Dead Running (29 page)

“Who said it?” I stared her down until she finally returned my gaze. “It was Damon, wasn’t it?”

She nodded. “Okay, yes, Damon said it. When we went to dinner.”

“Aha.” I gloated. The surge of triumph sending power into my legs. “Damon was talking about me during dinner with
you
.” I could hear his voice at the start of the race.
You know I prefer brunettes
. Oh, I was really beginning to like that man.

Elizabeth tossed her long, red hair but didn’t say anything for a few more miles. We approached mile sixteen and my legs were starting to feel it. Just two more miles and I would be done.

“You never did tell me anything about yourself,” Hot Redhead said.

I rolled my eyes. “I never could figure out why you cared.”

“Come on,” she goaded me. “It’s a way to pass the miles.”

I focused on regulating my breathing, but she just kept waiting and giving me these prodding glances. “Well, I’m a loan processor, but I’m going to quit soon and work in my field of expertise.” I puffed out my chest. “I have a degree in exercise science.” Elizabeth stared so I kept rattling, “I was born in Smithfield. I’ve lived with my grandma since my parents . . .” She didn’t need to know everything. I’d told her four sentences too much and she was still looking at me like my monologue disappointed her.

I straightened my elbows and shook my arms out, pinpricks danced along my forearms. “What is it you want to know?”

“Why you act the way you do.”

A couple of runners passed us. I bowed my arms again and increased my pace a bit. “What do you mean? I act perfectly normal. You’re the crazy one.”

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “Don’t think I’ll comment on that one. Okay, different question.”

“You’re killing me, here,” I said, pushing a sweaty strand of hair behind my ear. “Can we stop all the chitchat and just run?”

She flipped her ponytail off her neck. “If someone was threatening to kill someone you loved, what would you do?”

I stared at her like she’d grown blackheads and carefully enunciated each word, “You are crazy.”

“Answer the question.”

My sweat ran cold. “Stay away from me.” I upped my pace, tripping over my own foot. I sprawled on the ground and people rushed up to me.

“Are you okay?”

“What did she trip on?”

“Oh, sweetheart, you’re bleeding.”

I grunted and swept the rocks and blood from my palms and elbows. Elizabeth helped me off the ground. “I didn’t mean to scare you Cassidy.”

I arched an eyebrow. It seemed everyone was either scaring me or trying to protect me. Which crowd was Elizabeth in?

I stared at the numbers on my computer screen. I was supposed to be getting loan documents ready for a hefty-sized refinance. “Come on, Cassidy,” I muttered, “think about the bonus you’ll get when this closes.”

My cell phone rang. I quietly retrieved it and glanced at the caller I.D. Jared Christensen. Eyes darting behind me, I checked for my ever-watchful boss. He wasn’t staring through the connecting window he’d installed last summer so he could monitor my every move. He must be in the break room heating up Lean Cuisines. I repeatedly explained that ten Lean Cuisines were more calories than a Big Mac, but he said these were approved by his wife.

I flipped open the phone. “Hey, Jared, can I call you ba”

“Cassie!” Jared screeched in my ear. “It’s Raquel. She’s been in a wreck.”

I jumped from my chair. “Is she okay? The baby? Tate?”

“Tate was at a neighbor’s. Raquel’s a mess. They don’t know about the baby yet.” He let out a sob.

I grabbed my purse and keys from under the desk, clutching my keys so tightly they dug into my palm. “I’m on my way.”

“I’m scared.”

I faltered. Raquel injured? Jared scared? My world tilted. “It’ll be okay.” Such an empty promise, but all I had.

“Hurry.” The phone disconnected.

I scurried around the desk and plowed into my boss’s bulk. “Oof!” Chicken and veggies flew from his hands, showering both of us. “Cassidy,” he squawked. “Watch out.”

I didn’t stop to apologize.

He grabbed my arm before I could dodge away. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“My sister-in-law has been in an accident.”

“You can go.” He pointed at the floor. “After you clean up this mess.” He jabbed a pudgy fist at the computer. “And after you send the Roberts’ loan off.”

I stared at him. The Roberts’ loan was more important than Raquel? “I’ll finish it up tomorrow.” I tried to pull away from him.

He tightened the pressure on my arm. “You walk out that door, you might as well never come back.”

My jaw dropped. I’d done amazing work for him and every other loan officer in this company. “You would seriously do that to me?”

The lines around his eyes deepened. “You know how important this loan is.”

“My family needs me.”

He clasped my arm tighter. “Decide.”

I shook free from his greasy fingers. I was destined for better things than this job anyway. “Good luck with the Roberts.”

I ran around him, squishing carrots and zucchini into the carpet and ignoring his sputters and protests. The drive to the hospital was less than a mile. Not short enough to keep the tears at bay. I prayed and blinked and tried to drive a straight line. What if Raquel didn’t awaken? What if the baby had been injured? My poor family couldn’t take any more heartache.

*
         
*
         
*

Jared and I were in limbo. The hospital staff moved Raquel from the emergency room to the intensive care unit. They decided not to life-flight her to a larger hospital in Salt Lake. We took that as a good sign. Dr. Magona, a tall man with pale, receding hair and an inability to meet our gaze, found us in the waiting room and explained what was happening.

“Is the baby going to be okay?” I interrupted his boring speech.

His gaze flickered to me then settled on the wall behind me. “It appears the fetus escaped any significant injury during the accident, but would benefit from more time in the womb.”

