Shifting Gears (32 page)

“Doctor, wait! Wait, I have
to—”

He’s already gone.

I glare at Holt with my phone still
resting in my limp hand. I’m lightheaded, and suddenly know I’m
going to throw up. I barely make it to the bathroom before retching
with so much force my ribcage feels as if it’s coming
apart.

Holt rushes in after me and bends down
beside me, holding my hair back. “What the fuck? Baby, are you
okay? Relax, baby. Calm down.”

I push myself up and pull away from
him. “Get out!”

The blood drains from his face, and he
stares at me, but he takes two steps back, enough for me to slam
the door. I fight the urge to throw up again, but the shock and
suddenness of everything that’s just happened takes me over. I drop
back to my knees and lunge over the toilet, desperate for it to
pass.

After throwing up twice more, I slowly
get to my feet then wash my face and brush my teeth to get the
taste of bile out of my mouth.

I pull the door to the bathroom open
and look for Holt. He’s sitting on my bed, waiting. I charge him
right away, angry as hell. “Please tell me you did not know that
Vinnie Calhoun was here, in town?”

“Nicolette, I did, but
listen—”

“No, damn it. You listen!” I yell. “If
we’re going to make this work,” I point to myself then him, “then
you can’t keep stuff from me,
especially
if it involves me.”
I throw my hands up as I grunt. “I mean, don’t you think I had the
right to know? You leave here, you go wherever, I have no clue. I
lie in this bed, wondering if you’re coming back to me or not, not
knowing what kind of danger you’re walking into, because you don’t
tell me anything. I don’t ask questions because you told Aunt Helen
you don’t want me around this. It kills me not knowing, but this,
Holt, not telling me stuff that involves me? That’s wrong, and you
know it.”

He sits there for a moment, I guess
taking everything in and considering his response. “Babe, I didn’t
tell you, because I didn’t want you to worry. I see how you are
already. Always looking over your shoulder, constantly jumping when
you hear a sudden noise. You’re scared. I know. It fucking kills me
that I can’t get that out of you, and I sure as fuck am not gonna
add to it by letting you know that piece of shit is closer than you
think. I don’t like knowing that you lie in bed worrying about me,
babe, but I can’t do anything about it. This is my job. This is me.
It’s all I know. I promise you, though, that every night I will
make it home to you. Every fucking night, babe. There’s no other
place for me.”

I close my eyes, still feeling a
little queasy. “Okay, Holt, so maybe I can understand why you kept
it from me, but you can’t do that. You just can’t. Whether it
freaks me out or not, I deserve to know. Can you understand how I
feel? Can you promise me from now on if you know something you’ll
tell me?”

He gazes into my eyes with a tender,
yet troubled, look. He pulls me down to sit on his lap and traces
the line of my jaw with his finger. “I promise, babe.”

I force a smile. It’s a small victory,
but I’m proud of myself for standing my ground. Not easy when it
comes to him. At the moment, though, my victory seems pointless.
Knowing Vinnie is still out there, lurking, controls my thoughts.
And my fear.

I’d thought hearing Doc’s voice,
knowing he was okay, would calm me. It didn’t. What did he do? Why
is Vinnie Calhoun after him? His voice did seem relaxed, as if he
wasn’t in immediate danger, but Holt said he look tired, drained,
and he sounded the same.

Something tells me this isn’t over.
It’s just the beginning of whatever’s going on with Doc, and now,
with Holt caught up in it, thanks to me, I’m going to get
answers.

“Come on, babe, let’s get you back to
bed. You got work tomorrow.”

Holt slides me off his lap and lays me
down, covering me up. I try to pull away from him, no way I can
sleep, but my body aches. I lift myself up, but he stops
me.

“You need to sleep, babe. I’m here.
Not going anywhere.”

I drop my head on my pillow and pull
the covers up to my chest, my heart heavy with worry. I watch as
Holt undresses down to his boxers, loving the view but too tired
and too preoccupied with fear for Doc C to get aroused. He slides
in behind me, spooning me. With his warmth, his closeness, the
feeling of being safe in his arms, I instantly fall
asleep.

