Once a Marine (32 page)

Kelly reached for BD’s hand. “Thank God, BD, thank God.” Wracking sobs distorted Kelly’s smiling face as she hugged her son.

Unrelenting pain drove Rafi to unwelcome consciousness. His eyelids snapped open to blinding bright lights. The smeary images of doctors and nurses swam in his vision. Through grunts of pain he gasped. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”

A man’s voice from behind gave instructions to someone about placement of dressings. He leaned forward, and Rafi caught a glimpse of him. “Welcome back, Marine. We thought we might lose you.”

Unable to shift or move his head, Rafi rolled his eyes to get a better look at the man. “Where am I?”

“You’re in Eastern Idaho Trauma Center. We’re debriding some nasty bear claw wounds on your back and neck. Now that you’re awake we’ll check your vitals again. I’ll give you something for the pain. Before we transfer you to the surgeon we need to know if you’re allergic to antibiotics.”

“No.” A flash of memory was followed by alarm. “Where’s the boy? I was carrying a small boy.”

“He’s down the hall. Prognosis is excellent. He’ll be like new in a few days thanks to you.” He pushed gently on Rafi’s shoulder to give them more access to his back.

“Ow! That hurts!” Rafi clenched his teeth so hard his jaw muscles twitched.

“I’m sorry. I’ll give you something to knock you out.”

Rafi’s hand flopped on the gurney. “No, wait. I left two men at the site of a downed helicopter when I took the boy to find help. Somebody needs to go after them.”

“They have a ground and air search going on now. They may have to call it off after full dark, but from what we last heard it looks good for locating them before that. They may already have them.”

Rafi clenched his teeth. Sweat dripped from his temple, burning his eyes. “Can you give me something to take the edge off the pain that won’t knock me out? I want to know when they’re found and hauled out of there.”

Patting his shoulder the doctor said, “You’re the boss.”

Another physician entered the room and spoke to the attending doctor. “We’ve someone out here who believes she can identify your patient. OK if I bring her in for a moment?”

“As long as she stays clear of the sterile area. And just for a minute. We’re not finished.”

Rafi fastened his gaze on the door. The woman on the other side of that door had to be Kelly or Beautiful. He grunted when a needle pricked his back and the local anesthetic stung his skin. Gasping, he continued to stare.

The door swung open and BD stepped inside. The other doctor prevented her from coming any closer. Rafi wiggled his fingers. “Hello, Beautiful. You still my girl?”

BD’s hands flew to her mouth, stifling a whimper. Her willow green eyes swam with tears as she stared and nodded. She dropped her hands and silently mouthed his name. Her knees buckled, and the accompanying doctor supported her.

BD turned to face Rafi as the physician led her from the trauma room. She her voice was barely audible. “I love you, Rafi.” She slumped onto the first chair outside the door, wrapped her arms around her midsection, and dropped her head to her knees.

A hand on her shoulder squeezed gently. “I presume that’s not your brother. Stay right here while I find the admitting clerk. You can give her his name. They’ll get the rest of the information from him later. I have a hunch they’ll give him a strong sedative before the surgeon goes to work.”

BD reached up and took his hand. “Please tell me, is he going to be OK? How bad is he hurt?” Her chest heaved with her attempt to stifle a sob.

“I won’t paint a rosy picture for you. His back and neck have severe wounds. He lost a lot of blood. But he’s strong. On initial exam we saw scars from old wounds. A large scar on his leg looks to have been as severe as this. This Marine has survived combat.”

She gave the admitting clerk Rafi’s name, address, and age. She had to tell Kelly they hadn’t found Jack yet. Shame and guilt flooded her, but why should she feel guilty that Rafi had been rescued and not her brother? Was it wrong for her to be overjoyed to see him alive? How could she hide her elation from Kelly? Should she?

Chase slept on Kelly’s lap. Someone had brought in a wooden rocking chair with
Pediatrics
stenciled on the side. Kelly hummed softly while she brushed her hand across Chase’s forehead and hair. The look of relief and contentment on her face was simply beautiful. BD would remember that image always.

She stepped forward on cat’s feet. “Kelly? It was Rafi who was brought here with Chase.”

Kelly reached for BD’s hand. “God bless that man, he saved my baby’s life. The nurse told me he carried Chase for miles from the crash site. I’m so happy for you, BD. Is he going to be all right?”

