Lincoln Hospital (Trauma #1) (12 page)

“I
’M JUST SAYING, Thene, you two have danced around each other for almost three weeks now.  When are you going to get over it and call him out on his asshole move?” Sabine asked in a low voice one morning as they followed behind Webster and the other interns.  They were doing their routine rounds and next for them to see was Sebastian, the little boy who’d stolen her heart the first time she’d met him.

“I’m not, Sab. It was a momentary lapse in judgement on my part and I won’t let it happen again.  All dealings between C—Dr. O’Reilly and I will be strictly professional.  I need him to be my teacher; nothing more.”  Sabine had switched from team get-Cian-in-Athena’s-pants to team I-want-to-kill-him-for-hurting-Athena in a matter of seconds after finding out about what had happened in the on-call room.  It’d taken everything Athena had to talk her down and get her to cease and desist before she hunted Cian down and cut off his balls like she wanted to.  That was what Athena loved about Sabine, her fire and her loyalty.  She couldn’t have asked for a better best friend.

“Good morning, Sebastian, Mrs. Harris,” Webster greeted them as they stepped into the five-year-old’s room.  They had been rounding on the Harris family every morning and Athena had formed a tight bond with Sebastian.  He was the sweetest little boy, a real sports nut and had a love of the outdoors.  Mrs. Harris was a widow; her husband had been killed the year before in a car wreck.  She spent every waking hour at the hospital, only taking a break when she needed to tend to some matters at their home.  Athena couldn’t imagine what the stress of worrying about her child dying was doing to her, especially on the heels of the fresh grief of losing her husband.

She often snuck in on her down time to bring Sebastian new coloring books or play a quick game of Crazy Eight’s, his favorite card game.  He somehow had it in his head that it was actually poker and she didn’t have the heart to set him straight.

“Good morning, Dr. Webster.  Hi, team,” Mara Harris greeted them the same way she did every morning.  The toll of waiting on a new heart for Sebastian was starting to show in the dullness of her hair and the worry lines around her eyes.

“Athena!” Sebastian exclaimed when he saw her.  His voice lacked its usual enthusiasm and his coloring was more gray than usual.  He was growing more and more sick by the day and if they didn’t get him a heart soon; Athena feared their worst nightmare was going to come true.

“Hey, little man,” she greeted him.  He grinned but it didn’t quite reach his eyes this time, a fact that broke her heart.  He was only five, he should be out playing t-ball and chasing frogs—not lying in a hospital bed waiting on a miracle just so he could live.

“Can we play poker later when you’re hiding from work?” he asked, earning her a raised eyebrow from Webster.  She laughed nervously and twirled a lock of her hair.  Dick snickered and she wanted to kick him.

“When I’m on my
break,
yes we can definitely play poker.” she corrected him.

“Maybe instead of teaching children to play poker you should be worrying about their medical care,” a voice called out from the doorway.  She knew it was him, she’d know that voice anywhere, despite her best efforts to forget he existed.

“Poker is code for Crazy Eights,” she answered without meeting his eyes.  If he wanted to think she wasn’t prepped on Sebastian’s case; let him.  She’d answer any damn question he threw at her. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and paid attention to the update on Sebastian’s care.  When they were finished, she told Sebastian she’d see him later and since he was the last patient they had to round on, used the free moment to escape into the unusually empty lab.

Damn him.  He had a way of affecting her like no other.  He’d made it clear he didn’t want anything to do with her so why did she care what he thought?

Pacing the room, lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the figure behind her until a shadow fell over her and arms encircled her; clamping down and trapping her arms to her sides.

Hot breath whispered in her ear and sent a chill of fear down her spine.  “Well, well, what do we have here?  A hot as fuck piece of ass doctor all by herself,” the voice was unfamiliar and full of malice.

“H—” she started to scream but was cut off when his hand slapped over her mouth and pulled her head back against him roughly.  His other hand worked its way down the front of her body and into her scrub pants, rubbing her pussy roughly over her panties.

