Climbing High (20 page)

“Do they know who it was? What it was? A random robbery? But she would have cooperated, given up her money. They’d have no reason to attack.”

“Gribbs is with the police now. I’m expecting a report shortly.”

Sharon perched on the edge of the vinyl sofa, mulling over the little they knew. “I need to call Ty. He’ll want to be here. Then I’ll put in a call to the Chief of Police. He’s been a lot of help with my projects. He’ll tell me what is happening, if they know anything more.” She pulled her cell phone out of her shoulder bag, hit speed dial for Ty.

“I’ll check at the nurses’ station again.” He stepped back into the corridor then stopped as the doors behind him swung open and Ted hurried through, white coat flapping, eyes fixed on a chart. He stopped when Jake stepped into his path.

“Thanks for coming. Have you heard anything new?”

“She’s hanging on. Now you have to let me get in there.” He patted him on the shoulder and moved past. “I’ll do everything I can to save her.”

Jake watched as the double doors swung closed behind him. Siree was in there hanging onto life. He was out here, useless, barely hanging onto his sanity. He had to pull himself together, be strong for Sharon and Siree when she came out. She would make it. He refused to consider any other scenario. He’d hold her again, laugh with her again. His cell rang. “Ingles,” he rapped into it.

“Thomas here, Jake. I wanted you to know I’m parked outside in the north lot. The police are canvassing the nearby buildings for witnesses. Also, reporters got wind of the story and they’re on their way.”

“Thanks, Thomas.” He forced his lips to frame words. “Can you bring me the extra shirt I keep in the limo—I’m wearing a paper gown from emergency at the moment. After that you better make yourself comfortable. This could be a long wait. I’ll deal with the media and call you if I need you.”

“I checked in with Gribbs. He’s on his way to you, now. I’ll stand by.”

He stared at the phone in his hand while he fought for control. He swung around to find Sharon watching him.

“Ty’s getting the first flight out,” she said, her eyes offering quiet comfort. “Come here,” she patted the seat beside her. Tell me what you just found out.”

They supported each other for what seemed like hours. Strength to fight through the next bad thought, the next nerve-shredding moment passed from her slim hand into his wider palm and back again. Finally, the doors of the surgery swung open. Ted moved toward them briskly, already smiling to calm their fears. They faced him, holding hands. Simultaneously, they drew in a deep breath of relief.

“She’s going to make it,” he stated with satisfaction. “Barring any complications, she’ll do. The one knife wound came in just under her heart, nicked the aorta. Had to do some patching there. They stitched up a long defensive wound across her inner forearm.” He drew a line along his own arm. “She also has a stab wound mid torso that deflected off her bottom rib bone, but hit the spleen. We think we’ve saved it. The bone stopped the knife from going deeper. She has a slight concussion from a blow to the head, and she’s lost a lot of blood. We’re still transfusing her, four liters now, but the bleeding has stopped. After she’s stabilized and built up her strength, we’ll have a plastic surgeon do his thing. The scarring will be minimal. I know just the guy. He’s excellent. Should be two or three weeks before he’s needed. I’ll call him if you want.”

“So much damage. Can we see her?” Sharon asked, her voice husky with suppressed tears.

“Give her an hour in recovery, then she’ll be moved to the special care unit and you can be with her.” He gave Sharon a hug. “I’m so sorry this happened to your girl, Sharon. I’ll be in and out, keeping my eye on her for the next few days if that helps.”

“We’re so grateful you came, Ted. It helps a lot to know she has the best taking care of her. Thank you.”

When they entered the SCU an hour later, Siree lay unconscious, her face translucent, her lips bloodless. She looked like she’d float away from them any second. Jake found it almost unbearable. Sharon moved ahead of him, reaching to enfold her daughter, to imbue her strength into the child so still in the bed. Siree’s eyelashes fluttered. “Mama,
est-ce tu
?”

“
Oui
.” Sharon shifted effortlessly to French, raising a hand to stroke Siree’s hair back from her face. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, my darling. Rest.”

Siree’s expression calmed, the deep line between her brows smoothed out. She seemed to settle into sleep. Her eyes shot open. She struggled to pull herself up and fell back with a cry of pain. “Jake. Is Jake all right?”