She shouldn’t have doubted what Kelly’s honest reaction would be on hearing her good news. Kelly loved BD, wanted only good things for her, in spite of the fact she must be agonizing over the lack of information about Jack.

BD knelt down in front of the rocker. “The doctor thinks he’s too tough not to survive. I think so, too. They expect to bring Jack in before nightfall.”

Kelly squeezed her hand. “Jack’s going to be OK, I just know it. If Rafi and Chase survived the helicopter crash, so did Jack. When can I talk to Rafi?”

“Probably not today. They’re taking him to surgery to patch him up. He was mauled by a bear and lost a lot of blood. I can’t describe how happy I was to see him. I love him so much.”

“I know, honey. I think you’re very lucky to have found Rafi, even if he
is
a man.” Kelly smiled at her little inside joke. “Now, would you do something for me?”

“Anything.”

Rising to her feet gingerly, Kelly handed Chase to her. “I need to clean these abrasions on my knees.” She scrunched her eyes. “And I must get to the bathroom before I mess up the only clothes I have within a hundred miles.”

Extending her arms for the sleeping child, BD leaned forward and brushed a kiss on Kelly’s cheek. “Take your time. I’m going to enjoy holding this warm little treasure for you.”

Kelly had been gone less than a minute when she came rushing back into the room. “They found them! They’re bringing Jack and another man in now. The attending nurse told me the rescue helicopter has landed outside. They radioed ahead that both men are awake. I’m going to clean up and go to the admitting area.”

A swoon of relief filled BD. “Yes. Go. I’ll stay here and wait. Kelly, I’m so happy.” BD’s tears reflected those on her sister-in-law’s cheeks. All would be well now.

Chapter Twenty-Two

BD called Dr. Gillespie to relate the happy news. He, in turn, told her that Garth had been in surgery for a few hours to repair two leg fractures. His injuries were greater than he originally thought.

“I’m so sorry he was hurt. Do you think he’ll make a complete recovery?”

“Yes, I do. We have an excellent orthopedic team here at St. Johns. We see all kinds of bone injuries during ski season and almost as many during the rest of the year. Garth will be fine.”

“I’ll share that news with Kelly. We’ve been worried about him. I guess he won’t be looking for his truck any time soon.”

“No, he won’t, so don’t you worry about that. You keep in touch.”

“I will, and thanks for all your help.”

Her next call went to Cruz Aero. They were closed this late, but the answering service promised to locate Joe and have him call her.

Chase was moved from the trauma unit to pediatric nursing. Kelly was distressed because she couldn’t be in two places at once, with Chase in Pediatrics and Jack going to a different floor once they repaired his fractured collar bone.

“Kelly, we can take turns. You go with Jack to recovery. I’ll stay with Chase. When Joe calls I’ll have to step outside the hospital to talk to him, because they have signs all over the place, ‘No Cell Phones.’ I’ve got this on vibrate, and I’ll ask Joe to hold till I get outside.”

Kelly gave BD a quick hug. “Chase will probably sleep the rest of the night. The poor little guy is worn to a frazzle.”

“They’ll bring a cot to the room so you can sleep here tonight, Kelly. Once you’re all settled I’ll go back downstairs and sit with Rafi.”

When Cruz Aero located Joe, he returned her call. BD told him what had happened.

“That was Cruz? Jill and I saw it on the late news. What was he doing flying rescue? Was somebody in the prince’s party injured?”

BD shook her head. Surely she misheard him. “Prince? I thought you said prince.”

After a brief pause, Joe cleared his throat. “Look, I don’t see any point in keeping you in the dark. I expect it’ll soon appear in a follow-up story in the papers and on TV. Rafi’s a member of Prince Faysal’s security detail in Jackson.”

Her back stiffened, her tone snappish. “You knew he was in Jackson when we talked before, didn’t you?”

“Yes, sorry, I did. But Rafi’s contract with Silverstone requires the names of security personnel to be confidential. It’s for their safety as well as those they protect. I didn’t lie to you. What choice did I have?”

BD took a breath. “That’s OK. I’m just so anxious about him. I didn’t mean to yell.”

“Don’t give it another thought. Can you tell me why he was involved?”

BD recounted the day’s events as well as what she knew about Rafi’s injuries. Joe wasn’t surprised to hear Rafi carried Chase for miles from the crash site. “It sounds like something he’d do without thinking about it twice.”

