Forgotten Memories (SWAT: Top Cops Book 4) (10 page)

“Hide, Gabriella,”
her father whispered urgently.
“Under the desk. And don’t make a sound! No matter what happens, don’t let them see you!”

She hadn’t understood what was going on, but she scrambled beneath the oak desk and covered her ears when the men started yelling.

Pain crushed her temples and suddenly, Shane was there, shaking her awake.

“Gabby, wake up! You’re safe, Gabby. It’s only a dream.”

Her eyelids fluttered open and she realized the lamp was on and Shane was standing over her, holding on to her shoulders as if to keep her from thrashing around.

“What happened?” she asked in confusion, trying to throw off the effects of the nightmare. “Why are you here?”

“You were screaming,” Shane said in a low, gravelly voice, his eyes full of concern. “You scared me to death, I thought for sure Creighton had found you.”

She grimaced and put a hand to her head, trying to press the ache away. Now that he mentioned it, her throat hurt as if she’d spent the day shrieking at the top of her lungs. “Sorry,” she murmured.

“I’ll get you a cup of water,” Shane said, releasing her shoulders and heading into the small bathroom.

She pushed herself up until she was sitting on the edge of the bed. She had to grasp the bedside table to keep herself steady.

“Here you go.” Shane returned to her side and handed her a cup of water.

She was grateful for the arm he anchored around her shoulders. “Thanks,” she murmured, taking a sip. “I’m sorry, but I might need my headache pills again. They’re in my duffel.”

He brought the pill bottle over and held her glass so she could take them. “You don’t have to apologize, Gabby. I’m just glad you weren’t in danger.”

She couldn’t suppress a shiver and did her best to push the last remnants of the nightmare away. “I haven’t had this particular nightmare in a long time. Years, actually.”

“But you’ve had this one before?” Shane asked with a puzzled frown. “What happened?”

She hesitated, reluctant to relive the painful past. “It’s nothing, really. Just a memory of my father telling me to hide. And then nothing but angry voices and pain reverberating through my head.”

“Your father told you to hide?” he echoed. “But you don’t remember anything more? That seems odd, considering your amazing memory.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she hadn’t said anything at all. “I was eight,” she reminded him. “And it hurts to think about it.”

Shane knelt down in front of her so he could meet her gaze. “Gabby, don’t you think it’s strange that you get a headache every time you think about your father?” he asked in a gentle tone.

It took all her willpower not shut him out. “Of course I think it’s strange. My mother took me to see a psychologist right after we moved, but that didn’t help. Besides, as I said before, what difference does it make now? My father died twenty-one years ago. Why on earth would anything happening now be connected to something that transpired way back then?”

“I don’t know,” Shane said. “I agree that it doesn’t seem likely that someone who might have known your father had come back to find you after all these years.”

“Exactly,” she said with a sigh.

“But, Gabby, I have to be honest with you,” Shane continued, his expression grave. “These terrible headaches of yours are troubling. I think they’re a sign of something serious, something you shouldn’t ignore.”

She frowned, not liking what he was insinuating. “You honestly want me to see a shrink?”

“I didn’t say that. But don’t you agree it’s possible you may have repressed some painful memory? Something that’s going to continue to cause you headaches until you figure out what happened?”

She stared at him for a long minute. Deep down, she knew he was right, although she desperately wished that he wasn’t.

“I don’t know,” she whispered helplessly. “Maybe. But do you really believe that my headaches have anything to do with what’s going on now?”

“I don’t think we can afford to assume that your past isn’t connected to whatever is going on now,” Shane said. “Maybe Creighton is linked to Richard’s gambling debts. Or Creighton might be linked to Eric Ambrose, who certainly has a reason to search for the notes you kept during your residency. But will you promise me to at least think about it?” His gaze burned into her as he reached out and took her hand in his. “Please? For your own personal health as well as for your safety?”

She nodded, unable to refuse his request. Because he might be right. Not only would she be free of these infernal headaches, but maybe she needed to know what key her mind held about the past.