He felt his throat seize and moisture well behind his eyes. Siree caring about him, when she’d almost died, because of him.

“He’s fine.” Sharon’s voice soothed, her hand stroked. “Shh, lie still. He’s right here, see.” She reached back for Jake’s hand and pulled him forward.

Siree tried to lift her hand, to reach for him, but the intravenous cord hindered her. “Jake,” she whispered. “She didn’t get you, too?”

“She? A woman stabbed you?”

“A crazy woman. Kept coming. Said I couldn’t have you.” She gasped, biting her bottom lip to deal with the pain.

“Shh. Just rest. Let it go for now.” He stroked the small bit of her hand that wasn’t covered with tape, tubing, the thermometer, and name band. “You’re going to be all right. You’re going to get better. Just sleep now.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. When her shallow breath brushed his cheek, a great sense of gratitude overwhelmed him. He braced himself on the bed, waiting to absorb the next soft exhalation.

He looked up to find Gribbs in the doorway of the ward, beckoning him. “I’m going to go and deal with some things, but I’ll be right outside,” Jake promised Siree.

With a shallow sigh, she closed her eyes. “Mama, you’ll stay?”

“I’m right here,” Sharon said from the opposite side of the bed. He looked around. The six-bed ward held patients in serious conditions. A woman in the opposite bed moaned continually. A man by the window swore at a nurse, another screamed in pain. He found a straight back chair pushed up against the wall and brought it to the bed for Sharon, then pulled the curtains to screen them from anyone looking in the door. With the media already on the trail of the story, they needed all the protection his team could give. He stepped outside and moved down the corridor, out of their hearing. “What do you know, Gribbs?” He addressed his head of security with the certainty Gribbs would have found out anything the police had on his own, but with Sharon’s call to the Chief and Gribbs’s working relationship with the department, they’d be keeping each other in the loop.

“Police have gone door to door interviewing witnesses. Sounds like your stalker. Seems a couple in one of the lower units next door said they heard a woman shrieking something like, ‘Jake’s mine. You’ll never have him, bitch.’ Another man said a woman carrying a knife and acting crazy ran out from between the buildings into the parking lot and took off in an old beater. He couldn’t describe her, but he heard her cursing and talking to herself. He says she screamed, ‘She’ll never have him now. The bitch is dead and Jake is mine.’”

Jake’s blood chilled. An icy rage settled deep in him. “The bitch’s ass is mine if they catch her. Siree said a woman attacked her. I don’t know if she saw her well enough to identify her and she’s not up to answering any questions right now.”

“How’s she doing?” Gribbs usually expressionless face held lines of concern.

“The surgeon says she’s going to pull through. Three knife wounds and none of us there to protect her. I expected Janice to be with her and want to know why she wasn’t. Get all the security you can in on this. I want someone on the door to this ward at all times. Thomas is in the parking lot. He can take it for now. I need to clear it with admin and make sure they’re ready to deal with questions about Siree’s condition.”

Jake pulled out his phone and punched in Finchley’s number. She answered on the first ring.

“I heard, boss. What can I do to help?” Finchley too had succumbed to his golden angel’s warm heart.

“Get hold of the hospital administrator and have him call my cell. If you can’t reach him, get hold of any of my contacts on the board of directors and have them call me. Track down Blakely. He’s covering for me at some black tie gala tonight. You’ll know the one. Get him over here to deal with the media. Apparently they’re converging on the hospital now. Get PR working on this right away. The gutter press is going to have a field day with this.
Crazed Woman Attacks JDI’s Love Interest
. God.” He thrust his hand through his hair.

“Look, Finchley, I know I’m dumping this on you in the middle of the night. I know you’ll handle it in your usual unflappable style and tell me it’s your job, but thanks. I couldn’t operate without you.”

Gribbs strode down the corridor, phone to ear. Jake buckled against the wall next to the lounge. Everything Siree had feared had come to life like a monster. Being with him had exposed her to the media. The coverage had turned her into a threat to some mad woman. He’d been able to save her life on the mountain. Now he’d caused her to almost die. He imagined the emotional fallout of being stabbed would be as difficult to deal with as losing her father. More than anything he wanted to be there to help her. More than anything he had to take himself out of her life. He loved her too much to keep her with him. His presence threatened her.

