Seaside Kisses: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 4) (19 page)

"Nine."

"Really? The chart shows you were given the medicine a half an hour ago."

Rafael put his good hand on his head. "It sure doesn't feel like it."

"Wouldn't the nurse have woken him?" asked Amara.

"Not necessarily." The nurse flipped through pages in a chart and then went over to the computer and typed on the keyboard—entirely too loudly. "This is odd."

"What?" Amara asked, sounding alarmed.

Rafael figured he probably should be, also, but with all the discomfort, he couldn't be.

"Well," said the nurse, "usually we check vitals and make other notes when we update a patient's medications. None of that is noted here, except the pain medication."

Rafael moaned as the pain from his head squeezed all around his skull. He could hear them talking, but couldn't make out any words. He could barely tell the differences between their two voices.

A cold hand rested on his arm. "Do you remember anyone giving you pain medication?" asked the nurse.

He shook his head, not opening his eyes.

"Obviously, he's in a lot of agony," Amara said. "Can't you just give him some meds?"

"Not when I show that he's already had his dose."

"Wouldn't one of us have woken if a nurse came in?" Amara asked. "I would think I would have. That chair isn't exactly comfortable. I barely slept."

"I'll need to speak with my supervising nurse or his doctor."

"What's wrong with this place?" Amara asked, her voice lowered. "First, you guys lose him and now this."

Rafael's eyes opened despite the tenderness from the light. Lost him? When had that happened?

The nurse glanced at Rafael and then back to Amara. "Let's not distress the patient, miss. He was never lost. There was a mix up with what was entered into the computer system."

"Can you at least give him some ibuprofen?" Amara asked. "That would be better than nothing. It doesn't have to be codeine or whatever you're giving him."

"Like I said, I need to talk with a superior before I do anything."

"Fine," Amara said. "I'm calling his brother."

The nurse arched an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

"His brother used to be a doctor here. Brayden Hunter."

"Go right ahead." The nurse typed into the computer again before leaving the room.

Amara slid her hand in his and squeezed. "We'll get you what you need, I promise. One way or another. If I have to buy a bottle of something in the gift shop, I will."

Rafael squeezed her hand back.

"I'm going to call Brayden. He'll know what to do."

He nodded and then closed his eyes.

"And I'll go out to the waiting room, or maybe by the stairwell. Seems to be more privacy there. Get some rest." Her warm, soft lips pressed against his forehead again.

Rafael wished he could pull her toward him and kiss her back, but his aches were debilitating. Every movement hurt worse than it had a minute before. He thought he heard her footsteps leaving the room, but wasn't sure if that was just his pain echoing through his head.

He grimaced, hating how weak the accident had made him. This wasn't him—he knew how to handle discomfort. He'd broken bones before and been fine. Hardly a complaint. Physical training. That was fine, too. Cat allergies. Check.

Rafael closed his eyes and again—when had he opened them? This was too much. Why was he so disoriented?

It didn't matter. He gave into the misery and fell into a deep sleep. It was deep, but not peaceful. Stressful dreams that felt all too real taunted him. Cats with sharp claws chased him down the hospital halls, his gown barely staying closed. Hordes of high school kids looted his shop. His ex-girlfriend and ex-business partner sent him threatening texts.

Voices woke him up. He felt somehow rested, but at the same time, more exhausted. What a strange combination. He opened his eyes and tried to focus on what was going on. Amara, the nurse, and another lady with thick glasses were in the room. They appeared to be arguing.

"His brother is on the way," Amara said.

"The only way we can give him any pain medication," said the third woman, "is if I take a sample of his blood. We can find out what's in his system. If there aren't any painkillers, we can administer them."

"You should listen to the doctor," the nurse said.

"Why are we standing around?" Amara demanded. "Take his blood."

The doctor came over to Rafael, explaining that she needed to draw his blood before they could give him any medication.

He held out his arm, closed his eyes, and waited for the prick. There was a quick, sharp jab, but it didn't hurt any more than anything else. Before long, the needle was removed and he felt the pressure of a Band Aid being applied. He opened his eyes again.

"I'm going to send this to be processed right away," said the doctor. "Hopefully, we'll have you feeling better as soon as possible." She patted his arm and walked away.

Amara stood where the doctor had. She took his hand. "I'm so sorry you have to deal with all this. Especially after such a bad accident."

"Thanks. What about your store?"

She smiled. "With everything going, that's what you're worried about."

He shrugged.

"Alex is there. Whatever his family was sick with was a twenty-four hour thing."

"That's good," he whispered. He tried to look at her, but his eyes wouldn't stay open. He drifted into another fitful sleep.

Brayden's voice woke him this time. Rafael opened his eyes. His brother was arguing with the nurse. He looked around for Amara, but couldn't see her.

He froze when his gaze passed by the closet across the room. A man in all black stood, glaring at Rafael. He was dressed like a mobster from the nineteen twenties or thirties. Gun included. He raised the gun and aimed it at Rafael.

"No!" Rafael cried.

Brayden and the nurse turned to him.

Rafael pointed to the mobster. "Stop him!" Ignoring the agony of his body, he squirmed in the bed trying to lower himself. Not that it would protect him from a bullet.

He heard the nurse say something about the side effects of some kind of drug. Brayden appeared in front of him and stared into Rafael's eyes. "The results came in, and there's a drug in your system that causes mental confusion and hallucinations. Whatever you see, it isn't real."

