Blood Haze (7 page)

Clutching
her robe a little tighter around herself, she shuffled her feet uncomfortably
aware of the gorgeous man in front of her. “I’m sorry. I meant to call you
earlier to thank you for the flowers, but my phone died…” she trailed off as he
gave an impatient wave of his hand.

“No.
It’s well… Karmyl, she… I don’t know how to say this… so… there’s been an
accident,” he finally said. “May I come in?”

Her
eyebrows creased as she tried to understand his words. Wordlessly, she stepped
aside to allow him entrance. With care, he slowly closed the door and leaned
against it.

“Is
Karmyl okay?” she asked, when he stood staring at her for a long moment.

“What?
Oh, no. I’m sorry, it wasn’t Karmyl. She was trying to reach you. It’s… your
brother and … Drew Larkin.”

Her
hands fell away from her robe’s lapels to flutter down to her sides. “What…
what do you mean? Are they alright? Why didn’t anyone call
me
?”

“I
think the hospital tried you first, and when they couldn’t reach you, someone
at the hospital knew you worked for the Night Owl, so…” he trailed off as her
face paled. He moved to her when she swayed on her feet. He wrapped an arm
around her waist and cupped her cheek in one hand.

She
stared up blankly. “Are they… did they…” she couldn’t finish.

“No,
not yet. I don’t know how bad it is. If you’ll get dressed, I’ll take you there
now.” He brushed his thumb against her cheekbone and it seemed to calm her
somewhat. “Can you get dressed on your own or do you need help?”

She
blinked up at him as her mind seemed to be mush. She couldn’t put two complete
thoughts together.
Not again, not again
,
were the only words rolling around her mind. He gave her a little shake.
Gently, he said her name, “Arabella?”

Swallowing,
she stumbled back from him and careened down the hall in a near-drunken stride.

Lynx
watched her stagger down the hall and sighed. From what he could gather from
Karmyl, Ian and the other fellow, Drew, seemed to be the most important people in
her life. He assumed Drew was who she’d been with the first night they’d met,
the one flirting with the young blonde.

He
didn’t have to wait long for her to reappear. She was now dressed in jeans and
a simple, cotton shirt. Her long hair, still wet from her shower, had been
pulled back and fastened. Her face remained bare of any make-up and he thought
she was just as beautiful without any artifice.

“Are
you ready?” he asked, holding out a hand to her.

She
looked at his hand for a moment before placing her trembling one into it and
nodded.

“Okay,
let’s go,” he said tugging her gently forward.

He
made sure her front door was locked, then led her to his black sedan. He drove
smoothly through the streets as she faced forward, silently. He reached over
and held her hand. He’d like to tell her that everything would be all right,
but he didn’t want any more lies between them… at least not any more than
needed to be – their differences aside.

They’d
gotten about half way to the hospital, when she asked, “Do you know what
happened?”

“No,
I’m sorry. I only know there were three people in the car and that they’ve all
been taken to County General.”

“Three?”
she asked.

“The
two men and a woman,” he said softly.

“Who
was the woman?”

“Margaret…
something. Sorry, I don’t remember,” he replied gently.

“Maggie,”
she whispered.

“Do
you know her?” he asked.

She
gave a small shake of her head. “Not really. She works in Drew’s office, I
think.” Anxiety made her stomach roil. The two most important people in her
life had been dying or dead and her stupid phone had been dead. She clamped her
hand over her mouth. “I need you to stop… please stop… I think I’m gonna be
sick,” she whimpered.

Lynx
slid the car to a smooth stop and she flung the door open and fell out of the
car, to her knees, onto the gravel on the roadside. Inanely, the thought
crossed her mind, she was glad she’d not eaten the night before so there wasn’t
much to come up. In the far recesses of her mind, she became aware that Lynx
had joined her and had placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her from
falling forward. When she’d thrown-up all she could and was only dry-heaving,
she leaned her forearms against the metal guardrail and rested her
sweat-drenched face against them.

