Chapter 16
The fog had started to lift, but Bridget never wanted to see a hospital again.
She would be safer anywhere but in the ICU.
She held another ice pack to the back of her head and prayed that it would start working.
She needed to think, and between the insulin and hitting her head again, her thoughts felt sluggish as maple syrup.
Eliza stirred once or twice.
The nurse said it was an encouraging sign but thought it was probably due to a surge in glucose to offset the suspected insulin, rather than anything else. Bridget didn’t care. She would take any positive sign on such an awful day.
Now she looked at the spot where the bed should be. Dr. Lyons had ordered a second MRI, and techs had wheeled Eliza back for it. Bridget itched to be back there with her, but the techs had told her no. She’d still felt unstable, so hadn’t fought hard to go with them.
Her phone dinged, and she glanced down.
Can you let me in?
Tricia’s text surprised her.
I’ll be there in a minute. What do you need?
I have a few things for you.
Coming,
What would Tricia have for her? Bridget nodded at the off-duty officer as she left the room and then kept her hand along the wall as she walked to the lobby.
Tricia tilted her head as she spotted her. “You okay?”
“Not really, but I’m here.” Despite that man’s best efforts to harm her.
Fortunately, so was Eliza. He hadn’t been successful.
Would having an off-duty officer be enough to keep her safe?
They were clearly sitting ducks here in the hospital.
He knew where they were and could get to them.
He’d done it twice and could likely do it again.
“I brought you some fresh clothes and toiletries.” Tricia pulled a canvas bag from her shoulder and handed it to Bridget.
“Thank you.” After she took the bag, she swiped under her eyes. “I don’t have any idea what I’m doing.”
Tricia pulled her into a hug. “Just keep showing up and doing the best you can. That’s all anyone expects.”
“I’m pretty sure Leticia expects me to force the doctor to decide Eliza needs the surgery so that the hospital pays rather than the state.”
Tricia snorted. “No pressure.”
“You could say that.” Bridget sank to the couch. “I did not train for this.”
“Yes, you did. Everything you’ve done up to this moment has prepared you. All the work you did with Sydney taught you to be a logical thinker who could push against authority when needed. Your degree taught you to think on your feet.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Bridget gave a watery laugh. “If I stay, I’ll need to take some self-defense classes.”
“That’s easy enough to arrange. Probably a good idea to do that anyway, so you have confidence in any situation you find yourself in. The key is yelling ‘Stay back’ and lunging into a ready stance.”
“I have no idea what that is.”
“Easy to teach you once you’re out of here. I’m sure Todd or Caleb could teach you some basics.”
Her cheeks heated at the mention of Todd’s name, and she hoped Tricia didn’t notice. No such luck, as her friend’s eyebrows rose.
“Something you want to tell me?”
“No. Nope. Nothing.”
“The more you say that, the more I’m sure there’s something there.”
Bridget bit her lower lip then shook her head. “Nothing. There’s nothing there.”
“But there could be.” Tricia sank next to her and then bumped her shoulder.
“Maybe. But this has not been a normal twenty-four hours.”
“Sure, but you’ve interacted before.”
“From a distance at barbecues and other group gatherings. Not the kind of things that gave me any indication that he thought of me at all.”
“I’ve seen how he watched you. You’ve been on his radar.”
Bridget’s jaw dropped at the thought. “No way. He’s never said or done anything.”
“Why would he? You’ve never been open to a relationship. In fact, you’ve been actively against it.” Tricia was gentle yet firm. “He’s not the type of guy to go where he’s not wanted. He’ll show up and help anyone. But he’ll only give his heart to a woman who’s willing to do the same.”
“Wow, you’ve really thought about this.”
“He’s been in our group a while. I think he’s a great guy.”
“But not as great as Noah.”
Tricia’s grin took on a sappy quality. “No one is as great as Noah.”
A nurse came to get Bridget. “Dr. Lyons needs to talk to you.”
Tricia stood. “I’ll let you get back to taking care of your charge.”
“Thank you for bringing the clothes and for the perspective.”
“Anytime.” Tricia gave her a hug and then headed to the elevator, while Bridget followed the nurse back into the ICU.
When Todd finally pulled back into town, he met Caleb at the bar. “Please tell me that Doris said the busboy is here.”
Caleb pulled the door open. “Can’t tell you that. Haven’t been in yet.”
“Did Dani at least get the paperwork from the court?”
“I don’t know.” Caleb followed him into the dim interior of the restaurant. “She’s gone radio silent. I’m concerned because she needed to go pick up Brianna.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure she did that.” There’s no way she would forget her infant.