****

I’m near the end of my shift, sorting
out the files for the day. It’s been a difficult day for me, trying
to maintain some kind of normalcy after the short-lived
conversation I had with Doc last night. I can’t get his voice out
of my head. It sounded like he was under strain. Clearly, he was
worried, and in a hurry, judging by how quickly he ended our call.
I desperately want to help him, but I don’t know how, because I
still don’t know what’s going on.

When I woke up this morning, I
attacked Holt with questions, but he skirted all of them. He
promised me we would talk tonight. He’d tell me what he knew. Which
he swore wasn’t much.

So I’m anxious to get home, not only
to get answers, but to give him what I longed for last night. We’re
winding down to just under thirty minutes before closing, and it
looks like we might get out on time, unless an emergency comes
in.

I grab my phone to text Holt that I’ll
be home on time. When I have night shift and Holt’s working, I make
arrangements to get a ride with whoever has shift with me, lying,
telling them my car’s in the shop.

I have no intention of ever letting
anyone know what’s going on with Doc C. I won’t disgrace his good
name within the community. He is a good man, of that I’m sure. It
doesn’t matter to me that a man like this Vinnie Calhoun is after
him. Whatever he did, even if it was illegal, I know in my heart it
was done with good reason and maybe out of desperation.

I get an immediate response from Holt,
telling me, as I’d hoped, that he’s already headed home and will
come pick me up instead. I throw my phone back in my purse just as
I hear the commotion. A patient.

I reach for my phone to call Holt back
and tell him not to come, but I stop before dialing his number.
Something isn’t right. Jason’s voice is raised, and I hear what
sounds like a scuffle and then silence. What the hell?

I walk out of my office, heading to
the front, where I thought I heard the voices. Eerily, as I
approach, no one is in sight. I call out for Jason, then
Beth.

Nothing.

Maybe Jason took it outside? Maybe it
was some drunk, and he found a way to get him out of the hospital.
I’m walking through the lobby, peering through the hospital’s glass
front to see if Jason is outside, when I trip on
something.

I look down...and scream. Jason is
lying on the floor at my feet, in a pool of blood.

Oh my God. Oh my God.

“Jason, oh my God.” I drop to the
floor and kneel over him, trying to wake him then trying to see
where the blood is coming from. Is it his blood? Is he dead? Has he
been shot? Is he still alive? Oh my God. I need to call the
police.

There’s a sudden pain at the back of
my head.

Then nothing.

Black.

****

“Wake up, sweetheart.” The voice is
faint.

A push to my shoulder. “Wake up, baby
girl.”

I slowly open my eyes, squinting
against the sporadic bursts of light. My hand automatically goes to
cradle the back of my head. The pain is so intense, I have to close
my eyes again. My hand feels cold, wet. I slowly crack my eyes open
again and squint at my hand. Blood. What the hell? Am I bleeding?
What the hell happened?

My head is propped against something.
Glass. A window. I’m leaning against a window and outside lights
are flashing. Street lights. I’m in a car.

Suddenly, something is waving back and
forth in front of me. A hand. I’m not alone. Someone is beside me.
Waving their hand.

I lift my head, wincing at the pain,
and try to twist my neck as best I can to see who it is. A man.
Big. Real big. Looking down on me, waving his hand at
me.

“There she is. Hey, sweetheart, look
at them beautiful eyes, just like your daddy’s.”

What? Did he say my
dad
? Who is
this person? Where the hell am I? What the hell happened? Why am I
bleeding?

Then it comes back to me. Jason, on
the floor, bleeding. Then…everything went black. I was knocked out.
That’s why I’m bleeding. But where am I now? Who is this
man?

We’re driving, me and this
scary-looking man. Well, not him. Another man, just as
scary-looking, is driving. I try not to look either of them in the
eye and instead take in my surroundings. We’re sitting in the
backseat, surrounded by black. Feels like leather. Black leather
interior. I squint again at the driver, searching for the car’s
emblem to get its make. Three circles. Audi. I’m in an Audi with
black leather interior with two scary-looking men.