“What about Raquel?” Jared asked. “Do you think she’ll be . . . okay soon?”

Dr. Magona shook his head. “It’s too early to tell. She’s still unconscious. We’ve set her tibia, fused L4 and L5, and stabilized the broken ribs. It doesn’t appear that the spinal cord was damaged. The biggest concern right now is the swelling on her brain. Her body is trying to heal itself and still provide for the fetus. Once the swelling recedes, she may awaken. She may not recover until after the baby is delivered. She may . . .” He shifted uncomfortably and thankfully didn’t finish the third option.

“Why not just take the baby now?” Jared asked.

“The baby will benefit from every extra day in the womb, especially his respiratory system.” The doctor clenched his clipboard. “We feel the safest route for both baby and mother is a wait and see approach.”

Jared looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. The doctor left. Jared and I were granted a few minutes each to visit Raquel’s room. Jared came out with red-rimmed eyes and gestured to the double doors of the ICU. “Go wake her up for me, will you, sis?”

I tried to smile. “I’ll do my best.” I picked up the phone, gave the nurse Raquel’s name, and waited for her to buzz the door open. Trudging slowly through ICU, I dreaded seeing my sister-in-law. Maybe I should just turn around. What could I do that would make it better?

Then I was in her room and there was nothing to do but look at her sad form, her stomach pitching the blanket like a teepee. I raced to her side and grabbed her hand. It was so cold. I almost dropped it again, but forced myself to hold on.

“Hey, El,” my voice whispered into the stillness broken only by beeping monitors. She looked awfulbandages and casts, pale skin and bruises.

“So . . . I have this new idea. I think you’ll like it.” I talked because I didn’t know what else to do. I told her all about my new plan to help children in impoverished countries be healthier with clean drinking water, healthy foods, and incorporating physical fitness and some fun into their lives. “It’s like combining two things I love, being healthy and helping the children. Perfect that I quit my job today so I can focus on my personal training business and my new charity work.” I looked down at her. I always told Raquel everything to hear her advice and because she always supported me, but obviously she wasn’t responding to these ideas.

“I promised Jared I would wake you up. Rambling isn’t working, maybe I should sing.” I took a deep breath. “‘Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.’” I warmed up and really got into it. ‘“Can’t wait to look in the mirror, ‘cause I get better lookin’ each day.’”

“What are you
doing
?” a voice hissed behind me.

I jumped and spun to face the intruder. A fuzzy-haired woman with a long nose and no lips stared at me.

“Um, sorry. My brother told me to wake her up. El likes it when I sing.”

The nurse folded her arms across her starched blue scrubs. “She needs to rest, missie, so pipe down.”

Missie
? I marched up to the woman and said, “My brother told me to wake her up so I’m going to sing until she wakes up.” I leaned in until she could smell my watermelon-flavored gum. “I’m going to sing my flipping heart out.”

The nurse backed up a step. “You’ve only got thirty seconds left of your visiting time.”

“Then I’ll make it good.” I shut the door, stunned at how I was standing up to authority today. I finished my song, albeit in a quieter tone. When I heard the door crack I gave Raquel a soft kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back soon.” I swung the door open wide and said to the stern nurse, “Thank you for taking care of her.”

She gave me a nod. I pranced out of ICU but reality hit as I neared my brother. Raquel was in trouble. My singing wasn’t going to make a difference. My dad waited for me, his arm circling Jared’s shoulder.

I ran to hug my dad, but fear laced the embrace. “What are you doing here? You can’t risk yourself like this.”

Dad’s face contorted in anger. He stuck his chest out. “Let them shoot me. I’m not going to hide away while they hurt my family.”

My heart constricted as my dad’s last phrase sunk in. “Hurt your family? You think Muscle Man did this?”

Dad cracked his knuckles, his lips thinning into a grimace. “The police said it was a hit and run. Eyewitnesses described the same men that chased you and me.”

Jared’s angry expression matched my dad’s. “They think they’re some kind of trained killers. Just wait until I get a hold of them.”

I nodded. “They’d better hope it’s you instead of me.”

*
         
*
         
*

I punched F4 on the vending machine, knowing the Snickers wouldn’t fix anything, but it was preferable to dying of hunger.

“Need some nourishment so you can run the halls of the hospital?”

I whirled to face the owner of that deep voice. The candy plunked to the bottom of the machine. All I could see was Jesse. My breathing became irregular. He filled out his scrubs in a way I’d never seen. “You actually are a doctor.”

Jesse grinned. “Every once in a while I dress up as one. What are you doing here?”

For a brief moment I’d forgotten about Raquel lying in a hospital bed. I swallowed and turned away, bending to retrieve my Snickers. “My sister-in-law was in a wreck,” I mumbled.

Warm fingers encased my upper arms and gently spun me to face him. My candy fell to the industrial carpet. I didn’t pick it up. Jesse’s eyes were so full of concern I had to study his chin to avoid bawling for the tenth time today.

“How serious?” he asked.

“It’s bad.” I sniffled.

“Who’s her doctor?”

“Magona.” I allowed myself to look up at him. His dark-chocolate gaze melted me. I swayed, grateful he held on.

Jesse pulled me against his chest, rubbing my back and murmuring comforting words, “Magona’s one of the best. She’ll be okay.” Holding me close, he ushered me down a quiet hallway before continuing to give me a hug for the memory books.