He
let her sit for a moment before helping her to her feet. He placed cool hands
against her heated cheeks. “Ready?” he asked softly.

She
swallowed, her throat raw and scratchy. “I should have been there. They needed
me and I wasn’t there,” she said on a shuddering breath.

He
wrapped his strong arms around her, drawing her into his body for comfort. She
wrapped her arms around him tightly, refusing to give into the tears which
threatened. She felt him press his lips against her hair an instant before he
stepped back and helped her back into the car.

He
started the car and turned to her before shifting into drive. “Arabella, don’t
borrow trouble. Okay? One step at a time.”

She
blinked rapidly before nodding jerkily. “Okay,” she whispered.

They
drove the rest of the way in silence. He pulled the car into the circle-drive
in front of the Emergency Room doors and parked. She had her hand on the
door-handle before she remembered her manners. “Lynx, thanks for coming to get
me.”

“I’m
going to park, then I’ll be in. I’ll find you,” he replied.

“I
appreciate that, but I’ve imposed on you enough.”

His
reflective glasses mirrored her distraught features back to her. “I’ll be in
shortly,” he repeated.

Finally,
she gave a quick nod and opened the door.

~X~

Lynx
finally found her sitting in one of the waiting rooms, shredding a tissue
between her fingers. The vulnerability she exuded, drew him like nothing else.
Moving silently toward her, he sat down before reaching over for her hand.
“What do you know?” he asked.

She
bowed her head and studied their intertwined hands. “Not much. But it’s not
good.” She took a shuddering breath. “Maggie was killed, thrown through the
window of the car apparently. Ian is still in surgery and Drew is in Intensive
Care. They… they won’t let me see him because I’m not immediate family. I’ve
been with him since I was fifteen, and we were friends long before that and
they won’t let me in to see him. I don’t know what to do. His mom is in a
retirement home. I’m all he has and they won’t let me see him,” she said in a
rush.

“Arabella,”
he said commandingly, “look at me.”

She
lifted her head and did as he said. She stared into the dark depths of his eyes
and almost immediately began to feel calmer… stronger even. “You always make me
feel better. How do you do that?” she asked.

He
gave her a small smile, “It’s a gift.”

“Well,
it’s a good one,” she murmured.

“I
want you to stay here and I’m going see what I can do to get you in to see him,”
he said comfortingly.

“Really?”
she asked hopefully. “You’d do that?”

In
a familiar gesture, he brushed hair that had come loose from its fastening away
from her face. “Of course,” he replied softly.

“Thank
you.”

He
lifted her hand and brushed cool lips against it. “It is my pleasure,” he said
before rising.

As
promised, Lynx got her into Drew’s room.

“You
can stay for fifteen minutes,” the nurse, dressed in pink scrubs, with a name
tag which read,
Lottie
, told her.

“Thank
you,” she replied automatically, as she stood outside his door. She shifted her
eyes to Lynx, “I know I shouldn’t ask, but…” she trailed off.

“I’ll
be right here until you’re done,” he said in answer to the unspoken question.

“Thanks…
for everything,” she murmured.

He
gave a slight nod of his head. “You go now.”

She
turned and paused with her hand on the door-handle. Taking a deep breath, she
slowly eased the door open, scared at what she’d find. The sound of machines
beeping and swooshing met her ears first; the smell of antiseptic was the next
thing to assault her senses. Tears sprang into her eyes when she saw Drew lying
on the bed with tubes coming in and out of him from seemingly everywhere. His
head was bandaged and an arm and leg were casted. He looked unnaturally pale
and his eyes were closed. She pressed a fist to her lips to stifle a sob.
Oh, God! What if he didn’t make it
?

Slowly,
she made her way to him and placed her hand over his. She was reassured by the
warmth he still exuded. She looked at his beautiful, but banged-up, face. “God,
Drew. What have you done?” she murmured. “Please don’t die on me. I need you.
You and Ian are all I have. Please don’t leave me!” she beseeched him quietly.