Rafael continued to squirm. He hit a tray holding a little plastic pitcher of water, sending it to the floor.

"Can you hold him down?" cried the nurse.

Brayden moved in front of Rafael, staring into his eyes. "Focus on me, Raf."

Rafael glanced around his brother. The gun was still pointed at him.

"Move! You'll be shot."

Brayden grabbed Rafael's arms. "Listen to me. It's not real. You're hallucinating."

Rafael squirmed more, trying to get free of Brayden's hold. The gun appeared every bit as real as his brother in front of him. "Are you sure?"

"Where is it?" Brayden asked. "I'll walk over there and prove it to you."

Rafael's eyes widened. "Don't go near him."

Brayden followed Rafael's gaze. "Is he by the closet?"

"Don't—"

To Rafael's horror, Brayden ran over to the mobster and stood right in front of him. "There's nothing here." Brayden moved back and forth, side to side, walking through the gunman.

"What…?" Rafael asked.

"He's not real," Brayden said, returning to Rafael's side.

Rafael's breathing grew fast and shallow. He wanted to believe his brother, but the man in black remained, unflinching. The barrel of the gun also stayed aimed between Rafael's eyes, with Brayden not too far from the line of shot. Rafael grabbed Brayden, not caring about the pain running through his wrist as he did and he ducked out of the bullet's path.

"We'd better sedate him," the nurse said from across the room.

Brayden moved out of Rafael's hold. "Might be a good idea for now. It won't interact badly with what's already in his system."

Rafael wanted to share some choice words with her, but couldn't take his eyes off the gunman. He made eye contact with the madman.

The nurse came over next to Rafael's bed with a syringe. He watched her from the corner of his eye, while still trying to focus on the mobster. She slid the needle into one of the tubes going down into him. A cold feeling ran through him and then he suddenly felt very fuzzy. And heavy.

Rafael leaned against his pillow, unable to keep his eyes open.

Twenty One

Voices woke Rafael. This time, his body didn't hurt. He also felt rested, but not enough to open his eyes.

"When he wakes, we'll ask him how he feels," said an unfamiliar nasally voice.

"And when can he go home?" That was his dad.

"Assuming all signs of the drug are gone, he should be able to be released soon. Physically, he's ready. Emotionally, that could be another story."

What did that mean?
Rafael wanted to ask. He wasn't emotionally unstable.

"Speaking of the drug," Amara said, "have you found any more about how it got in him?"

"We're still looking into that."

"In other words, no." That was Cruz. "How can you guys be so careless?"

"I don't know what happened," said the nasally female again. "I just returned from vacation, but I assure you this hospital has the highest of standards, and we're looking into everything. Either way, it will be figured out and dealt with."

"Either way, what?" asked Amara.

"Whether this was done intentionally or accidentally."

"Intentionally?" his mom exclaimed. "Who would
want
to hurt Rafael?"

Rafael had heard enough. He forced open his eyes. Everything was blurry, so he rubbed his eyes. Not a single movement brought any pain. It was wonderful, even if it was due to painkillers.

"He's waking up," someone said. Several shadowy figures came over to his side.

As Rafael's eyes focused, they became clearer. Amara took his hand. His parents stood across from her with Cruz.

A new nurse came over and stood next to Amara. "How are you, Rafael?" she asked too loudly.

He covered his ears. "Not deaf."

Cruz laughed.

"How do you feel?" she asked, enunciating every word as though he were an imbecile.

Rafael removed his hands from ears. "Better than ever."

"How would you describe your pain levels on a scale of—?"

"Zero."

"That's good," said the doctor. She checked on his fluid bags. "You don't hurt anywhere?"

Rafael shook his head.

"But that's because of the medications," said his mom. She rubbed his arm above the bandages.

"And that's great," said the doctor. "That means they're working." She looked in Rafael's eyes. "Do you see anything in here that shouldn't belong?"

Rafael looked around for the mobster, but didn't see him or anything else unusual. "No."

"Can we bring him home now?" asked his mom.

"We'll need to wait a little while," the doctor said, "but I don't see why he'd need to stay past dinnertime. I do want to keep an eye on him for a bit." She went over to the computer and typed.

Cruz turned to Rafael, his eyes wide. "Did you hear that, dude? You'll be leaving soon."

Rafael nodded. He knew he should be excited, but couldn't shake the heaviness of having just woken. "What happened with my medication?"

The doctor came back over, frowning. "We're not sure how it ended up in your system. I've initiated a full investigation, and we won't stop until we find out who did this." He said the name of the drug and the side effects.

Rafael's head spun. "Was someone trying to kill me? Between this, the car accident, and my property damage…"

"What property damage?" asked the doctor.

Cruz stepped over and told her about everything from the egging to the garage door. She scribbled notes on a pad of paper and then turned back to Rafael. "There wasn't enough medication to kill you, but given that it affects memory, it does make me think someone doesn't want you to remember the accident. Obviously, we'll need more information, but that's where I stand for now."

"Do you think he's going to be safe at home?" his mom asked.

"I would suggest not leaving him alone," said the doctor. "At least not initially."

"We'll bring you home with us," said his mom. "That way we can take care of you."

"What about my house?" he asked.

"It's fine," said his dad. "You need to rest for a few days."

Rafael sat up. "My grand opening."

"Zachary, Jake, and Tiffany are working on it right now," said Cruz. "I'll help them out, too."

Amara squeezed his hand. "You might not be able to open this coming Monday like you wanted, but we'll all make sure the big event happens on time."