He made the decision with the same cool head and precise thinking he brought to his business deals. So why did his heart feel scorched? The tears he fought back burned like acid. He tried to clear what felt like broken glass from his throat. Thomas hurried down the corridor looking for him, looking for directions. Jake straightened and went to meet him.

“I’m going to ask the head of this section to familiarize you with the staff. Don’t let anyone in to see Siree without clearance. I’m having her moved to a private room with private nurses so we can handle security better. Stay here and do your best till I get back to you.”

His cell vibrated. He had it to his ear in seconds. “Yes, Finchley. Got that? He said he’d call right away. Thanks.”

Two hours later, he slipped into the private room he’d arranged for Siree. He had security posted at the door and by the elevator. Two private nurses, screened and hired by Gribbs, came and went on soft soled shoes. “How is she doing?” he asked, handing Sharon a cup of herbal tea one of the staff had been kind enough to make for him.

“Thank you.” Sharon rose from the chair and arched her back, rubbing it with her free hand. “Her vitals are fluctuating quite a bit. They say it’s the shock. She’s running a low-grade fever and her blood pressure is still too low. She’s sleeping more normally now, not so much anesthetic in her system. She asks for you anytime she surfaces.” Sharon touched his arm and moved her head in the direction of the doorway. “Let’s walk for a few minutes. I’m sure you have more information to share by now.”

He moved like an automaton beside her, his thoughts churning. “My stalker did this to Siree.” He raked his fingers through his hair, tried to steady his breathing, sound half sane. “They’ve been trying to track this woman for over a year. She’s sent me threatening emails and letters, has followed me from city to city, and seems to know where I am more than I do. She has some kind of obsession with me, thinks I belong to her, though I’ve never met her, or even seen her as far as I know. Her letters have constantly warned me not to get involved. Knowing this, I brought Siree into my life. I thought I could protect Siree from her. What a fallacy.”

My bloody ego put Siree at risk.
He kept the thoughts to himself. Sharon didn’t need to deal with his guilt on top of her own fear.

However, she easily guessed his feelings. Her voice held all the authority of her former role. “Blaming yourself won’t rectify what has happened. It only gets in the way of what comes next. You didn’t do this to her, some stranger who needs psychiatric help did. Siree would not want to see you flagellating yourself with guilt. She needs you to be strong for her, to believe, as I do, that this will all come out right. She’s young and healthy and has a great will to live. Trust her to stay with us. I do.” She put a gentle hand on his arm.

He refused to accept her comfort. He didn’t deserve it. “I caused this to happen.” He ground the words out between clenched teeth. “I insisted on seeing her, exposed her to the media.” He wanted to throw something through a window, smash his fist into a wall, anything to rid himself of the chilling need to stay civil. Helplessly, he stopped before the door to her room.

“Sit with her for a few minutes while I find a washroom.” Sharon moved away before he could respond. He nodded at Thomas standing vigil, and moved inside.

Jake settled into the chair Sharon had vacated and reached for Siree’s right hand. A heavy bandage covered it from wrist to elbow. He stroked her fingers and wrapped them in his hands to warm them. A pale line on her middle finger captured his attention. They’d taken her opal ring. “The last gift my father gave me.” Her words and brilliant smile were vivid footnotes in his memory. “Except my life. He saved my life.”

He traced the narrow strip with a shaking finger. Where one man had loved her and saved her, his love had almost destroyed her.

“Jake.” She responded to his touch even in sleep.

He stood to whisper his lips across her silken cheeks, press them to her forehead, her nose, the shallow dent in her stubborn chin. “I’m here, baby. You’re doing great. Just rest and heal. Heaven isn’t ready for another golden angel yet.” He husked the words into her dainty ear, lifting his fingers to sift through the golden wisps of hair that framed it.

“Desiree, desire of my heart,” he whispered, his voice thick with love. He had to leave her, protect her the only way he could. He couldn’t give in to his instinct to linger, to see her through to recovery, to steal a few more weeks, even days. The press would report that she’d survived the attack, where she convalesced, who visited. Somewhere his stalker watched and waited for the next news on him. If she heard that Siree was still in his life, she’d make another attempt.