Zenith Rising (41 page)

Spencer noticed Joelle was as pale and
bilious as he felt. She grabbed onto Nick for support and Spencer
turned away.

Chapter
Twenty-Six

Erica eventually came around and squinted her
eyes to focus. She was in a hospital room bed and her body felt
heavy and achy. She lifted her left hand because her right arm was
bandaged up. So was her torso. A flood of memories came rushing
back to her. Tamira’s dad. Choking her, stabbing her. Then
nothing.

She’d been stabbed.
The knowledge of
that made her sick inside. Cold. It felt surreal. The sickening
knowledge that she was stabbed. For the rest of her life, she’d
know what it felt like to be stabbed, the victim of violence and it
was shocking.

Tobison had choked her, and stabbed her arm,
as well as her chest. He threw her from her car and took off. He
drove away in her car and her naive, innocent perception of daily
life was carried off with it. She remembered seeing the taillights
of her car fading as he sped away and disappeared. She remembered
lying on the cold, hard cement. She remembered all the blood oozing
through her fingers when she clutched her chest. Then she passed
out.

She heard the nurse in her room moving
around. There was only the glow of the bathroom light to illuminate
her room. She slowly turned her head, trying to get her bearings,
as a wave of vertigo, then confusion, filled her head. She
stopped.

Spencer!

Spencer was sitting as quiet and still as an
inanimate object, in the corner of her room, in a chair, watching
her. His gaze was dark and intent. He jumped to his feet and came
towards her.

He was okay! Spencer was just fine. Her eyes
ran the length of him to check him out and make sure she wasn’t
seeing things. No, he was perfectly fine. Tall, long and muscular.
Healthy and whole. She felt her breath exhale, as her eyes closed
in relief. She feared Tobison had left her to go find Spencer and
follow through with his vengeful threats.

“Erica?”

She opened her eyes at hearing Spencer’s
voice. It was raw, and hoarse, like nothing she’d ever heard from
him before. It was… emotional.

“You’re okay?” she managed to utter finally.
Just opening her mouth, she had to lick her lips and force out her
breath in order to make any sounds. Her chest felt heavy and very
painful.

“
Me?”

“He said he’d shoot you and he made me follow
you.”

Spencer’s eyes sharpened on her face. His
eyes looked hot, even scorching, as he looked over her with sudden
comprehension.

“That’s how you ended up in the parking
garage? You were ordered to follow me? Who, Erica? Who did this?
What did he do to you?”

“Later. Too tired.” She lifted her hand
towards his and he caught hers and held it tightly. His long
fingers, strong and smooth, covered hers. He looked down at their
joined hands, then up into Erica’s face. “How did you know to come
here?”

“Someone recognized you in the ER when you
were brought in. Nick was called. Joelle called me.”

She nodded and her eyes fluttered shut. She
was so tired. Too tired to think. To feel. To analyze. To even be
glad she was still alive. There was so much she and Spencer needed
to talk about and figure out. But none of it mattered anymore. What
mattered was that he was right there beside her, alive and well.
And so was she.

“What happened? Who did this to you?”

Erica opened her eyes again. “I was
stabbed.”

She said it out loud because she still
couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t fathom it. But it did happen and she
needed to acknowledge that. That was more important than trying to
answer everyone else’s questions.

Spencer’s eyes went to her arm and her chest,
his gaze darkening. “Were you raped?”

She saw the look on his face. The clipped
tone in his voice, which others assumed meant Spencer did not care,
but Erica knew Spencer cared too much. So much, he couldn’t stand
it. He couldn’t stand seeing her so hurt from being stabbed. And he
sure as hell couldn’t stand hearing that she’d been raped.

“No, I wasn’t raped.”

His shoulders seemed to drop and ease
slightly. Erica smiled softly, and added, “Just stabbed.”

He finally looked at her face and smiled at
her too, but only barely. There was no one else who could have
gotten her, and understood her then. A look and a statement were
enough; Spencer understood.

