Dead Heat (4 page)

“I’m Dr. Francis, Danielle’s surgeon. The bullet hit the rib, shattering it. The rib punctured the left lung, causing it to collapse and resulting in a hemothorax. That’s when blood fills the space between the lining of the lung and the collapsed lung. It is what caused Danielle to have such difficulty breathing and what resulted in her losing consciousness.

We inserted a chest tube into the lung cavity and connected it to a vacuum to drain the fluid and reinflate the lung. At the same time, we removed the bullet. She pulled through very well. She’s awake and resting as comfortably as we can make her in the ICU.”

“What happens now?” Mo asked.

“The chest tube will stay in until it is no longer draining blood. I would expect at least three or four days. Barring infection or any complications, she could be released in one to two weeks depending on how she responds to treatment.”

“Can I see her now?”

“Yes. She’s groggy from the medication, but it will do her good to see her family.” Dr. Francis looked around to the large group and frowned. “I can’t let you all back there. She needs her rest. Only immediate family, sorry.”

“I am Tony De Luca. I am her father, and this is her mother. Could the three of us go back now?” He asked as Mary De Luca embraced a visibly affected Mo in a tight hug.

“Yes, that should be fine. Follow me.” With Mary’s arm around him, Mo followed Dr. Francis through the door.

Paige finally allowed herself to close her eyes and give thanks. She swayed and leaned against Cole. It was as if all strength and energy had drained from her. She was so tired, so weak. She felt him move his hand up to her shoulder and pull her against him. She let her head fall against his chest and listen to his strong heartbeat. Cole leaned down and rested his cheek against her head.

“It’ll be okay. I promise. I need to interview them now. I don’t want to leave you here though. I need to make sure you are safe. I won’t be able to focus on my job knowing you are in danger.” She felt him gently kiss her head as he talked.

“I’m fine, Cole.” Paige nuzzled her head into his chest and took a deep breath. If she could, she’d fall asleep curled into Cole. Huh? No she wouldn’t. She was delirious after a day filled with terror. That must be it.

“No, you’re not. You’re just too stubborn to realize it,” he whispered into her hair.

“I am not! Why you” She pulled her head back and looked into his eyes. The silver sharpening as his temper rose.

“Paige. Stop. I get it. You don’t want to go into protective custody. But, I can’t work if I am constantly worried about you. So, why don’t you just come with me? I will know you are safe if I can keep an eye on you.” He moved his hand to her head and pulled her close again. She let her head fall back onto his shoulder and thought maybe Cole wasn’t as bad as he seemed.

“You mean I can come see Dani and Kenna with you?” She was so relieved she almost kissed Cole right there in the waiting room. Wait. Kiss Cole. Oh no. That would not be a good idea. They would likely run screaming from each other or spontaneously combust. Either way, it was too much for her to think about right now.

“Yes. You’d get to see them. But before you jump in and take over like you are prone to do, I need to ask them questions to get their take on what happened before you fill in any pieces for them. I don’t want you accidentally confusing their testimony.”

“Deal! Thank you, Cole.” She rose up on her toes and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before she could even think about it.

Paige followed Cole over to the nurses' station.

“I need to see McKenna Ashton and Danielle De Luca. Can you give me their room numbers and buzz us back please.”

“Sorry, immediate family only,” the young nurse in cupcake dotted scrubs said as she filled out a chart, never looking up to where Cole had opened his badge.

“Immediate family and FBI only sounds like a good policy.” He tapped his badge on the desk and waited for the nurse to look up and examine it.

“Okay. Ashton is in ER room 23. She’ll be moved up to a regular room in the next few hours. I think we’ll have her in 429. De Luca is in the ICU, bed six.”

“Thank you. While you are looking that up, is there any way to put down that I want their records completely private. Anyone who calls you can’t even acknowledge they are here or if you even ever heard of them?”

“Sure. I can do that.” The nurse started typing away. “They need extra security?”

“Yes. Danielle De Luca is the fiance of the Sheik of Rahmi. He’ll be providing private security as well. Please make sure you accommodate them. Further, McKenna Ashton is the wife of Will Ashton.”

“You mean UK quarterback Will Ashton who threw for 4,358 yards his senior season?”

Cole had managed to grab the nurse’s attention with that. Diplomat, siplomat... but a UK football legend was something else entirely.

“One in the same. Also, when it comes time for Danielle to be moved, can you try to put her close to Kenna? It will be easier on the guards and the nurses for that matter.”

“No prob. Hold on, I am just notifying security and the nurses on the fourth floor. Can I classify De Luca as a diplomat? That would allow a lot more leeway for the security team. I can also classify Ashton as a celebrity for further safety measures.”

“Yes, that’s fine.” Cole reached back into his wallet and pulled out a business card and handed it to the nurse. “Here’s my contact information. I want to know the second someone calls inquiring about either woman. I also want to know if anyone stops by. If anyone does that is not cleared by me, make sure security saves the footage for me to review.”

“Got it. I’ll spread the word in the nurse’s station. We’ll keep a good eye on them.”

“Thank you.” Cole slipped his hand into hers as he heard the ER doors buzz open. They walked past the nurses’ station and the ER chart board. A nurse was already there erasing Kenna and Dani’s name and replacing with Jane Doe 1 and 2.

