26. Beckett
Beckett
“ C am!”
I manage to get my hands on Cami’s shoulders just in time to stop her from face planting on the floor. With a hard yank, I pull her to me and topple back onto my ass. Looking down I see the woman in my lap is out cold.
“What the fuck?”
There’s activity around me but all I can do is shift until Cami is across my lap, cradled in my arms against my chest. Happy she’s comfortable, I look up.
“What the fuck happened?”
“I don’t know. Someone is getting the team doctor now.” Ray Denim crouches beside me. “Can you see anywhere she’s hurt? The shove was hard enough to make her stumble?—”
“What shove? Where?”
“He shoved her forward when he dropped something in her bag.”
“How did he shove her? Where was the contact? Shoulder to shoulder? Hand on shoulder?”
“Can’t tell from the footage but it was from behind.”
“So he pushed her in the back?”
“It had to be her right side.” Cami’s father moves in front of us. “I was on her left and when she pitched forward, it was across me. Can you lean her toward me, maybe we can see something to indicate why she’s out?”
“Could she have just fainted?” Whit asks.
Glancing up I find my daughter staring down at me, worry creasing her brow. “I don’t know, she was fine, seemed a little distracted maybe, but then she just went out.”
“Clear the way!” Natalie comes charging down the corridor behind Whit, the concern on her face matching everyone else’s. “All right, we don’t need everyone hanging around, step back and let the doctor do his job.”
His job is taking care of hockey players, and while I’ve always been grateful to have a team doctor, in this moment it feels like a lifeline. Until he asks something I can’t do.
“Lay her down on the floor so I can examine her.”
“I’m not putting her on the floor!”
“I need to examine her.”
With my gaze locked on his, I grit out between clenched teeth, “I’m not putting her on the floor.”
“Check her eyes, I’ll take her pulse.”
I look to the woman who’s been with the team, shadowing Dr. Kerns, for less than a week and nod. “What she said. Do that.”
There’s a quick standoff but the Natalie in full GM mode puts a stop to it.
“Do what you can. The EMTs are on their way with a gurney.”
It takes seconds for them to come up with nothing. Cami’s pulse is normal, her eyes equal and responsive, and her dad confirms she didn’t actually fall, just stumbled, so we’re not looking for a head injury.
“I think she’s been drugged.”
My gaze darts to the woman now taking her blood pressure. “What? Why? How?”
I’m not the only one who speaks; in fact the questions are flying from every direction, but the woman keeps her gaze on mine.
“Everything indicates she’s sedated. Can you tell me what happened?”
“No, I?—”
“Here.” Ray holds out his phone. “This is the clearest video we have of the incident. The other camera angles don’t pick up as much detail as this one, but I can show you those as well.”
We all lean in for a closer look and as the clip rolls, my muscles get tighter and tighter until the woman next to me shouts.
“Stop. Replay that bit.”
I have no idea what she saw to prompt her outburst but I’m not about to argue. Cami hasn’t moved since I pulled her into my arms and if it wasn’t for the fact I can see her chest rising and falling I’d be yelling for someone to do something.
Ray replays the last few seconds twice before the woman asks if he can play it in slow motion. It takes him far too long for him to work out how to do it and when he does, I find myself looking away.
I can’t watch it again.
“There! See that?” Her exclamation brings my gaze back to the phone where she’s pointing at the screen. “He’s got a syringe in his hand. Just before he gets close. He’s hidden it well the rest of the time.”
“Damn. How’d you spot that?” Ray murmurs while replaying the film again.
With a shrug, she says, “I see them in my sleep since I started med school.”
“You think he used it on her?” Ray asks, still frowning at his phone.
“Yes.” Her gaze moves to Dr. Kerns. “She appears sedated to me.”
Dr. Kerns nods. “I agree with Dr. Wendall’s assessment.”
“Do you think it would be okay to examine her right side?” The woman, who’s apparently a doctor, asks. “See if I can find a puncture wound?”
I open my mouth to say yes and instantly shut it. I can’t make that decision. I have no right to make it.
“Yes. Do it,” Natalie commands. “Let’s clear everyone from the corridor first. The EMTs are still a few minutes out. There was some sort of brawl outside the arena and they’re all attending to fans with various injuries.”
Putting her words to action with her usual GM force, Natalie has the corridor reduced to me on the floor with Cami in my lap, Dr. Kerns and Dr.Wendall, and Cami’s mom, in less than a minute.
I have no idea when Cami’s mom arrived, or where her father went, and I don’t have time to voice my questions before the Rogues GM is giving orders again.
“Do what you need to,” Natalie directs.
“I’m not putting her on the floor.”
“You don’t have to. If you can turn her to expose her right side, I can lift her shirt and check her. From the video I think he may have gotten her around the waist area, possibly right above her hip,” Dr. Wendall explains.
It’s easy to move Cami—she weighs less than my hockey bag full of gear. Once I have her rolled to her left, her front turned toward me, I’m comforted by her even breathing, the rise and fall of her chest against my stomach.