Spencer’s other hand came up to her face,
lifting her chin so gently, it made Erica’s heart ache. He was
looking at the bruises all over her neck.
Where she was
choked.
She had to tell him everything. How it happened, how
long it went on, where they went. That she watched him. But not
yet. She still couldn’t find the words to describe it, and was
still in shock. It all felt surreal.

His fingers softly caressed her neck and she
closed her eyes. She tried to suppress the tears gathering behind
her eyelids. She couldn’t believe she was a victim or that such an
act of violence could have happened to her. Or the gentleness and
caring of Spencer’s touch. She knew what this event would do to
him, and prove to him about life: that he was always right.
Everything always went bad and turned to shit. Life hurts, no
matter what.

“It shouldn’t have happened.”

She grabbed his wrist and clasped his hand.
“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Wasn’t it? If I hadn’t been mad at you, and
trying to punish you, I would have been there like usual. I was
there. I saw you after the last attack. I knew, if there was a next
time, it would be worse. And what did I do? I left you alone.”

“You and I were avoiding each other. I wanted
to be left alone, just as much as you wanted to leave me. You
didn’t do this. I didn’t do this.” Tamira did. She didn’t say it
out loud. Not yet. Not now.

Spencer looked down at their joined hands. “I
didn’t sleep with your sister.”

“I didn’t contact your mother.”

Spencer’s eyes shot up. Erica’s were already
on him. She smiled weakly and he finally, smiled back. “It doesn’t
matter right now, does it?”

“No. You being all right is all that
matters.”

He shook his head.“You not being all right is
what really matters.”

She started to speak but there was quick
knock at the door, and the door opened. In walked four doctors, all
of whom Erica had worked or consulted with in some capacity or
another, including Roy Bennett. Spencer immediately straightened,
and dropped Erica’s hand, as he stepped back, almost in deference
to the group of doctors who gathered around her hospital bed. Erica
hated to see how Spencer stepped back, instantly moving out of the
way whenever people, doctors, or anyone in authority entered whom
he considered more important than himself.

“Dr. Heathersby! Oh, look at you. I heard you
were attacked. I came as soon as they told me. I’m so sorry.” Dr.
Carrie Holdens spoke first, smiling kindly at Erica. Erica knew
that look and voice. She often used the same bedside manner herself
with many sick patients, or when conveying bad news to the family.
Erica hated being on this side of her business: being the patient,
the victim, the recipient of the doctors’ bedside manners.

Erica smiled as much as she could, but her
voice was raw, and her throat hurt. She didn’t want to talk to
anyone, or see anyone. Except Spencer. She wanted him, and the
significance of that wasn’t lost on her.

Tonight, things became clear to her, what she
wanted and didn’t want, more than any other single event in her
life.

“It was a random mugging,” Erica said in a
weak tone.

The other doctors talked and clucked over
her. She appreciated their concern, and taking time to see her out
of mutual respect. She knew she was well respected among the other
doctors; but right then, she didn’t care. She didn’t want to be a
doctor, or be polite or respected. She wanted to be left alone.
Alone so she could feel whatever she should have felt right now.
Whatever one should feel after being stabbed.

Finally the doctors left, except for Roy. He
waited until they exited, lingering near her feet. Glancing up at
Spencer, his look was clear that he wanted Spencer to leave.
Spencer was quiet, looming in the corner of the room, his arms
crossed over his chest, his gaze mean, with one hip resting against
the windowsill.

Roy cleared his throat. “Do you mind if I
have a minute alone with Erica?”

“Yeah, I actually do mind,” Spencer said,
without another word. Or moving. His gaze just narrowing.

“Erica?” Roy looked pleadingly into her
eyes.

“Uh, Roy, I don’t think he’s going to leave
me alone.”

“He still work for you?”

Erica looked over at Spencer and smiled. Then
she looked back at Roy. “No. He’s my boyfriend. And someone stabbed
me, so he’s not going to leave me alone anytime soon. And by the
way, you’re the jerk who cheated on me, so from now on, you’re
going to have to be more polite to
him.”

“He’s your boyfriend?” It was the same shrill
tone used by everyone else who heard about it. Erica wondered why
it was so shocking. What was shocking about their relationship?
Her? Or him?

“Yes.”