She
rubbed her fingers gently against his hand, afraid she’d hurt him further if
she applied any pressure at all. She dabbed at the tears which wouldn’t stop
falling. She looked at the man who lay against the white hospital sheets and
instead saw the boy she’d always known. The boy who’d held her hand and pressed
soft, gentle kisses against her skin. The boy, who’d held her at prom as she’d
cried at the craziness going on inside her own head. The boy, who’d sat beside her
at her father’s funeral while the rest of the town sat around her and murmured
about the shame of him taking his own life. The boy, who’d called the police
everyday when her mother had been killed. This was the boy, who’d protected her…
guided her… taught her… and loved her.

“I
love you, Drew. You have to know that. Please don’t die. Please come back to
me,” she pleaded. Sinking down onto a hard-padded chair next to the bed, she
ran her fingers lightly up and down the length of his hand - bargaining with
whatever entity she could think of to save him… to save Ian.

Before
she was ready, Nurse Lottie came to tell her, time was up. Hating to break her
fragile hold on him, she clutched the bedrails. “I’ll be back, Drew. Just hold
on, okay,” she whispered urgently.

Nurse
Lottie led her out of the room. “He can get a fifteen minute visit every two
hours.”

“Thank
you,” Arabella whispered, as she swallowed back tears and heartache. “Has there
been any word on my brother?”

“If
you’ll wait, I’ll place a call upstairs,” she said.

Lynx
stepped away from the wall he’d been leaning against and once again took her
hand. “You okay?” he asked softly.

She
pursed her lips and nodded. “It’s just a lot to take in,” she replied.

Nurse
Lottie appeared at her side looking uncomfortable. “What is it?” Arabella asked
her.

Looking
between the two of them, Nurse Lottie, said, “The doctor would like to see you
in his office. He’s on the third floor. His office is next to Room 325. There’s
a sign posted, you can’t miss it,” she said with an over-bright smile that made
Arabella uncomfortable. She glanced at Lynx who gave her a tender smile of
assurance. She nodded her head and knew she should begin to move in that
direction; but her feet refused to budge. It was almost as if they were glued
to the floor. It took Lynx propelling her forward for her to move.

As
they rode the elevator up to the third floor, she leaned heavily into the
dark-haired man she barely knew, and he wrapped his strong arms around her.
“I’m scared,” she whispered into the shelter he’d made for her with his body.

“I’m
here,” he replied, as he brushed his lips against her head.

When
they arrived on the third floor, they made their way toward the doctor’s office.
As they approached it, a doctor with a shock of white hair, and a kind face,
stepped out of a nearby office. “Ms. Marks?” he asked.

She
hesitated, fear icing her veins. “Yes,” she replied finally.

With
an outstretched hand to her, he said, “I’m Dr. Benjamin. Please, step into my
office.” He looked over her shoulder to Lynx. “Are you family as well?”

Grabbing
his hand, Arabella pulled Lynx closer to her side. “He’s with me,” she said
emphatically.

The
Doctor nodded his head. “Good, good,” he said as he extended his hand toward
his office. He waited until both Arabella and Lynx were seated before he leaned
back against his desk, sitting on its edge, and folded his arms over his chest.
“Ms. Marks, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just give you the facts.
Your brother sustained a debilitating injury when his head hit the windshield.
Surgery was required right away to relieve the pressure in his skull.
Unfortunately, the damage was too severe. Your brother died from complications
from the automobile accident. I’m sorry for your loss…”

The
doctor continued to speak, but Arabella had stopped listening to him. Her ears
rang, her heart pounded, and sweat popped out on her face.
Ian? Dead? Noooo
! She screamed in her head. She began to breathe
rapidly and her chest heaved. She lifted a trembling hand, wanting… needing for
the doctor to be quiet. She didn’t want to know anymore. “Please, no,” she
whimpered. “Please, dear God, no!”