“How will you—” Air sucks through my teeth. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. There’s no doubt he got her with the syringe,” Dr. Kerns says, the frown dragging his mouth down one I’ve never seen. “The question is what was in it.”
“I’m thinking a sedative. Something not too dangerous. Her pressure is still one-ten over seventy.”
“What do you think it was?” I ask. The thought of Cami being injected with anything makes me feel physically sick and I have to swallow the bile rising in my throat .
“Hard to say. Could be a number of different drugs. Off the top of my head, I don’t know what’s available here in Florida.”
“And we can’t rule out he brought whatever he used with him from out of state,” Dr. Kerns adds.
“True, but?—”
“Are any of them dangerous?” I interrupt.
“Yes and no. It depends on what drug he used and the dosage.”
Dr. Wendall lowers Cami’s shirt. “I don’t think the syringe he had could hold enough to be dangerous.”
“Even though she’s small?” I look at the woman in my arms. She might be tall but there isn’t an ounce of fat on her anywhere.
“At a guess, and at this point that’s what we’re doing, I’d say she’ll be out a few hours at most.” The conviction in Dr. Wendall’s voice gives me no relief. Because her words are true. Right now we’re all guessing.
“EMTs are coming in now.” Natalie crouches beside me. “You want to stand up and put her on the gurney?”
“Yes.” I’m not sure I can bring myself to let Cami go, except if I don’t, we can’t get her to the hospital and the care she needs. “What will happen now?” My question is directed at no one in particular.
“We get her to the hospital where they’ll take some blood, run a few tests, keep an eye on her until she wakes up,” Dr. Kerns explains as he gets on one side of me to help steady me as I get to my feet. “They’ll probably want to keep her overnight, depending on when she wakes and what they find in her system.”
Looking at Natalie, I ask, “Can we get them to release her into Dr. Kerns’s care once they run tests?”
“What are you thinking?”
“We’re out of here first thing. If they keep her overnight, they won’t release her in time for her to travel home with us. Unless someone can stay here.”
“Either way we’ll work it out, right, Dana?” Natalie speaks to Cami’s mom for the first time since I noticed her.
“Yes. As soon as we hear what the doctors at the hospital say.”
The words don’t reassure me. I want to stay with Cami, but I know her mom or dad should do that. “You’ll let me know?—”
“Why don’t you go with her to the hospital?” Cami’s mom puts her hand on my arm. “Fenton and I will take care of Whitney.”
“Oh, you don’t want?—”
“I do,” she interrupts. “And I’m sure Fenton does too, but it might be better if you go because no offense, Beckett, but you’re less likely to be recognized than either of us.”
She’s giving me a silent message, one I can’t decipher, but understand. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I am.” Turning to Natalie she asks, “Can we get her to the hospital without the media finding out?”
“I’ll make it happen.”
“What do you need us to do to help?”
“Nothing. Oakley is dealing with the press right?—”
“Shit. I was supposed?—”
Natalie holds up her hand. “You don’t have to do anything. And before you ask about everyone wanting to interview you because of your hat trick, we’re going to take a leaf out of Cami’s book and release an interview with you and Whitney.”
“Whit?”
“Yes. I’m going to bring her back in now, get her to ask you some questions.”
“But.” I glance down at the woman in my arms before returning my gaze to the Rogues GM.
“Or, we can do something else…”
I can tell Natalie’s mind is spinning with possibilities. Her eyes light up a second before she snaps her fingers.
“Let’s do another conversation with a Rogue tomorrow, once Cami is better, about tonight’s game. The rest of the team can cover for you for now. I can even release a statement saying we’ll be airing a special episode of Conversations with a Rogue tomorrow night. ”
“Maybe get Whitney to talk like you first suggested.”
I look at Cami’s mom. “Like when Cami interviewed us before?”
“Yes. I think it would make your no-show at the team press conference less of an issue, especially if we play up the father-daughter angle, and if we’ve managed to keep Cami’s visit to the hospital quiet, it will help bury it further.”
“I can help with that.”
We all turn to find Ray striding toward us. If I hadn’t already met the man, knew he was on our side, I’d be running. His whole demeanor screams man on a mission , and I’d hate to be his target.
“What have you got?” Natalie crosses her arms, her feet shoulder-width apart, her posture telegraphing ready to defend. She’s in full GM mode.
“It was your basic sleeping pills ground down and liquified.”
“Sleeping pills? Name?” Dr. Kerns steps forward and demands.
“Zolpidem.”
“How’d he liquify them?” Dr. Wendall asks, her voice a little less abrupt.
“Sterile water.”
“Thank god the man’s not a complete idiot,” Dr. Wendall mutters.
“How do you know all this?” I ask Ray.
“On a hunch I contacted the detectives in Baton Rouge, got them to question Dupre. They put a bit of pressure on him, made it sound as though the victim of Draper’s plan was an underage girl.”
“Jesus. And he believed that?”
Ray shrugs. “Must have because he was singing like a canary about Draper trying to give him the syringe to use on Whitney the other day.”
“Are you sure? Can we trust what this guy says?”