“Oh. Okay.” Roy frowned. Spencer was in a
mood and she swallowed and hoped Roy didn’t do anything to offend
her or piss him off because she feared what his reaction might
be.

“I just wanted to say I was sorry for getting
mad about the police last time you were attacked. When I saw you in
here with stab wounds, I felt just awful. I had no idea things
would escalate so badly.”

“No one did.”

“I did,” Spencer said from the corner.

“Spencer did.” Erica corrected herself.

“Who is doing this to you? And why?”

Erica shrugged, looking away. “Don’t know,
Roy. But I appreciate the apology.”

“I hope you know this wasn’t me. I was here
all night. More than one person can vouch for my whereabouts.”

“I know it wasn’t you,” Erica said, feeling
Spencer’s gaze sharpening on her face at the confidence in her
tone.

Silence descended, but Erica wasn’t in the
mood to make Roy feel better, or for idle chit-chat. She was
exhausted. And stabbed. She was stabbed and in the hospital.

“Okay then, I’ll let you get some rest. I’m
sorry, Erica… for everything.”

Together, they watched Roy leave and
Spencer’s gaze came right back to her. She closed her eyes.

“Who was it?”

His voice was deadpan and calm. As if Spencer
was asking her what her favorite TV show was. He knew now, she
could identify her attacker. He already picked that up, as he did
everything with her. And he was pissed off that she wasn’t saying.
Pissed she waited so long. And scared. He was deathly scared about
what happened to her and what could’ve happened to her. And he
couldn’t tolerate feeling scared for her.

She opened her eyes. “You don’t have to back
away from me when my colleagues or nurses, or even the freaking
mailman comes near us. Stay with me, stay next to me. You have
every right to be here, with me.”

“Who did it?”

She heard the steely edge of rage. She laid
her head back, closed her eyes, clenched her fists and said softly,
“I’m not going to tell you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you’ll find him and kill him, and
wind up in prison for the rest of your life. I’m not stupid enough
to tell you. Not right now. Not when your enraged enough to do
something terrible.”

He stepped closer to her and she felt his
anger, emanating off him in waves of heat. He gritted his teeth and
ground out in a slow enunciations, “Erica… who did this to
you?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I told the police.
And it’s what I’m telling you.”

“You’ll risk letting the perp get away
because you’re afraid of how I’ll react?”

“Yes.”

“Erica, you can’t do this.”

“Yes, I can. It was my attack. Mine. I get to
decide what I say and to whom. I get that much control. I also get
to prevent you from ruining the rest of your life over it.”

“Erica…”

“I want you to get Nick for me.”

“What? Nick? What the hell are you
doing?”

“I want you to get Nick for me.”

She finally turned her face and saw his dark,
fierce eyes. If he could have breathed fire, she was sure he would
have. Erica added softly, “Please. I’m too tired to argue. Do what
I ask.”

That got him, she saw the conflict: his anger
at her, but not being able to refuse her when she lay there with
two stab wounds. He spun around on his heel and left her room.
Erica’s body wilted. It took all her strength to do that. But she
had no choice. Spencer wasn’t thinking right and wouldn’t act
properly. Nick would. She had to trust Nick right now, and hope
Spencer understood later.

Nick came in a few moments later with Spencer
and Joelle.

“You know who did this?”

“I know. I’m going to tell you. But first, I
want you to call Rob Williams.”

Everyone looked at her as if she’d suddenly
grown two heads.

“Rob? Why the hell should I call Rob?” Nick
was angry with her now too.

“Because I can’t. And Spencer won’t. And I
need to tell someone who did this. So I need Rob here.”

No one understood, until Erica nodded at
Joelle. She got it. She stepped forward and put a hand on Nick’s
arm. “Rob can deal with Spencer. No one else can.”

Spencer bristled. “I don’t need to be fucking
dealt with.”

Nick turned and glanced at Spencer, then
Erica. “No. But she doesn’t want you killing whoever did this.
Because she must already know that you could. And would.”

Erica nodded. “So, I need you or Joelle to
call Rob.”

“Why me? I mean Rob and I aren’t exactly
friendly. Me being married to his ex-wife and all.”