“I’ll call her again after this. She’s got to be emotionally empty.” Caleb ran his fingers through his hair and then straightened. “Let’s do this.”
The hostess pointed them straight to the bar. “Doris said to send you on back.”
Todd nodded his thanks. “We’ll keep it quick.” His stomach growled.
She shook her head. “Another day you didn’t eat? I’ll have sandwiches ready for you.”
“Appreciate it.” Todd hooked a thumb at Caleb. “He’ll have what I get, too.”
“On it.”
Caleb strode past him to the bar, where Doris stood wiping it down with a cloth. For a Friday night, it was quiet.
Caleb took a seat on one of the stools. “Where is everyone?”
“They heard you were coming and decided to wait.” She poured two Cokes and slid them toward them. “I’ll have Travis come out.” She pointed at Todd. “Be nice. The kid is skittish, but willing to talk.”
He raised his hands. “Best behavior. Promise.”
She slipped into the kitchen, and a minute later, the thin blond kid approached. He was coltish, still growing into his limbs, and it looked like he could wrap the big white apron around himself twice.
He came right up to Todd and stuck out his hand, pumping Todd’s three times. “Is the girl okay? I’ve been worried.”
“We’re not sure. Someone hurt her, and she hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“That’s not good.” The kid put his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels. “I was about to come in and tell Doris we should call 911 when I saw you. I knew you were a cop from all the times you ordered food here.” He turned his attention to Caleb. “I don’t know you.”
“I’m Todd’s partner.”
“How do I know that?” Something shuttered in his expression as if he didn’t trust the words.
Interesting as he’d been open when he approached Todd. “You want to see his badge?”
“No, I wanna be sure you’re gonna keep me safe because someone is doing bad things here, and I don’t want to get caught in it.”
“You came to work tonight.”
“Sure. I need the money, and Doris counts on me.” He stood taller. “You gotta show up when people depend on you.”
“So why do you think it might not be safe?”
“Other than the girl in the alley?” Travis spoke like it was a dumb question.
Todd couldn’t fault him for that. “Covering our bases. Don’t want to assume we know what you mean.”
“It’s easy to think everything’s good cause it’s Lincoln, but we’re not that far off the Interstate, and we’re close to the airport. Sometimes it feels a bit off the grid. And not in a good way. Like people think they can do things around here that they wouldn’t do other places.”
“What were you doing when you found the girl?”
“Taking out the trash. It’s the fun part of my job.”
“I heard that.” Doris yelled the words from the kitchen.
Travis rolled his eyes. “She has ears like a hawk.”
“I heard that, too.”
Todd chuckled. “How did you see her?”
“It was one of those things. I saw a shadow. Something that was there that shouldn’t be.” He shrugged. “I guess I’m always alert when I go into the alley. It seems like a place for something bad to happen, you know?”
Having stood in that dark space last night, Todd got it. “Yeah.”
“I poked at the pile, but it was more solid than I expected. That’s when I realized it was a small person.
That scared me. I couldn’t get her to respond, so I started looking for help.
Of course, there wasn’t any.” He shook his head, hands still firmly in his pockets.
“I’d let the door lock behind me, so I had to come around to the front.
Doris wasn’t going to be happy because I would be in the front before I washed my hands, but I didn’t have an option. ” He shivered. “Then I saw you.”
“I’m glad you did.” Something still bothered Todd, though. “Doris told me you were scared when you went back in. Why?”
“Someone else was in the alley. I’m sure of it.”
That got Todd’s attention. “I didn’t notice anyone.”
“I think I interrupted them, before they could do whatever they intended to do.” He shuddered. “What if they think I saw something I didn’t and come after me?”
That might explain why someone had come after Eliza in the hospital. It didn’t explain why she’d been in the alley, but if Travis had interrupted whatever was happening, then that person had unfinished business. Todd turned to Caleb. “We need to let the off-duty officer know.”
“On it.” Caleb stepped outside to make the call.
Todd turned his attention back to Travis. “Do you want me to have an officer take you home?”
Travis considered him then straightened. “I have a shift to finish, and I can take care of myself.”
Todd took a napkin and wrote his cell phone on it. “Here’s my number. Call me if you need anything. We’ll get you taken care of.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I try not to do that.” Todd clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for grabbing me last night. We’re doing our best to help that girl.”
“I’m glad you came by.”
“Me too.”
Doris exited the kitchen and handed him two bags. “The fries are hot. I’ll keep an eye on Travis.”
“I’m serious about him calling if he needs anything.”
“I’ll make sure he knows that.”
“Thanks for the food.”
When Travis got outside, his partner looked a little pale. “What’s wrong?”
“Just got off the phone with Dani. The judge finally released the paperwork.”