Chapter Five
Jane had lost all sense of time since arriving at the hospital in Maryland.
The MEDEVAC flight had her crawling out of her skin.
The machinery monitoring Sully’s vitals was setting off alarms almost continuously.
Maybe if she hadn’t had medical training, she could be blissfully ignorant of her guardian’s dire situation.
She wasn’t though, and his condition continued to decline on the flight.
His blood oxygen level kept dipping so low, the paramedics put him on a canula to help him breathe.
When they arrived at the hospital, he’d immediately gone into surgery, and despite her protests, the doctor had insisted on performing an evaluation on her, too.
She knew it needed to be done, but she was worried she’d miss an update from the medical professionals treating Sully, and to be honest, it brought her back to a dark place.
A lonely place in her childhood where she was so full of shame and fear.
She’d sat numbly in the busy hospital bathroom.
Metal stall doors swung open and closed.
Toilets flushed. Water dripped from the sink.
She stared at a chip of peeling tan paint on the door, detached, until thoughts of Sully roused her up.
She took the elevator to the sixth floor and stopped at the nurses’ station for an update. “Hi. Just checking back in on the status of Sullivan Carter. He went into surgery four hours ago.”
The older nurse gave her a gentle smile.
“The surgical assistant checked in a few minutes ago. The wound debridement is taking longer than usual between the bullet fragments and dead tissue from the infection. The surgeon will check in once more information is available. Honey, do you have someone I can call?”
The warmth in the woman’s eyes drove a wedge into her throat. What was it about kindness that made her feel like breaking? She shook her head, and the nurse stood. “Wait here.”
She nearly let out a laugh. Jane literally had nowhere else to go.
She had a small storage unit in Nebraska, but the state just north of Kansas had never really been home.
When she was in between assignments, she simply rented a long-term hotel room until the next one began.
It had been a long time since she’d pondered how isolating her existence had become.
She’d thrown herself into her work and overtime, the connections she’d had faded away.
“Here, I have some scrubs.” The nurse returned with a bundle of light blue material in her hands. “At least get comfortable while you wait. I know you came in on a MEDEVAC flight, and you don’t seem to have much with you.”
“Thank you.” Although the gesture might seem small to some, the offer of kindness reminded her of how lucky she’d been.
Lucky to escape her captors. To be rescued by Sully.
Ransom had lied, saying she was his fiancée so she could board the flight with him, and she was grateful for that too.
She couldn’t imagine not knowing what had happened to the man who’d literally given her breath to fill her lungs. “Do you think I can borrow your phone?”
“Yes, you can use the one right here. Once you’re done with your call, I’ll show you where you can take a shower and change.”
“I appreciate that. Thank you,” she said again.
The nurse ushered her behind the desk and gestured to the phone.
“I can’t leave, but I’ll move over here to give you a bit of privacy.
” Before Jane could respond, the woman rolled her chair to the other side of the desk, putting some space in between them.
She blew out a breath and reached for the receiver.
She dialed the number she’d memorized on the flight.
Everything seemed to stand still as the first ring reverberated in her ear, then the second.
“Hello?” The man’s voice was gruff and wary.
She angled her body away from the kind nurse, not that it would give her any additional privacy. “Is this Red?”
“It depends on who’s asking.” The growled words nearly had her fumbling the corded phone.
“My name is Jane Laurier. Sully told me to call you.”
“Shit. What’s happened?” Instantly the man’s demeanor morphed from suspicious stranger to concerned friend.
“He was shot. He’s undergoing surgery in Maryland.” Her shoulders sagged a bit, relieved for the shift in Red’s tone.
“How bad?” There was shuffling over the receiver, then a female voice in the background.
“The bullet penetrated his calf and became infected. The last update I received was that bullet fragments and dead tissue from the infection were still being debrided.”
“And are you all right?”
“Me?” Her head jerked back, sure she’d heard him wrong.
“Yes. If Sully told you to call me, my guess is you met on the mission or shortly after.”
“I’m fine because of Sully. He rescued me, among others.” She wasn’t sure why, but tears stung her eyes, making the desk in front of her blurry.
“Okay, Jane. Do you have a place to stay until we can fly out?” Again, she detected another voice and although she couldn’t decipher what was being said, she could tell it was feminine.
She thought back to what Sully had said about the woman they’d rescued before he’d been sent out on a mission with the Virginia team. Thalia. That was the woman’s name.
“I’m not leaving the hospital,” she told Red. “Someone needs to be here when Sully wakes up.”
“How can I get in touch with you?” Red asked. “Is this your number?”
She hadn’t thought beyond getting Sully to the hospital, but it struck her that she had absolutely nothing. “No. I’m on the hospital’s phone. My cell phone was lost, along with my identification, wallet, everything.”
“Give me your address and the floor you’re waiting on. I’m going to DoorDash you some things to hold you over. I can book a hotel room near the hospital. Sully will have my balls if I don’t make sure you rest and take care of yourself.”
She bristled. “You don’t need to do that, and like I said, I’m not leaving the hospital, so the room would be wasted.”
A sigh was audible on the other end of the call. “I need to stay in touch with you. Sully is like a brother. Once you get the delivery, text me from the new phone I’m sending.”
“Okay,” she said cautiously, hating that she was putting Sully’s friend in a position where he felt he needed to look out for her.
“Okay, then.” Relief was evident in his tone. “And Jane?”
“Yeah?” A tear spilled over her cheek, and she didn’t bother to brush it away.
“Thanks for watching out for the big guy.”
Her throat constricted to the point of pain, and all she could do was nod, not that Red could see her, and hang up the phone.
She sat there for a moment, processing the call.
All it took for Red to offer her help was the mention that Sully had told her to call.
