Chapter 20
Anna burst into the waiting room to see Levi and the doctor’s heads bent together. They both looked up at her as she made a mad dash into the room. Levi reached out to slow her pace. “He’s alive. Take it easy. He’s alive.”
All the color washed out of her face as relief made her sway on her feet. She stared at the doctor, searching, looking for reassurance. “Will he be okay?”
“He’s not out of hot water yet. He has a long road to recovery, but his prognosis is a whole lot better than it was. The bullet went into the chest cavity, nicked the heart at the top and went through, lodging into a rib in his back. We got the bullet out, and he’s been stitched up. He’s lost a lot of blood, and we had to give him several units.” He sighed. “We lost him on the table.”
“Lost him?” At that she gripped Levi’s hands.
“His heart stopped while we were working on him. But we brought him back. He’ll be just fine.”
“Hold on to that thought,” Levi told her.
She glanced toward the door. “When can I see him?”
The doctor shook his head. “Not until I get him settled in ICU. The next twenty-four hours are critical.”
She nodded, biting her lower lip. Tears once again formed in her eyes. “Thank you so much for saving him.”
He reached out and patted her shoulder. “He’s a fighter. Everybody deserves a chance to live, but when they fight, it makes our job so much easier.” With a quiet smile he turned and walked off.
Anna walked to the bench against the wall and collapsed. “Oh, thank God,” she whispered.
She didn’t know what to do. All she could think about was that he’d survived the surgery and his chances were good. “We have to catch Brendan. Make sure he can never try this again.”
“We will,” Levi said. “Brendan’s luck has run out.”
She turned to study him. “Unless you know something I don’t, I don’t see how you can be so sure. That guy has been getting away with murder. Literally.” She turned to study the double doors marked Surgery where Flynn still was. “Any way we can set a trap for him? Do you think he would go after Flynn again?”
Levi looked at her. “He might. He’s gone through a lot of trouble already. What are you thinking?”
“Tell his brother how Brendan missed his mark, that Flynn will be home soon. There was some metal in his pocket, and the bullet was deflected. Brendan wasn’t there long enough to see the blood that was everywhere. So he can’t possibly know how good a shot he actually made. And then set up at my house and wait for him.”
“You’re assuming his brother will tell him.”
“I’m assuming his brother has already gone overboard trying to protect him, and at some point the two will talk over the next few days.” She shrugged. “Maybe even to just reassure Brendan he’s not up for murder charges.”
The others in the room looked at each other.
“That might work. But that’s leaving a lot open to chance.”
“Chance is all we have. He’s made several attempts at my house. If he thought he’d missed, this time he might be so frustrated and enraged he would come back for one final move to kill Flynn for sure.”
“She’s right,” Stone said. “Brendan’s always been a bit of a wild card. But I’m not sure about his brother. He’s a good guy. If he understands how out-of-control Brendan is right now, and the fact that he just shot Flynn in cold blood, I don’t think he would protect him. I think he would help us catch Brendan before he hurts anybody else.”
Just then the double doors opened, and Flynn was wheeled out. Anna dashed to his side, her hand over her mouth. He was unconscious, pure white, covered in tubes and blankets.
She turned to the others and said, “Set it up. I’ll play my part. I don’t want this to happen to anybody else ever again. I’m going in ICU with Flynn.”
The nurse shook her head and said, “Only family can be in ICU.”
Anna said, “I’m the only family he’s got.” She shot a hard glance at the three other medical personnel in scrubs, daring them to argue. Not one of them did. They smiled and gave her a nod.
In a low voice Ice called out, “Welcome to the family.”
Anna grinned. It felt good to belong.
Following the nurses and orderly, she waited until Flynn was moved into recovery. Then she grabbed the visitor’s chair and settled in for a long wait. She wasn’t leaving his side. Not again.
*
Flynn opened his eyes and slammed them shut again. The light was so bright it hurt. He lay motionless for several long moments, then tried again. He opened them just enough so he could see he was in a room. Likely a hospital room from all the white around him.
Rolling his head to the side, he saw the IV line and machinery all around. Sure enough he was in a hospital bed. He remembered vaguely what happened. But it was disjointed and jumbled in his head. Until the name Brendan whispered through his mind. With a flash he was back in the living room, staring at Brendan as he raised a gun and fired. Flynn remembered the crushing pain as his body fell to the floor.
That answered how he got here. Moving carefully, he rolled his head to the other side and smiled. Curled up in the corner of the visitor’s chair, feet tucked under her, her head resting on the back of the chair, was a sleeping Anna.
No wonder he’d survived. He had had his own guardian angel watching over him. He studied her pale skin and the bags under her eyes, realizing she’d probably been here since he’d been shot. She’d been sleeping upstairs at the time. He was just damn glad Brendan hadn’t gone up and shot her too. He saw a fresh bandage on her arm. He hadn’t been out so long that her arm had healed. That was good. A couple days he could deal with. He just didn’t want to be coming out from weeks in a coma. Apparently that played havoc with the muscles.
Suddenly, as if realizing he was staring at her, her eyes flew open. She gazed at him for a long moment in disbelief, then bounded to her feet.
“Oh, my God. You’re awake.”
He smiled. “I am.”
She reached down and gently picked up his hand. She brought it to her lips and kissed it. “I was so worried.”
“I remember Brendan shooting me,” he admitted. “What happened after that, I have no idea.”
“I’ll fill you in.” And she did briefly. It was enough for him to get an idea.
“How long have I been out?”
“Your surgery was yesterday morning. You’ve surfaced and gone under a couple times but not really conscious.”
“I suppose you’ve been sitting here, waiting all this time?”
She smiled. In a teasing voice she asked, “Are you telling me, if it was me in this hospital bed, you wouldn’t be standing where I am?”
He squeezed her hand. “You know I would.”
She glanced around and winced. “I did have to lie.”
“Lie?”
“Yes. Only family is allowed in ICU.”
And then he understood. His heart warmed, and his smile turned teasing. “Well, in truth that was just jumping the gun a little bit.”
She sat down at the side of the bed and eyed him carefully. He stretched up a long finger and placed it across her lips. Immediately she kissed it. “You will be part of the family,” he told her. “No way am I letting my guardian angel slip through my fingers.” He watched the moisture well up in her eyes.
The door opened, letting in a nurse who scolded Anna. “You were supposed to let us know immediately when he woke up.”
Anna jumped back and dropped his hand. “I’m so sorry. He just woke up though.”
The nurse bustled around, brushing Anna out of the way. Flynn lay quietly as she ran him through a series of tests and questions. She then turned to Anna and said, “The doctor’s on the way. When he comes, you’ll need to step out.”
Flynn watched as Anna collected her sweater, purse, several notepads, and a laptop. It looked like she’d planned to be here for a while. Just as she was about to exit, he called, “I love you, Anna.”
She turned and gave him a special smile that made his heart warm.
The nurse stepped in between the two of them, and he never got to hear or see her reaction. Then the door was closed. It opened almost immediately as the doctor stepped in.
And his focus turned to the other people who’d saved his life.