5. Emergency
FIVE
Emergency
MELISSA
Saint John’s Community Hospital buzzed with the disorganized chaos that followed a natural disaster. Melissa’s knight in shining armor parked in the emergency parking lot and carried her inside the building. She hadn’t protested, although she should have; there was something heartwarming about being carried in a strong man’s arms. The last time that had happened she’d been wearing white—the color of innocence and the beginning of hell.
Thinking about Scott ruined the moment with CJ. In a poor attempt to reclaim it, she wrapped an arm around his neck and leaned against his shoulder. The steady rise and fall of his chest, the solidthump, thump, thumpof his heart comforted her on a soul-healing level.
CJ’s overprotectiveness touched her deeply. The attention he lavished on her made her feel special, but she worried about the inconvenience she was causing.
No one had been around the past three years to lean on, let alone hold her close. She basked in the warmth of this stranger’s compassion, wishing for something more, yet knowing the moment was only a transient thing.
CJ barreled through the crowd in the lobby and strode up to the front desk where a woman managed the line of patients and soothed worried family members. The middle-aged woman’s bun was lopsided on her head. Strands of hair worked their way free and stuck out in all directions. Bags drooped under her eyes as they pinched against the task of handling an overwhelming crowd.
The long line of patients gave CJ nasty looks.
“Victim of a near lightning strike.” He spoke with an authoritative air. Like a man used to being in charge. “Concussive blast tossed her in the air.”
The nurse gave him a hard look. “That’s quite a story.”
“She can’t stand because she’s dizzy, and she has bruising along her left side, which is getting worse. I’m worried about internal bleeding.”
Bleeding? Surely he was being dramatic and trying to justify why he cut to the head of the line, but she did feel light-headed. And the room seemed to be spinning.
The nurse’s eyes widened. “You’re serious?”
He nodded. That sent the overworked nurse into action.
In less than a minute, the staff had Melissa stretched out on a gurney and whisked into a treatment room. CJ never left her side, except when they took her to get a CAT scan. He waited outside while technicians imaged her with practiced efficiency. They wheeled her back to the emergency room and said a doctor would be by soon.
Soon? She didn’t believe that. Other people needing help inundated the emergency room.
A young doctor rushed in moments later. A wrinkled white coat covered even more rumpled scrubs. Deep furrows lined his face, and the bags under his eyes revealed more than stress.
He glanced at the chart. “Miss Doe? Is that your real name?”
“We didn’t have time for paperwork,” CJ answered.
“Ah.” The doctor looked at Melissa.
She wasn’t sure what her name was now. With the divorce papers signed, she guessed her maiden name would suffice. “Melissa Evans.”
The doctor turned to CJ. “Well, Mr. Evans, your wife sustained a serious injury to her spleen. There are several cracked ribs and one that’s broken on the left side. She needs surgery and might lose the spleen. Best case, the surgeons control the bleeding and leave the spleen intact. If all goes well, we’ll keep her for a couple of days and do serial scans to make sure the bleeding is controlled.” He barely looked up from his chart.
“And if she loses her spleen?”
“It will take longer.”
Melissa stared at the doctor while he rattled off the extent of her injuries. She tried to process the information but failed. All she understood was something was wrong with her spleen. Even with the beatings, Scott had given her, she’d never needed surgery, and that bruising had been far worse than this.
CJ gripped her hand. Her attention turned to the heat of his touch.
“What about her head? I’m worried about a concussion. She’s dizzy and has trouble with her balance.”
She dropped her head onto the pillow and allowed her eyes to close. Exhaustion pulled at her, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep.
The doctor continued, speaking more to CJ than to her. Her mind focused on what CJ was doing with his thumb, drawing lazy circles over her inner wrist. Now that she was being taken care of, would he leave? Would she ever see him again? Asking for his phone number seemed too forward. Hell, the ink on her divorce papers was barely dry.
“There’s evidence of a mild concussion.” The doctor’s voice droned in Melissa’s head. “Considering she avoided the lightning, we should be thankful things aren’t much worse. Gabby said you were near a twister?”
Melissa cracked open an eye. She didn’t know a Gabby.
“Yeah.” CJ let out a breath. “Out-raced one and took shelter in a parking garage. I never saw a tornado before and never want to go through that again. It was practically on top of us.”
“Five twisters touched down around town. That’s the most we’ve seen in over a decade. One took out County General.”
The local hospital. Melissa sent a prayer for those caught in the path of that tornado.
The doctor continued. “Another wiped out a trailer park.”
“Oh, that’s horrible,” CJ said.
CJ’s concern for others warmed her heart. He kept stroking her arm, providing much-needed comfort. When she winced against the pain, he gripped her hand.
“Well, don’t worry too much about your wife. We’ll take good care of her.”
Her gut twisted at the mention ofwife, but Melissa caught CJ’s wink and relaxed.
“She’ll go to the surgical floor after surgery. You can wait for her there.”
“Could you give us a moment?” CJ’s touch raised goosebumps on her skin.
“Sure.” The poor doctor looked worse than she felt.
CJ smoothed her hair. “See why I wanted to bring you to the hospital?”
“Thank you.”
Surgery? Loss of her spleen? Concussion? Those frightened her, but she remained calm with CJ standing over her. She looked into his baby blues and caught him smiling.
Again.
His presence made her feel less alone.
“I never said thank you…for saving me.” She managed a pathetic thank you. “You’re very courageous.”
He smirked. “What was I going to do? Leave you in the street like a fried and drowned rat?”
She laughed and then splinted against the pain. “Poor rat. Glad you decided to help.”
He brushed the hair off her forehead. “Like there was ever a question.” He gave another of his infuriating winks.
She switched subjects, afraid to take the tenderness of the moment further.
“You told him I was your wife.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Hospitals are particular about sharing medical information with non-family members. I didn’t want to get kicked out until I knew they were taking care of you. They assumed—”
“And you didn’t correct them.” She should have been upset but found herself more amused than irritated.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. His lips were soft and gentle, and oh so wonderful. What would those lips feel like against her mouth? For a moment, she thought she might find out, but he shifted to place a second kiss on her cheek.
“It’s been a real pleasure, Mrs. Evans.”
She put her left hand on his forearm. “Thank you. I owe you my life.” The words ‘Will I see you again?’waited on her lips, but she held them back.
He stared at her hand, then turned toward the door. She’d hoped he might stay, but he spoke the words which ended everything. “I have to go. I’m supposed to be somewhere else.”
“Thank you.” She struggled with her feelings, straining to keep them from showing, but did he have to leave?
This time he brushed his lips over hers. “Take care of yourself, Melissa.”
Her last moments with CJ passed in the blink of an eye. First, he was lightly brushing her lips with a kiss that wasn’t a kiss, and then he was gone.
She ran a finger over the spot where his thumb had drawn circles on her inner wrist. His touch lingered there, and she swore she could feel the heat of his skin.
Her wedding ring flashed in the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights. The three-carat diamond sparkled with a brittle light.
He had called her Mrs. Evans.
Oh no!
She tugged at the ring, but the damn thing wouldn’t slide over the swelling of her knuckle. Why had she never taken it off? She was still struggling when a technician came to take her to surgery.
Maybe that’s why CJ had left. If she’d learned anything about him in their brief time together, he was a gentleman. Now, she had no way of finding him to explain she no longer belonged to any man, let alone a serial killer.