Sandy Sullivan (22 page)

Then
he found Julia. He'd met her at a club one night as a sub looking for a Dom.
Beautiful, curvy and blonde, she screamed total submission from her bent head
to her kneeling position in the roped off area for the unattached subs. They
negotiated to play several times together over six months, but the more he
tried with her, the more he realized she wanted a twenty-four/seven slave
relationship. He couldn't do it. He wanted a partner in life, not someone he
would be required to make all the decisions for. A submissive in the bedroom,
but not in their
every day
life would be the perfect
sub for him. Unfortunately, he hadn't found a woman to fit the description in
his mind…until now. Elizabeth.

"Love?
Is that what this is?"

Everything points to the
description of love. You want her. She fulfills everything you need in the
bedroom.

"Can
I trust her?"

You already do.

"True."

She compliments you in every aspect
of your life. She's strong and independent, but submissive in her sexual needs.
Her world doesn't revolve around you.

"But
how can I say I'm in love with her?"

Listen to your heart.

After
he thought about it like that, he realized love came in many different
packages. The feelings he had for Elizabeth went far beyond anything he felt
for other women in his life. The love he'd felt for Marie didn't come close to
what his heart held for Elizabeth. He wanted her, yes, but in many different
ways. By his side, cooking with him, cleaning his house, enjoying the sunshine,
picnics, long walks…babies.

"I
do love her."

Seconds
later, a sharp crack split the air like the snap of a bullwhip. He grunted and
staggered back as a bright red splotch formed on the front of his lab coat.
What the fuck?
Pain seared through his
chest as he dropped to his knees.
Please
God, don't let me die before I have a chance to tell Elizabeth I love her.

Darkness
surrounded him as he collapsed against the warm pavement.

Chapter Thirteen

"I
need to see him now. Get me a supervisor," Elizabeth snapped at the nurse
guarding the curtained off area where Marcus lay helplessly. The two hour drive
to Billings was torture, not knowing what had happened or whether he would live
or not. Thank goodness the fire department paramedics knew enough to call for Life
Flight.

"I'm
sorry, ma'am. The doctor is with him and we're prepping him for surgery."

"Surgery?"

"Yes.
He needs surgery now. They have to stop the bleeding."

"Marcus?
Ah, hell, Marcus!"

Seconds
later, she heard a squeaky, "Elizabeth?"

"See.
He wants to see me."

"Let
her in nurse, if it will make the patient more comfortable."

Elizabeth
dashed around the woman and parted the curtains.
Holy shit!
Marcus' skin looked milky white except for the large
stain on the bandage over his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Apparently,
I was shot."

"Why
would someone want to shoot you?"

"I
wish I knew. I don't think I've pissed off any of my patients lately." He
coughed, making the blood seep from the wound.

"Don't
coughing. No moving. You have to be okay."

He
grasped her hand in his, squeezing her fingers. "I will. They have to stop
the bleeding and clean up the wound. The bullet hit some big veins. I'll be
fine."

"You'd
better be. I don't want the man I love dying on me," she said with tears
in her eyes.

"You
love me?" he asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Yes,
I do. I'd planned on telling you tonight with a romantic dinner with all the
trimmings, but now you'll be in here for at least a few days."

"We'll
put off the romantic dinner, but not the other. I love you too."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."
He brought her fingers to his mouth to kiss each one.

"Enough.
We need to get this man to surgery."

"I'll
be at your bedside when you come out of surgery. You can count on it, so no
running off," she said, sniffing in between sentences. She couldn't lose
him. Not now. "Take good care of him, will you?"

"We'll
do our best, ma'am."

She
watched with a heavy heart as they wheeled him out of the curtained off area and
down the hall, silently praying he would be all right. The love she felt for
this man couldn't be compared to anything she'd felt before. The feelings were
all encompassing. Her heart ached and she hugged herself trying to hold in the
sobs.

"Liz?"

She
sighed before she wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"Liz,
where are you?"

Knowing
she had no choice but to face Natalie and Cade, she walked out into the long
hallway.

"There
you are. Where is Marcus?"

"Headed
to surgery."

"What
the hell happened?" Natalie asked, hugging her. "I heard he was shot?
Who the hell shoots people in Red Rock?"

"He
took a bullet to his upper chest on the left side right above his heart from
what I could tell. It hit some major veins so they are going in to close things
up. They have to stop the bleeding." Her entire body started to shake from
the shock of finding him like this. "What if he doesn't make it, Nat? I
can't lose him now. I love him."

"Does
he know this?" she asked, stepping back to link her arm with Elizabeth's.

"Yes.
I told him before they took him away and he said he loves me too. God…"
She scrubbed her face with her left hand, laughing. "What a way to declare
your love for someone, huh?"

"It'll
be fine. You've given him something to look forward to now. You'll have the
rest of your lives to figure things out."

"Being
in love with someone doesn't make everything hunky-dory, Nat. I'm going to be
working in this hospital next week. I'll be here for three years."

"Billings
isn't far. You'll make things work."

"He
needs to get through this before I worry about making anything work or
not."

The
cell phone in her pocket vibrated and she jumped. She'd forgotten she had put
it there after she found it in the mud. Pulling the phone out, she glanced at
the screen, recognizing the number.
The
rat bastard!
She flipped the phone open and said, "Hello Ari."

