01 Untouchable - Untouchable (42 page)

“
Good grief,” I stated,
pulling away and burying my face in my hands. “It can’t get
stronger than this. Is this normal? I mean you’ve been with other…”
I couldn’t even say the word. I couldn’t even imagine the thought,
and I could feel that jealousness that must have speared him
yesterday piercing my own heart.

“
I told you before this
isn’t something I’ve ever been through. I hate to admit it, but I’m
just about as virgin as you are when it comes to what’s happening
between us. I know one side to this coin, but I’ve never had them
together—and you,” he said, tipping my face up to his and resuming
the embrace I had pulled away from. “You are dealing with both
issues at once.”

“
Micah,” I swallowed,
“You’ve got to let go of me. I can’t take this right
now.”

His smile tugged at the corners of his
mouth. His mouth at the moment was the only thing my eyes were
focusing on. I wanted that forbidden kiss like a moth seeking the
light, but dancing too close to the flame.

“
Please,” I asked when he
didn’t respond.

“
I’ll be outside for a
little while to give you some time.”

“
Thanks, I really do need
that right now.”

He turned me loose and went out the
door.

I pulled Doctor Figarrio’s card from my
purse and, with unsteady fingers, dialed the number to his office.
The receptionist answered.

“
Hello, I need to speak with
Doctor Figarrio, please.”

“
I’m sorry he isn’t in right
now, he was called to the hospital for an emergency. I could have
him call you when he gets back in.”

My heart was picking up the pace,
“Emergency? Did he say what kind of emergency?”

“
I’m not allowed to
discuss…”

“
I’m Annalisa Winslett; my
mother is one of his patients at Columbia Hospital. Does this
concern her?”

“
Really, Ms. Winslett, I’m
not allowed to discuss what kind of call he’s on, but I’ll get in
touch with him and let him know you want to speak with him. I have
your number on our caller-ID. Is this how he can reach you if
necessary?” Then she repeated Micah’s cell number to me and I told
her yes, he could reach me at this number.

I hung up and called information for
the number to the hospital. She had me worried with the tone she
used when she knew who I was, and it left me thinking Doctor
Figarrio was there because Mom was in trouble.

“
Third floor reception,” I
said when the switchboard operator picked up.

“
Psychiatric Care, may I
help you,” came a friendly female voice.

“
Hello, I’m calling to check
on my mother, Nadia Winslett. Is everything okay?”

“
And your name?”

“
Annalisa Winslett, I
stopped by to see her Sunday, but I was just wondering how she’s
doing?”

“
She’s fine, Ms. Winslett.
She has made marked improvements since yesterday morning. Doctor
Figarrio has ordered the removal of her restraints and she’s off
almost all of her meds. By the way, she has been asking for
you.”

“
Could I speak with her?” I
wanted so desperately to talk with her, especially since now I was
pretty certain that she wasn’t the emergency that he was called to
the hospital for.

“
I’ll see if she’ll pick up.
One moment, please.”

The phone rang twice and then mom’s
voice came through as clear and slur free as I had ever
heard.

“
Mom, wow, you sound
terrific.”

“
Annalisa? Honey, where have
you been? I was starting to think I imagined the whole thing about
you coming by the hospital.”

“
No, Mom, I was there, they
just had you really sedated. So, you must be feeling
better?”

“
Oh, I can’t tell you how
much better I’m feeling. I’m actually starting to get a sense of
normalcy. They took off those awful restraints this morning and I
finally got to brush my hair.”

I had to laugh. Mom was one of those
people who liked to look her best no matter what, so having her
hair a wreck must have been pretty traumatic by itself.

“
Are you going to be by
today?” she asked, hopefulness permeating the question.

“
I—I wish I could Mom, but
I’m still having some—some issues with Robert.”

“
He’s got a lot of
explaining to do…” she started to say.

“
Mom, don’t even talk with
him. I’m telling you he’s been behind all of this. He’s even…” I
wasn’t sure if I should tell her about his affair.

“
What, Honey? It’s okay, you
can tell me, I can handle it.

“
He’s—well, he’s having an
affair with Sharon Norton.”

“
Sharon Norton! Ah! She is
nothing more than a gold-digging, bubble-headed, spoil-brat
tramp…”

I let Mom vent. I had a feeling from
the way she exploded that there must have been some kind of
suspicion there all along. But, quite honestly, it was so awesome
to hear her put together a coherent sentence that I just listened
and smiled.

“
Mom, I’ll come see you as
soon as it’s sa… As soon as I can work it out, but for now you just
keep getting better and I’ll have you out of there in no time. And,
when you are finally home, if everything works out, I’ve got
someone I’d really like you to meet.”

There was a long pause. “Would this
someone be a boy?”

I was thinking about Micah in his
boxers this morning and couldn’t possibly classify him as a boy.
“How about we just call him a guy?”

“
Um, I see. A nice looking
guy?”

“
Gorgeous is a more worthy
term—and I’m so in love with him.” I knew I shouldn’t be telling
her all this. If things didn’t get resolved this guy would be the
literal death of me, but I wouldn’t give her anything she could use
to identify him later on.

She wanted to know more, but I told her
I had to go, that I loved her and would see her as soon as I could
manage it.

I was on a natural high and I couldn’t
wait to tell Micah. I turned to go for the front door and he was
standing right there, I hadn’t heard him come in and I didn’t know
how long he had been listening, but at least he was smiling. I made
a running jump and landed with my legs wrapped around his waist and
my arms around his neck. Even though I think I surprised him, he
caught me effortlessly and held me as I let out a shriek and a few
tears of joy. “She’s sooo much better,” I said muffling my face
into that thick muscled neck. He wouldn’t let me down as he carried
me to the loveseat and sat, still keeping me on his lap.