They walked down a long corridor until they reached another station. They were instantly pointed in the right direction and found room 23. Paige stood on her tip toes and tried to look over his shoulder into Kenna’s room. It wasn’t an easy task considering he was just over six feet tall, a good six inches taller than her. She smiled as she saw Will sitting next to the bed holding Kenna’s hand. They were smiling.

“Paige! We’re going to have a baby!” Kenna squealed over Cole. Forgetting her promise to let Cole do all the talking first, Paige pushed past him and rushed to Will’s side of the bed to give her a gentle hug. As quickly as the celebrations occurred, the mood turned somber.

“How’s Dani? Please tell me she’s okay.” Kenna gripped her hand tightly.

“She’s stable. The bullet cracked a rib causing it to puncture and collapse her lung. They are draining the blood now and reinflating the lung,” Cole explained. “I am sorry to have to ask you, but can you tell me what you remember about the shooting?” Cole pulled out his ever present digital recorder and pushed record.

“Not much. Dani and I were talking about her engagement. We walked through the door and out into the parking lot. I remember putting my arm around her and then I heard the gun shots. Before I could react, I felt the bullet go through my arm. The force knocked me back and I knocked myself out when my head hit the pavement.”

“Did you see where the shots were fired from?”

“No. I didn’t see anything. I couldn’t even tell where the noise was coming from. I am sorry, Cole.” Will moved to sit on the bed and pulled his wife close to him.

“There is nothing to apologize for.” Cole paused and ran his hand over his head in an action now familiar to Paige. “I guess we know what Plan B is now.”

“Yes, but we don’t know who carried it out. Obviously it wasn’t Edwards or Chad,” Kenna said as she leaned her head against Will’s chest.

“That’s where you are wrong. Paige saw the shooter and is the only one who can identify him. If he is any kind of professional, then he’ll be back for her soon.”

“I’ll be fine, Kenna. Please don’t worry. Just take care of yourself and that baby.” She smiled when Kenna instantly moved her hand to cover her abdomen.

Paige stood up and walked up to Agent Asshole. It didn’t matter that for a couple of seconds she was crazy enough to be thankful he was there comforting her. Now his true persona was back: the over-protective jerk.

“It’s none of your business.”

“It’s my business when I am trying to keep you alive.”

She stood still and took in a deep breathe of sterilized air and tried to reign her temper in. She listened to the beeping of the machines and the ever present white noise of the air conditioning. She had always been the one with a short fuse in her family. Most of the time her brothers just laughed at her and didn’t take her seriously, which is probably why she tended to get offended pretty easily. But, Kenna was injured and clearly upset about her being in danger. She didn’t want to make it any worse so she took a deep breath and smiled at Cole.

“Won’t that be kinda obvious to the assassin? Should I hang an ‘FBI Agent Here’ sign just in case he misses you strutting around with your gun?”

“Don’t be a smartass. I’ll think of a cover. Now knock off the pissy attitude before we get to Danielle. And do not tell her you saw the shooter. I want her focused completely on her recovery and not worried about you.” Cole led her through a maze of corridors and finally she saw the sign for the ICU. He pushed the button and waited to identify himself.

“Okay, but only because I agree with you. Why did you tell Kenna?”

“She was strong enough to handle it. Shoulder shots hurt like a bitch, but they aren’t fatal." He spoke into the intercom once it was picked up, "Cole Parker of the FBI here to see Danielle De Luca.” The doors opened and they walked through into the ICU.

The ICU was very different from the ER. Lights were dimmed as much as possible. No radios or televisions cranked up. Nurses spoke in hushed tones. No doctors shouting out orders. A security guard approached Cole with his hand on his weapon.

“Yes. A guard will be there shortly. He’ll lap the ER as to not draw attention, but will look into Mrs. Ashton’s room every five minutes.”

“Great. Thank you.” Cole looked around the room and then pointed to the far side. “Come on, sweetheart, she’s right over there.”

Paige chose to ignore that her heart fluttered when Cole called her sweetheart. She simply wrote it off as a byproduct of anger. But when Cole slipped his hand back into hers and absently started rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, she couldn’t think of any reason to write off the somersaults her stomach was doing.

The sliding glass door was partially closed and the curtain behind it was drawn. Cole knocked quietly on the glass door and waited for the curtain to be pushed aside. Mary De Luca’s sharp blue eyes peered around and then softened when she saw Cole and Paige.

“I am so glad you are here. Danielle is demanding information on Kenna and we just don’t know the answers. We actually thought you would be the security Ahmed is sending over.” Mary pulled the curtain back and allowed them to squeeze in. It was going to be a tight fit.

Paige looked around the dim room and saw Mo sitting similarly to Will, right next to the bed and holding onto Dani’s hand as if he expected her to run away. Dani’s father sat at the foot of the bed, clearly thinking he was going to protect her from anyone who didn’t belong. Mary went around the bed and took a seat on Dani’s other side and smiled at them. Dani was propped up slightly and looked so pale she could blend in with the hospital sheets. A plastic tube extended from her left side and connected to a machine. It looked like Mary had tried her best to wash the blood off and braid her long dark brown hair.

“Paige! How is Kenna? Mo told me she was stable, but we haven’t gotten any new updates since then.” Cole turned his body sideways so she could slide past him. She turned her body sideways and squeezed all the way into the room. She was very aware of every inch of Cole’s body pressed against her back.

“She’s doing great. We just came from seeing her. Her shoulder wound will heal in a couple of months with the help of physical therapy. Did Mo tell you the big news?”