“You don’t want to go screaming and ruining our fun now do you, lady doc?” His tongue licked her ear and she recoiled away from him, struggling as much as she could to get out of his hold.

Terror gripped her, but she knew she had to fight if she wanted to get away unharmed.  She stomped down hard on his foot and then drove her elbow into his stomach, elated when he loosened his hold enough for her to get free and make a break for the door. Just as she reached for the handle, he latched onto her again, this time grabbing her hair and dragging her back.  She stumbled and landed in a heap on her ass, crab-walking backwards to try and escape.  He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet. Shoving her down on the lab table, he grunted as his actions sent glass crashing to the floor around them.

“Please.  What do you want?” she asked, hoping to keep him talking. His blue eyes were manic and his long dirty hair hung over his face as he stared down at her.

“You fucking people cut off my medication and I need it.  I can’t survive without it; don’t you see?” He pulled a large cutting knife from the waistband of his jeans and waved it in front of her face. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you don’t give me what I need.” He pressed harder between her legs and Athena felt tears drip from her eyes his erection rubbed against her.

“Please.  Please don’t do this,” she begged as he pushed the knife to her neck and started fumbling with her pants managing to drag them and her panties down to her knees.

“You want it.  They all fucking want it, fucking whores,” he mumbled.  He got his jeans down to his ankles and no matter how hard she bucked, she felt the tip of him at her entrance and she began to scream, not caring if he cut her.

Suddenly, his weight was lifted off her and a gush of cold air hit her.  She had a second to sit up and see Cian there struggling with her attacker.  The man swiped out with the knife once and Cian jumped back to avoid the slash.  To her amazement and horror, he rushed forward, taking the man by surprise and in one swift movement, snapped his neck.  The attacker fell to the ground, his neck bent at an odd angle and his cold, dead eyes locked on her.

“Oh, God, oh, God!  You...you killed him! He came in here and I was in here and then I ran but I fell and then the knife and my pants but you...you killed him,” she babbled, shock starting to set in.

Cian approached her slowly and pulled her pants up her legs, covering her.  “Athena.  It’s okay.  You’re safe, I promise, it’s okay now.” Hearing those words broke the dam and loud, choking sobs ripped from her throat as she threw herself forward into his arms and cried into his chest.

“Thank you.  Thank you,” she mumbled against him.  Her tears soaking his shirt did something to Cian.  The coldness around his heart began to crack and thaw a little as this brave woman broke and clung to him for support.  She was a fighter and would have kept fighting even if he hadn’t heard the commotion and investigated.  The pure violent fury he’d felt when he saw that fucking cocksucker on top of her had been enough to propel him forward and end his life.  He wished now that he’d had more time with him, but the deed was done and Athena was safe. That was what mattered.

He helped her stand and together the left the lab, Cian ordering the receptionist at the main desk to call the police.  He led Athena to the attendings’ lounge and got her a cup of water before paging Sabine.  She’d want her best friend there to lean on while she gave her statement to the police.

Twenty minutes later, two detectives entered the lounge, one male, one female.  The female was an older woman with hair just starting to gray pulled back in a low bun.  The male was much younger, probably early thirties and handsome with dark hair and blue eyes.  He approached Athena first and sat down in a chair across from her.

“Dr. Payne? I’m Detective Seth Holloway and this is my partner, Detective Janet Babb.  We need to ask you a few questions about what happened, are you feeling up to that?” His tone was kind and his eyes full of compassion as he watched her.  Something about him immediately put her at ease and she nodded, not trusting herself to speak at that moment for fear she might burst into tears again.  She needed just a few more minutes to compose herself.

The door banged open and Sabine flew in like a hurricane. “Where is he? Where is the fuck that hurt you? I’ll kill him, I swear to God I’ll tear his limbs off like chicken bones and feed them to the dogs,” Sabine spit out, her eyes darting all around the room as if she expected her attacker to materialize at any second.