And she couldn’t deny that not only was her safety important, but Shane’s was, too. Because she was certain he’d do anything to protect her.

Which meant she needed to do her part in protecting him, too.

TEN

S
hane slowly rose to his feet, relieved that Gabby had agreed to investigate the source of her headaches. His pulse still hadn’t returned to normal after he’d woken to her heart-thundering scream.

It had taken him two frustrating attempts to get the combination numbers entered correctly, long seconds that had seemed to stretch forever. When he’d barreled inside, he’d been overwhelmingly relieved that she’d been alone and not held captive by some madman.

Although finding Gabby screaming, crying and covering her ears while in the throes of a horrible nightmare hadn’t been a whole lot better.

He hated seeing her so deeply afraid.

Shane took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The hour was still early, barely four-thirty in the morning, so he headed for the door.

“Shane?”

He paused and turned back to face Gabby. “Yes?”

“Thank you for coming to my rescue.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, forcing a smile. “Try to get some sleep, okay?”

Her answering smile was wry as she shook her head. “I’ll try, but I doubt I’ll be able to.”

He hesitated, hating the idea of leaving her alone. “Is the cafeteria open this early? We could grab some coffee.”

Gabby’s expression brightened. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? The cafeteria isn’t open yet, but we could get some coffee from the ER and then head over to the cafeteria to sit down for a bit.”

“I don’t mind at all,” he said, speaking the truth. He liked spending time with Gabby, far more than he should. Oh sure, he could tell himself he was playing bodyguard in order to safeguard her, but in reality he wanted to be there. The mere thought of handing over the job of protecting her to someone else didn’t sit well, either.

“I’ll, um, just grab my shoes,” he said, glancing down at the pair of scrubs he’d used to sleep in. He needed to get a new uniform, but there should be time for that later.

“Okay, sounds good.”

He left Gabby’s call room and quickly pulled on his black cop boots, which looked ridiculous with his scrubs, so he took a few extra minutes to change back into his uniform. Not just because of the shoes, but because he didn’t want to leave his weapon behind.

Just in case.

When he was fully dressed, he left the room, realizing that today was Sunday. His day off, unless a SWAT call came through.

Would Gabby be interested in attending church services with him?

He was surprised at how badly he wanted her to.

Shane returned next door to Gabby’s room. “Ready?” she asked, looking better, as if she’d successfully put the remnants of her nightmare behind her.

He couldn’t help but grin. “Absolutely.”

Gabby led the way down the hall, past the rest of the call rooms. Shane glanced at room five, the one she’d used last night, frowning when he noticed the door to the room was ajar.

“Gabby, wait,” he said, his voice rising with urgency. “Go back to your call room.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, swinging around in alarm.

He pulled his weapon, keeping his gaze laser focused on the door. The odds of anyone still being inside were slim, but he didn’t want to take any chances. Not with Gabby’s life.

But room eleven was way down at the end of the hall, the exact path that an intruder might take to get away. On second thought, he decided she was better off staying here.

“Flatten yourself against the wall,” he instructed in a hoarse whisper.

By now she’d noticed the open door, too, and thankfully did as he asked.

Shane pressed himself against the wall on the opposite side of the door before reaching out to shove the door open. It swung inward, and from his angle he could see the main part of the room appeared to be empty.

Ransacked, but still empty.

A chill snaked down his spine. The bed linens had been tossed on the floor, the mattress shoved partly off its corresponding box spring. The drawer to the small bedside table was upside down on the floor.

“Go back to your call room and contact Security,” he ordered. Then he used the radio clipped to his label. “Dispatch, this is unit twelve. Potential intruder at Trinity Medical Center, location in question is call room number five situated behind the ER. I need officer backup ASAP.”

Gabby’s eyes widened and this time, instead of balking, she edged around him and then ran down the hall to her call room. He couldn’t deny a flash of relief when he watched her punch the buttons for the code and then disappear inside.

Shane debated waiting for backup, since he felt certain the intruder who’d done this was long gone.

But the small bathroom was located on the far wall, behind the door. There was a remote possibility that the intruder was still in there, hiding.