Click.

"The
fucking asshole!"

"Who?"

"Armand."
She slid the phone back in her pocket. "You know about the dead cowboy we
found near the water trough this morning, right?"

"Yeah,
Dad told us."

"Well,
Dad took the vial of whatever we found back into the house, but I stayed out
there to look around the mud for some clues. I found a cell phone. Guess whose
number showed up as a missed call?" Natalie's wide eyes confirmed she
suspected the same asshole. "Yep, you guessed is…Ari."

"What's
he got to do with a dead cowboy?"

"I
wish I knew. Whatever it is, it can't be good."

When
they reached the waiting room, Cade sat in one of the chairs with Mitchell next
to him. They both stood as she and Natalie reached their side.

"How
is he?" her father asked.

"They
just took him to surgery. There's some bleeding they need to stop and I don't
know if the bullet is still in there."

"Who
would want to shoot, Marcus?" Cade stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"What kind of enemies could a veterinarian have?"

"I
wish I knew."

Sheriff
Monteau
walked in through the doors, approaching the
group with a frown on his face. "How is Doctor Melton?"

"In
surgery, but they expect him to recover, I think. Have you found out anything
about who shot him?"

"We
caught the guy."

"You
did?"

"Yeah.
Someone from the diner saw a car speed away shortly after the crack of the
shot. They're the ones who found Marcus in the alley behind his office. The guy
is singing like a bird.
Appears as if someone paid him to
shoot Marcus, although the original plan failed when Marcus turned to go back
into the office.
They guy caught him in the shoulder instead of the
heart."

"The
guy meant to kill him?"

"Apparently."

"Did
he say who paid him?"

"Some
guy from Los Angeles is all I can tell you. We've put out an APB on the guy for
attempted murder."

"I
hope they get him before he tries again."

"We
will. He's some big shot out there.
Business owner of some
sort.
We hope he hasn't skipped the country."

Rage
ripped through her. She knew in her gut
who
was behind
all of this, but she didn't know why. "Somehow, I don't think so. If it's
who I think it is, he thinks he's untouchable."

"Oh?"

"Yes.
He's an ex-boyfriend of mine, but why he'd want to kill Marcus, I don't
know."

"Jealousy?"
Nat suggested. "He was pretty adamant he wanted you to call him. When you
didn't, all of the sudden people are dying or being hurt around you."

"Why?
He doesn't know I'm seeing anyone."

"Maybe
he does."

"Sheriff
Monteau
, I know you're investigating the death of the
cowboy at our ranch also. I found this," she pulled the cell phone from
her pocket, "in the dirt out there. We heard about Marcus right after I
found it so I didn't have time to call you to tell you. One of the phone calls
today was from a familiar number to me. Armand
Listolini
.
Why he would be calling a cowboy on my father's ranch, I don't know. If he's
behind Marcus being shot, I'll kill him myself if you don't arrest him and put
his ass away for a long time."

"We'll
do our best, Ms. Weston."

"Good.
If you need anything from me, let me know. I could probably tell you where he'd
hide out if he tries to disappear. I was his personal assistant before I left
his ass."

"We'll
be in touch then if we don't get him under arrest inside the next twenty four
hours."

"Thanks,
Sheriff." After the Sheriff left, the group decided to get coffee and
something to eat from the cafeteria at the hospital while they waited for
Marcus to come out of surgery. All of the prayers Elizabeth had said as a child
went through her brain, while she silently talked to God on Marcus' behalf. He
just had to be okay. She couldn't lose him now.

Two
hours later, the doctor came out into the surgery waiting room. "Are you
with Doctor Melton?"

"Yes,
Sir," she said, coming to her feet. "Is he okay?"

"He's
fine. The bullet didn't hit anything major but it was still lodged in the
fleshy part of his shoulder. It did chip part of his collarbone so he will be
sore for some time until the bone heals. We've cauterized, sorry that means
burned the ends of the veins so they don't bleed anymore…"

"
It's
fine, Doctor. I'm a physician. In fact I'm doing my
residency here starting next week."

"Oh
good.
Then you understand. We sealed everything off and
stopped the bleeding. There is a hairline fracture in the collarbone. It'll
heal in time. He's in recovery now. You can go back to see him if you like.
He's been asking for Elizabeth, although he's not fully awake, yet."

"I'm
Elizabeth."

"I
assumed as much." He motioned to the nurse. "Take this woman back to
curtain four, please."

"I'll
be back in a couple of minutes."

"You
take your time, sweetheart. We know you need to be back there," her father
said, kissing her cheek.

"Thanks,
Dad."

When
the nurse left her at the curtain of the room where Marcus lay, she inhaled
sharply and pushed her way through. His skin had more color rather than the
pasty white he'd been before. The bandage on his shoulder was clean and dry
now. His dark lashes lay against his cheeks, covering up the beautiful blue
eyes she'd come to love so much. She moved to the side of his bed to pick up
his hand. "Marcus?"

"Elizabeth,"
he croaked through dry lips.

"Hi,
handsome.
You look like shit."

"Thanks.
You look beautiful," he said. "I guess this means you get to play
doctor with me?"