The grogginess is starting to wear
off. I’m feeling a little more alert now, but the pain is almost
unbearable.

Push past it, Nik.
Focus.

Where are we going? I look at the
street signs. Don’t recognize any of the street names. Are we out
of Coral Springs? Jesus, how long was I blacked out?

I reluctantly shift my eyes over to
the man beside me. I need to see what he looks like. I have to have
a description of him, so when Holt finds me after I escape, I can
tell him what my kidnappers looked like.

He’s got blond hair, but, like, a
cheap bleach job. He’s big, almost as big as Holt. He’s got a scar
running across his jaw, which makes him look even scarier. This guy
is bad news. And I’m in a car with him. I’m afraid of where we’re
going and why, but not afraid to demand to know. I’m not about to
share Jason’s fate if I can help it.

“Who are you? What do you
want?”

He throws his head back and laughs. A
sick, twisted laugh, like the ones you hear from the villain in a
scary movie right before he stabs his victim to death. I cringe at
the sound, wanting more than anything to get out of the
car.

He lifts his arm to touch me, which is
when I see it. A tattoo of a naked woman. My heart
stops.

I know this tattoo. I know this arm.
This is the arm that pressed me up against the brick wall that
night. The night I got my scar.

“Aww, sweetheart, you disappoint me. I
thought for sure you’d know exactly who I was. Most people tell me
my voice matches my face. Let me formally introduce myself. Ms.
Nicolette Stringer, I am Vinnie Calhoun. Pleased to meet you,
finally, and I must say your face is a thing of beauty. Tempting
indeed. Young, perfect. I see why Maddox wants to keep you to
himself. Not very nice of him not to share his women with me
anymore. Kind of greedy. Don’t you think?”

Oh my God. I can’t breathe. I need
air.

Why the hell would Holt have anything
to do with this man, considering what he told me about him? What I
know about him?

I can’t hold in my disgust. I spit at
him. Before I can even blink, he’s slapped me. Hard. I wince and
taste blood on my lip.

“Make no mistake, sweetheart, you do
not want to fuck with me. You may find this hard to believe, but I
really don’t want to hurt you. I’d much rather have you in my bed.
But if you continue to provoke me, I will force you to behave, and,
sweetheart, trust me, you won’t like my kind of pain.”

I look away from him, trying to hide
my absolute fear, not wanting to give him the
satisfaction.

Dear God, Holt, please
find me. And fast.

It seems like we’ve been driving for
hours. I can’t be sure, though, because I lost track of time. I
must’ve fallen asleep. Or passed out, I’m not really sure. When I
open my eyes, it’s still dark outside, and the scary man driving is
pulling off the road into a parking lot. I lift my head to see a
shining sign. We’re at a motel. Campbell’s, the sign
says.

“All right, sweetheart. Time to
go.”

Vinnie doesn’t recognize me, doesn’t
remember me. If he did, I’m certain I would’ve gotten more than the
slap across my face from what I did to him to get away that
night.

“I’m gonna warn you: try to run and I
will find you, sugar. You think your boyfriend is good? I’m ten
times better than that fucker.”

Yeah, whatever. Holt is going to rip
every single bone out of his body when he finds us.

“Come on, girl. Get your ass in
there.” Vinnie pushes me into a dark motel room that stinks of
cigarettes and mildew and sex.

I’m scared to scream, scared to run,
hoping and praying Holt will be here soon. I hear the sound of the
door being locked. I stand in the corner of the room, shivering,
not knowing what’s coming next, what they plan to do with
me.

“I gotta say, I can’t wait until
Maddox finds out I got you. Ain’t no way they’re going to keep the
nice doctor away from me now.”

My face must show my confusion,
because he lets out a roar of laughter. “Wait a minute, wait a
minute. Baby girl, please tell me your boyfriend told you? Fuck
yeah, now this shit right here is priceless, Ray, check this shit
out.”