“Sabine,” she croaked, her throat raw from holding back the tears.  “I’m fine.  He’s...” her eyes met Cian’s, “he’s gone.”

“You’re damn right he better be gone.  In handcuffs carted off to prison where he belongs,” she glared at the two cops and crossed her arms over her chest.  “Well?  Why aren’t you carting him off?” she demanded.

“Because I fucking killed the son-of-a-bitch,” Cian told her, exasperated with the entire situation.

Sabine sank down on the sofa beside Athena.  “Well okay then,” she replied, calm for the moment.

Detective Holloway cleared his throat.  “Can we get started now, Athena?  Tell me what happened when you entered the lab.”

She recounted everything she remembered, wrapping her arms around her stomach and rocking slightly when she explained in precise detail how he’d assaulted her. Cian’s blood boiled hearing what he’d done and tried to do and he severely wished he could kill the fucker all over again.  Thank fuck he’d got there when he did.

“And that’s when you came in, Dr. O’Reilly?” Holloway asked.  The man was regarding him with intelligent eyes and a friendly smile.  Cian was no fool though and while it may have been justified, he’d still killed a man and needed to be sure he was as accurate as possible in his re-telling of the events.

“Yes.  I found the assailant on top of Dr. Payne...”

Athena tuned out Cian’s explanation of what he’d done, not needing to hear the words.  The image would be forever burned in her memory; she saw the man’s face every time she closed her eyes.

Sabine’s pager went off and she swore.  “I gotta go, but I’ll be back.” She kissed Athena’s forehead and then surprised everybody by standing and wrapping Cian in a bear hug.  “Thank you.  We’re each other’s only family, so...just thank you.” she said simply and then walked out.

Detective Holloway stood and placed a comforting hand on Athena’s shoulder.  “I think we have everything we need for now.  I want you to go home and try to relax.  Here’s my card.” He handed her a small white business card. “Call me if you need anything at all, night or day.” He snatched it back out of her hand and scribbled something on it.  “That’s my personal cell as well.  Just in case.” Athena stared up at him, unsure but wondering if he was hitting on her.  When he just smiled that kind smile again, she brushed it aside and thanked him for everything. “Stay available in case we need you for anything, Dr. O’Reilly,” Babb told him and then they left the room.

“Do you need a ride home?” Cian asked her as soon as they were alone.  She looked so fragile and scared sitting there.  The urge to gather her back into his arms was strong, but he kept his distance.

“I’m fine.  My friend will take me,” she replied, not looking up.  He turned to leave and then took one last look at her, fighting against every instinct to stay and comfort her.  Just as he stepped in the hall, she called him back.

“Cian.  Thank you, you saved my life.” He nodded and then left her sitting there alone.

Athena's hand visibly shook as she poured herself a healthy glass of wine later that night in the safety of her high-rise apartment.

She’d lied to Cian when she told him she had a ride home. Conflicted by what she felt after he saved her, she hadn’t wanted to be alone with him.  Instead, she drove herself home which in hindsight wasn’t a smart idea.  Her hands had shaken the entire time and she’d nearly caused several accidents.  Now that she was safely home, what she needed most was a lot of wine and a soak in her tub to wash away the horror of what had nearly happened to her.

She flashed back to the disgusting man's hands on her, the filthy things he'd whispered in her ear, the feel of the cold steel of the knife pressed against her throat. Shuddering, she gulped the wine and took a few deep breaths. If Cian—Dr. O'Reilly—hadn't got to her when he did, who knows what would have happened. The thought had tremors running through her as she fought to shake off the chill.

Heading to the bathroom to make good on her plan to wash the memories away in a soothing bubble bath; Cian's cold eyes crept into her mind. The undiluted rage she'd seen, the concise way he'd disposed of her attacker with precision...well it was a little unnerving, no matter how grateful she was. There was a darkness simmering in him, something beneath the surface that he fought hard to conceal. As terrifying as it was, it was also alluring in a way. Seductive even. Something about his savage skills was damn sexy.