a little,” she mumbled.

Nick glanced at Keri and saw her eyes widen with alarm. She made a tiny sound of protest. He reached across the bed and grabbed the nurse’s wrist.

She reacted swiftly and violently, trying to pull from his grip. Then she caught him totally off-guard with a punch to his wounded shoulder. His grip loosened and she tried to pull her arm away, but he dove across the bed and grabbed her arm with his good hand.

“Let go of me, you stupid bastard!” she screamed, pounding him with her free hand. “She deserves to die! It’s all her fault. All her fault!”

Nick tightened his grip and squeezed her wrist until she dropped the syringe on the floor. He saw it shatter but still didn’t let go of her. He knew he had to be crushing Keri but he wouldn’t give Rice another chance to hurt her.

“I need help in here!” he yelled.

In seconds, the doctor returned with Jack Merritt at his side. Rice broke free and shoved the doctor aside, but Jack wrapped both arms around her. “What the hell?” he yelled, trying to control the kicking, screaming woman.

“She tried to inject something into Keri’s IV,” he explained, pointing to the floor where the syringe had fallen.

“I didn’t order anything,” said Tolman, shouting for reinforcements.

Rice continued to flail her arms and legs, fighting to free herself from Jack. “Let go of me, you ignorant, traitorous scum,” she yelled.

The ruckus brought more agents into the tiny space. In another few minutes, they had Rice cuffed and escorted from the room. “You’ll pay! You’re all going to hell for this!”

Nick collapsed on the bed but quickly shifted his weight off Keri and rolled to her side. He slipped his right arm around her and pulled her into the circle of his arms. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as he struggled to steady his breathing.

“Damn, the crazies are coming out of the woodwork. I feel like I’m in the middle of the twilight zone.”

Tolman moved to Keri’s side and glared at him for being in bed with her. “You’re breaking more rules, Detective,” he snapped. “If you don’t be careful, I’ll have
you
hauled out of here next.”

Nick didn’t argue, but the look he flashed the doctor dared him to try. When he’d caught his breath, he eased his legs to the floor again but held Keri’s hand in his. Tolman shook his head, checking her IV and listening to her lung sounds.

“Much stronger. Are you regaining some feeling?”

Nick answered for her. “She’s made a few sounds and can move her fingers a little.”

“We’ll continue the saline drip. It seems to be working as well as anything else I could give you.” He spoke directly to Keri, and she managed a small nod. “I guess it’s safe to leave you with your personal bodyguard and an army of law enforcement officers in the ER. I’ll get you moved to a private room. My shift’s over so I’m heading out, but I want you to stay overnight. Get some rest, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

He nodded to Nick and turned to Jack. “Do you want me to have someone clean up the syringe and collect what’s left of the drug Rice tried to use on Keri?”

“Better leave it for the FBI’s crime scene techs,” he replied. “Would you mention it to one of the special agents in the waiting room? We need to get the evidence collected before it can be contaminated.”

“Will do.”

Jack offered Tolman a hand, thanking him for his help, and the doctor left the room.

“I just keep cleaning up your messes, Lamanto,” said Jack. He stepped around the spill on the floor and moved to the head of the bed. Then he leaned down and pressed a kiss on his sister’s forehead.

“You two can’t seem to stay out of trouble, can you?”

Keri made another small sound of protest, but her lips curved into a tight smile. Nick didn’t think anything had ever looked sweeter to him.

“What’s the nurse’s issue? Is she part of the militia crowd too?” he asked.

Jack hesitated, glancing at Keri and then back to him. “She’s dated Russ Carson on and off for a few years. I’m guessing she shares his anti-semantic, anti-government, anti-just-about-everything beliefs.”