The man hadn’t questioned her identity or the circumstances that led her to Sully, and still he’d immediately jumped into action.
A pang of envy struck her. What must it be like to have friends like that?
Ones who would immediately pull through for you without hesitation.
She hadn’t experienced that, not even from her immediate family.
Despite her yearning for that type of care and support, she couldn’t help but be thrilled that Sully had people like that to rally around him.
“Do you need to make any other calls?”
Jane startled and pressed her hand to her chest. She’d forgotten the nurse was sitting to her left. “No. Thank you for letting me use the phone.”
“Of course. Now let me show you where you can shower and change and by the time you’re done, maybe there will be another update to share.”
The woman showed her to an empty hospital room.
While she could’ve luxuriated under the hot stream for hours, she scrubbed her skin and hair as fast as possible before dressing in the scrubs.
She doubted Addison would want the shirt and shorts she’d loaned her, but just in case Jane stored them in a plastic bag.
She’d wash them and mail them back to the anthropologist when she had access to laundry facilities.
When she returned to the waiting room, there were no updates on Sully, but there was a delivery for her at the desk.
She stared at the large Target bag before taking it to one of the upholstered metal chairs.
It was stupid, but she didn’t want to open the heavy bag on the chair next to her.
By the weight of the bag, she had a feeling that Sully’s friend had gone way over the top and she was going to be left feeling very indebted to him.
She’d been in enough positions where she’d owed others, whether it was her silence, money, or time.
Shaking her head, she brushed off the thoughts.
She was no longer a scared delinquent. She was an adult.
A contributing member of society with her own bank account and the means to pay Red back as soon as she straightened everything out.
Besides, if he had sent her a phone, she could use it to call her bank and lock her credit and debit cards, which had been on her when she’d been taken.
A shiver snaked down her spine. The idea that traffickers had her personal information was unsettling.
Deciding that the contents of the Target bag were the least of her worries, she opened it and began to carefully rummage through the contents.
Her vision glazed over as tears once again gathered in her eyes.
Inside the bag was a prepaid phone, Visa gift card, electrolyte drinks, a box of protein bars, ramen noodles, leggings, socks, a couple of cotton T-shirts, and even a six-pack of underwear.
There was also a velvety throw blanket, a romance book, a variety of chocolate and a folded canvas tote bag to put all the items inside.
To say she was grateful was an understatement.
A chuckle escaped her lips as she picked up the book from a popular novelist. She had a hard time picturing any man picking out some of these selections.
Jane unpackaged the phone and punched in the number Sully had given her.
Wow. You didn’t have to go to all that trouble, but it’s appreciated, and I’ll reimburse you once my bank situation is squared away.
Not necessary. Addison and Silver reached out when they landed in Virginia and told me you only had the clothes on your back when you left with Sully.
Addy also told me the sizes to get for the clothes, so I hope they’re okay to hold you over.
My girlfriend will bring a few more things when we fly out.
I just gave her this number, so don’t be surprised if she texts you. Her name is Thalia.
Jane began to write a reply, then stopped at the squeak of rubber clogs on the tile floor.
“Jane Laurier?”
She glanced up at her name and stood. Her heart was beating fast and her stomach quivered as she ran through all the worst-case scenarios in her mind. “Yes, that’s me.”
“I’m Dr. Bard, your fiancé’s trauma surgeon.
His injury is a serious one, but he did well during surgery.
We’ve irrigated the wound and removed the bullet.
Due to the infection, there was a lot of devitalized tissue that needed to be removed to allow the site to properly heal.
The good news is, your fiancé was in good health prior to the injury and fortunately, the bullet didn’t result in any bone fractures.
His medical team’s main concern right now is infection control.
We’re keeping him in intensive care and starting multiple, aggressive medications to treat sepsis and preserve his organs from being damaged.
How long he needs to remain in the hospital will depend on his response to treatment. Do you have any questions?”
“When can I see him?”
“He’s in recovery now, but you should be able to go back once he’s settled in on the ICU floor.” The doctor looked at her watch and then back at Jane. “I’d say no more than half an hour.”
“Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure. Did someone look at that sunburn you have?”
“Not yet, but I’ll get it checked out,” she lied. All she wanted to do was see Sully. To look him over with her own eyes and make sure he was okay. Jane typed out a quick message to Red to let him know that Sully was out of surgery, then felt the phone vibrate against her palm.
Thanks for the update. Looking at flights now.
A few minutes passed, and the phone vibrated again.
Hi! This is Thalia. Please let me know if you need anything or would just like to talk. Can’t wait to meet you.
She bit the inside of her cheek, uncertainty slamming into her.
What was she doing here? It wasn’t that she didn’t like people, but she hadn’t been anticipating Sully’s friends to be so welcoming.
They didn’t even know her. She’d come here because she wanted to make sure Sully was okay, but he had a whole army of people who loved and cared about him.
Once they arrived, she’d just be in the way.
Her mother and stepfather didn’t even know she’d been taken hostage.
They touched base every few months, but she probably wouldn’t mention what had happened because they weren’t that close.
The conversation would turn into what she had done wrong to put herself in a dangerous situation, not if she was okay.
Not if she needed support. That was as much her fault as theirs, though.
She’d been the one to leave home and drop out of school.
She’d tried to tell them what happened under the bridge that day, but they hadn’t believed her.
Had said she was making up lies about her stepfather’s boss to divert the attention away from her skipping school.
Even now, hurt sliced through her chest. The deep erosion of trust for the adults who were supposed to protect her had shaken her foundations.
“Jane? You can come back now.”
She straightened her shoulders and grabbed the canvas tote bag at her feet, then followed the nurse to the intensive care unit.