BD smiled sadly and shrugged. “He’s a hero. He didn’t hesitate at all when they asked him if he would take the place of the Medivac. He just did it.”

“That’s Rafi.”

Her lips began quivering. “I’m so ashamed of myself for picking a fight with him over something as trivial as his opinion of my job. Former job, that is.”

“Rafi’s in love with you. He said
he
was responsible for that. He tried to locate you to patch things up.”

“I’m an idiot.”

“No. It was a big mix-up. He tried to find you to apologize. He didn’t want to leave for the Jackson job, but he couldn’t afford to turn it down. It puts us in the black for the rest of the year. It’s a lucrative, cream puff assignment.”

She shook her head and paced back and forth outside the doors of the hospital. “It was my fault. I was forever complaining about my job. I know he didn’t disrespect me.” She sighed, slumping back against a bench outside the doors.

“Promise you’ll keep me up to the minute on Rafi’s condition. I’ll need to do some reshuffling down here. We’re going to be short-handed.”

“Would you call his parents so they don’t first learn about it on TV or in the papers?”

“Absolutely, but I’ll wait a couple of hours. It’s the middle of the night there. I don’t want to wake them with bad news.” BD heard muffled speech, and then Joe came back on the line. “When you feel up to it, Jill wants to talk to you.”

“Give her my best.” She clicked off, shoved the phone in her pocket, and went back inside the hospital.

BD took the elevator to Rafi’s floor. They’d done some switching, and now Jack and Rafi shared the same semi-private room.

She tiptoed in and crept quietly to Jack’s bedside. He slept peacefully. She swallowed the lump in her throat and touched his hand. Her little brother.

Crossing the short distance between the beds she stood next to Rafi. She brushed his cheek with her fingertips and snatched back her hand at the heat of his skin. He burned with fever. BD hurried to the nurse’s station.

“Can I help you?” A clerk looked up from some papers. “We’re right in the middle of shift change, so it’s a bit hectic.”

BD leaned her elbows on the counter. Her heart tripped a drumbeat in her throat. “I don’t know if it’s a matter of concern, but your patient, Rafael Cruz—in my brother’s room?” She turned and pointed. “I think he’s running a fever. Is that normal?”

The clerk rose from her chair. “I’ll get a nurse for you. Wait right here, Miss…?”

“James. BD James. No, I’m going back to his room.”

She nearly ran to Rafi’s bedside. She put her hand on his feverish cheek.

He groaned. “Water…thirsty.”

BD took a breath, which became a sob. “Rafi, darling, my hero, I’m here.” She reached for a glass, poured water into it and held a straw to his dry, cracked lips. “Here’s some water. Drink. Can you drink it?”

He didn’t respond, so she dipped her finger in the cold water and dropped some on his lips. The nurse entered the room. BD turned to face her. “He’s on fire! He asked for water, but I can’t get him to swallow any.” Steel bands of tension squeezed the back of her neck and shoulders. She was unable to breathe normally.

A burst of activity happened around Rafi. The nurse recorded his temperature, left the room, and returned with a doctor. They asked BD to leave, but she refused. Instead she stepped backward to Jack’s bed. The nurse yanked the curtain separating the two beds. BD still had a clear view of the door. Another nurse arrived with a plastic bag of liquid and disappeared behind the curtain. BD picked up snatches of their muffled conversation.

The next thing she knew, two male attendants arrived with a gurney. They slid Rafi from the bed and wheeled him through the door.

BD sprang forward and jerked the curtain back. “What’s happening? Where are you taking him? Somebody answer me, dammit!” She ran after them.

“We’re returning him to intensive care.”

“Why? What’s wrong! You have to tell me.”

“Are you a relative?”

“He’s the man I’m going to marry. Please, you can’t keep me in the dark.” She was ready to smack the doctor or tear out her own hair. “I have to know what’s happening.”

He took her elbow, “All right, come with us. He’s spiking a fever. We need to find out why. If he has an infection, we have to determine what it is to decide the course of treatment.”

Time and movement dragged. On stumbling feet she followed Rafi’s ravaged and feverish body, each step like pulling her feet from sucking mud. Voices around her took on a hollow quality. Her head an echo chamber, BD fought to concentrate on the doctor’s words.