Lying in wait.

Shane couldn’t imagine why the perp would stick around, unless he planned on making another attempt to kidnap Gabby. But then why leave a mess behind as an early warning?

No, the more he turned the idea over in his mind, the more convinced he became that the call room was empty. He’d wait for backup because there was no sense in getting on Griff’s bad side again.

One of the hospital security guards arrived, a young guy who appeared about thirty pounds overweight, his chest heaving from exertion. “I’m the senior officer on night shift. Someone hiding in there?” he asked between panting breaths.

“Doubtful, but I’m waiting for backup to make sure. In the meantime, I need you to stand guard outside call room number ten. Dr. Fielding is in there.”

“Got it,” the security officer said, hurrying farther down the hall.

A security officer armed with nothing more than a Taser wasn’t exactly reassuring, but at least the young man seemed to take his job seriously.

Feeling impatient, Shane called Dispatch again. “This is officer twelve, what’s the status on backup?”

“Entering the ER now, should be there in a few minutes,” the dispatcher said calmly.

“Ten-four.” Shane tightened his grip on his weapon, keeping his eye on the call room. A young third-shift deputy by the name of Jay Sanford arrived less than a minute later.

“The room has been tossed,” he told Jay. “Dr. Fielding used this room last night, so I believe the perp assumed she was still here. I doubt he decided to hang around, but we need to be sure. The bathroom is located on the far wall, across from the bed. I’ll go in first.”

Jay nodded. “I’m ready.”

Shane ducked into the room, first verifying there was no one behind the door.

The bathroom door remained shut and he crept forward, keeping up against the wall. Bullets could go through flimsy doors and drywall without a problem.

He twisted the door handle, glad it wasn’t locked. When he pushed the door open, he was stunned to see a guy in scrubs lying with his hands tied behind his back and a rag tied over his mouth, apparently unconscious on the floor. Shane dropped to his knees, feeling for a pulse, thankfully finding one.

“Get Gabby in here right away,” he shouted to Jay. “Room ten, go!”

The man on the floor groaned as Shane pulled out his pocketknife to cut through his bindings. As he was removing the gag, Gabby arrived.

“Oh, no,” she cried, dropping down beside the prone figure. “We need to get help from the ER.”

“I’ll go,” the security officer volunteered.

“Do you know him?” Shane asked Gabby as she carefully eased the man over on his back.

She nodded, her expression grim. “Brandon Johnson, one of our trauma attending physicians. Did Creighton do this?”

Shane sighed. “I believe so. After all, this was the room you were using until late last night.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Gabby muttered. “How could he find out the combination on the door? Even if he did come in to search the room, why would he stick around to wait?”

“He was probably expecting you, Gabby,” Shane said slowly. “And if that’s the case, it’s just sheer luck on our part that we moved several call rooms down.”

“Poor Steve,” she whispered brokenly. “He was hurt and it’s all my fault.”

“Not your fault—
Creighton’s
,” Shane reminded her.

“I can’t stay here,” Gabby said in a hushed tone, her tortured gaze meeting his. “I have to take a leave of absence from work. I can’t keep putting my colleagues at risk.”

“I know,” Shane murmured. “I’m sorry, Gabby.”

At that moment the security guard arrived, bringing an ER doctor, a nurse and a gurney.

Gabby insisted on helping as they rolled the physician onto a long board. There wasn’t a lot of room in the tiny bathroom, but somehow they managed to use the long board to lift him up and carry him out to the waiting gurney.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Gabby repeated helplessly.

“We’ll take good care of him,” the ER doctor assured her before they whisked Brandon away.

Gabby stood in the hallway, staring after the retreating gurney, looking completely shell-shocked.

“Don’t do this, Gabby,” he said in a gruff tone. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is. I should have anticipated something like this. After all, you told me I needed to move to a different room. I should have told the operator to keep this room vacant. If something happens to Brandon...” Her voice trailed off.

He wrapped his arm around her slim shoulders and drew her close. “He’s going to be okay. Creighton didn’t shoot him, which makes me think that this guy might have caught him by surprise.”