“
I heard most of it,” he
said gently. “So you’d like the chance to introduce us?”

“
Only if everything works
out,” I corrected him. “We still have the Robert issue to contend
with. If I shoot him, does that cancel the hit?” I was teasing, but
I just couldn’t help it because at the moment I was simply
overjoyed. He didn’t say anything and I was starting to wonder if
he had taken me seriously. That was when I became keenly aware of
the positions of our bodies as I straddled his lap. I was ready to
move, but those steel hands gripped my thighs and held me in
place.

“
So you not only love me,
but you told your mother that I’m gorgeous. You really think
that?”

“
Micah, you know that I find
you beautiful.”

“
I just didn’t realize how
much I liked hearing it, especially when I know you didn’t know I
was listening.”

“
That’s called
eavesdropping,” I said trying to wiggle free.

The expression on his face was either
ecstasy or panic. “Don’t move like that, Baby,” he said in a low
gasp, as his grip tightened and his hips lifted harder against my
body.

The heat was starting to flood my
senses and I knew this could get very dangerous. “Let go of my
legs, Micah. I’ve got to get up.”

The hands never softened and I could
see the wild starting to fill his eyes. If both of us were on an
edge this would be a train wreck that neither one of us could
control.

“
Please, Micah—please let me
up before…”

The grip released and he lifted me by
my waist and stood me on my feet. “I’m glad your mom is doing
better,” he finally managed to say as he also stood.

We were only inches away from each
other. “Me, too,” I whispered as his mouth descended and this time
there was very little of the cheek touched as the edges of our
mouths brushed against each other.

“
I think I need another
shower,” I replied, close enough for my lips to touch his skin when
I spoke the words.

“
Me, too,” was the reply.
“We could take one together.”

The cell phone rang and startled us
both. It wasn’t his personal phone, it was his contact phone. It
was on the third ring by the time our heads cleared enough to
realize he had to answer it. He moved to the sliding doors and
slipped out the back of the unit before flipping the phone
open.

I didn’t know why his contact would
call him, but I doubted it could be for anything good. I watched
his face grow fearfully dark, anger, pain, hatred, disgust mingled
in one expression. He closed the phone and stood there for a moment
looking out at the inlet. Suddenly his arm came back and the small
black phone was hurled almost to the opposite shore. I jumped when
it hit the water and vanished below the surface. What could
D’Angelo have possibly told him to make him so angry? We still had
time. There were weeks left before the deadline.

Micah returned closing and locking the
sliding door and then drawing the curtains. I didn’t like the
methodical way he was acting.

“
What is it, Micah? Tell me
what he said. Please, tell me because you’re scaring
me.”

He turned, his eyes so different from
any expression I’ve ever tried to read on his face. Then he said
four words that felt like a jolt of lightening, “Your time is
up.”

“
But we have
four…”

“
I’m sorry, Annalisa. He
told me he got a call from his contact. Robert is giving me twelve
hours to finish the job. He said there would be no more playing
games. Your body is supposed to be dumped on the steps of—of a
church here in Palm Beach.”

When he told me which one, he wanted to
know why that particular church.

“
It’s my church, the one I
attended before they sent me to Pensacola.”

“
I’ve got to get out of here
and think, at least for a little while. If you run, Annalisa, I
won’t blame you.”

“
I can’t do that to you,” I
said, the knot forming in my throat.

“
Then I’ll have to kill
you.” And he walked out the door, cranked the Taurus and drove
away.

I broke down and collapsed onto the
floor, sobbing and crying harder than I’d ever known in my life.
Our chance for happiness had ended. Even if I could get to Robert,
I knew he wanted me out of the picture and he would stop at nothing
now until it was over.

I must have stayed of the floor ten or
fifteen minutes when Micah’s personal cell phone rang. I was
guessing it was his parents or, perhaps David, but when I looked at
it I was surprised that it was a Palm Beach number. I dried my eyes
and answered the phone, wondering if it was Micah.

“
Hello,” I said, my voice
still shaking.

“
Annalisa?”

“
Yes, Doctor
Figarrio?”

“
We have a problem. I need
you to come to the hospital right now.”

“
What? I just spoke to Mom
no more than a half an hour ago—she was doing great.”

“
Robert is here and he has
told the Administration that he is firing me and has another doctor
who is going to put her back on
everything
. If you don’t get here and
convince them that you should be in charge of her health care,
she’s going to be in just as bad shape as before, if not
worse.”

“
He doesn’t have power of
attorney, yet. How can he…”

“
Because he’s her husband.
You are the only one who can stop this, but you have to convince
the hospital board that you are more responsible and have her best
interest in mind. He’s here now and if you and I don’t make a case
in the next fifteen to twenty minutes, we lose her again. I got
here this morning when he found out that she was lucid. I’ve been
arguing with him and this new doctor he’s trying to bring in for
hours. I’ve done all I can do. You are her last hope.” He sounded
genuinely exasperated.

“
I’ll—I’ll be there in ten.
Where do I go when I get there?” I closed the phone and grabbed a
pen and paper. I didn’t want Micah to think I was running away;
although I’m sure he would rather that I was running anywhere
besides the hospital. I knew who was waiting for me. I was
confident I could get in, but I doubted I’d make it out—alive
anyway. I simply wrote that I had to go to the hospital and that I
loved him and that I was sorry but maybe it was better this
way.