“I think so. He’s got nothing to lose now; he’s already in deep shit. Plus I don’t think Draper has the connections to get anything else. Or the money.”
“What else did you find on Draper?” Natalie demands like she knows Ray has more information.
“Amos found a connection to Kristina Bancroft.”
“Walker’s ex?” The incredulity in Natalie’s voice has me tightening my hold on Cami.
Ray confirms with a nod. “Amos and I are working on finding the details. On a good note, I have a backdoor into Blaywood Private Hospital. We can get Cami there within the hour and they’ll put a rush on her test results so we can get her out before anyone figures out who she is.”
“Okay. Thanks. Can you coordinate that and stay with Beckett and Cami until they return to Baton Rouge?” Natalie questions.
“Of course.”
“We’ll also need someone to cover Whitney, Dana, and Fenton.”
“Mr. Barnes has his own security team, but I can brief them and send a couple of guys as backup if needed.”
“All right.” With a clap of her hands, Natalie gets everyone’s attention. “Dr. Kerns and Dr. Wendall, keep your phones on, we may need one of you to accompany Cami back home. Dana, find Whitney and Fenton, and do whatever you need to do to get Whitney home tonight.”
“Tonight?” I’m not sure I want Whit going home without me but the idea of leaving the woman in my arms…
“Yes. We need to offer the media as little as we can. Control the narrative as Cami would say.”
“I’ll get your number from Whitney and text you so you can keep us updated on Cam,” Dana says.
“Okay. And thanks for taking care of my daughter.”
“Of course. It’s only fair. You’re taking care of mine.” She offers a smile before turning to leave.
“On that note,” Natalie begins. “Ray, do I need to bring the EMTs in or do you want to do whatever to get Cami to Blaywood?”
“Up to you. As long as Dr. Kerns says she’s good to travel, I can drive the three of us to Blaywood, which will cut down on the number of people who know something happened.”
“Dr. Kerns?”
“I’ll check her again, but I think that should be fine.”
“I can do it. Can travel with them too, make it look less suspicious. Just two couples out for the night,” Dr. Wendall offers.
Ray eyes the young woman, a small smile curling his lips. “That’s good.”
“I’m comfortable with that if you all are.” Dr. Kerns’s gaze moves over everyone.
With no objections, and a plan in place, Ray ushers Dr. Wendall and myself, Cami still in my arms, away from the exit.
“We’re taking the south exit from the arena,” he explains. “My men have already cleared the path of people and there’s an SUV waiting for us outside the door.”
“Should I ask how you’ve got a back way into Blaywood?”
Ray laughs. “Nothing nefarious. I know the head of trauma. Went through the service with him years ago.”
“And you kept in contact?”
“I pulled him out of a situation once.”
“One you can’t give any details of.”
“Oh, I can give you details. Just didn’t think you’d want them.”
“My mind is currently running on two tracks. Worry about my daughter and worry about Cami. A distraction might be nice.”
“Sure. I can do that. Traveling through a village in Afghanistan we took some fire that scattered us. What we didn’t know was we were targeted for our medic.”
“The head of trauma.”
“Yep. Anyway, they obviously had eyes on us for a while because they knew who he was before they started shooting,” Ray continues as he leads us through the bowels of Miami’s arena. “Turned out to be a small group of insurgents with a wounded—aka dying—leader. When Duce couldn’t save him, they put a gun to his head. But we’d gotten there by then. The locals were not happy to have a group of terrorists hiding out in their village and basically walked us right up to the front door of the house they were holed up in.”
“And you went in and pulled him out before the gun at his head went off.”
“Not quite.”
“But—”
“Duce lost part of his left cheek and ear. The reason he ended up head of trauma at Blaywood.”
“He owes you.”
“I don’t see it that way. He put a plug in a bullet hole in my arm at one point. Same with one in my thigh. He also pulled a piece of shrapnel out of my ass.”
His words have me distracted enough I don’t notice how far we’ve come until he pushes open a door to the outside.
“Let’s get her in the backseat, strap her in with you beside her, rest her head on your shoulder so it looks like she’s asleep or had too much to drink on our night out.” He’s grinning at me when he pulls open the back door of the SUV.
“Sounds good.”
It doesn’t take us long to get situated and on the road. But it isn’t until we’re directed into an exam room by a man who looks more like an underground fighter than a doctor that I feel some relief.
After a quick check of vitals and a small blood draw, we’re asked if we’d like anything to eat or drink while we wait and directed where we can find both. All free of charge. I make a mental note to find out how to make a donation to the hospital.
Three hours later, Cami still hasn’t stirred and the doctor confirms she was given Zolpidem. Not enough to be dangerous, but she’ll be sleeping until tomorrow and should have minimal side effects.
More relief loosens my muscles but I’m not completely relaxed yet.
“All right, let’s get back to Baton Rouge.” Ray holds out his hand to his old friend. “Thanks, Duce. I owe you.”
“Anytime, Sunshine.”
Duce grins but Ray just rolls his eyes and mutters, “Whatever, asshole.”
It isn’t until the private jet leaves the ground on its way to Baton Rouge that I feel the last of the tension drain from my body.