For an instant Gabby leaned against him, as if suddenly weary. Then she abruptly straightened. “We need to get out of here before anything else happens.”

He nodded, glancing over at Jay. “I’d like a crime scene tech to go through the room, just in case.”

“On it,” Jay agreed.

“I’m taking her someplace safe, and then I’ll be in touch.” Shane took Gabby’s arm and escorted her back to her room. He waited patiently in the hallway while she gathered her things.

Gabby believed she was responsible for Brandon’s injury, but Shane knew the blame rested squarely on his own shoulders.

Regret coursed through him. He’d allowed himself to be complacent...to believe that Gabby was better off in a familiar place surrounded by people who knew her and cared about her.

Yet Creighton had almost found her, anyway.

Close. The whole thing had been too close. And an innocent bystander had gotten hurt as a result.

No way could he afford to make a mistake in judgment like that again.

* * *

Gabby blinked back tears, trying to get the vision of Brandon’s unconscious body out of her mind as she changed from her scrubs. She drew on her favorite pair of black stretch pants topped with a green sweater. Tossing her things back into her duffel bag didn’t take long, and she soon emerged from the call room. “Let’s go,” she said to Shane, anxious to leave before something else happened.

Gabby desperately wanted to know how Brandon was doing, but she knew it would take time to get him examined and then sent to Radiology for testing. Even then, the results from the CT scan wouldn’t be back for at least twenty minutes.

And she planned to be long gone from the hospital by then.

“This way,” Shane instructed, taking her duffel from her and slinging it over his shoulder. He took the back stairs down to the outside exit.

He didn’t rush but seemed to be keeping a sharp lookout as they went. When the stairwell ended in a doorway leading outside, she sucked in a harsh breath at the chill in the air.

Shane put out his arm, holding her back for a long moment before moving forward and taking the sidewalk around the building to the parking structure.

She soon realized that this could very well be the exact path Creighton had used after knocking out Brandon and tying him up.

It wasn’t easy to swallow past the lump in her throat. And she didn’t once look back at the brightly lit hospital as she followed Shane to his police vehicle.

“Are you all right?” he asked once they were both inside the car.

She shrugged, looking away from his probing glance. “As good as I can be.”

Shane didn’t press the issue, but he did reach out to take her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. Oddly enough, the sweet gesture made tears prick behind her eyes again.

She subtly wiped them away as Shane drove out of the structure and headed toward the interstate. There wasn’t much traffic at five-thirty in the morning, so it didn’t take long to hit the open road.

“Where are we going?” she finally asked.

“There’s a motel called the American Lodge that happens to be located not far from my church. I’ll get us connecting rooms there.”

Swiveling toward him, she studied his strong, masculine profile as he expertly maneuvered the multilane freeway. “Do you live near there, too?”

“No, my place is a few miles in the opposite direction. But right now we’re not going to the motel. We’re meeting Nate to swap this ride for something else.”

“A different car? Why?”

He glanced over at her, his expression grim. “I have to assume that Creighton knows who I am. He must have seen me sleeping outside call room number five, otherwise there is no way he could have figured out which room you were in.”

It took a minute for that information to sink in. “You think he had the nerve to follow us inside the hospital? And that he seriously knows who you are?”

“Yeah,” Shane said. “Unfortunately, I do. So we need a vehicle that can’t be linked to either one of us.”

Gabby tried to swallow another wave of guilt. Who had hired Creighton to do all of this? And why?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize, Gabby.” Shane reached over once again to take her hand. “This is Creighton’s fault, not yours. He hurt Brandon, not you. We’re going to get to the bottom of this...you’ll see.”

She wanted, desperately, to believe him. But it wasn’t easy. She closed her eyes and thought about how Shane had prayed with her over her stepfather’s bedside. Gabby had expected to feel awkward but had been pleasantly surprised to experience a sense of peace instead.

Maybe she could try that again. Granted, she didn’t have much experience, but she tried to clear her mind and focus on the prayer.